Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing XR3i Engined

Hello, my 92 4/4 has the CVH XR3i engine which has now done 60,000 miles and despite having no problems I am starting to worry ( probably too strong a word) about reliability problems. It has full service history from a Morgan dealers and I have recently fitted new clutch, water pump, alternator and cam belt. But wonder now about the reliability of the ECU and fuel injection system which is now 30 years old.
Has anyone had any problems or thoughts on this.
I have the opportunity to swap it for a later model but this one still looks great so not sure.
Any thoughts please. Thanks.

Wouldn't give it a second thought

As long as you've got the basic routine servicing done plus the cambelts you'll be fine.

I look after a 1992 4/4 on 192,000 miles and I can't remember ever having an issue with either the ECU or injection

Kind regards

Arwyn

I had a’93 4/4 with that engine.
Also had an original Ford with it.
Basically a good, robust engine that will last if looked after.
A watchpoint but only minor....the air intake came from the inner wing then above the heat shield over the exhaust manifold. Mine was getting affected by heat as it was simply a flexi pipe.. my fault for enthusiastic driving.
I replaced it and put reflective shielding round it.
Replace the crappy LR wipers with the newer style. Just done this with the current car an oh so much better!
I managed to find a Draper fault reader ( rare item) but never needed it.
Anew fuel pump was needed so did that and put an extra filter before it for protection, fitted new plug leads, couple of minor electrical jobs.
Yes, age takes its toll but basic tlc will be ok. Keep an eye out for rust on steel panels ( bulkhead and inner wings).

Ken, as Arwyn says, I wouldn't worry at all

We used to own a pre ECU Ford engined 4/4 which as very reliable, Mrs M has thrashed every version of Fiesta's over the last 30+ years & never managed to bust one

You also have the advantage of Ford familiarity, lots of suppliers for parts like Burton Power https://www.burtonpower.com/

Enjoy your 4/4 they are a lovely nimble Mog

Thanks Guys for the great replies. I have had it for 3 years and enjoyed every minute of driving it.not sure I would describe it as nimble, mine is a wide body 4/4 with the wider 6"wheels ( which i didnt realise when buying it) so bit heavy on steering.but still great fun.
Can I ask a question Arwyn, not long after I got it I started having problems getting it in gear without crunching and it got so bad I couldnt use it. I checked the clutch free play which was at the 1/10" as in the handbook. I was told it was probably a fault in the clutch by a Ford gearbox specialist so I took the engine out. The clutch.looked ok but I fitted a new one just in case. (That's when I fitted a cam belt, water pump and Alternator as nothing recent about them mentioned in all the service paperwork) put it all back and set the clutch free play as the manual but it still wouldnt go in gear. Looked in Escort manual which said the clutch on it was self adjusting so wondered if free play was only minimal. So set it with just a fraction of free play and it's been ok since but is this right ?. I bought the car off Mike Duncan who is said to be a CVH specialist but on ringing the garage they didn't know. With your experience is this ok. Many thanks.

One thing to check with CVH-engined cars is that the clutch cable is operated via a bell crank on the front of the bulkhead. MMC, with their legendary attention to detail (Not!) didn't make these beefy enough with the result that the angle between the arms can close up, reducing the available cable throw. The fix is to re-weld it at the correct angle.

Here's a picture of mine when it had just been welded up by Kevin Vernon. I'd recommend him to you, but he shut down his business and retired a few years ago.

I have a CVH engine in my Morgan (1983) and regarding the clutch free play, I also had that problem getting in and out of gear especially when cold becoming impossible to put the car into first or any gear when stopped and it was embarrassing at traffic lights having to turn the engine off then putting into first gear with the clutch in and hoping you can go through the gears before you hit the next set of lights hopefully on green, eventually, the engine warmed up and changing gear was much OK, I kept a set of 17MM spanners with me and through trial and error discovered that the best clutch adjustment was almost barely any adjustment. My car has done just 53000 miles and the only concern I have is having to use E5 petrol because my car has a carburettor and not fuel injected. All I can say is enjoy your Morgan and remember even a Tesla or AMG Mercedes has to keep to the speed limits. Regards Swordfish

I find referring to Ford CVH engine forums a very useful source of information on problematic areas of the engine, from memory I think regular engine oil changes are a must with the CVH.

Great car my, first Morgan was a 1985 CVH 4/4 that had been the Sunday Times competition prize car, great specification and colour scheme. I found it really nimble and quite quick (remember this was 30 odd years ago) for the time and amazingly economical getting over 50mpg on long trips. I saw it advertised on Ebay about 2 years ago and I was tempted to buy it again, but narrow doors and likely resulting maintenance/restoration of the inner wings, body and frame put me off. I should have just bitten the bullet, but someone had changed the interior leather colour scheme from ivory to black and it didn't look quite right.

Thanks for the interesting info.
I looked the bellcrank after I fitted the clutch and it looked ok, but thought a longer arm on it would be better. Looks a pain to get off though.
I too carry a couple of 17mm spanners just in case.
I have used the E5 fuel since the standard unleaded went to E10, sort of wondered what the new stuff would do for the seals etc in the injection unit.
Had a drive of a 2017 model yesterday (my brothers car) for the first time.was expecting it to be a lot better after all its 25yrs younger. Didnt like it as much as mine, his car is acstdc4/4 and has the 165tyres and the steering felt too light after mine with the 6"wheels, it also has servo brakes which are very powerful, nearly ate the steering wheel the first time I used it.😁. I Liked the easy up hood though so am.looking into getting mine converted.
Thanks again for the posts.