Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) less ground clearance on the driver side

Frank, easy DIY job, maybe 30 mins each side, someone else has been asking similar so I put some photos on this thread http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthread...r-3-7l-ssl-suspension-upgrade#Post765281

If you are talking of the rear conversion it really couldn't be easier Frank. The SSL 5 link conversion has coil over dampers with the same free length as OE. Remove tool tray behind seats to give plenty of light and access from above. Then simply jack up the car on rear chassis cross member (use strip of wood to spread load) until the springs on existing units are just unloaded but wheels still on the ground. Nuts removed the securing bolts top and bottom can then easily be slid out, units removed, replacements slid in and nuts re-attached and tightened. You can then repeat for the other side. A smear of Copperslip on bolts helps here. Note the diagonal Panhard rod will hold axle in place whilst units are swapped. Picture of offside new unit as fitted below.



Worth mentioning that I found the drivers side upper locating link, easily seen from above, had been fitted with too longer bolt at the rear on my near new car. This left the unused portion of bolt to scrape against rear wiring loom, fortunately caught before any wires shorted or broken. You can see the new bolt and even tell tale marks where old bolt scraped wooden inner wing in picture. Re-routing loom sorted temporarily but shortly after fitted shorter bolt. Whilst you have tool tray out it might be worth checking here.

fantastic. Since I have replaced some shock absorbers at Motorcycles I thought it is similarily simple. With Richard's confirmation I will order them straight away and do this as my winter job :-)

Good to hear. I hope it goes well

Hi Richard, just one more question. have adjusted the threaded spring seats at the SSL coilovers? If yes, which tool did you use?

I finally gave it a go having the prospect of an easy job not taking longer than an hour. Unfortunately that was a complete misjudgement. It took me several hours to remove the original coilovers. The nuts were extremely tight (more than 100 Nm) and due to lack of space it is difficult to get the right leverage. Once I had the nuts off I lifted the car with the jack and some supporting material. Removing the passenger side coilover was a challenge because it was sitting tightly in the braces. With some wooden leverage I finanlly managed to remove it. Then I tried to fit the SSL coilover. The bottom was easy as I could adjust the holes of the brace and the coilovers and slip the pin through. At the top it was virtually impossible to get the pin through the hole. The braces were tight so that I could not move and adjust the coilover easily to have the holes aligned. A nightmare.

My recommendation: let the experts do it.

Both sorry and surprised you had such difficulty Frank. Certainly some clearly inexperienced MMC staff are way too enthusiastic with long leverage tools. I found my rear overrider mounts tightened so much it had crushed the thick chassis tubes they insert into and squashed a thick steel washer to half thickness! It still came apart comfortably though with the help of a breaker bar. The problem with such obvious over tightening is the components they bolt together become distorted making removal difficult.

the tight mounts weren't the main problem and after some back and forth trying I got them off. What was more difficult is the alignment of the braces and the mounts of the coilovers. Somehow the SSL coilovers were slightly longer than the original ones (no more than a fraction of a milimeter). But it was enough to prevent the pin going through. It really turned out to be a serious challenge which I still havent solved. I am taking a break to cool off and give it a new try. Perhaps with some inspiration from somebody... :-)

Suggestions Frank: Ensure that all four top and bottom coilspring damper bolts are soaked overnight in releasing fluid. Use trolley jack under the diff so as not to twist the axle and adjust very carefully so the support bolts have zero vertical load on them (tyres just touching ground). Remove nuts on first side and ensure bolts twist within bushes. Twist/tap out with soft hammer top and bottom bolts and lift/lever out old unit. Adjust jack very slightly if necessary to provide perfect alignment with new units and with plenty of copper grease slide/tap bolts back in. Note a tapered drift with similar diameter to bolts may assist in alignment, and an axle stand suitably chocked may offset any axle sag when old unit is removed, if found necessary. Add nuts but leave loose. Repeat for other side. The bushes have some give to allow for minor variations. Fully tighten all nuts.

Note my upper o/s trailing link bolt was overlong such that exposed thread end caught rear loom during suspension articulation, requiring cutting length down or replacement with (5mm) shorter. Also worth checking alignment of wheels with chassis. Mine was found to be around 5mm out, easily corrected by adjusting panhard rod which has opposite hand threads each end to allow twist adjustment much like steering track rods. It was then noted that wheels were assymetric to rear wings so a compromise was found.

ETA: Above advice given for completeness. If you have already removed both old coilspring shocks the axle would no longer support car so assume you had some extra support on rear of chassis? It should still be possible by jacking under diff to bring back axle into position for replacement. If it's easier replace one of old units (using aligning drift) temporarily inserting bolts then proceed as above one side at a time.

When I've had trouble getting various engine/suspension/other bolts to align perfectly (on numerous vehicles) I take a bolt of the same diameter and cut the hex head off. On the other end I grind it to a taper/point. I then gently tap it into place - that lines everything up and then I use the original bolt to gently drift out the tapered one and get the nut on. I use plenty of oil to ease it through so not to damage the end threads.

Doesn't always work if space/access is limited.