Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Beware the rogue pothole!

This is the effect on our archaic 1909 suspension system of hitting one of Devon's finest at, perhaps, 15 - 20 mph. We have a series of holes, ruts and craters across one of our busy "B" roads. They are utterly unavoidable (unless you prefer a head-on with traffic in the opposing lane), and have been reported to Devon Highways up to 35 times, by different people, over the last few weeks. Still they go unrepaired. The whole stretch of road is a patchwork of bodged repairs, many of which have rapidly turned into far worse craters, sometimes within days. The Roadster will now have to be trailered to Berrybrook for investigation and repair. Unfortunately it looks as though simply replacing the snapped tie rod may not be enough, as evidenced by the sideways displacement of the two broken sections. Thanks DCC!

I have had broken tie rods twice in the past 12 years, and only noticed when I went to do routine greasing. So, up to you, but I would be happy to drive it like that. I doubt whether you will find that anything else is damaged. It took me about 30 minutes to replace the rod and rebalance the tensions. Easy job.

Thanks Doug. That's somewhat reassuring. That was my first thought: "Oh, no problem, I can do that!". But then I realised that the two halves of the tie rod are way out of line. I'm doubtful that a new one would actually line up - so I think that alignment needs to be checked. Admittedly I couldn't tell that anything was wrong whilst driving it home: but I'm feeling "rather safe than sorry" at the moment. We'll see!

Then all the fun of trying to make a claim against DCC. I have all the evidence I should need, both photographic and data from their own "pothole database" etc. I could just do without the hassle!

Same here on the other side of the pond...

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Our roads are a disgrace.

Me too - had one break whilst I was in France on holiday, also only noticed when I was doing the greasing. I took the bits to a tractor repair place and got them welded together, lasted fine until I got back to the UK.

Mine broke in exactly the same place. The bottom lug part is not fixed to the chassis, it just sits on the chassis rail and pokes through the hole. So before driving any further, I would remove that part, in case it falls out on the road and adds to the cost and inconvenience as I expect that part is not such a stock item as the rod. Although everything looks misaligned, because the bottom bit is a floppy fit, and the top hole is also a loose fit, it allows everything to pull into line when the tension is applied. Not a bad idea to have geometry checked but mine was fine after repair. Think the rods are somewhere around £30 to £40 each, and don't even come with new nuts.

Send the bill to the council Vincent backed by photo's of damage and pothole that caused it. Don't expect a quick response though.

I wouldn't worry too much about mis-alignment of tie rod as it probably bent during break trauma. Removing wheel for close inspection of upper cross frame lug that provides fixing should hopefully confirm no damage there. Recent discussion on tie rods starting here. Note it's important they are not overtightened.

Thanks Richard - that's really helpful. I think I'll spend a bit of quality workshop time on a closer inspection & see if I can get a replacement to line up. If successful I can then drive it to Berrybrook for an alignment check and avoid all the transportation faff! Apparently MMC have 47 in stock - so almost a "consumable" part by the sound of it.

Just beware Nick there are two tie rods listed. Wide bodied cars as yours need MCF0126 but there is another (MCF0122) to suit narrow bodied cars.