Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax The shock absorber was torn off

Hello fellow Morgan enthusiasts!
I have a story to share from this past weekend.

I was driving over a small manhole cover when suddenly, my shock absorber was torn off.
There was a loud noise, and the car veered to the left, becoming quite unsteerable.
Thankfully, I managed to bring the car to a safe stop.
Upon a preliminary inspection, it seems that the shock absorber tearing off led to the disconnection of the belt driving the servo, among other components.

This occurrence was quite startling, especially since it happened while I was driving.
We haven’t assessed the full extent of the damage yet.
So, I just wanted to remind everyone to stay safe while out on the roads.

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That's a weird one but thankfully no further damage to yourself or car.

I've heard of engine driven vacuum pumps on diesels to benefit brake servo as no manifold depression. Are you suggesting there is one on your Aero or was it just pipe torn?

I suspect he's referring to the P/Steering or aircon Richard?

Yes the A/C and gearbox cooling (?) pipes are connected inside the front wheel arch leaving them a bit exposed. If it all let's go in there it is a small area so something is going to take the hit.

Sorry to hear of your mis-fortune, that's is the first time I have ever heard that happen on an Aero. Looks like the damper failed massively and this let the other parts loose?

If you hear a rubbing on full lock (right I think) it may mean your tyres are able to rub against the hoses in the arch (A/C) and will wear or break them. Its worth just getting it up on a ramp (or sliding a skinny person under it if you can find one) to make certain they are not going to get damaged.

I guess the obvious question might be what caused the failure...? Seizure of the damper or failure of the threads on the damper, perhaps due to initial cross threading of the retaining nut or a mix of both..?

I guess whatever the cause, using all the usual cautions and equipment to control the spring, I would be keen to examine closely the the retaining nut on the shocker on the other front wheel to ensure no repeat performance....

I will provide more details once the car has been thoroughly inspected.
Currently, this is all the information I have.
I have reached out to an engineer who will conduct an appraisal.

Regarding the hoses and such: no pipes were damaged.
Only the belt was dislodged by the shock absorber. You can see what remains of it (the red part).

I am also interested in understanding what caused the failure. Thankfully, I was not driving on the autobahn,
as the situation could have gone very bad.
At the moment, I lack trust in this car and am considering reaching out to Morgan maybe getting some legal advice beforehand.

The dislodged drive belt is clearly visible in front of the shock innards.
Good luck with the repair.

@+8Rich Thank you.

Never seen such ultra low profile tyres on a Morgan before, which must make it a very hard ride…many prefer to go the other way and increase balloon size…”but whatever floats your boat” as we say.

It's an Aero chassis Plus 8 Doug and I think that's the way they come.