Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Opinions on Bevel Box “dirt”

Hey fellow 3-wheelers,

Got my last problem with a blown clutch master cylinder all taken care of. The part swap and full replacement and flushing of the brake and clutch lines went smoothly, considering the tight space around the peddle box.

I was getting ready to better insulate the cockpit and a couple of hex head fasteners that were stripped at the heads and had to be removed carefully with a grinder and replaced. I have about 2300 miles on total, purchased it with 628 previous miles. The area under the drive shaft and bevel box was pretty fouled with oil/dirt. Is this “normal”?

I am going to wait to do the insulation after I change the bevel box oil.

Knowledgeable opinions sought here. Thanks!!!

Will Stotts

Sweating out the 2024 heat wave in SoCal desert

I would say it's normal for dirt to accumulate in that area, especially if you don't have a rear mud guard fitted, but the oily-ness is not normal, especially given the low miles on your machine. It appears the front seal on the bevel box is not sealing, which has been reported here on several occasions, requiring a replacement seal. I did mine with the bevel box removed, but I believe others have done it in situ. Curious what lubricant you are running in the bevel box. Early cars, as yours appears to be, can benefit from a change to a heavy weight gear oil to reduce sound and leakage. Several of us here use Red Line 80W-250 with good results.

FWIW, my 2012 machine came filled with a black paste like lubricant in the BB, which I replaced after removing and thoroughly cleaning the BB internally.

Yes that is a leaking oil seal, better to replace it with a Viton seal rather than the original Nitrile. When changing bear in mind the pinion nut is LH thread.

I would suggest you replace the oil seal soon and refill the bevel box as it probably won't have much oil left in it! It only take about 330ml in total. If you are a Morgan Three Wheeler Club member you can view a full set of instructions about how to replace the input seal, Bulletin March 2020. If you are not a member, contact me and I will send you a copy, if you want one?

Thanks to everyone for the input. Existing oil is drained and I’m awaiting the delivery of Redline 80W-250 for the refill. I grabbed that Bulletin article and am going to change that to Viton while I’m at it. I looked at the Alternative Parts List and the part is listed as:

55x42x8mm R23 Viton double lip rotary shaft oil seal with gaiter spring.

Will that suffice for a description if I contact Bearing King in the UK to source it? Is there a part number or does the description suffice when ordering?

Thanks again for the much needed help on my end!

Will

That description will get you what you need.

https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p...bber-Rotary-Shaft-Seal/product_info.html

Thanks Rog G for that confirmation!

I have most of the interior out and am ready to get the prop shaft out of the way. Can I get by just removing the end attached to the Bevel Box as indicated by the circled cap screws and flipping it out of the way to access the seal on the shaft going into the bevel box? I get that I have to cut the straps and then create the repair for them as suggested in the forums. Once I confirm it as the size 55x42x8mm, I'll order it, but someone mentioned to check and make certain it's that size, as apparently some models have a different size (thanks again Morgan). Not in too much hurry as the daytime highs are in the 110 F and higher range for at least a month more here in my desert oasis (8-9 months a year) otherwise it's Dante's seventh ring!

Will

Undo the bolts and once you have cut the straps the prop shaft can be swung out of the way you will then have access to the pinion nut, LH thread, which will allow you to remove the pinion flange the oil seal is then housed within the gold coloured housing.

Pinion nut is 33mm across the flats and the hex part is very shallow. You'll do less damage to the nut when you remove it if you face off the internal bevel of the socket before applying force to it. Thread is left hand as others have said, and unless you really want to get involved in setting up the pinion shaft preload, carefully scribe the nut and pinion shaft so that after the old seal has been replaced the nut can be tightened to exactly the original position on the shaft, the actual torque required to do this does not matter, it's the position on the shaft that matters. This of course assumes that Quaife/Morgan got it right in the first place!😃🤔

So it’s 5 days later and I have disassembled the prop shaft connection to the bevel box and the pinion seal out. New Viton seals ordered (ordered 2 since they’re coming from the Morgan’s home country). Depending on how quick FedEx priority shipping takes I hope to get this all wrapped up soon. In the meantime I’ll do the insulation of the cockpit and probably do a change of the fluid in the transmission while it’s on jack stands and all stripped down.

Both the article in the MTWC bulletin and the comments on the forum here have helped me down this path with far more confidence than I could have summoned myself. Thanks to ALL!!