Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 time for an engine rebuild?

Well, I hope not...... BUT

I was hopefully wishing the needing to add oil was just because the engine sump was filling up when the M3W sat..... but no such luck.

On the tail of the dragon ride I went about 750 miles (I drove from SW VA to there and back) and needed to add 5 quarts. It was clear from the poor folk following me that I was burning a lot of oil especially when using engine compression on the mountain roads.

Currently I will not get back to the M3W until December, but before I let it be, I did a compression check and only had 80# on the left and 90# on the right. For reference, my 46 yo goldwing with 140k miles gets about 140#. I was unable to do a leak down test before I left.

Maybe I just use it as a boat anchor at this point?

X-Wedge has decompressors on the cams to ease the starting load so I wouldn't put any faith in the compression test figures.
Saying that I don't like the sound of the oil burning....good luck with it.

I thought the decompressors were something folks installed later, but not on the stock engine. Fortunately, our state vehicle inspection does not check exhaust emissions.

If it's boring that much you should see it on the plugs! Ive done over 50,000 miles on a stock engine and its barley during anything. I change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles max. If do need to rebuild the top end I think Phil Bleazey has some pistons and barrels. It might just be a gummed oil control ring... Good luck

the plugs do have that burnt oil look. I would need to look for parts in the USA. I do have over 20,000 miles on it. Have changed the oil religiously.

The decompression system is part of the S&S camshafts and was standard on all M3Ws.

then I feel better about the compression numbers. When I get back to it I will do a leak down test. It appears that rebuild parts are made of unobtanium. I guess I will just carry lots of spare oiil

MMC do have a limited stock of many engine spares and have had a full engine gasket set produced.

There are a few engine parts stockpiled at owners and a few sources such as Krazy Horse and M3WServices in the UK and France. These are not generally for open sale but if you do tear down your engine and need specific parts they may well be possible to get hold of.

Alternatively over the years there's been lots of chat about retrofitting a Harley engine so you could try that. One such thread is Engine Conversions

It may be that Morgan of New England would have spare parts as well....

I received the below email recently from my local Morgan dealer:

We are pleased to introduce Morgan Heritage Parts, a dedicated function of the Morgan parts business focused on supporting customers of non-current Morgan models. Utilizing a wealth of product and parts knowledge, Morgan Heritage Parts has the ability to provide consultation to owners looking to maintain, upgrade or restore their Morgan, as well as an extensive range of official parts covering more than 70 years of models. Morgan Heritage Parts is wholly committed to the promotion of customers purchasing heritage parts through official Morgan dealerships and directly from the factory – directly addressing a gap in the parts market that is being exploited by businesses that are not officially endorsed by Morgan.