Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Cracks in lower front wishbones

If not a recall there may not be a statute of limitation

Worth a call to Mark Baldwin to ask if they can still provide upgraded wishbones foc

Quote:- "Morgan has said it will supply new lower wishbones free to existing owners who want them. They will take an hour to fit, but Morgan insists it is not issuing a recall."

It is either a safety issue or it isn't.
If it is not a safety issue why are they offering replacements, as they would not be required? Also why would you have to ask for them?
If it is a safety issue, why was it not the subject of a recall?

Just curious

Keith

FOC

Not even sure they have any stock of these lower wishbones anymore.....bit like the brake pedal upgrade parts

If it is a safety issue, why was it not the subject of a recall?

Because a 'safety' recall will cost MMC money and Kudo's....imagine what it cost MMC for the brake pedal update kit - fine if in UK with a dealer network but in the EU or USA where dealers are few and far between - imagine the cost of transportation alone to nearest dealer as MMC would only allow dealers to carry out the recall work.
And there was no database of who the m3w's owners were - hence why I still see the 'original' brake pedal set-ups 13 years later..

Look at the Super3 - rear wheel bearings collapsing - MMC were well aware of issue and only instructed dealers to inspect at service - thats fine if your pottering around UK country lanes and the bearings fail but say you were in the Alps and same thing happens...

So the MMC bean counters probably decide what constitutes safety...

Having just been careering around the Alps two-up and then finding the cracks was what encouraged us to share the info ...

And a great time was had by all

It was the Super 3 rear wheel bearing issue that I was referring to as its a known (by MMC) issue - and as the S3 is relatively new and in few numbers, it wouldn't be that hard to send a letter out to the owners explaining that they need to take their S3 into a dealer asap...

Ref my post: Not even sure they have any stock of these lower wishbones anymore.....bit like the brake pedal upgrade parts banghead - it now seems MMC have had another batch of lower wishbones produced and they also have the brake pedal upgrade kits back in stock..for all those early cars that were missed by the MMC net...

The only DVSA recall for the M3W has been the brake pedal failure, a failure that could be catastrophic. This only applied to early cars with the laser cut "M3W" in the pedals, maybe the first few hundred but not the first 1027 with the pre-2014 chassis that were recalled. MMC assured the DVSA that when they checked the brake pedals on these cars they would also check the chassis for cracks, so the brake pedal recall information was sent to all these 1027 cars rather than have an additional recall. I got the recall information related to the "M3W laser cut brake pedal assembly" for my 2013 car, no mention of any other checks being carried out at the same time. I was fully aware of the chassis crack issues and knew my car was fine. My 2013 car didn't have the M3W laser cut early brake pedals detailed in the recall, so it didn't apply and never went for inspection, like possibly many others? The DVSA do not seem to attach the same importance to low volume cars as they do for more mainstream vehicles and tended to believe the manufacturer when they said they would do the right thing.... I doubt that a mention of chassis crack checks as well in the recall was desirable.

The DVSA did not consider the M3W chassis cracks to be "catastrophic", they would become apparent before a catastrophic failure, so they did not warrant a recall. To be honest the ones I have seen have been found before a big failure, although you may consider yourself lucky if you find a chassis crack before the accident.

There was no official recall for the very public failure of the early lower wishbones in the Autocar track test. I assume no one informed DVSA and an "informal" recall was done by MMC, some/many obviously got missed.

Have any Super 3 owners contacted DVSA about rear wheel bearings failing? It doesn't get done on it's own, you have to make a case to them. You cannot rely on the manufacturer to "do the right thing" and report themselves.

I guess not all recalls are equal, a lot possibly depends on the manufacturers attitude? I am sure many people, like me, have had recalls for "normal" cars for what they would consider to be very minor faults compared to chassis failures, things like rear parcel shelf latches and under bonnet loom security.

The worrying thing is that this is just DVSA - any m3w's exported out of UK - I wonder if they were notified by MMC regarding the possible catastrophic brake pedal failure?
Wonder if the owner or the dealer were informed?

Not sure the upper chassis cracks are that apparent prior to possible major failure - the crack is hidden away, a casual glance would say no crack evident.

S3 - you would have hoped that MMC would have done the right thing and just notified the S3 owners concerned (there's not many) and just arranged for the rear bearings to be replaced - but I suppose in this modern world, admitting doing something wrong doesn't get you very far and upsets the accountants.

I was not informed of the brake pedal failure and I have 2013 M3W, I read about it on this forum, as it happens it did not apply to my set up.

Agreed that the chassis cracks are not that easy to see before the tube fails completely. If it does fracture all the way through, as some have, the car will still drive, although maybe not quite as it should but will not end up in the scenery either. It has an alternative load path, well that is their theory. I will continue to check the chassis tubes for cracks.

I had three of the four tubes crack that hold the motor in place. When the car was starting, it was wild. That is when the greatest torque swing happens going from zero to whatever at idle. The thing moved and made a gawd-awful racket yet still ran and tracked. The cracks were practically invisible when motor was stopped. One had to flex it to really see the damage. Entire chassis was replaced and the physical changes to the front welds and gussets are very different.