Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) King pin lubrication

Hey Guys,
I’m new to Morgan’s and I have a question. I have a 2003 plus 8 with about 6500 miles. It has very stiff steering. I lubricated the king pins last week but I didn’t notice any difference. I’m wondering if I didn’t put enough grease in. How much should I put in. Is there some marker that will let me know when it’s enough?
Richard

You could potentially have the plastic / vasconite / devol, nylon bushes which MMC trialled in 2003 or 2004 (the early Roadsters that superseded the Plus 8 had them)

Do they creak on trying to turn ? as when damp they nip the kingpin and can tighten the steering and sometimes make a creaking sound

Try jacking the front end up to just clear the tyres from ground and see if it's any lighter to turn

Yes, when you start to see the old grease being displaced at the joints is time to stop pumping.

Good luck

You might find this useful:

https://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/Greasing2002to2006.html

Once you're happy with kingpin greasing suggest jacking up front of car using block of wood under centre of lower cross tube to spread load. Once wheels off the ground you should be able to turn steering wheel with your little finger.

ETA: apologies Jon just seen your similar suggestion above.

How old are your tyres?

Old tyres go hard and don't help steering! I wouldn't have tyres over 5 yrs old on my Mogs, no matter how much tread they have or how few miles they have done.

Getting new tyres for my 4/4 (no power steering) made a fair amount of difference.

When I bought my first Morgan from Allon White I was given a tip by Phil Benning. When hreasing kingpins lever up the bronze plate slightly and pump grease in until you see it come from the small gap you created. I did this regularly on less than 1k miles intervals quite often less than that on the 4/4 and later on the 2002 Plus8 and always before trips away. The Plus8 had hard chrome kingpins and no deterioration over 40k+ miles. I had a pneumatic grease gun so pry bar the plate and easy one handed greasegun triggering.
Rear leaf springs lubed with chain lube and Panhard rod ends ball/socket at the same time with spray grease.

Phil Benfield, gave me that advice too, think he wrote a useful buyers guide too.

Yes it's included at the rear of the "Morgan Four Workshop Manual" a very handy reference book for traditional models and his buyers guide is very good.

You should check to see if it has steering bearings.... I had some fitted on my +8 and it made the steering MUCH better. Cain from Wolf performance sells them, and he's great for advice. I would assume it doesn't have them as it hasnt been used much. When you fit the bearings, you need to remove the steering damper blades.

I'm looking for a +8, which one did you buy?