Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Servicing advice

My 2005 Plus 4 which I bought last September from RTCC, has done 30k with 2000 under my ownership including 400 miles to bring it home and 800 in May on a road trip. It needs an MOT this month, but I am wondering about the real need for a service. The oil looks amazingly clean. I greased the front suspension a month ago. What should I be looking to do. I am too far from Russell Paterson to go there even if I wanted to!

Any advice?

Well RT would have given your car a rudimentary service. He was going bust at the time and wouldn't have spent anything he could have saved on the car I'd guess! So the car has a recorded 30,000 mls. For me I would change all oils and fluids. Firstly always change your engine oil and filter annually. Once you have heated the oil to operating temperature you are on a 12 month maximum time slot.
If you don't have an in-depth service history or access to a previous owner then who knows how long the gearbox and diff oils have been in place, also the coolant. The header tank might look clean and the fluid clear but use a proper flushing agent and method and watch what comes out! These operations above are the best and cheapest way to look after your MOG and ensure longevity without huge repair bills. Check the tyres as well for condition and age, tyres beyond 6 years old regardless of use are now in the too old category and could well be dangerous. Lots has been posted here previously on all the above with many recommendations

I have a 2010 plus 4, so more or less identical to yours. My service regime is:

Engine oil/filter.......................every 12 months or 5000mls. filter Fomoco or K and N.

gearbox..................................correct grade as stated in your handbook. 5W 40. 5000mls no time

differential...............................correct grade. 5000mls no time.

coolant....................................correct grade, pink type. 50/50 with distilled water. system holds approx: 10lt. annual check
for state of coolant. probably last 5 years but expect to change from 2-5 years. Chemical flush though
prior to this change.

brake fluid Change every two years by bleeding the full system.

Clutch fluid you have the MT-75 Ford gearbox fitted with a concentric clutch. These are tricky to bleed. You will find
find a bleed nipple on the top of the bell housing just below the front bulkhead however as a minimum
suck the fluid out of the clutch reservoir with a syringe, all of it and refill with new. This tends to keep to
keep the fluid clean enough without disturbing the vulnerable concentric clutch mechanism.

Just to add, front suspension needs greasing around every 1000 miles. Make sure you squirt enough in with grease gun to see some old grease pushed out, then wipe this away. Finish with brake cleaner on discs as grease often finds its way onto them during cleaning process. Each side has an upper grease nipple at top of kingpin and a lower one on sliding stub axle. The lower is the most important in getting grease to where its needed.

Think the reference to 5w40 refers to engine oil rather than gearbox oil? Think typing may have slipped a line? ( But, there again I dont have a MT 75 box.)

If you PM me with your email I will send you the factory service schedule the dealers use

Had my 2009 Roadster MoT'd and serviced this week. Included all the above advice. Very happy with the work done.

Thanks to all of you. RT did quite a lot of work before sale - it was a commission sale. 5 new tyres, new windscreen pillars, driver seat squab replaced, and service plus MOT. I have checked all the papers I have and can see the last gearbox and diff oil change was in 2022, at 25,000 miles. The coolant looks as if is fresh out of the bottle. So I will arrange the MOT and consider all the rest.

If you haven't already got axle stands and a hydraulic jack its worth investing in these to get at the underside in relative safety. There are many things you can do that a servicing garage may not have on their agenda. Adding my two pennyworth I suggest greasing the spider universal joint at either end of the prop shaft, also the similar joints on the steering column, squirt some bike chain oil onto the rear springs too. Replace engine oil drain and gear box drain plugs with magnetic ones. You might be surprised to see the metallic sludge drawn down at each oil change. My 2008 4/4 has now clocked up 91,000 miles.

Thanks Graham, I have both of these items. It sounds like I have work to do. I am 75 this month, so plenty of time just not the energy! I would love to be able to afford one of these portable car lifts.

I was under the impression that the car had a Mazda gearbox? Am I wrong?