Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - More on Brake reaction Stay fitting

Hi Folks,
I have a 2017 4/4 and am setting about fitting Brake reaction stays to it.
However this is what I am faced with on the driver's side- two concerns:
1. The Wing stay is abutting right up against the washers- I cannot see there will be any space for the BRS unless I nip off a corner of the Wing stay?
2. The oiler bolt looks to be off at an angle to the king pin- is that a problem indicating a bent bolt or to be expected?
Just checking the BRS should sit directly ontop of the bracket- then washers then bolt?

Thanks all

Morning Caveman,

I have posted previously on the best way to fitit BRB's, If you pull my posts by searching sewin you should find them. DaveW has also done an in depth on this subject.

However, Richard has given an excellent account and is a man who has done the job too!
Just some clarification for safety though in case you want to rush out now and start!

The oiler bolt is the top mount for the spring assy. and before you remove it you will need to support the bottom of the hub/pillar with a jack. This has two benefits, the first being it prevents the whole suspension assy. from blowing undone as you are releasing the spring pressure by removing the oiler bolt and the second is that it will keep everything in line for reassembly... realigning the oiler bolt into the top of the pillar is a real pain and the very fine threads allow it to be cross threaded very easily, so hand engage only on refit and be sure its correctly in before using tools! When you remove the oiler bolt immediately insert a suitable screwdriver or punch into the hole as this will act as a safety device should things move and also help with realignment should there be some level of misalignment.

Your problems:

loosen the wing stay as Richard suggested, you will find you have some movement on the slotted hole, also nothing wrong with removing a corner of the stay should you need to, obviously keeping the patency of the structural hole though!

Why does your oiler bolt look out of line? Well it could be for a number of reasons and its a little hard to diagnose from a picture. Usually if it's cross threaded it's almost impossible to wind the whole bolt into the pillar. If you have the original fitment pillars, stainless, they are still fairly hard and if hard chrome have been fitted, well they are really tough! I'm afraid you will only find out when you strip things down. You will need A/F tools here not metric!

The BRB's themselves; good quality options have a welded washer which fits to the oiler bolt end. When I fit them I prepare the outer edge of this end by rounding it off from its square profile following the profile of the washer... DO NOT grind away any of the welded area. when done remove the screwdriver and install the top of the BRB and hand tighten the oiler bolt. Now approximate the chassis end onto the outer return lip of the chassis. push it against the vertical element and mark the chassis line onto the BRB. You will be relieving some of this inboard square edge in order that the hole when drilled into the chassis flange is closer to the vertical chassis element. This prevents weakening the flange which forms the structural strength of the chassis. Don' drill it yet! Now with it all assembled and safe, refit the wheel and check for clearance of the tyre hitting the BRB on full lock. On a wide bodied car this is unnecessary but a narrow bodied 4/4 with taller profile tyres it can be an issue. If this is so PM me as we will have to have an in depth conversation! When you are happy with fit and function its time to drill the chassis. It will need drilling from underneath so clearance is required under the car and my post does explain how to transfer the marked point for drilling from the top to the bottom of the chassis.

Most BRB sets come with fixing bolts, They used to be supplied with shear bolts so that in the event of a front collision the rear bolt would shear minimising chassis damage to that vulnerable flange but I see they now seem to come with high tensile steel options. I'm not happy with that and have been running my plus 4 with 6mm brass bolts and stainless nyloc nuts. I check them every year but they show no signs of deterioration but I change them out anyway in case of fatigue I can't see. Each to their own I suppose!

When you start to crack open the fittings just make sure you leave them still tight then install the holding jack, lift it directly under the hub at the pillar and lift carefully until you just see the outer axle tube of the cross head move vertically and stop. this will position the pillar and secure the suspension for you to carry out the task. Good luck. Its a relatively simple job but you do have to understand the method and how to keep yourself safe.

Hi Folks,
Just completed fitting my Brake reaction Stays/bars.
Thank you for all your help; All went smoothly- and yes the bolt on the Right side was bent so I am glad I had ordered a spare.
I have posted a video on YouTube which I would be interested in your opinions of usefulness and accuracy. You can find it at

Thanks again,

James

Really good vid. Just one point…you checked clearance to tyre with the wheel off the ground. Is it still ok with the wheel on the ground , as i have heard that some found rubbing when fitting to 4/4s in particular.

Jacking up the hub if kingpin bolt removed could be dangerous and unseat the upper end of main spring as its put into greater compression. There is (or should be) plenty of residual compression in main spring, with suspension unloaded, to hold its upper end in position. If it has moved though, with the precaution of having some temporary but loose locating device in kingpin threaded hole such as short screwdriver or allen key, it can usually be moved a little to realign for ease of kingpin bolt replacement.

Pretty good show there caveman. And a nice neat job too! If you are worried about your upper conical washer set looking different each side then remember its an hand built car and is probably due more in fact to when the camber angles were set up and the slight differences in chassis and crosshead each side would account for this. Pre 2012 cars do not have this camber adjustment, The lower crosshead pin mounting points are fixed and have closed ends.. if anyone finds that they have differing camber angles on these cars which is causing problems it is possible to modify the crosshead to rectify this, Another story for another day though!

FWIW, And for others who will want to carry this BRB mod out, If you don't support the bottom end of the suspension you will have to re-jack it into position anyway and also control the spring tension when removing the oiler bolt then potentially have alignment issues on refit which can be frustrating, some cars I have had experience of can put rotational stresses to the bottom end of the suspension from the crosshead, this causes real headaches on realignment of the upper pin . This is why I had suggested that a minute amount of lift is seen to the lower crosshead (axle tube) when supporting the pin for position which assures one that adequate locational force has been applied.
When the oiler bolt is then loosened it should unscrew with little effort, hand use should suffice or very easy tool effort! If there is obvious resistance, STOP and reassess the cause! When the oiler bolt is removed instantly insert a tool of choice to act as a safety device and make sure you either have the safety in place or the oiler bolt when working on the top of the pin.
Jacking under the hub won't hurt but for cars with 5 nut alloys this is not possible, just leaving the disc which can rotate and loosen the pressure if used for that purpose, not good! I use direct contact to the lower pin so I am applying direct linear pressure along the line of the pin and not possibly introducing a rotational force by pushing the outer hub edge upwards and if there are issues with pin wear this can cause the hub to jam on the pin and not in fact apply adequate pressure to the top mount.

So, This is a fantastic mod to make to a car that hasn't got them fitted but, I have to stress again, don't mess with suspension items if you do not understand what is where and how the spring tensions exist. It can be very dangerous indeed. If in doubt get help from the right sources. This is not a job "to see how it goes"