Leaf Spring replacement

[tezza72uk]

I think I might need new leaf springs, not had the car long and have been getting some thudding / knocking noises coming from the near side rear. After changing a slightly leaking rear damper and the drop link, then checking the exhaust wasn’t contacting anywhere I put some rubber grease on top of bump stop took it for a bumpy drive and found it had deposited the grease on to the chassis stop pad. The unladen gap between bump stop rubber and pad was 40mm. The car was restored in 2018 and all the welding and work had been carried out then so metal wise all solid.
If I need new leaf springs which I now think I do, can anyone recommend the ESM kit (£240 inc vat) with all associated poly bushes over buying a pair of springs from Jones Springs and bushes from Polybush total being around (£517). Is the extra expense worth the outlay?
I guess the leaf spring bushes are also going to be a factor contributing to any noises too.
This is all new to me so any feedback and help would be very welcome.

[ManyMinors]

Firstly, if the rubber bump stops have been replaced at some point, I found that the new replacement ones were FAR too hard and that every time they came into contact with the body there was a most alarming and unpleasant thump just as you describe. My solution - which worked very well - was to simply cut the top off the bump stops so reducing the contact. This might be seen as a bodge to some but it did the job well!

Regarding new rear springs - others have said that the new springs available cheaply from ESM and others do not last well and are ineffective after a short time. When one of my cars required new springs a couple of years ago I therefore opted for a new pair from Jones Springs and have been very pleased with them. I purchased all the smaller items I needed including the polyurethane bushes, mounting plates etc. from ESM but not the springs. This has worked very well but was more costly of course. As I plan to keep the car for some time, I felt that it was money well spent.

[philthehill]

I would also suggest spending the extra money is money well spent.

[tezza72uk]

Thank you both for replying, I also intend to keep my car a while so agree it’s worth spending the extra if the result is it lasts, which by your testament it does. As the saying goes buy cheap buy twice. It’s not the job I can tackle in my single garage as there not much room so will have to find a reliable garage in West Oxfordshire.

[svenedin]

I fitted Jones springs having heard warnings about the durability of the cheaper options from MMOC branch members. As replacing the leaf springs, all the bushes, lever-arm dampers and drop links is a big job for me (maybe not so for others) I had no enthusiasm to be doing the job again in a few years' time. I used polyurethane bushes everywhere and polyurethane spring pads. The handling is so much better. Money well spent in my view but then I am a long term owner. The old springs lasted in excess of 30 years!

Stephen

[tezza72uk]

Not sure if my springs are original, mileage on Speedo says 55,000 not sure if that’s correct either. I did try trimming a bit off of the bump stop but not sure how much trimming was OK, took 1cm off but still knocking. Correct solution is to change them and as you said it will hopefully improve the handling with new ones and poly bushes. I can see the pads either side of the springs have seen better days. Just got to find a reliable trust worthy garage now.

[svenedin]

OK, if you tell us where you are in the country somebody may be able to recommend a garage to do the work.

Stephen

[les]

Some springs have, in my opinion, a less sturdy method of containing the leaves, compared to the more conventional way.
You may wish to consider this. The two versions are shown here :-

IMG_0921.jpeg (97.25 KiB) Viewed 1992 times

[tezza72uk]

The nearest town to me is Witney in West Oxfordshire, not have any experience of using local garages except my local Suzuki one. Probably best to find one that is used to working on classic cars. As for quality of construction from previous comments on here the Jones Springs sound a safe bet. Thanks for helpful replies, much appreciated.

[svenedin]

The nearest town to me is Witney in West Oxfordshire, not have any experience of using local garages except my local Suzuki one. Probably best to find one that is used to working on classic cars. As for quality of construction from previous comments on here the Jones Springs sound a safe bet. Thanks for helpful replies, much appreciated.

I would suggest Richard Plant of Minor Parts of Oxford. They are in Ascott-under-Wychwood so very close to you. They undertake servicing, repairs etc and they are Morris Minor specialists.

Stephen

[Jaywhy]

I have recently replaced my springs, bushes and shock absorbers all round on a minor tourer. I opted for jones springs and am well pleased with outcome. I had the car rebuilt by Charles Ware some 13 years ago and had only done around 20,000 miles having had new leaf springs fitted - they flattened and the ride was not good - felt every bump to the point I hit a pot hole and the exhaust manifold sheared - they flattened car is now transformed handles better and again is a pleasure to drive

[svenedin]

I have recently replaced my springs, bushes and shock absorbers all round on a minor tourer. I opted for jones springs and am well pleased with outcome. I had the car rebuilt by Charles Ware some 13 years ago and had only done around 20,000 miles having had new leaf springs fitted - they flattened and the ride was not good - felt every bump to the point I hit a pot hole and the exhaust manifold sheared - they flattened car is now transformed handles better and again is a pleasure to drive

Good to hear. I had the same positive experience with Jones springs after the same total suspension rebuild. The handling is excellent. Probably better than at any point that I have know my car and that is over 3 decades.

Stephen

[Andmurph]

Another recommendation for Jones Springs.
I have fitted them to the pick up with Superpro bushes from Moss Europe
They also made a special custom pair for the ‘72 Midget that are 1 5/16 lower at a slightly increased spring rate. These are matched to custom coil springs from D. Faulkner springs making the Midget a fast road go-kart.
The Jones springs settle a little over six to eight months and get even better.

[tezza72uk]

I took my traveller to Minor Parts Oxford as suggested. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. They took my car for a test drive with me and could replicate the knocking noise that I suspected may be the springs and they didn’t think they needed changing and the stance was as expected. The exhaust was also ruled out. There are no signs of obvious scraping or contact points. The only thing they said may be the culprit was the leaf spring bushes that would need further investigation. The bushes I would have hoped were changed when it was fully restored in 2018 and less than 2000 miles ago. Is it also a possibility that the wooden frame could be loose on its fixings , something I thought about on the way home from Minor Parts today. Any other ideas that may be the cause this loud knocking from the near side rear. I was assured that the car was OK to drive though.

[Grumpy21]

I had a loud knocking from the rear on a previous traveller. Turned out to be a combination of two factors. The rear chassis legs were seem welded reducing the clearance above the shackles and the shackle rubber bushes had perished witching 2 years and were almost useless. As the car moved the flexing leaf spring was causing the shackle to bump onto the chassis leg with a significant bang. New polybushes and dressing the weld solved the problem.

[svenedin]

Glad Minor Parts of Oxford were helpful. Richard is a good chap. I have bought parts from him for years but I met him for the first time during Minors on Tour in France 2026.

It could well be the rubber bushes. Modern rubber parts just don’t seem to last. Go for polyurethane. It might make things firmer than you wish but at least they’ll last. My experience of polybushes has been overwhelmingly positive.

Stephen

[philthehill]

Poly bushes last longer if greased.
I have just removed some MOWOG spring eye bushes which were lubricated with rubber grease when being installed quite a few years ago. The condition of the removed bushes was as near new. The rubber MOWOG bushes were replaced with greased Super Pro Poly bushes.

[tezza72uk]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. I will take the Traveller back to Minor Parts early next year and let them change the bushes to poly ones and check / dress the rear box section. Richard did mention that he would normally grind the seam weld area back to ensure shackle clearance. It was worth the visit as he has accessed my car after a test drive and said it was a good car, apart from the annoying noise!

[svenedin]

Poly bushes last longer if greased.
I have just removed some MOWOG spring eye bushes which were lubricated with rubber grease when being installed quite a few years ago. The condition of the removed bushes was as near new. The rubber MOWOG bushes were replaced with greased Super Pro Poly bushes.

Yes. The old rubber bushes marked MOWOG last for a really long time. I took some off my car a couple of years ago. Admittedly they were worn out but they had been in service for decades.

Stephen

[oliver90owner]

Springs are not the only part of the suspension system. As noted the bushings and any previous welding of the chassis can easily change the angles. But don’t forget that while the springs do the majority of the work to even the initial bump, it requires the dampers to retard the initial bounce…