Morris Minor Owners Club

tingo wrote:good diagram kennatt.
h20 - you need to locate the two grease points numbered 116, and a third grease point the same shape which is not shown

thank you kennatt and tingo...
tingo is this the other grease point you mentioned? number 51 (http://www.auto-part.com/britCatalogs/m ... =1&page=14)

what kind of grease can i use?

Hi,

Any good grease - Castrol LM is what I use - basically it's a lithium based grease, but as it's regularly re-greased it isn't too important as to type (but avoid waterproof grease and rubber grease).

You will need a grease-gun as well.

One tip I've used is to fit an angled nipple on the lower grease point - this means that I don't have to jack the car up very high to fit the grease gun to the nipple.

Colin

got it collins thanks

Better with Moly grease.
The W backplate can be fitted without any problem - and yes - I suppose a 'catcher' bracket could be welded onto the original backplate - good idea!

It is good practise to give the grease nipples a squirt or two every time you have the front wheels off to play with the brakes.
And check the rear shockers when you do the back brakes.

castrol LMX grease is water resistant but thats not necessary in this place.

I've had my left one collapse once, i was driving along at 30mph, just taken a pretty hard corner at a decent speed. Without warning it gave way on the straight.

to fix i just jacked the trunnion back up onto the king pin and got some HT fencing wire and wrapped it around so that i could drive home (and carefully).

To test the trunnion, put a jack under the suspension arm and then get a length of wood or steel bar under the wheel and try to lever the wheel up with it. if the trunnion is stuffed then you will see it move on the king pin. you have to take all the weight off the trunnion before you can see this hence why you jack up the suspension arm rather than the chassis.

Yes - I fixed mine with my tow rope - and continued into Uni to sit an important exam - and then home again. Gave me an 'excuse' to borrow my Dad's Twin carb Rover 105S for the rest of the week!
The difficulty in spotting the wear - as so elegantly described above ^^^ - is the reason it can go through an MOT without them noticing anything! They lift the chassis - so unless they are Minor-wise they probably won't see it until it is pretty desperate!

is the reason it can go through an MOT without them noticing anything!

they should spot the slack every time if they follow the correct procedure.

Indeed, the procedure is just as Morrisman1 says. Support the suspension arms with wheels dangling and try to lift underneath the tyre with a pry bar. Any movenment should be obvious, and it should be picked up on and failed by and MOT tester before anyhting nasty happens.

I've just had one car tested with obvious play on a bottom trunnion. The tester suggested that a good grease up would reduce the play and make it ok - I rather doubted that, but it saved me going back for a retest. I did change the trunnion anyway...

Most MOT testers haven't even seen a Minor before - never mind know about the quirks of the front suspension. I amazed my lot - when they told me the car wouldn't start (they had left it sitting with headlights on) by getting out the handle and starting it. Their jaws were actually hanging open in amazement!

I'm trying to work out why jacking the car up on the suspension arm would make a difference. The only thing I can see is that the torsion bar would still be loaded. When I grease the front suspension, I tend to put a trolley jack each side of the chassis. I feel for play and then grease the suspension, turning the steering as I do so; for one thingit makes getting at the grease nipples easier.

Jacking up under the lower suspension arm takes the load off the suspension so that there is only the weight of the swivel pins and wheel on the bottom trunnion. Therefore when you lever the tyre up and down it is easier to detect movement in the bottom trunnion. For additional safety the car can be supported by axle stands under the chassis.

So really, as long as the wheels are off the ground, that's all that is required (Obviously with the car properly supported).

This is the bit that has puzzled me.

To test the trunnion, put a jack under the suspension arm and then get a length of wood or steel bar under the wheel and try to lever the wheel up with it. If the trunnion is stuffed then you will see it move on the king pin. You have to take all the weight off the trunnion before you can see this hence why you jack up the suspension arm rather than the chassis.

When it's all hanging on the rebound rubber - it can tend to lock-up on the threads due to the residual tension in the torsion bar - and so wear may not be obvious until it gets to the dangerous stage! Not many MOT testers will be aware of the design of the swivel pin - it's not common to have threaded king-pins!

I have rebuilt many minors over 25 years and have never heard of this before. I think that someone may be starting a rumour here I thiunk you will find that the weel folding underneath is from the Allegro as the main suspesion was welded to the flitch plate making it very vunerable rust and decay.<br><br>

[quote="hawkswing"]I have rebuilt many minors over 25 years and have never heard of this before. I think that someone may be starting a rumour here I thiunk you will find that the weel folding underneath is from the Allegro as the main suspesion was welded to the flitch plate making it very vunerable rust and decay.<br><br>[/quot

It is not a rumour it is fact,I have been a passenger in a Minor in the early seventies when this happened ,at low speed going round a bend.I have since seen more than one Minor at the side of the road with the wheel buckled under.e]

[quote="hawkswing"]I have rebuilt many minors over 25 years and have never heard of this before. I think that someone may be starting a rumour here I thiunk you will find that the weel folding underneath is from the Allegro as the main suspesion was welded to the flitch plate making it very vunerable rust and decay.<br><br>[/quot

It is not a rumour it is fact,I have been a passenger in a Minor in the early seventies when this happened ,at low speed going round a bend.I have since seen more than one Minor at the side of the road with the wheel buckled under.e]

It has happened to me, witnessed by the entire committee of the MMOC, and there are plenty of photos around to prove it, including one in an old copy of Minor Matters.
I had been greasing the trunnions but the grease had not been getting to the ends of the threads,, which is why it is important to pack them with grease before assembly.

I'm amazed - if you have 'rebuilt Minors over 25 years' - and not been aware of this problem - then you have neglected to check a potentially serious flaw in the Minor suspension design!