Morris Minor Owners Club

Ashamedly not replaced the bushes all round yet as been a hectic week and some.
Might be for the better now given whats occurring. Not sure if its my imagination as to wether its getting worse, but have quite a bad judder when braking.
Could this be the trunions need doing too? because if so may as well order the bits and do that at the same time as the bushes.

The bushes are truly US, brakes all new and working splendidly and yes they have the leading edges chamfered and no the new drums aren't poor quality ones that are oval ;-)

Check/renew bushes anyway - you can examine the trunnions while in there.

Any slop in the suspension bushes will be felt while braking. As BMC says do all the bushes (Recommend Poly) and check the trunnions while everything is in bits. Top Tip for the tie bar adjustment after doing all the bushes, fit tie bar through the chassis bracket with the new bushes, but leave the front nut very loose. Fit tie bar into wishbone fork making sure the packing piece/washer is behind the fork, leave the fork nut loose at the rear of the wishbone. Adjust front tie bar nut, until hole at rear of tie bar is centered in the fork hole, a tapered punch is ideal to check the alignment. Drop the bolt through the fork and tie bar hole, then refit wheel and lower car to the ground. Bounce the front a few times, then tighten the various nuts up. This should give the correct kingpin inclination, and best steering geometry.

All nuts should be tightened with the car off the jack, as it will prolong the life of the new bushes. The final nut to get tightened is the tie bar front nut, just enough to get the split pin through the tie bar.

Final thing is to have the toe in checked, just incase it was ever adjusted with worn bushes. The recommended is 2.5mm Toe in.

Tie bar front nuts should be done up TIGHT - not just till the split pin goes in.

bmcecosse wrote:Tie bar front nuts should be done up TIGHT - not just till the split pin goes in.

Poly Tie Bar Bushes are very hard, and 1.5mm thicker in length than the standard rubber ones. Believe me, the nut will be VERY tight just to get the split pin in there. Any tighter, and you risk putting the tie bar/wishbone under extreme stress.

Actually best NOT to put Poly bush on the front (outside) of the tiebar fixing. It is too hard and can lead to fracturing of the bracket.

Ok, will order up a pair of trunnion kits for each side, stands to reason they are original so probably well overdue for replacement.

Anyone think of anything else before i order that - bearing in mind i get diddled on P&P so have to make the most of doing an order - that and it takes longer for stuff to get here so dont want to run out of something cant get locally

Be aware that the 'trunnion kit' assumes that the thread on the king-pin (upright) will not be worn. This is very often NOT the case - it's likely to be just as worn as the trunnion - and so replacing the trunnion will certainly take away half of the overall wear -but not all of it. And if someone in the past has already done this ...... The only sure fire cure is to order complete new kingpin assemblies - at least you KNOW then everything is right. Some require the steering arm to be transferred from the old kingpin - not always an easy task. beware 'reconditioned' king pins which will likely have had the threads metal sprayed to take up the wear - it doesn't last nearly as long as new ones.

Hmm cheers, I'll give them a study then before i order, did think it migth be nice to go for the whole lot but ££££'s etc
sure wouldnt go for recon ones given they ought to last another 30 years if new, just have to see how worn whats on there is.

Well got round to starting it yesterday - 8 hours and not even one side of the front finished yet
Really took some persuading to take it all apart. Will post some pics later - think i might be in the running for most worn bushes on a mog. Not until comparing the old to the new was it so obvious.
The trunions seem fine strangely enough, only sign of evident wear was the part which bolts through the chassis & holds the end of teh torsion bar, slightly ovaled out on the one side so refitted it inverted so should give a couple years trouble free till i get a replacement.

Oh and the reason its taking so long, giving it all a good clean and coat of protective paint whilst there, should make it easier to take apart again when set to the task of indersealing at some stage

Orkney wrote: the part which bolts through the chassis & holds the end of teh torsion bar

The eye bolt, for reference
a

Aye aye Captain!

Turning the eyebolt round 180 degrees is fine, but if the link pin has been pressing against the eyebolt due to knackered bushes, double check the chassis leg for stress fractures around the eyebolt hole. Best to catch any cracks early before rot sets in. Good luck with the other side, not one of my favourite jobs either, too much kneeling and swearing for my liking

Crickey MT spooky you should say about the kneeling - woke up with REALLY achey legs today, been sitting on a beer crate mostly rather than kneeling, guess its just the sheer number of times up and down and finding the right tools.
Well one side done now, day and a flippin half cant believe it took so long, the other side can wait till tomorrow before i start.
Heres a pic of a state of a few of the bushes that came out next to some new ones or comparison, and surprised the track rod end hadnt fallen to bits - could just make out where the grease nipple had rusted off



no stress fractures around the eyebolt hole in the chassis its remarkably sound in fact !

and heres the finished result, wont be a hard job to ever replace them again as i'll be able to get it apart easily, oh and a lick of paint to keep teh salt off.
mind you wish id never had teh bright idea to underseal the inner wing panel - brushing off the mud went over the top of the headlamp bulb and it vanished inside itself so new pair of those on teh shopping list.
Not too worried as the wings will be coming of next moth or two, but yet another job to do

Believe me, a Moggy can get you back in shape after a sedate couch potato winter

Nice work on that drivers side, very clean and tidy. MOT man will love you to bits. Old bushes are pretty worn, but I have seen much worse!

i'm not out of shape happens a lot doing different things day to day never seem to be using the same muscles well apart from teh beer biceps

Anyway, did that corner outside as its been a glorious couple of days here, but a change is coming so adjusted the brake shoes that side, wheels back on and off the jacks.
Couldnt resist going for a quick spin down teh lane to see if or what difference its made and to be honest am rather speechless about it.
The brake judder has already gone (at least upto stopping from 40mph), the steering is vastly no incredibly improved in feel as is the ride quality.
Migth sound a bit crazy as its only one corner done but theres not the noise & rattling now as was before and theres no slack in teh steering so assuming teh majority of the problem was the antique track rod end?

Well its great enthusiasm to get on with the other side now, and all being well it'll take a lot less time as theres not fathoming out to do.

Forgot to say earlier

too much kneeling and swearing for my liking

havnt sworn once - which is very unusual for me in normal conversation even dont know what it is find working on it the most relaxing thing there is (nearly) think its the being able to see & get to everything, its all relatively simple. Then theres the knowing that if you do need spares they wont cost a fortune, that and the cars not depreciating.
Part of me regrets not having got one a lot of years ago, but part of me knows if i had i'd be worse than BG by now and be surrounded by a mountain of mogs

Yeh, I've been doing the Poly Bushes in stages. Car is now all poly bushes, no suspension rattles, no brake judder, crisp steering, a joy to drive. Quite wierd actually, driving a Moggy that doesn't rattle, even speed bumps hold no fear now

Speed bumps are but a distant memory mind you some of teh track potholes are a bit ferocious. Reminds me BMC pointed out the other week i dont have rear bumpstops and i noticed there are none on the front either.
Can be a real wind up working on a car thats never been mechanically cared for sometimes, never mind get there one bit at a time

Put down some old carpet - helps the knees. Tried knee pads - but the straps round the back are a big nuisance digging into back of knee. You MUST have bump stops - front and rear - or the suspension will smash the shell to bits in no time.

Orkney wrote:Speed bumps are but a distant memory mind you some of teh track potholes are a bit ferocious. Reminds me BMC pointed out the other week i dont have rear bumpstops and i noticed there are none on the front either.
Can be a real wind up working on a car thats never been mechanically cared for sometimes, never mind get there one bit at a time

As BMC has pointed out you need the bump stops front and rear. If the fronts bottom out without bump stops, you risk shearing the Amstrong Damper bolts that go into captive nuts inside the front cross-member at the rear of the engine bay. They tend to shear inside the captive nut, and it is a pig of a repair. The rear bump stops prevent the rear suspension clattering into the underside.

In other words...just when you thought you were finished......