Morris Minor Owners Club

hello how tight does the rear engine steady need to befrom gear box to crossmember , thanks ,grandad

Tight, but not tight as a rod. In other words, still just deflectable by hand

thank you that is about what i had done

If too tight there will be vibrations - it's there to retain the engine in a frontal bump - or under hard braking, so you want it 'just slack'.

the gearbox steady cable stops or helps stop a frontal or braking hard

Adjust so it is under VERY slight tension. Too tight gives horrid vibration, and risks breaking strands of the cable. It's only to stop the fan hitting the radiator in emergency stops, or frontal impact. Too loose, and sudden strain due to engine movement could snap the cable. When correctly adjusted, it should be free to deflect side to side with only gentle thumb pressure. You shouldn't be able to play a tune on it

Basically tighten it up to the point it starts pulling back the power unit or until the cable is straight. At rest there should be no tension in the cable.

...and there was me thinking that saying it once was probably enough ;)
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Must check mine in the Traveller. Also acts as a backup earth cable.

was mine a freak or do series II's not come with either steady? a slightly funny story...
when my car failed for front brake imbalance (on discs, FANTASTIC!) i found it was because i had not fitted new discs when i changed the pads. so the imbalance was due to one pad only touching half the disc...so...i went for a few lengths of southsea seafront with some accelerating and braking and thought my front wheels were going to fall off as i kept hearing this horrible noise from the front, truly a horrid noise. finally found out when i saw the chunk taken out of my rad casing at the top! fortunately no proper damage was done! but since, i have bought both engine steady and gearbox steady...not fitted either yet though! lazy...

Early cars indeed did not have it - their brakes weren't good enough!