Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi folks
I noticed a curious thing while driving my newly acquired Morris tonight going up a moderately steep hill. While accelerating it had a slight feel of pulling to the right, while on decelerating it had a more noticeable swing to the left. It has a 1275 Marina engine, with standard gearbox and diff. Also rear springs newly fitted. I cannot for the life of me work out what the cause is - has anyone any ideas please? (Tyres are all well treaded and inflated to 25 at the front and 27 rear.)

Dom.

depending on the size of the tyres, your pressures seem a bit low.. i have 165 R 14 and run at 30 psi and all seems fine

Did you fit the new springs?
I'd make sure there hasn't been any bedding in that has left the U bolts a little loose, also cast an eye over the condition of the pads that attach to the back axle.
These gather mud over time and can rot quite badly.

Thanks chaps, I'll up the pressures a bit, and check the bolts. The springs were newly fitted by the previous owner. Looks as if all the other bits were replaced at the same time, still squeaky clean!

Dom.

what do the wheels look like (location-wise front to rear) using the wheel arch as a reference?

i know springs usually have 3 straps/clips sort of keeping the leaves together. 2 one side of the axle and 1 the other. i can never remember which way around they're meant to be, i recall it's meant to be 2 in front and 1 behind the axle.

i doubt it makes much difference which way around they go if both sides are the same, but it could make a difference if they're opposite to each other!

this isn't really what you want to hear, but if this car is new to you, is it possible the spring hangers have been replaced at some stage, and that they're not perfectly in the right place?

Hi Chris
Just checked as you suggested, all looks ok - springs in correct positions etc. Hangers have been replaced in the past, again they look ok. I'll post some pics in a minute. Spanner work next to make sure all is tight, and I'll also check the dampers are properly filled, as I seem to remember from my previous Morris that oil-free dampers don't enhance the ride!

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This wheel is on the "high" side of the camber[frame][/frame]

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Also it looks as if it has 9" drums (servo assisted), though can't be certain until I remove a wheel and measure![frame][/frame]

Certainly not 9" drums. Steer as you describe must be down to rear axle location. I suppose just possible the front suspension could be loose and somehow steering the car - I think I would be removing the anti-roll bar....... There's more than enough understeer on a Minor without that adding even more !

bmcecosse wrote:I think I would be removing the anti-roll bar....... There's more than enough understeer on a Minor without that adding even more !

Glad you suggested that Roy - it doesn't look right, untidy job and I'd prefer to keep as original as possible apart from the larger engine. Whatever the brakes are, they certainly work well! Nearly as efficient as my partner's Nissan Micra - which feels as if you are driving into a brick wall when doing an emergency stop!

It might be the light reflecting on the picture, but... the spring hangar with the exhasut in the pic (last pic) dosnt look right, it looks as though it is coming adrift from the car floor. The other thing to check is all the rubbers in the suspension and make sure your brakes are not sticking on (the wheels and drums will be excessively warm if they are).

cmea wrote:It might be the light reflecting on the picture, but... the spring hangar with the exhasut in the pic (last pic) dosnt look right, it looks as though it is coming adrift from the car floor.

I rechecked that myself on seeing the picture, it's merely a trick of the light along with reflections!
Bushes all fine, only fitted a month ago when the springs were done. Brakes seem fine too, no binding evident.

And are the 'perches' present and correct on the axle tube as they should be? Could you measure the wheelbase on both sides of the car - from centre of front wheel to centre of rear wheel - car sitting with steering straight ahead of course. One highly unlikely possibility is that a half shaft may have broken, and the broken end can wedge into the diff - thus the car still drives but only through one wheel with tendency to do as you describe. It happened to me many many moons ago - but I do stress it's highly unlikely........

What about the rear spring rubber bushes, in particular the forward ones? If there was fore/aft movement on one side you would get a "steering " effect.
Another question - In the photo of your front brakes, what is that half way up the sidewall of the tyre in the foreground?

In the photo of your left rear damper/spring, the bump stop looks to be at a bit of an angle...don't know if that's a clue or not. Compare it to the right side, where the stop is perpendicular to the ground. Loose u-bolts?