Remote Greasing

Greasing Traditional Morgan Front Suspension


Background
My own Roadster had started to show wear in the front off side kingpin and bush after only 12k miles. The manual that came with it said grease every 5k and as it had been done every 2/3k so it should have been OK. Also a number of owners in TaffMog all made the same complaint that it was difficult to get the grease gun to fit properly on the nipples. So I spoke to Mark Baldwin, Morgan Service Manager, and gleaned the following: Although mileage guidance is given in the various manuals the primary consideration is the road conditions that the car has endured. The rules have not changed since Adam’s grandpa was a lad. So whether your manual says 1000 or 5000 mile intervals you should ignore it! Driving on very wet roads for prolonged periods (200 miles?) will wash away the grease and the bearings will start to wear. The same applies to very dusty conditions. So there are no conditions on this planet which justify a 5000 mile interval. Therefore greasing every 1000/1500 miles is a minimum; more frequently as conditions dictate. Grease nipples – it seems that the poor positioning is at the whim of the machine shop who have been asked to move the hole as it would not give any problems to the suspension. Mark reckons they have no problem with greasing. It seems to me that looking at a few recent cars they are using a jig that puts the hole in this silly place and they don’t want to change it. Wipe away excess, but keep some grease on the bottom spring (advice also from a knowledgeable dealer). Mark reckons that some cars are coming back with clapped out suspension after 15000 miles. Presumably the owners/garage follow the 5000 mile guidance.


A Solution
One possible solution is to use nipples of a different angle, or an extension. I have made a special nozzle for my Wanner, which works, but it can be a bit messy. So considering that on holidays and long trips I need to grease her, and, as much as I love her, I do not want to go underneath her on holiday; I concluded that some form of remote greasing would be the best solution. The choice was either a single central grease nipple, feeding each point via a manifold, or an under bonnet block with 4 grease nipples, each one feeding a suspension point. Past experience had shown that the single feed always prefers the easiest path, so no grease gets to the points with most resistance. You can use an “equal doser” to each point, but that assumes each point will be happy with the same dose, highly unlikely. So I decided to fit the 4 nipple system.


Parts required
We have now converted four cars dating from 2001 to present with 4, 6 and 8 cylinders. The following worked for all four. The important bits were all purchased from Brammer (lots of branches around the country, but as they keep stocks centrally order by ‘phone and collect when in) and made by Lumatic. So you need: Elbow Conn 6mm OD 1/8” BSP - 4 off Str Conn 6mm OD 1/8” BSP - 4 off Anchor Block - 4 way - 1 off SS Nipple 1/8” BSP - 4 off 6mm HP Nylon Tube - comes in 25m rolls - enough for 4 cars Worth ordering spare olives (Lumatic part numbers below) Block of aluminium 25x15x125mm - to space out the anchor block, otherwise there is insufficient room for the grease gun. I also had the block engraved to identify each nipple. Bolts with locknuts and washers - M6 40mm u/h minimum. 1/4” BSF bolts/set pins with about 3/4“ of thread - see below for explanation. 1/4” BSF tap and a suitable drill - don’t use a final tap as you could block of the flow of grease. Cable ties.


Installation
Slacken off the wheel nuts. Jack up the front end on axle stands - both sides need to be off the ground so that the steering can be turned. Remove both wheels. Remove both dampers. *** Unscrew all grease nipples and bin. Check threads. Typical Morgan, they say the four grease nipple holes are tapped 1/8” BSP. Half wrong, the bottom ones are 1/4” BSF which is a size of connector that Lumatic do not make! Screw elbow connectors into the top holes, point them towards the inner wing and slightly forward where you can see a good run for the pipe. As these are fixed the angle is less critical. The other two connectors now need modifying. Saw off the 1/8” BSP thread. Drill and tap. Drill the bolts 3mm through the centre, a lathe helps here. Don’t make the hole any bigger or the thread will shear off when you tighten it in the post. Experience/hindsight! Screw into the connector. Saw off the head and clean up the thread so that it will screw in easily. Screw them into the bottom holes. File the thread to a length that allows reasonable torque and points the connector towards the chassis and a few degrees up from horizontal. You may need to fit a fibre washer. Three cars did not need them but the oldest did. Again adjust length accordingly. Drill the block of aluminium to match the anchor block - see picture. Drill the inner wing on the side where there is enough room. 4 and 6 cylinders can be either, to taste, but the 8 could only go on one side. There is a small lip at the top where the inner and outer wings join so place the block about 10mm below the line of the wing. Fit nipples and straight connectors into block. Don’t bolt to wing yet. Run pipes between connectors, checking that they are long enough to avoid fouling or stretching when the steering is turned. Make sure you insert the olives the right way round. Check the pipes do not chafe on the chassis or body. If unavoidable, each car was different, put a sleeve round the pipe. Bolt the blocks to the wing. Grease. Use good quality lithium grease. Clean up excess grease but keep some grease on the bottom spring. Check none on brakes. Replace dampers. Check other nuts and bolts for tightness while you are down there. Replace wheels remembering the rules, which I don’t need to repeat. You now have a good excuse to go for spin; “just putting the car away dear”.


Afterthoughts
We did find that we had to pump significantly more grease into each nipple than we expected; implying that even with our best efforts there was not enough grease going in through the original nipples. It has been suggested that the anchor block could be mounted under the dash so that the passenger can grease the car on the run - maybe HFS was right all along! Steering and comfort - three primary, and one secondary, drivers reported an improvement in the steering and we are sure the front suspension works better. Even if it is all psychological the original reason for the installation was easier greasing which we have achieved, so our suspensions will last considerably longer. We have no knowledge yet of the durability of the system. The tube is a strong nylon type used normally for industrial applications so it should be bullet proof. Anyway replacing the tube to the bottom connectors does not take many minutes If anyone has a problem with drilling and tapping I am happy to do it for them. Email or ‘phone. Normal good workshop practice applies - cleanliness and do not overtighten. *** Obviously the sequence from here can be varied to suit personal preferences, or if a helper is available.

Product Details, Description and Quantity
LUMATIC-81 -5329 Elbow Conn 6mm OD1/8 BSP x4
LUMATIC-81-5260 Str Conn 6mm OD 1/8 BSP x4
LUMATIC-51-2002-02 Anchor Block 4 way x1
LUMATIC-SSHP2 SS Nipple 1/8 BSP x4
LUMATIC-84-3043 6mm HP Nylon Tube 25m x1
LUMATIC-81-9004-22 6mm olives x2