Morris Minor MOT failure - Opinions on video
Discussion
Hi everyone,
My girlfriends Morris failed its MOT today on a few points,, but one on the sheet has me a bit stumped. As stated in the video the sheet says 'Nearside front upper (kingpin) Steering pivot point has excessive play'.
I had a look online about replacing kingpins and trunnions and started pricing up parts, then went out to look at it myself to check. To me the main body looks ok and the fault only lies in the top bolt and bushes. When looking at the video does everybody agree or am i missing a trick somewhere? I don't want to replace one thing only to take it back and the tester fail it again
Heres the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpUvoTkNYhg
All opinions welcome
My girlfriends Morris failed its MOT today on a few points,, but one on the sheet has me a bit stumped. As stated in the video the sheet says 'Nearside front upper (kingpin) Steering pivot point has excessive play'.
I had a look online about replacing kingpins and trunnions and started pricing up parts, then went out to look at it myself to check. To me the main body looks ok and the fault only lies in the top bolt and bushes. When looking at the video does everybody agree or am i missing a trick somewhere? I don't want to replace one thing only to take it back and the tester fail it again
Heres the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpUvoTkNYhg
All opinions welcome
You will be unable to tell if the top pivot (it's correctly called a trunnion) is worn by checking it the way you are with this type of suspension.
Due to the way you have the car jacked up, the suspension torsion bar on the lower suspension arm will be pulling on the trunnion against the rebound stop on the top suspension arm, preventing any wear from being detected.
The tester jacks the car by the outer part of the lower arm to check for play.
Trunnion wear was very common on these and the top ones are very easy to replace, just remove the top bush and pin and turn the trunnion to screw it off the upright.
Due to the way you have the car jacked up, the suspension torsion bar on the lower suspension arm will be pulling on the trunnion against the rebound stop on the top suspension arm, preventing any wear from being detected.
The tester jacks the car by the outer part of the lower arm to check for play.
Trunnion wear was very common on these and the top ones are very easy to replace, just remove the top bush and pin and turn the trunnion to screw it off the upright.
Like oakdale said above, you may as well replace it. They are a consumable part so it will only need doing soon anyway. It's an hour's work to do that anyway. If you're doing the bushes it's not much more work at all.
Remember, if you read the owner's manual, every suspension grease nipple is meant to be done weekly. No-one does this really and even if the trunnions are done weekly, they will still wear eventually and fail the MOT.
Nice car BTW.
Remember, if you read the owner's manual, every suspension grease nipple is meant to be done weekly. No-one does this really and even if the trunnions are done weekly, they will still wear eventually and fail the MOT.
Nice car BTW.
Replaced the trunnion yesterday and completed the mountains of welding, repaired the leaky shock and a few other bits and this morning she passed!
Only £20 in parts (and about 10 hours of my time) for another year of happy cheap motoring for the misses
Looking at the sheets the car has done over 7000 miles between MOT's this year and all I have done is routine servicing so far its doing all right
Only £20 in parts (and about 10 hours of my time) for another year of happy cheap motoring for the misses
Looking at the sheets the car has done over 7000 miles between MOT's this year and all I have done is routine servicing so far its doing all right
Satsuma said:
i hope you replaced the 'pair' of skock absorbers. they should always be done in pairs.
I did'nt replace the shock absorber I repaired it (a leaky top gasket), but I doubt a new shock would really have made any difference as it is hardly a fine handling car to start with 
The front end of my traveller is making dreadful clonking noises, if figure I might as well do all 4 trunnions and all bushes and the track rods ends in one big hit.
To do the above do I need to release the torsion bar? How do I do it? (I've worked on plenty of cars but not familiar with the Moggy front end and I've not got a manual)
Ta.
To do the above do I need to release the torsion bar? How do I do it? (I've worked on plenty of cars but not familiar with the Moggy front end and I've not got a manual)
Ta.
The Haynes manual says to get the car in the air on axle stands (supporting on the chassis), remove the wheel and then place the jack on the lower trunnion and raise the suspension until it is just clear of the bumpstop. Raising the suspension removes the tension from the torsion bar so you can safely dismantle.
I can take a photo of the relevant pages of the Haynes and post them up if that would help?
I can take a photo of the relevant pages of the Haynes and post them up if that would help?
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