Ladi Up Morgan - Advice Please
Discussion
Hi,
Visiting my Mother at weekend I realised that her 13K mile 1986 Plus 8 hadn't been started in a year or so. Knowing that leaving cars like these in the garage does them no favour, I hooked up the battery and she started second time. I didn't give her any gas to begin with. Seems to be running great.
Leaving the car to tick over for a few minutes, I checked the :-
1) Oil (was clear and up to the high level)
2) Water - the black bottle is useless for knowing how much water is in the system. It has an overflow so i just topped it up.
We took her on a 10 mile drive (nothing about 3000-4000 RPM) and she ran great. That Rover V8 sounds great. The oil guage dropped below 2 on tick over and went over 2 on acceleration. Is that high enough? Temperature was constant at 90 degrees.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that I wondered if I know should have done something differently? It turns out that the car hasn't been serviced in 5 years. (Oil and brake fluid was changed then) Do you think it needs another service?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Regards
Paulo
Visiting my Mother at weekend I realised that her 13K mile 1986 Plus 8 hadn't been started in a year or so. Knowing that leaving cars like these in the garage does them no favour, I hooked up the battery and she started second time. I didn't give her any gas to begin with. Seems to be running great.
Leaving the car to tick over for a few minutes, I checked the :-
1) Oil (was clear and up to the high level)
2) Water - the black bottle is useless for knowing how much water is in the system. It has an overflow so i just topped it up.
We took her on a 10 mile drive (nothing about 3000-4000 RPM) and she ran great. That Rover V8 sounds great. The oil guage dropped below 2 on tick over and went over 2 on acceleration. Is that high enough? Temperature was constant at 90 degrees.
Anyway, the point of all of this is that I wondered if I know should have done something differently? It turns out that the car hasn't been serviced in 5 years. (Oil and brake fluid was changed then) Do you think it needs another service?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Regards
Paulo
Hi Paulo,
I have 2002 +8 15K miles, oil pressure ranges from 1 on tick over to 4 when hot and revving at 4000+. I would suggest that after 5 years even if not used much since last service then a service is required. What you really need to do is to use the car more, it must be costing a fortune per mile in tax/insurance/depreciation.
I have 2002 +8 15K miles, oil pressure ranges from 1 on tick over to 4 when hot and revving at 4000+. I would suggest that after 5 years even if not used much since last service then a service is required. What you really need to do is to use the car more, it must be costing a fortune per mile in tax/insurance/depreciation.
pauloamore said:
Thanks for the advice.
This forum isn't so active huh?
This forum isn't so active huh?
Well Morgan's are not exactly to be seen on every street corner are they????.....
We are a small but enthusiastic group...........
Hiya Les btw........
No, what I recommend you do is buy an "accumate" charger from here:-(If you don't have one already)
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=761
Leave it permanantly linked up to the battery, (It will not overcharge it), then you can run the engine for ten minutes every week or so, to keep things fresh, but also a full service is a must, or at the very least an oil and filter change, like most things prevention is better than cure....
Good luck
Wacky Racer said:
[quote=pauloamore]Thanks for the advice.
No, what I recommend you do is buy an "accumate" charger from here:-(If you don't have one already)
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=761
Leave it permanantly linked up to the battery, (It will not overcharge it), then you can run the engine for ten minutes every week or so, to keep things fresh, but also a full service is a must, or at the very least an oil and filter change, like most things prevention is better than cure....
Good luck
No, what I recommend you do is buy an "accumate" charger from here:-(If you don't have one already)
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=761
Leave it permanantly linked up to the battery, (It will not overcharge it), then you can run the engine for ten minutes every week or so, to keep things fresh, but also a full service is a must, or at the very least an oil and filter change, like most things prevention is better than cure....
Good luck
Thanks for the advice. Problem is that the car is garaged for literally six months at a time - no one home. Are they safe to be plugged in for that long? Fire etc is the main concern.
pauloamore said:
Wacky Racer said:
[quote=pauloamore]Thanks for the advice.
No, what I recommend you do is buy an "accumate" charger from here:-(If you don't have one already)
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=761
Leave it permanantly linked up to the battery, (It will not overcharge it), then you can run the engine for ten minutes every week or so, to keep things fresh, but also a full service is a must, or at the very least an oil and filter change, like most things prevention is better than cure....
Good luck
No, what I recommend you do is buy an "accumate" charger from here:-(If you don't have one already)
www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/ShowDetails.asp?id=761
Leave it permanantly linked up to the battery, (It will not overcharge it), then you can run the engine for ten minutes every week or so, to keep things fresh, but also a full service is a must, or at the very least an oil and filter change, like most things prevention is better than cure....
Good luck
Thanks for the advice. Problem is that the car is garaged for literally six months at a time - no one home. Are they safe to be plugged in for that long? Fire etc is the main concern.
No Problem at all, I have one linked up to my Morgan and another to my Suzuki motorbike all the time, the unit automatically switches on and off as it "senses" your batteries condition....
On later Morgans, last fifteen years or so, there is a cigarette lighter socket in the glove compartment, mine just simply plugs straight into that....
If still unsure give Life's Motors in Southport a ring,(The oldest Morgan dealer in the World) they recommended them to me............
If the poor old girl is only played with that infrequently I would check tyre pressures (18-20 psi) and give the one shot oiler a squirt before hitting the blackstuff.
Wouldn't one of those solar battery conditioner/chargers be a better bet if you are worried about having stuff plugged in permanently?
Wouldn't one of those solar battery conditioner/chargers be a better bet if you are worried about having stuff plugged in permanently?
Edited by RedMog on Monday 7th August 18:34
Hi Paulo
I agree with most of what has been said and what you did except one very bad thing! it is never good for an engine to be allowed to tick over when COLD, once running best to drive of and gently warm up on the road.
The other thing is a car is made of many parts not just an engine and standing around can damage tyres by flat spotting them over inflating can help avoid that also brake discs can corode and calipers stick etc.
Best solution is a gentle drive often.
Regards
Michael
I agree with most of what has been said and what you did except one very bad thing! it is never good for an engine to be allowed to tick over when COLD, once running best to drive of and gently warm up on the road.
The other thing is a car is made of many parts not just an engine and standing around can damage tyres by flat spotting them over inflating can help avoid that also brake discs can corode and calipers stick etc.
Best solution is a gentle drive often.
Regards
Michael
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