Rear Suspension Overhaul Advice please

[Peted7202]

Has anyone fitted this and what is the verdict. https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... as-p831352

[svenedin]

I personally don’t know but what I would say is that the rear suspension is very good with the original set up after a complete overhaul. Speed bumps are no longer a horrible experience (I still don’t like them of course). My dampers had probably not been working properly for a long time.

Stephen

[philthehill]

Going back to your photo of the rear axle mount 5th August 2023. I would recommend that you put some rust killer i.e. Fertan around the axle mounts. That rust is not going to get better and the mount is a known rust failure point. After Fertan smother with Waxoil.

[svenedin]

Going back to your photo of the rear axle mount 5th August 2023. I would recommend that you put some rust killer i.e. Fertan around the axle mounts. That rust is not going to get better and the mount is a known rust failure point. After Fertan smother with Waxoil.

Good point. I should have done it at the time but I didn’t want the car off the road for more than a day. I’ll do it in the Winter when the weather is really foul and I don’t want to take the car out. I’ll separate the axle and spring so that I can do it properly and probably paint the axle as well.

Added to my to-do list.

Stephen

[philthehill]

Just spraying the area around the mount especially between the underside of the axle and mount with Fertan will help considerably. Fertan needs to be water wet to be active so no need to wait or dismantle.

[svenedin]

Just spraying the area around the mount especially between the underside of the axle and mount with Fertan will help considerably. Fertan needs to be water wet to be active so no need to wait or dismantle.

Ok I have some Fertan so I’ll get on with that asap and do a definitive job at a later date.

Stephen

[stuupnorth]

Has anyone fitted this and what is the verdict. https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... as-p831352

hi mate
I have this fitted to my Morris its been on the car for 3-4 years and no problems (although the shocks i have are adjustable)
along with the front set-up (again adjustable)

[dustybinmercer]

Good morning.

I've just stripped down my 1970 1000 as part of a nut and bolt rebuild. No idea what the leaf springs are like in terms of performance, but am minded to use the original wherever possible on this rebuild. Two questions are:

1. Is there any obvious sign that leaf springs are beyond their useful life?
2. How would one go about restoring the springs...blasting/treating/painting? Would you separate the leaves then treat/paint and then put back together?

Many thanks

Cue usual picture of rusty leaf springs...

IMG_8611.jpg (3.35 MiB) Viewed 24640 times

[kevin s]

For the springs the points I would check are:

1. Have they sagged? there must be dimensions somewhere of how to check this.
2. Wear ridges where the leafs slide over each other (they look OK in the pic).
3. Bulging with rust between the leaves. (they look Ok in the pic).

if all the above look OK then you can strip them right down paint each leaf and re-assemble, but it's a pain to get all the clamps bent open and closed back up, I'd be inclined to wire brush them up as they are, paint them and fit new bushes.

Don't blast them as an assembly grit will end up stuck beween the leaves and destroy them over time, and for bushes fit poly ones the rubber ones avalble now are hopeless.

[philthehill]

If they were my springs I would just wire brush, treat with Fertan and leave at that.
Only if the leaf alignment brackets are dismantlable would I consider stripping the spring into its constituent parts.
The most important point to consider - is there a wear ridge at the end of the leaf in the underside of the leaf above?
If there is a pronounced ridge then the spring is done for. If the end of the spring leaf hits the ridge of the leaf above the spring leaf can break with dire consequences. If there is no ridge and no rust between leaves just refit and use.
I would fit greased poly bushes, new shackle pins, shackle plates plus nuts and spring washers.
Fit poly spring saddle plates. Do not grease the saddle plates.
Clean up around the axle to spring mount bracket and treat with Fertan. This is a well known rust spot. Treat with Waxoil after fitting the axle.

[svenedin]

I zoomed in on your photo and the rust appears to have pitted the metal quite deeply. Is that the case or am I seeing things that are not there?

If the springs are pitted with corrosion I would concerned that they might fail in service. I had a leaf spring break during some spirited youthful driving 30 or more years ago and I nearly had an accident. The spring snapped when it was being "wound up" going round a corner rather fast.

I am not sure that measuring a spring off the car gives an accurate idea of whether the spring is good. It may be that off the car the dimensions are correct but when loaded the spring shows it has become weak.

Stephen

[dustybinmercer]

All good thoughts, Kevin S, philthehil and svenedin. Many thanks for your input...the corrosion is certainly more than what I'd describe as light surface rust, there is a lot of uneven pitting. Sadly, there does appear to be a wear ridge, not only perpendicular to the length, but along the length where the leaves are not totally aligned (the last bracket here is loose so allowed some movement of the leaves).

Appreciate you sharing your knowledge, and I'm glad I asked!

[philthehill]

From what you say above I would suggest that you invest in a new pair of rear leaf springs from Jones-springs as they seem to have very good feedback.
https://www.jones-springs.co.uk/

[dustybinmercer]

Email sent to them…thanks.