Morris Minor Owners Club

I've got adjustable spax on rear ( and front) of saloon. It also has new springs /- saloon type.
I'm experiencing a choppy motion from the rear which I can see happening in the mirrors as well as experience. Most noticeable at slow speed and then blurring out I guess as speed increases.
Are the Spax set too soft or too hard? Advice welcome. They're attached at upper end to bar running under boot floor and at lower end to a lug on the spring u bolt plate.

IME, the best way of setting dampers is too run them full soft, then full hard, then in the middle of their adjustment. That'll give you an indication of what effect the adjusters have. Assuming that they're the correct ones for a Minor, the middle position should be fairly close. If you have to have them fully soft or fully hard, they're the wrong dampers for the car.

I suspect the problem lies with the new springs not the Spax dampers!

If that is the case what might the solution be?

The solution is to let the springs settle and soften with use.

There are several reports on this web site of leaf springs which appear to be firmer than original leading to a unsettled ride.

The suspension shackles need to be finally tightened when the load is on the springs - that is wheels on the ground.

Make sure that the new damper cross member fitted/fixed on the underside of the car is firmly attached with no possibility of flexing.

If I remember correctly the fitting instructions do recommend several strips of bead weld between the bracket and body.

https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... le-p831353

had the same trouble with new springs,most of the suspension was just with the tyres flexing,took the short lower leaf off and vast improvement resulted,three years later when springs had settled refitted short leaf and no further problems, The springs are just not of suitable temper ,try it first before going any further just might sort it

The other thing which makes for a very hard and choppy ride is the new rear bump stops sold now. Have you fitted these? I put some on mine a few years ago and each time the car bottomed on them I was almost jolted out of my seat! For me, the immediate cure was to saw inch or so off them, followed eventually by obtaining some original ones.

Many thanks, adjusting the Spax didn't really seem to solve the problem but worth another go now.
Bump stops are cut down already.
The springs are " new" in relation to the cars lifespan but a few years old actually.
What is the process for detaching the bottom leaf?

The process for removing the bottom (short) leaf from a Morris Minor 5 leaf rear spring:-

Jack up the car and place a axle stand(s) securely under the car body.

Remove wheels.

Undo the axle 'U' bolts and remove the damper mounting plates, the thin steel pad plates and bottom rubber spring pads.

Hold the top four spring leaves together with a 'G' clamp as close to the end of the bottom leaf as possible.

Undo and remove the spring clamp bolt nut - If you are lucky you will be able to remove the nuts without having to grip the top of the bolt which is under the axle. You do not have to remove the bolt.

Remove bottom spring leaf.

Rebuild in reverse order. You may have to pack under the spring clamp bolt nut with washers to make up the lack of bottom spring leaf.

I would advise that you do one side at a time and try not to disturb the axle on the top of the top spring leaf.

It is a reasonably easy job to remove the bottom spring leaf but make sure that you do everything safely and the car is well supported on axle stands before you get under the car.

as above...... one side of mine... the nut spun freely the other turned the bolt so I jacked the axle up at that side with the other side bolted back on to prevent movement for and aft, the axle lifted with the pad and u bolts giving enough room to get at the top bolt. Its also advisable to not fully tighten the u bolts until the car is sat on the springs.. Good luck

Just to add to the spring bolt issue - the head of the bolt is round so you need to lift the axle, steel plate and rubber pad just enough to get a pair of grips onto the head. The jaws of water pump pliers are quite thin and very suitable. Soak all the threads to be undone in release oil for 24hrs before attempting to undo.

I have read this thread with interest (as I do most of 'em, to be honest) and I apologize for hi-jacking it a bit. I would describe the ride on my 4 x door saloon as 'choppy' although I have never driven or travelled in another Moggy, so I have nothing to compare the ride with - apart from my 'modern'.

I do know that immediately prior to my purchase just over 12 months ago, new rear leaf springs were fitted. Everything suspension-wise is bog standard. What interests me is the comment that the springs can 'settle' after a period of time which may result in a less choppy ride.

I have neither the expertise nor equipment to remove the lower spring as suggested, so it looks as though I'll have to rely on them settling (hopefully). As my annual mileage is minimal (say, 500 miles) do I have to wait longer for the settling effect than if the car was in, say, everyday use? In other words, are the springs settling as I type i.e. with the car in the garage or do they only settle when actually in use under driving conditions?

Thanks, in advance and apologies again for this slight diversion.

Find your chubbiest mates and taken them for a long ride, that’ll loosen things up.

The rear spring leaves settle with use.
They will not settle if the car is sat in the garage. They may settle when the car is sat in the garage but to settle the springs would require a very long length of inactive time.
The front torsion bars also settle and if used with driver only the O/S will settle more than the N/S.
My solution to settling of the O/S torsion bar is to raise the O/S suspension slightly so that when only the driver is aboard the car is level.

Thanks for the responses, chaps. Sadly, I don't have any chubby mates and the mates I do have, wouldn't be seen dead in my Moggy. I know.....before someone says it...….I need to get some new mates .

I did suspect that any settling of the springs would only occur 'on the road' but just to give me a rough idea, after what sort of road mileage am I likely to notice any smoothing out of the ride?

Thanks,
Alan

A few bags of cement on the back seats and in the boot would suffice. Or anything else that might come to mind if you think about it.