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please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:43 pm
by Jin
hi all
bit of an issue
ive tracked my annoying squeaky noise down to the drivers side front shock absorber top mount, the bush appears to be non existent and the whole unit look well past its best,
i can see the lower mounting fixing but i cant locate the upper, so question number one is how do i reach the top nut on a cortez? and which part of my body is it best to dislocate to get at it?

also, while i had my head wedged under the front end peering into the murky gloominess i saw the drivers side suspension sphere pressing against the inner wing, its obviously been pressing hard for a while because the gelcoat is damaged but thankfully the main structure seems ok, just superficial but obviously I’m concerned.
I’m unfamiliar with theses cars or any rover sub framed vehicle so I’m wondering what the most likely culprit is going to be?

could the sphere have slipped in the sub frame housing? it all looks a bit rusty down there but i would have thought i would have real issues if they were on the move?

or could it be the actual sub frame to body mounts tat have sagged?
again the rubber doesn’t look too clever but i don’t know how resilient they are and if this is a probable explanation, failing that can anyone think of another reason?

the passenger side looks to be very close too but not damaged even if it is just touching

all and any help much appreciated on this one as its got me a bit concerned

Thanks

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:15 am
by ACourtney
You have a choice as to which direction you want to approach this from, the front or the back. You either remove the dash and approach from the rear of the tunnel , or the headlight and approach from the front.
This is at least one step better than Midas Gold owners who can only approach it from the back, up under the dash.
It may depend on your arm, as whilst the approach from the front is a shorter reach it is a tighter opening, whilst the reach from the rear is much longer.

If the hydragas spheres are hitting the underside of the wheel arch structures, then that is usually a sign that the subframe mounting bushes have sagged. One answer I've seen is simply to rotate them 180 degrees, but I would think that over time they would sag back the other way. Replacements are available and probably best sourced from ebay. The front ones, which are identical to those used on the earlier A-series Metro and also the MGF are most readily available, but it is the rear ones that have the biggest effect.
The rear ones were used on the K-series Metro and MGF and can still be bought from MGF specialists, but are around £45 each, so ebay might provide a better source. They are shorter than the A-series ones, so maybe that is why they sag more readily. However, the clearance is quite tight even with new bushes, so it could just be that more clearance should have been provided in the original design.
Another simple trick is to put packers between the body and the rear bush. I would prefer to fit new bushes, but packers could just prevent the spheres from banging the body on bumps.
I've also seen solid bushes on ebay. These are sold as Motorsport items for the MGF and strike me as a good way of ruining the ride and feeding more vibrations and shocks into the bodyshell.

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:46 pm
by Jin
Once again thank you very much for your assistance and sharing your knowledge

On the upside I’ve just ordered 2 brand new sachs shocks for the front at £19 all in so im very happy about that

The downside is the top of the shock piston on the car (outside) looks rusty as hell so i imagine the inner nut (when i locate it) will be well and truly seized, looks like i may have to reach in with a hacksaw - cant wait!

another slightly positive note is last night i jacked the car up under the sill (supported with a 25mm thick block of aluminium) to check sub frame droop and it didn’t move at all (that i could measure anyway) so checked the gap from sphere to body and in short i cant get my steel rule in (about 1mm thick) but i can slip a piece of paper in between with free movement, so i dropped the car down and jacked up the hub till it was at maximum compression (i was measuring for coilovers anyway) and the gap results were the same, so i can only assume there must have been an issue in the cars distant past to cause the body damage?
so ill do the shocks now but thankfully the front springing can afford to wait a few months till i replace the lot

i did see some solid mgf mounts on ebay made from stainless which seemed a good idea initially but like you said the road noise will be transmitted through and extra stress on the body dso maybe not

Thanks for your help

Regards
J King

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 6:09 pm
by Stuart
A good photo that shows the front access.

Image

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 6:12 pm
by Jin
Oh yeah. Nice one, cheers buddy, ill have a poke about tonight
thanks

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 7:49 pm
by DavidL
Stuart wrote:A good photo that shows the front access.

Image

Now that's an interesting engine transplant. Any information available?

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 7:53 pm
by Stuart
DavidL wrote:Now that's an interesting engine transplant. Any information available?


I'm sure Kelvin and Alastair will be able to give you more information when they get chance.

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:16 pm
by DavidL
Stuart wrote:
DavidL wrote:Now that's an interesting engine transplant. Any information available?


I'm sure Kelvin and Alastair will be able to give you more information when they get chance.

I Googled "electric Midas kit car" and found Dragon Electric's website, couldn't actually see an electric Midas on their site but some of the components look similar.

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:14 am
by kelvink
That photo is from a few years back and is of John Lilly's Dragon Electric EV conversion kit shown in an Excelsior body shell. John is mostly focusing on Seven style kit conversions as these are more popular and he competes in a Vindicator Sprint at Hillclimbs and Sprints. I got an invitation to drive the Vindicator a couple of months ago at Castle Combe in a Sprint event, it was quite a bit to get the hang of especially as I had never driven the car at all and straight into a competition against cars like a Mallock and a Radical in the Sports Libre class. It's really odd sprinting round Castle Combe in an open top car in full race gear and yet very little noise other than the squeal of your tyres as you race through The Esses. Starting is the most difficult part as you have to get your head round not using the clutch at all on take off but habbits die hard so I did fry the clutch a bit.

The Midas would make an ideal electric conversion but to my knowledge no one's actually taken the plunge and done it yet.

Re: please help, suspension advice needed

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:16 am
by DavidL
kelvink wrote:The Midas would make an ideal electric conversion but to my knowledge no one's actually taken the plunge and done it yet.

It's on my list of "things to do with my lottery winnings". Too expensive for me to do anything about it, at present.

The other down side to it, in my case, is the range; the last time I used a Midas as an everyday vehicle, an average day for me would be about 20 - 30 miles; if I go anywhere where the main aim is "going for a drive", I'd be looking at 100 miles minimum.