MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGF Technical - LOWER ONE SIDE

hi
can anyone help me>>>>>
just looked at my mgf and the rear of the car drivers side is lower than the other side not much

and also when i turn the steering wheel i hear a mummuer
is that the abs steering working and the clutch seems to have a little mummer 2

many thanks darren in milton keynes other than that the mgf is great to drive
darren jeffery

Suspension is fluid filled (Hydragas) and interconnected front to rear, so you effectively have a left hand 'circuit' and a right hand 'circuit'.

This can lead to one side of the car being lower thanthe other, it's all down to the pressure of the fluid in the Hydragas system.

I would advise getting the suspension checked, it may simply be a matter of settlement over time, or a symptom of something more problematic, but it needs checking at any rate.

Park the car on flat level ground.

Using a tape measure, measure the FRONT WHEELS ONLY, vertically, up from the center of the front wheel to the underside of the wheel arch.

Normal F ride height = 368mm + / - 10mm

MGF Trophy 160 ride height = 348 + / - 10mm

Lowered MGF with knuckles = 338 + / - 10mm

Both sides (obviously) should be the same.

Pressure in the system should be around 400 psi, this can be checked with a Hydragas pump - something any garage that deals with Metros should have. Using this pump they can raise or lower the cars' suspension to even it out / reach normal ride height. Following trim level adjustment you must get the car 4 wheel aligned (tracking), otherwise you have a good chance of wearing the tyres out on the inner rims very quickly.

I note you are in Milton Keynes, your nearest MGF specialist is Brown and Gammons, they are in Baldock, Herts.

Good luck

SF
Scarlet Fever

Andrew, (or Rob),

Can I pick your brains a little on this same subjet ?
I have noticed on both my MGFs that over time the rear suspension tends settle a good deal lower than the front. Aesthetic considerations aside, this has a negative effect on the ride and the handling. (I have ruled out the possiblity of a leak because the car is garaged every night and leaks would be visible on the floor).

I haven't seen any mention of this on the threads. Is there a way of correcting it? because the two spheres are connected there is theoretically no way of correcting any front/rear differences.

It has occurred to me that pumping up the suspension with the rear raised from the ground might have the effect of forcing the fluid from the front spheres to the rear ones... Or is this not recommended?

Anthony
Anthony

The suspension equalizes itself out front to rear, the rear always looks lower than the front because the wheel arches are different diameters and the centroids are also in different positions.

This can be altered by machining the lowering knuckles (slightly more on the front than the rear) and i had heard that this is indeed what Techspeed do (can someone confirm this?)

SF
Scarlet Fever

Altering the stance of the car can certainly be achieved by doing that Andy - although IIRC, Techspeed actually machine the displacement cone - the component that the knuckle bears up upon in the hydragas sphere.

A higher front may also indicate a slightly over-pressurised hydragas system - what is your current ride height Anthony?
Rob Bell

Hi
I have similar problem with suspension on passenger side. Local garage cannot tell which of the two units is faulty since neither shows any leaks or defects. Any way of checking or testing the units without taking them out of the car or replacing both at unnecessary expense?
Graham Barrett

If there are no leaks, then i would hazard a guess that the fluid has air bubbles in it. It is easily done if you run out of fluid in the pumps' tank, or if you don't bleed the pumps' connection hose properly when making trim adjustments.

SF
Scarlet Fever

hi all thanks scarlet fever took the car to the garage they say the drivers side is ment to be lower than the passenger dide is this true or not

darren in mk
darren

Nah, I don't think so Darren. I had the same problem when my car was under warranty. MGR pumped it up and said they couldn't find a problem. I didn't really believe them as the problem certainly occured over quite a short period of time.

2 Weeks later, as expected, the driver's side was down again. I took it back and shock horror, they found a leak!

Got em to fix it and refund the 40 quid I paid to get it blown up in the first place.
Holster

>> hi all thanks scarlet fever took the car to the garage they say the drivers side is ment to be lower than the passenger dide is this true or not <<

This is rubbish!!! Completely NOT true.

BOTH sides of the car are supposed to be the same height. That's why the workshop manual specifies that the ride height be checked on both sides of the car, and surprise surprise, the figure is exactly the same: 368mm +/- 10mm.

There is a difference between the front and rear ride heights, but that is not what you are looking at here Darren.
Rob Bell

whats the height of the rear on the mg please is it the same as above the fronts darren 368 +- 10 mmm
would that be 358

an confussed darren where can i get it done if it need to be pumped up thanks as live in milton keynes any garage or dealer
darren jeffery

Rear ride height, as measured from the wheel centre to the wheel arch lip vertically above is 363+/-10mm at the rear, or 368mm+/-10mm at the front Darren.
Rob Bell

thanks rob i shall give that a good old try are u on email
darren

Hi Darren,
What garage told you that drivers side should be lower than the passengers side? I will take note not to use them.
Chris
Chris

Thanks Andy and Rob

I used to have the ride height set around 340 mm front and rear (with the front tracking toe-in to avoid tyre wear) but grew tired of the bumpy ride and realized that in the long run this would weaken my F's structure. Since I have a front splitter high speed stability isn't a problem any more so I don't mind a high car.

I had the garage pump it up twice to about 360 mm but on both occasions the suspension settled after about a week to 350-340, with the right side always lower than the left (in my case it's the passenger's side :-)).

The dealer is hopeless, so it is quite possible that they did a bad job and pumped some air in the system or didn't bleed it correctly when adjusting.

I am relieved to hear that the front and rear settle on their own (which is logical, if they are interconnected), so in the end it's
down to left / right settings.

Thanks again for the advice !
Anthony

OK the reason you don't measure the rear is because the wheel arches are different diameters and the suspension is interconnected front to rear.

This means changes made at the front of the car affect the rear, but it takes time for the system to equalise out, thus measuring the rear is highly liklely to give you a false reading.

So, on a standard F, it is completely pointless to measure the rear, it'll look slightly lower because the wheel arches differ in diameter, but if the front is set correctly, then ultimately the rear will be correct too.

You have a left hand circuit and a right hand circuit, both should be set to the same ride height, measured at the front.

Check out this sketch i drew...

>> http://tinyurl.com/4rgn6 <<

SF
Scarlet Fever

This thread was discussed between 21/09/2004 and 23/09/2004

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.