"Many of us with Salisbury differentials/axles are becoming concerned with future problems for repair and/or replacement. What are the options here?

Lorne
 

Bill Fink

Lorne,

I don't think there are a lot of options re: the Salisbury rear axle. Morgan offers a 4.1 limited slip BTR rear axle assembly for the 4/4, which is 3/4" wider than the original axle. I believe the +4 ratio is also
available.

Bill

Melvyn Rutter

Hi Lorne,

These are very difficult, but bearings, seals and gaskets are available. Crown wheel and pinions are available for the metric 4/4 axles of the late 1970's and 1980's, but then they never go wrong!
Cannot inter change imperial with metric bits. Best advice is to change axle oil every 3000 miles and take care of the axle. Check regularly for leaks and if you discover you have one / FIX IT IMMEDIATELY. Low oil level means big trouble

Regards,
Melvyn,

John Sheally II

Dear All,

As to concerns of the Salisbury diffs and axles....I looked for spares and parts for years to keep them going and things are drying up fast because rear axles have always been the least cared for and maintained part of Morgans (and most other marques). Several years ago I quit searching for the parts and went with full works metric axle and diffs replacement of the selection (BTR) presently offered by Morgan...these units exchange nicely. Pick the ratio you need for your selection and go with a full replacement and then take care of it properly. You will make out on cost and use in the long run.

Sincerely JHSII

John Worrall

Parts for the Salisbury Axles are now extremely difficult to obtain mainly due to the fact that Morgan terminated  the contract with GKN Salisbury some time ago and did not take up an option for them to produce spare parts especially for the Morgan Axles. It is always worth inquiring as various odd
parts can be found, but generally not crown wheel & pinion or limited slip parts.

The Axles now fitted to Morgans are from BTR in Sydney Australia. These Axles are of very good quality and are strong (They are similar to those fitted to the Holden GTSR V8s in Australia which have tremendous power !). the BTR Axle can be retro fitted to Morgans with a little work. the likely
problems (although not always) are as follows:

-- Due to the fact that new Morgans do not have hand brake rods, you will need to remove the compensator fulcrum from the old axle and weld it to the new one.

-- The Diff casing on the BTR is larger and therefore the Fulcrum will be in a different place causing the necessity to modify (or fit new) the length of the hand brake compensator rods.

-- Depending on the model you may need a new propshaft flange.

-- The seating of the BTR to the springs is slightly different so the U Bolts are shorter and on occasions you may need Axle wedges between the front of the Axle block and the lower leaf spring in order to obtain the correct angle.

-- When I fitted a BTR to one of my cars I found that the Brake drum  fouled the wheel cylinder and therefore had to machine a small amount from the drum to gain clearance but I have not heard of this problem elsewhere (this was a 64 car).

I hope this helps!

John Worrall