Front Suspension Refresh

In an effort to tighten up the front end, I decided to order a kit of polyurethane bushings from Moss Motors. I also procured some new tie rod ends and wheel bearings to freshen things up while I’m in there.

This job required a full assortment of hammers, torches, grinders and a press to complete. The old tie rod ends had seized to the tie rod and required using a grinder to create slits and use heat to break its hold.

Wheel bearings for these cars are tapered and require a specific amount on loading. Adjusting this requires a dial indicator to measure free play. It is an iterative process of shimming, assembling, and measuring until the play is in spec. For an extremely thorough read, check out this article on mgexp: https://www.mgexp.com/article/mg-midget-and-sprite-front-wheel-bearings.271

While it was a dreadful job, the end result is a much more responsive front end.