Antnicuk
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 06:12 PM |
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Help Please: MGB requiring attention.
My little cousin has inherited an old MGB. It seems in pretty good shape and i have volunteered to help her get it in full working order.
Below is a list that was put together by someone in the know having driven the car (they are not a mechanic looking for business). Any pointers or
things i need to know about these cars or useful hints and details of parts suppliers would be very greatly received. I havent really worked on older
cars.
Some areas of concern.
There is a noticeable clonk from the transmission on gear changes. Guess this is a worn universal joint in the prop-shaft.
A whine from the rear. Could be a worn differential or rear wheel bearings.
Steering is stiff. The car does not return to straight ahead after turning the steering wheel. Lubrication of the steering rack could be a solution
(first thing to try). The steering box does look as if it seeps oil. Query also the condition of the off-side steering arm gaiter at the box end.
Under heavy use the brakes pull to the right.
Pedal travel seems rather long. Could the rear brakes not be self adjusting as they should ? Given a good prod the brakes function well enough, but do
not inspire confidence.
Occasionally the overdrive was reluctant to dis-engage. We looked at the switch wiring but could see no breakage. One to be aware of, especially as
if it does stick, do not reverse !
It may be worth having the tracking checked on the front wheels. Tyre wear on the inner shoulder seems more than the outer shoulder.
The bottom radiator hose looks tired. Cracks are appearing at the lower jubilee clip point. This is a cheap and easy replacement. If doing this,
probably worth replacing the top hose as well.
It is not clear how often the grease points have been lubricated. Gunning fresh grease into the six grease nipples on the front suspension forced
out what seemed very old grease and the nipples on the OS were especially difficult to make function correctly.
Windscreen wipers do not park well. You have to turn them off when they reach the end of their sweep.
600 BHP per ton, Stylus Brought back from the dead! Turbo Rotary Powered!
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r1_pete
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 06:28 PM |
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There is a noticeable clonk from the transmission on gear changes. Guess this is a worn universal joint in the prop-shaft.
Could also be the slider in the propshaft, ujs are standard circlipped in jobs and easy to change, better still recon'd props are cheap
enough.
A whine from the rear. Could be a worn differential or rear wheel bearings.
Less than a tenner will buy new thrust washers for the diff, 2 dished, and 2 fibre washers, plus oil and a cover gasket.
Steering is stiff. The car does not return to straight ahead after turning the steering wheel. Lubrication of the steering rack could be a solution
(first thing to try). The steering box does look as if it seeps oil. Query also the condition of the off-side steering arm gaiter at the box end.
Check also the condition of the steering UJ, easy to change and a recon rack is about £75
Under heavy use the brakes pull to the right.
Lack of use & maintenance, a caliper rebuild, and new rear cylinders is worthwhile
Pedal travel seems rather long. Could the rear brakes not be self adjusting as they should ? Given a good prod the brakes function well enough, but do
not inspire confidence.
As above, a master cylinder rebuild will help
Occasionally the overdrive was reluctant to dis-engage. We looked at the switch wiring but could see no breakage. One to be aware of, especially as
if it does stick, do not reverse !
A common fault on overdrive boxes, generally a faulty solenoid.
It may be worth having the tracking checked on the front wheels. Tyre wear on the inner shoulder seems more than the outer shoulder.
If you fit a new rak this would have to be done anyway
The bottom radiator hose looks tired. Cracks are appearing at the lower jubilee clip point. This is a cheap and easy replacement. If doing this,
probably worth replacing the top hose as well.
It is not clear how often the grease points have been lubricated. Gunning fresh grease into the six grease nipples on the front suspension forced
out what seemed very old grease and the nipples on the OS were especially difficult to make function correctly.
Windscreen wipers do not park well. You have to turn them off when they reach the end of their sweep.
Probably a fault on the permanent live feed to the motor.
Providing the car is rust free, and these things can rust, take a look in my archive, then the above is worth doing, all the parts should come in well
under £500, try MGOCSpares, Mechspec for the bits, MGOCSpares mail order is extremely reasonable.
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coozer
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 06:31 PM |
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Just sounds like a worn out BL car that needs some 21st century attention.
Get the cheque book out and get cracking!
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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britishtrident
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 06:51 PM |
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Stiff steering is highly unlikely to be the rack unless it has had accident damage (eg is bent) or some bright sod has over adjusted it.
The stiff steering is likely to be the king pins ------ they suffer from water ingress and seize up. This also explains the tyre wear. They can
be freed up but it would only improve the situation for a month or special stepped is reamer required to rebuild them so cure is to get exchange
units from an MG specialist.
Wiper non-parkimg is probably down to the parking contact under the cover on the wiper motor needing cleaned.
Overdrive problem could be down to low gearbox oil level or incorrect oil grade, or a defective relay or sticky solenoid.
[Edited on 6/9/10 by britishtrident]
[Edited on 6/9/10 by britishtrident]
[I] What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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Antnicuk
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 07:11 PM |
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thanks guys, much appreciated, i knew LCB would come through.
She has just started her first job and moved into her first place so it will be a Locost restore.
I will have a good look around the car and then see what i can do. I will probably need to pick your brains again.
Many thanks, again
600 BHP per ton, Stylus Brought back from the dead! Turbo Rotary Powered!
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snapper
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 07:58 PM |
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I have a couple of usefull books that are on my list of things to put on eBay.
Guide to purchase and DIY restoration by Lindsay Porter (Haynes) and MGB 1962 to 1980 Haynes manual 111
£20 the pair posted, I may also have somewhere Moss performance manual MGL0114 and Moss parts catalog MGL0003, these have excellend exploded diagrams
with parts numbers, if I can find them £15 the pair.
All of these are as new except for a little writing on the front two inner pages of the manual, I used them while restoring an MGB GT, I might even
have some rear light clusters door handles and reverse lights at work.
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 08:04 PM |
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Clonking is axle I suspect. There are some naff fible washers in there. On the sunwheels or something?? My dad had the same thing years ago on one of
his. We bought the bits to repair it (all doabl;e with the axle on the car, but you have to pull the halfshafts IIRC) and it was pretty cheap, just a
bit time consuming. However, he sold the car before it was all fitted (as is often the case!)
easy to check, see how much backlash is in the diff.......
What type of overdrive is it?? I know a little about D and J type, but I know MG's also used another newer variety too. I would guess at
solenoid sticky if J type, maybe similar on D. But worth checking oil etc. Believe it should be EP80/90 and probably GL4 (I would avoid GL5 stuff in
the box or diff if there is any chance they contain yellow metal)
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britishtrident
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| posted on 6/9/10 at 08:16 PM |
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Rear axle uses GL5 oil ep90 --- if you use a multigrade make sure it covers EP90
Gear box oil BMC change their minds on the spec a couple of times but any old 10w/40 engine oil will be fine.
Rear damper links are sometimes prone to wear which can cause a clonk but my money would be on propshaft coupling bolts loose or ujs worn.
Also not unknown for the handbrake cable to hit the fuel tank.
[I] What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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