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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - 1275 Clutch won't disengage

Hi,

I'm sure this has been asked many times before but i am having a problem getting my clutch to disengage fully on my 1275 1972 midget.

The clutch itself is new, as is the master and slave cylinders, pipe and hose but it still won't disengage.

I have used a gunson ezybleed to bleed it and to confirm that there is no air I stopped the slave cylinder coming out of its bore and the pedal was rock solid.

I have just received a new pushrod for the slave as it was slighly worn where it goes through the clutch fork, so I will try replacing that too.

I had read somewhere that the friction plate might be in the wrong way so I took a ratchet strap and tied round the back axle and the clutch fork. lo and behold the clutch disengaged so I think the friction plate is in the right way.

Any ideas/ suggestions??
M Slater

Sounds familiar!!! I had this exact issue about three weeks ago. I guess you followed that thread and the ratchet strap test that I tried.

Still not really solved mine. Mine disengages enough to be able to push the car quite easily. It can be driven if I use the synchro from 2nd or 3rd to stall the plate and then engage first quickly, but I don't like it. Gear changes are not smooth as the plate is dragging just slightly so I reckon I'm heading for a gearbox problem if I keep driving it as it is.

The best conclusions I got came in two forms:

1) I may need a longer slave pushrod. Adjustable ones have been made by others in the past. I'm not convinced as I have no slack when it's engaged and the slave isn't bottoming out. A longer pushrod won't give me more travel and that's what I need. I can see that a longer pushrod may provide a pre-load, thereby meaning the travel I have is moved to give more disengagement. But surely any preload will just wear out the realease bearing surface really quickly and then I'll be back in the same position again? Unless the springs relax a little in the mean time and the plate wears slightly so less travel becomes needed. This has worked for others but I don't like it. I'd be interested to know the long term outcome after someone's done this. Did it last long term?

2) It seems there are lots of different plate / cover / bearing sizes and it's hard to determine a correctly matched set as the combinations are too numerous. I got my parts from MGOC. Usually they're close enough to work, but mine isn't quite, and neither is yours by the sound of it.

I did consider getting more travel by moving the point where the pushrod attaches to the release arm in slightly towards the pivot point. I'm not sure if that's possible though, and it might be irreversible, or impossible in situ.

Please keep me (us) informed if you manage to solve this one, and I will do likewise.

Ant
Ant Allen

Ant,
It was I who suggested the 7/16" nut to lengthen the pushrod. But I did not mean it as a method of pre-loading the clutch - that would produce rapid wear of the release bearing and possibly of the clutch itself. Excessive preloading would also cause clutch overthrow and damage to the clutch cover "fingers".

Sometimes the pushrod is effectively too short to permit the slave piston to move through its full travel before reaching the end circlip, or if there is no circlip, to allow fluid to escape at teh end of the bore. The temp fix to the pusrod effectively moves the section of operating travel back up the cylinder bore.

I think that a common problem with newly installed / bled clutches is that although the air is bled out, microscopic air bubbles remain in suspension. If the car can , reducing the effective travel of the slave. If the car can be got driveable - perhaps by the temp extension to the pushrod - then driving the car over a few days or a couple of hundred miles will shake the air sufficiently for the air bubbles to coalesce so that a second bleeding will then clear them completely.

In theory, the distance moved by the slave (and therefore the clutch release) is purely a function of the ratios of volume displaced by master and slave. The rest is just pivots and levers of fixed dimensions although wear in some (but not all) may have some effect. I have had problems with miss-matched master and slave (slave cylinders changed size) resulting in too little travel. This of course can only be a problem when components have been changed.

I see that M Slater (name??) has fitted new parts. Are you sure they are matched for your later car? If you have an early (pre about 1969) slave they are of a larger bore resulting in less travel at the clutch end of things.

Guy
Guy Weller

Ant,

Similar problem here, my car has been idle for a month now. I have replaced the slave, master, and flex hose with little change. Good pedal feel, 1/8" total movement at the slave push rod, but it's just not enough to disengage the clutch. My don't I wish they would have moved slave cylinder access hole back at least an inch!

Further, I have gone through at least two pints of Castrol LMA, and many more of Bass Ale. As near as I can tell the air is gone, clutch lever arm bush is next but fear this is in good order as well. Have researched the archives, and no luck to report.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Have you tried unbolting the slave and holding the piston full back with say a couple of strong cable ties, with the bleed nipple pointing upwards, this worked for me when I had the same problem.
Alex Sturgeon

I purchased a 1979 Midget from an owner that had the car to 3 different shops for a clutch problem. They could not fix it and he gave up. I pulled the engine 2 times and found absolutely nothing wrong. I ended up replacing complete clutch assy including the throwout brg. Replaced master and slave and red palstic line. Tried all known methods to remove air and still it would not release completely. I ended up by removing the clutch pedal and cutting a notch in the arm allowing the actual pedal pad to come up higher.Before notching it it would hit the floor . Welded it back and cleaned up that repaired area. I installed the repaired pedal and the clutch was absolutely perfect in all ways except that the pedal was 1/2" than the brake pedal. It would now release before the arm hit the floor.
There was no accident history or signs of repair to the body or frame.That was the only way I could think of to make it work.I drove it for 6 months and sold it to a friend. He still has it and has driven it over 25,000 miles without any problems.
Sandy
Sandy Sanders

thanks for the comments/ suggestions I will try out them tonight hopefully.

I have a new slave cylinder pushrod to try also.

i'm interested in the comment about the bore of the 1275 slave cylinder, what should it be? I have checked and the one I asked for and got supplied is a 1275 (according to the paperwork at least!)

Mark
M Slater

Mark,
I think that the two sizes were 1" (early) and either 7/8" or 3/4", but I cannot now be sure of this as I have changed my clutch set up to a concentric slave arrangement. The smaller diameter slaves give a slightly longer travel for a single press of the pedal.

But this may be a red-herring. The common fault is still having air in the system, even with a lot of bleeding and only clear fluid (no bubbles) coming through. The position of the input and bleed valve right next to each other in the slave can mean that fluid is pumped straight through and misses the "dead" fluid/ air in the body of the cylinder. The way around this is to push the piston as far back up the slave cylinder as it will go and wedge it there so that the volume of the slave is reduced as near to zero as possible. Then bleed it in the normal way. I think this is what Alex was referring to earlier.

Or maybe the clutch fork lever is bent, in which case the 7/16" nut extension to the pushrod should do the trick.

Guy
Guy Weller

Here's a bit more evidence for the prosecution on my clutch. The car did 100 miles about 3 weeks ago and then sat still whilst we were on holiday. Last night it disengaged perfectly. Dead easy selection of 1st / reverse every time. I repeatedly tried it before we left the driveway. As the journey progressed it got gradually worse again and after a 20 mile round trip selection of all gears became quite difficult, with grating and nashing of teeth when selecting 1st or reverse.

So ... dare I say it ... that indicates air in the system? And the bubble broke up and spread due to use and vibration during the journey?

My next steps are these.

1) New slave. Mine is damaged anyhow and the circlip is missing so removing it to tilt it and bleed it is hardly possible without the piston falling out.
2) New push rod - as mine is a bit mashed at the piston end. I may modify this to make it adjustable before fitting it. Not sure yet.
3) Lots of staged bleeding over several days before bolting it to the box.

I am considering the remote bleed idea which Bill (?) described on here a few months back. I'm learning that the easier I can make the bleeding process the better it will be.

Ant
Ant Allen

Is it also dragging? If you engage gear and sit there with the clutch pedal down, does it eventually start disengaging, and the car creeping forward?

I reckon that's master cylinder cup seal damaged or not seated quite right. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping it is.

If slave, Alex and Guy's advice about tying the pushrod back while bleeding is what worked for me. If you tie it up with something really strong, don't forget to untie it before you test the clutch with the nipple closed.

Don't ask.

Nick

a bonus with using the remote bleed idea is that any stray air in the sytem tends to rise to the top of the bleeding pipe and is easily discharged with the help of your beautiful assistant



:^)


Bill sdgpm

Still no clutch disengagement here. Will try to investigate the clutch release lever bush this weekend, but fear what I might find. Suggestions welcome?

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Larry,
If the pushrod is only moving 1/8", then that is not enough. I think you need to get about 7/16" movement at the slave cylinder piston. So that would suggest that the fault is "upstream" of the slave. Either air in the system , faulty master cylinder or worn pedal pivot bush.

Guy
Guy Weller

Only one slave cly is listed for the 1275 - GSY113. It has a 1" bore.

In common with some other posts above, I have also found that letting it sulk improves the situation (both MGB and Midget) and dissolved or microscopic air bubbles in what appears to be straight fluid seems the best explanation.

I agree with Guy that the problem is "upstream" of the slave, checking the movement at the slave is a good pointer to where the problem is. One thing I would add to Guy's list is wear in the pivot between clutch pedal and master cylinder pushrod, which I have found to be the most common cause of lost clutch motion. Any slack here is a problem. Usually it is the pushrod that's the problem but as Mark has a new m/cyl it presumably came with a new pushrod. That leaves the clevis pin and the hole in the top of the pedal to check.

A thought: is the new master cylinder the right one? It should be 0.7" bore.

An important point I have found with these clutches in the past is that there is not much spare travel available for the thrust ring in the centre of the diaphragm. If it is pushed too far it contacts the driven plate and pushes it firmly onto the flyweel, causing drag. This situation can be detected by seeing if the drag initially reduces as the clutch pedal is gradually released. It is caused by slave cylinder too small (most commonly a Mk 2 cyl) or by clutch linings too thick (as occasionally hapens with aftermarket units).

I discovered this one the hard way years ago when following a heroic effort but a team of us to change a clutch which had expired during a national championship event using a rope over a tree to remove the engine in a field, it was all to no avail as the clutch didn't disengage. We later removed clutch & flywheel, and with the aid of a drill press (not turned on!) to provide a controlled rlease force we clearly saw the thrust ring contacting the plate before the pressure plate withdrew far enough to free the linings. A few measurments quickly identified lining thickness as the culprit. It was the last aftermarket unit we ever used.



Paul Walbran

Ant

we encountered a problem like yours once and tracked it down to the thrust ring on the clutch cover not quite running true - I think it must have been gradually pushing the release bearing back leaving excess travel. It first made its presence felt on the way up Stelvio Pass east ramp at turn 26 when my wife was driving and she couldn't get any gears. Nearly caused a divorce when she radioed ahead to me and I didn't want to believe her!
Paul Walbran

Paul,

My problem started with a bad slave cylinder (leak), which I replaced with an aftermarket unit after looking at the condition of the bore. The clutch had been replaced three years ago and had been working fine. When I could not get what I believed to be air in the system out, I replaced the flex hose, followed by a master cylinder rebuild. Still only 1/8" travel at the pushrod.

I will not be able to get back to working on the problem now until next week "Mum's Day" here in the States tomorrow.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

The best way i've found to bleed a difficult clutch is to follow the advice from Spriteparts

www.spriteparts.com.au/bleeding.htm

Is easier when rebuilding a car as access to footwell is usally limited !

Will certainly confirm if its an air problem.

Richard.
richard boobier

Richard,

Thanks for that, will give it a go sometime next week when help is available. With left hand drive I have a bit of a problem being in both foot wells at the same time. Not that the bosses at work don't ask similar feats of daring nearly every day, just not as young as I once was!

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Update on my clutch, I replaced the slave pushrod with a new one (the right length!) and checked the clutch arm/ fork was not bent or the bush was excessivly worn, which they were not.

Still the clutch won't disengage, so i pulled the slave cylinder back to the bottom of it's stroke and held it there with a ratchet strap. Tried the clutch pedal and it went straight to the floor. Excellent there is just still air in the system and all I had left to do was bleed it properly.

I used 1.5lt of fluid and still no firm pedal, but what i did notice was the pedal was taking ages to return to its natural position. On further investigation I removed the master cylinder and the BRAND NEW master cylinder is faulty! When you push the push rod it will pump fluid but once it has returned to the stop it will not letting more fluid into the bore from the plastic resvoir and when you try to pump the pedal again it will not pump any fluid for a good 5 minutes.

I have ordered another master cylinder assembly to change it again and returned the faulty one to the suppler so hopefully that should sort my clutch problems.

will keep you posted.

Mark
M Slater

Finally my clutch is sorted and my car moves under its own steam for the first time in 19 years!

Fitted the replacement master cylinder blead the hydraulics and it worked first time.

It just goes to show you can't trust new products unfortunately!
M Slater

First time for 19 years. Wow. Now that's an achievement.

I'm very pleased yours now works. I've ordered a new slave and push rod for mine and I'll fit those and then I'm going to have another go at bleeding it.

Ant
Ant Allen

Mark & Ant,

Thought I had my clutch sorted yesterday after number four brother assisted with the "spriteparts.com" bleed method, thanks again to Richard. Started and the clutch disengaged fine, drove the car one block and must have lost the push rod movement as I could not engage first gear again. Looks like I will miss another club drive this Saturday.

Assumption, must have an air leak somewhere. Is their an appropriate thread sealer for brake/clutch hydrolic fittings available?

L.C.
Larry C '69 Midget

They should seal on the pipe flanges. There's a copper washer where the pipe connects to the slave and I think this is the only exception.

If you were managing to suck air into the system then surely you'd be pushing fluid out of the same place and therefore have a leak.

Yours does sound rather familiar to mine - good at first but deteriorates when driven. At the moment I'm assuming I stilll have air in there but I want to push the slave piston back before I bleed it, and my slave is damaged so I'm awaiting a replacement.

Ant
Ant Allen

Ant,

I would agree that if air is getting in their must be a leak in the system somewhere. I could not see a problem at the (new) master cylinder, but will need to clean things up a bit around the slave before I can tell what I'm dealing with. I hope to get back into it this evening, if help is around.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Problem sorted, after I applied Colin Dodds method for clutch bleeding a second time. Notes taken during the inspection of the hydrolics did make me aware of a worn release arm bushing which I will address after this years driving season.

For those who may still need this, here is a link to Colin's web page:

http://www.spriteparts.com.au/bleeding.htm

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Larry,

Pleased you have it sorted at last - Colins method worked first time for me and no messing with easybleeds etc.

You guys get it so easy - LHD - no steering wheel in the way LOL

Richard.
richard boobier

Richard,

Yes, but LHD also meant I needed an assistant to complete the work this way. I also wonder how many pints of beer Colin needed to discover this method especially on RHD?

I will be writing a short bit for our club news letter on Colin's method for other Spridget owners. Wish I had known this method long ago.

Regards,

Larry
Larry C '69 Midget

Everyone is looking at the pushrod, other than air in the system, as the problem. Considering its length. If the slave cylinder has been replaced has anyone compared the depth of the dimple that the rod sits in, new against old, for instance is the new piston dimple deeper, thus not pushing the pushrod so far, or would this not have any bearing on the problem.
Alan.
Alan Anstead

That would do exactly the same as having a short push rod. However, I don't think it's as significant as the difference in what I'll call the "starting position" caused by aftermarket clutch components.

My new slave has now arrived from Sussex Classic. Not original because there's no retaining circlip. I'm a bit disappointed by that as my reason for buying it is that the circlip groove is broken in one place in my old one and the circlip is therefore missing. Anyhow, a quick visual lineup shows that my pushrod (3" standard for 1275) is borderline in length. I considered extending it but then discovered that there's a 3 9/16" pushrod on a mini (P/N 13H396 - sometimes listed as 3.5" but actually 3 and 9/16ths) so I've ordered one of those. Hoping to fit these, and a SDGPM Bill style remote bleed, by the end of this week.

I'll update this thread with my results.

Ant
Ant Allen

Alan,

Air in the system aside, we do have several critical dimensions to check with our clutches, and that would be the clearance at the release bearing. When we change components we need to insure our release bearings do not contact the pressure plate as Paul Walbran (NZ) pointed out ealier on this post. Checking this is how I discovered my worn release arm bush.

Ant,

When you install the (3 9/19") mini push rod, and all appears right it might also be wise to remove the dust boot on the release arm and verify the release bearing is not dragging?

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

Indeed - will do. If it is then I'll shorten the pushrod a tad.
Ant Allen

The ONLY critical issue about pushrod length is to ensure that the slave cylinder piston can operate freely over a length of the cylinder without fouling on the end circlip (if there is one). In use, the slave piston will only travel about 1/4 to 1/3 of the available bore length. Changing the pushrod length will not increase or decrease the distance moved by the piston as this is a function of the fluid displaced by the master cylinder. That amount will vary if there is wear in pedal pivot points or if there is air in the system. There are no other variables involved as everything else is related to the fixed physical dimensions of the pistons and levers of the system.

Guy
Guy Weller

Fitted my new slave, remote bleed extension pipe, and 3 9/16th pushrod last night. Bled it all with a pressure bleed. It's about how it was in that it just about disengages, but I need to let it stand for any tiny air bubbles to accumulate and I'll bleed it again tonight.

One interesting finding. The original pushrod was a 3" (standard for 1275cc) but extended with weld by about another 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. I speculate that prior to being modified by the blob of weld this may be why the circlip is missing and the groove damaged in the original slave cylinder - perhaps someone stood ont he clutch pedal and broke it! Anyhow my 3 9/16th pushrod is pretty much perfect. There's about 1/4" of travel pushing the piston back so the release bearing isn't dragging, but the piston is well back up the slave bore so travel in the slave isn't an issue.

The remote bleed is a godsend. I'll post some photos when I've taken them, but it's so so easy to make and so much easier to use than crawling under the car or in the footwell.

Anyhow, I'll post again after tonight's bleeding session.

Ant
Ant Allen

Alex - your idea of cable ties worked a treat even without removing the slave cylinder. Cheers and thanks.

Jeremy
Jeremy 3

Well I bled it about 4 times over the weekend, can't get any air out, but can't select gears either. Why why why is it so much out of tolerance that the bite point is on the last 1mm of pedal travel?

I've now left it with the pedal pressed down - can't remember who recommended this but with my old slave I did this, re-bled it, and gained enough to make it drivable. I'm hoping for the same again this time.
Ant Allen

Ant,

Like you I struggled for at least three weeks until I followed Colin's instructions, and had a great drive this past weekend.

http://www.spriteparts.com.au/bleeding.htm

Regards,

Larry C.

Larry C '69 Midget

Well I left the pedal down for 48 hrs, and last night I released it and bled it all again - still no bubbles. I tipped the slave up and had the front of the car higher than the rear, and the drivers side even higher to rotate it slightly so the bleed is at the top - still no air.

So then I decided to inspect the footwell and master cylinder / pedal assembley to see if I can get another mm of travel. The obstacle to pedal travel is the accelerator bar across the footwell. The pedal had less than 1mm between it and the footwell but it definitely hit the accelerator rod first. Now at that point I should have removed the pedal and filed a notch in it at the appropriate point, but that's a pig of a job so instead I took the accelerator off and filed a notch in it instead. It's about 10mm thick and I've reduced it to about 6mm in one place.

And then I shunted the car forwards and backwards in the garage will full clutch usage and not a crunching gear to be heard.

Success, I think. It seems better than before I swapped the slave. I now need to get it out on the open road, get it all warm, and see if it deteriorates like it did before.

Ant
Ant Allen

Ant,
check the clevis pins & holes for the clutch & brake pedals, you can loose quite a bit of movement if they are worn.
Brad (Sprite IV 1380)

Already done that. Nothing more than a clearance hole in either. I was contemplating welding up the clutch pedal hole and re-drilling it a fraction further up to give more travel.

Ant
Ant Allen

Have you much play on the pedal pivots?
Brad (Sprite IV 1380)

Nope - if there were less they'd risk binding.

It is possible that the footwell has moved slightly. I did some welding to the inner wing / footwell top / footwell face during the recent work. That may have pushed the footwell end plate in fractionally.

I think I have a wind-up of tolerances in various places. An aftermarket clutch mechanism, aftermarket cylinders, a fraction of play here and there - none sufficient enough to warrant touching. I still think the biggest offender is the clutch mechanism itself. I have a 3 9/16th push rod in there instead of the standard 3" one. That's a hell of a difference!

Ant
Ant Allen

Ant,
i ended up welding about 1/8" onto the end of the rod, new clevis pin & i think (it was a while ago) i also changed the pedal pivot bolt.
The clutch is quite high up on the pedal, not on the floor like yours seems to be.
Brad (Sprite IV 1380)

Ant haven't read the thread again but is it possible you have a 1098 thrust bearing fitted instaed of the 1275? They are easily mixed up especially by suppliers !
David (davidDOTsmithAT stonesDOTcom)

thrust bearing - as in the one in the middle of the crankshaft preventing fore and aft movement when the clutch is pressed - I'm pretty sure that's the right one.

Release bearing - now that may well be incorrect. I got a clutch kit from MGOC and it all came in the same box marked Midget 1275. That said I don't see how that would change the length of stroke required to disengage. A thinner or thicker release bearing may require a shorter or longer slave pushrod but it shouldn't change the stroke.

Ant
Ant Allen

yes, release bearing is what I meant to write, of course.
Agreed, any difference in the bearing or the pushrod only change the relative position of the working stroke. The length of stroke can only change by having different master or slave cylinders.
David (davidDOTsmithAT stonesDOTcom)

Ant,

Another thought. As David points out above, perhaps you can measure the relative postion of the working stroke by first measuring the pushrod stroke at the master cylinder (inside the pedal box), and compare that to the stroke at the slave pushrod? While we could expect a slight loss due to the flex hose, and inernal seals the measurement should be about the same.

Regards,

Larry C.
Larry C '69 Midget

The lengths of the strokes would only be the same if the diameter of both master and slave pistons is the same. And I am not sure that they are. But you could calculate the ratio of the capacities and therefore the strokes.
Guy Weller

Well I put some miles on it last night, and as before it gets slightly worse as it warms up. I suspect this is the transmission oil warming and getting thinner, therefore the clutch plate has less resistance to spinning and gears become difficult to engage again.

I think I'm going to have a go at taking some metal off the pedal. Is it possible to remove the pedal without dismantling the hydraulics or taking the pedal box out? I suspect not. Might try a die grinder and do it in situ.

All that said, it's highly drivable and I had some fun in it :o) Seems a lot more Spritely since the engine rebuild! Had to drive it to work this morning too!

Ant
Ant Allen

Ant,
just take the pedal off, remove the clevis pin to the master cylinder & the pedal pivot bolt, thats got to be easier than grinding inside the footwell.
Brad (Sprite IV 1380)

So the pedal pivot bolt will come out with the pedal box in situ? Hmmm. I considered this and it doesn't look like it will, but probably worth revisiting.

Ant
Ant Allen

Ive been following this, and the other similar threads, very closely due to the fact I have been having the same problems as others.
I have had my car for 23 years and have probably had to bleed the clutch on three or four occassions in that time, mainly without any real problems.
Recently I have replaced the clutch and slave cylinder and it has been a nightmare getting it to work again.
Having put nearly 2Litres of fluid thru' the system and tried all the tricks listed on this and other threads, I have come to the conclusion (with mine) that the idea that there is always a bit residual air a bit of a red herring.
I have some wear in the pedal -master pushrod pivot, but it worked fine on the old set up, it is only with a bit of re-profiling of the pedal and a bit of hammering of the footwell that has given me enough movement to operate the clutch (HUGE thanks to those who suggested this!!!!).
My conclusion is that we are being supplied parts which are not fit for purpose. The dimensions and tolerances of the new parts are obviously different from the original specifications in some way. Add to this that in my new 1275 clutch kit I got what appears to be a 1098 release bearing (luckily spotted at the last minute) and the new slave push rod is 10mm shorter than the original -I know the argument about relative starting positions but the cumulative effect of all these problems has to be significant if only a couple of mm makes the difference between the clutch operating or not.

The question is should I have to grind and bash metal to make parts which are sold with original parts numbers work?

Also, with the number of people having such difficulty, would any retailers like to comment on these problems, I presume they read these threads?
My mistake was buying parts from different suppliers so its difficult to complain even though in theory they should all work together
Clutch (MGBhive part via an ebayer !!!!)
slave- sussex MG
pushrod- MGOC
But even if i had sourced from one supplier I would guess the air in the system line would be used as a get out of jail card on their part.
I am not a member of a club, but maybe those of you who are who have had some of these problems could take it up with them, I would have thought that this would be exactly the type of problem where they should represent members interests when ordering with suppliers.
Mike
mike storey

Mike

While there may well be sme validity in your conclusions, don't forget that when a new clutch is fitted the pedal always needs to travel further to disengage it fully than on the old worn clutch. this is down to the springiness between the linings on the new driven plate.

As a result, it is not uncommon at all for cars (not just Midgets) with significant mileage to have disengagement problems due to lost motion (such as the clevis between pedal and pushrod) reducing the net travel at the pushrod to below spec. I have seen this on may clutches I've replaced on a variety of cars over the years, and when the slop in those fulcrums is removed it comes right again.
Paul Walbran

I get what you are saying Paul, I am sure it is true. I can only comment on what I have found and would say the bit of wear I have on the pivots would be more than compensated for by the extra thickness in the new parts, thrust bearing, plate etc. What I discovered was that with the new parts the slave didnt operate enough to disengage the clutch. It also appears to be a common problem for those who have bought new parts.
Using a G-clamp I found there was still some travel left in the master push rod, enough to disengage the clutch, which I have used by modding the footwell and pedal.
After weeks of trying to get this to work and reading the problems of others my conclusions are that some or all of the parts are not working together as they should.
I dont know how suppliers and retailers stand when it comes to specifying orders, eg if an original slave cylinder had a circlip and the replacement does not how can they can they have the same part number?
Or, how the MGOC lists a slave at £48 and another sells a part with the same part number for £21 does it mean they are from the same manufacturer and are they identical?
I have got mine to work, not sure how it will stand up to wear.
mike storey

Any Luck with this Ant, I am about to start the hunt down of the problem myself!!

Any advice appreciated!!!

Ben
B Cavagan

Mine is drivable, just. That's after "releaving" the accel pedal bar which was the first thing the clutch pedal struck. The fact that it's drivable, and the weather has been crap, means it's no-longer a priority so progress is slow. My next plan of attack is to grind some metal off the back of the pedal. Ideally I'd like to do this on the bench but I'm not dismantling the hydraulics and removing the pedal box and I don't think the pedal can be removed with the box in situ, so the only option left is to grind it in situ with a 90 degree air die grinder or similar. Need to consult my air powered friends and see what I can scrounge.

Ant
Ant Allen

Thanks Ant, that may be my next course of action, after I have discounted the slave and master fully (master still a bit suspect, slave should be fine!!

Ben
B Cavagan

This thread was discussed between 06/05/2009 and 10/06/2009

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