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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - camshaft bolt removal 1500

dear all it has been a while since i begged assistance, i have removed the engine and gearbox from my 1500 and need your experience in finding a method of removing the camshaft pully bolt in order to check the timmig chain and re-gasket.

i have tried jamming a spanner and a block of wood in the starter ring but with no purchase gained what so ever, also is the threading anticlock wise for release??

regards

Douglas
df mccabe

Yes anticlockwise for release, normal thread.

Is the engine still in the car? I got mine off by jamming the crank with some wood (obviously with sump off). But my engine was out/mostly apart. This could work with it in car but is obviously a bit messy!

Others have suggested (if engine is in the car) jamming a spanner on the nut and against the chassis cross member then turning the engine over on the starter (spark plugs out) and using the starter motor to break the tightness of the nut.

Or I think some suggest feeding rope into a bore through the spark plug hole as the piston is on the compression stroke to jam the engine.

Slogging spanner and a big mallet sorted mine without need for huge scaffold pole, I think some peoples crank nuts end up veeeeery tight.

Hope this gets things rolling Douglas.

Cheers,
Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

Hang on... do you mean camshaft or crankshaft? You say cam but 'removing pulley to check timing chain' suggests to me crank bolt...?!

Malcolm
Malcolm Le Chevalier

same ??? here...im sure he means crank,

if it is crank another option is an air or electric impact wrench...ive got a china made electric for $40 ...and its a charm...just love it, I used it last week for another stuck bolt...best $40 I ever spent

prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

my mistake i ment crank bolt, thanks for the advise
as the engine is out i did think about placing a wooden bock into the sump but feared i cou;d do some damage to the bottom end, i have a spare gear box that i was thinking of attaching and with an extra pair of hands and some heat trying to free by holding the back end with long stilsons is this a option??
df mccabe

You should be able to stop the crank from rotating with a large flat bladed screwdriver wedged into the flywheel teeth. But it may take two to do it this way as it is hard to keep it wedged properly whilst at the same time leaning hard enough on the spanner on the crankshaft pulley bolt.

You can also use a specially designed locking tool that locks into the flywheel teeth. Try an e-bay search and you will see lots of variants! I have seen very simple ones made from a short length of angle iron.

If you have access to an electric or an air impact driver that will usually shock it free.
Guy W

I did mine with the engine out of the car, by using a large spanner on the pulley nut and a lump hammer to shock it free.

To prevent the crank rotating, I used a long crow bar wedged across ways between the flywheel to crank bolt heads and preventing rotation against the floor. These bolts are accessible after removing the clutch from the rear of the engine.

Plus, I used a teenage son to sit on the engine to keep the whole thing stable whilst I gave the lump hammer the beans.

Hope that helps.

Regards
Steve L.
s lowiss

what Guy said x2.
Engine on it's side with you standing on top, 18" flat blade screw driver on the flywheel teeth and an 18" power bar on the front. Four hands required and it's easy peasy lemon wot's it's..

The other hi-tech methods also work ;0)

best of...
MGmike

M McAndrew

if the engine is out...

then this is really simple...just load the lump in a car or truck and take it to a local shop and ask if they can break the bolt free with there impact wrench....id also bring along a socket that will fit the bolt to help save the shop.its time

ive done that twice... its a 15 sec job..no charge...but I still gave the guy a 6 pack of cold bud
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

As posted before, my flywheel locking tool.

Bolts through one of the starter mounting holes and locks into the teeth.

Use the lower hole for undoing and the upper hole for tightening.


Dave O'Neill2

There you go Douglas, as I said: <<I have seen very simple ones made from a short length of angle iron.>>
Guy W

i imagine from your description of the job you are doing that the engine is still in the car... so these things are torqued up tight and you will need some mighty leverage to get it off... which means a socket rather than a spanner... and that means you might have to take the steering rack off to get access... that or lift the engine slightly off its mounts.

Anyway, in order to do it in the car - the best way is to stick it in gear and put the bumper up against the wall so that the car don't go anywhere.

If you are taking the engine out, get a flywheel locking tool... or make one.

C L Carter

Douglas said -- :)

"i have removed the engine and gearbox from my 1500 "
Lawrence Slater

I should have read the whole thread.

I made a flywheel locking tool myself by machining a tooth into a piece of flat steel and drilling two holes to mount it where the starter motor lives.

Here is a picture

(patent pending)


C L Carter

That's very nice Christian. I might copy that. :) Usually I just use a hammer.:)

So, how was America? I have got it right haven't I? It was you that went there over the festivities wasn't it?
Lawrence Slater

I had the exact same problem and spent a day trying to free it.
Then I went to machine mart and bought one of these http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-cew1000-electric-impact-wrench

It was amazing, it came off in a couple of seconds, literally. To be fair, I think Prop had recommended it to me originally!
g Victors

Yeah an impact driver is a great tool.

America was warm and dry 28 degrees in flordia! Saw 1 MGB... no midgets. But then the people I saw there generally wouldn't fit in a midget... or even in any UK car.
C L Carter

This thread was discussed between 07/01/2013 and 18/01/2013

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