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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Clutch Headache.

Hi everyone,
Fitted new clutch and having a nightmare to get a pedal. Ended up popping piston out of slave cylinder and what a t**t is was to remove slave in situ.

Q. With no rod to fork fitted, i can move the CRB along the splines a short way by pushing on the fork end. . Is this normal or should there be no movement at all . (New clutch and release bearing exactly as one removed. )

Regard Gary. Co Durham
G Bewick

1275 or 1500?
David Smith

Sorry David - 1275.
G Bewick

The process of bleeding the clutch will be less painless if you fit a remote bleed (see pic). Then you can have easy access to the bleed nipple without having to squeeze into the footwell.
Removal of the slave is made easier by slotting the top fixing hole and leaving the bolt in position - it only needing a nip to tighten and but a small turn to release so that once the lower bolt is removed from it hole the slave slides in and out of position.


Alan Anstead

Gary, Alan means less painfull, not the double negative of less painless !
Difficulty in bleeding and getting proper hydraulic pressure in the system is a common experience. A useful start is to manually push the slave piston back up the bore as far as it will go and wedge it there whilst you then bleed the system. Once you get a firm pedal like that, then release the temporary clamp and you should then have a working clutch!

But you may have a different problem to sort out first.
If the slave cylinder piston popped out, but you have the same components of the clutch, clutch release bearing and pushrod, then something is amiss with the way the parts are assembled. Are you certain that the clutch driven plate is fitted the correct way round?
GuyW

which bleeding method have you tried?
pumping the pedal while opening and closing the bleed nipple, or an Easibleed pushing the fluid down from the master cylinder, or some other?
David Smith

Well excuse me!
Alan Anstead

Only pulling your leg Alan!
GuyW

Thanks for the feedback gents.

Tried all the above bleeding methods as well as reversing flow with Easybleed ( working from bleed nipple backover to master cylinder )

I say i popped the piston - technically i did. The piston was about 90% out of the slave. The arm must have been hard against the clutch and with everything solid, this stopped it from popping out totally.

Have ordered new slave and flexi - like the idea of slotting the top fixing hole :)

Remote bleeds - home made or bought ?

Regards Gary
G Bewick

The remote bleed device like Alan's and I believe Guy's is easily made from separate hydraulic components

Alan uses a flexible hose screwed into the bleed nipple position on the slave cylinder and led, as in the picture up to a high point on the bellhousing (mine when I had one was secured to a bell housing bolt via a small metal bracket I constructed with a drill and a piece of scrap steel sheet

Then at the top fix the flexible to a double female connector and pop in the bleed nipple you unscrewed from the slave cylinder

Easy to do when you have first found the real problem and one of those little tasks you bless every time you need to bleed the fluid in future

I used a separate steel brake pipe to do the job, I'd lots of bits and pieces of hydraulic bits hanging around

All I had to buy was the double female connector for a few shillings (?) at Leacey MG
Bill sdgpM

If not making the bleed extension from solid pipe, then the single flexible hose for the rear brakes works well.

Have you tried bleeding the system with the slave piston pushed back up the bore, then using a length of wood to hold the pedal fully depressed and leaving it like that overnight for bubbles to rise back up to the m/c.
GuyW

I use the slave to do the bleeding.

Open nipple and squeeze rod into the slave cyl, close nipple and allow rod to come out of slave, repeat till no air comes out of slave.

Keeping master topped up of course!
Chris at Octarine Services

A brass three way brake union from the rear axle can be used. Blank off one port with a 3/8 unk bolt and copper washer. It has a 1/4 mounting hole that allows attachment to a bracket. Hose or hard line in one port bleed nipple in other.
Pic shows homemade item mounted on spridget rear brake flexible.
Alan


Alan Anstead

OP, just as an aside is your clutch arm straight. . .I seem to remember looking at mine a good few years ago thinking it might be a touch bent. Might be worth a check should you revert to having to check all and everything
P Bentley

This thread was discussed between 07/05/2017 and 09/05/2017

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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