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MG MGA - Clutch lever

The rubber boot on the clutch release lever is disintegrating (see pic). Easy enough to put a new one on but I was wondering what would cause this? Could it be oil leak from engine/gearbox?


Graham M V

Poor quality rubber!
N McGurk

Really. That simple. Thanks
Graham M V

It seems to show a typical case of rubber attacked by oil.
Is the drain hole in the bottom of the bellhousing clear?

Mick
M F Anderson

Yes the drain hole is clear. I do have a small oil leak, I think from gearbox but could be the sump.
Graham V

Graham,
You say that it's easy enough to put a new one on. Well I wish you good luck. The last time I changed mine it was a real pita to fit in, and that was with the gearbox out of the car. It was made from very hard rubber and no way would it fit inside the hole, not flexible enough. I had bought it from Moss and I asked them for a replacement. They sent me another two one of which was softer than the other. With a lot of fiddling, twisting and turning, I managed to get this one in place.

Frank
F Camilleri

Graham,
Maybe you could do with a gearbox input shaft cover with an oil seal in it . It will stop any leaks you may have from there. Just happens to be one on e-bay (its mine )

Andy
A J Dee

Frank,
Oh dear I hope not. The part arrived today so I will let you know how I get on.

Andy,
Not sure I want to pull the engine out just yet as I have no clutch slip, but out of interest what's the list number as couldn't see it?
Graham
Graham M V

Use a grinder to take the corners off of the square bottom end of the clutch release lever. Rounding it off some makes installing the rubber boot much easier. A little dish washing soap helps too.
Barney Gaylord

Graham,
Its item number 290568474872
Andy
A J Dee

Just crawled out fom under the car. Failed miserably as I couldn't get the clevis pin out! I didnt want to use too much force for fear of harming the slave cylinder.
There is very little room to manouvere under there because of the cross members and as more arthritis is playing up I will leave it for another day.
But the PO must have known Barnety as the corners of the lever were already rounded off!
Graham M V

Graham,

Before your next attempt make sure that you have a new clevis pin.
The difficulty in removing the pin indicates that it has become grooved.
Any grooving can affect clutch operation.

Mick
M F Anderson

Thanks Mick. The clevis pin is locked tight but the clutch still seems to work ok. I will probably have to drill out the old pin so a replacement will be needed for sure.
My old bones are siezing up too, so will not work on it just for now. As the new rubber boot is quite firm, for a temporary measure I was thinking I might just cut the old seal off, cut a slit down the side of the new one, and just slip it on, resealing with adhesive.
Graham M V

This thread was discussed between 24/05/2011 and 30/05/2011

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