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MG MGA - Grease Nipples

I was prepping my 62 MKII for it's first drive this past weekend and in doing so, one of the grease nipples on the front end turned out to be rusted and broke off as I attached the grease gun. Question: Can these nipples be purchased in any auto parts store or do they have some unique thread or style particular to MG's? Also, my manual indicates that there are grease nipples on the universal joints on the propeller shaft, but there are none at either end. Could there have been a change made and none were needed?
N Kopernik

I believe you should be able to find them at most parts houses. There should be zerk fitting on your universal joints and the sliding section of the driveline. On the joints the zerk is at the end of a long tube about 1" long that extends into the center of the universal. Have a good day!

John
John Progess

The grease fittings on the MGA are a 5/16" UNF thread. US cars use a pipe thread which has a taper to it. They will not fit the MGA threads. I looked all over for the MGA fittings and found they are availible from Moss Motors or Scarborough Faire.
H Speer

I had a similar experience as Henry. Unable to find the correct size UNF fittings locally. Ended up ordering Moss parts from LBCarCo.
Andy Bounsall

Appreciate all the responses; I thought that I may have to go down the special order route. As for the fittings on the universals, there are none. Only thing I can think of is that a prior owner had removed them & then never reinstalled. I'll be on the back again this Saturday doing another visual.
N Kopernik

I have seen aftermarket universals that did not have grease nipples. Must be a cost saving feature. (For the manufacturer, not the purchaser.)
Ed Bell

The MGA propshaft universal is an extremely common UJ probably the most common UJ in use today.
That means that it is manufactured today with sealed for life bearings, far better than the original joints. However Moss and others can still supply specials with grease points, where these are sourced who knows but I assume yours has posibly been changed for the updated version with sealed for life bearings.
Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

I've owned the car for 30 years. I'd be surprised if some other owner would have upgraded these within the first 15 years of my car's life! My real fear is that they were just taken off and the openings just got gummed up with a few decades of road grime. I guess I should have "gone under" a few more times since I acquired the car!
N Kopernik

You have owned the car for 30 years and never tried to grease the universal joints before? I am amazed that they have survived this long. Seems to add to the theory that they are the "sealed for life" type.
Be sure to grease the sliding spline at the front of the driveshaft. If it seizes it will place severe loads on the gearbox parts every time the rear wheels go over a bump on the road. The rear springs are fixed at one end and shackled at the other end. The driveshaft must be able to change in length every time the wheels rise and fall.


Mick
M F Anderson

Have had the car for 30 years, but there have been more than a few years where I would drive no more than a couple of hundred miles in a season. Overall, I've driven just under 14,000 miles since I've owned it. Now my daily driver, that's a different story: I average 40,000 per year and hit a high of 75,000 in one year. Thanks for the tips. Hope to have the car ready for more than a few hundred miles this season!
N Kopernik

This thread was discussed on 23/03/2009

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