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MG MGA - rubber parts

Where can I get consistantly good rubber parts. EVERY rubber part I got from moss about 5 years ago has deteriorated. The tie rod ends rubber boots split open when I installed them, steering rack boots craked open, trunnion seals disintegrated, and even the brand spankin new motor mounts are molded wrong and I needed a pry bar to fit the bolts.

Do I need parts from the UK? Neoprene, silicone or what?
Fred H

Fred-
If you can answer that one, I will drive up there and buy you dinner! The OE "bad" parts like lower control arm bushes lasted 10-15 years and 80,000 miles, the new ones die in the box. My Magnettes could use some rubber bits, but they are still useable and they are 50+ years old. Most of the rubber on my 5 90-94 Mazdas is still good, and those cars have 135-300 thousand miles on them. Shift boots, rack boots, original brake hoses, etc., strut mounts and tie rod end boots are just now failing. I think the aftermarket people have searched long and hard for the crappiest backyard third world rubber makers - are Chinese condoms why they have eleventeen billion people?

FRM
FR Millmore

Try MacGregor's for rubber parts. Webb site is macgregorukcarparts.com or phone 905-627-4006. Hope this helps and have a good day!

John
John Progess

Fred, You're lucky they lasted 5 years. I got Moss rubbers for my front suspension and some of them had split right through after a year in the garage and the car had not been on the road! I got free replacements from Moss but after another year or so the second lot have gone.
I think there was a thread a while ago suggesting that Scarborough Faire rubbers were far better and I was going to ask the BBS to confirm this. I'm sure that Moss have inadequately specified the type of rubber but also the thickness of the seals where they had split was wafer thin compared with the original seal I compared them with. I've not heard that the repro. seals over here are any better but I certainly won't get Moss any more. Mike
m.j. moore

I second John's suggestion of MacGregors for rubber parts. The ones I got from them are definatly better quality.
Ed Bell

Moss rubber - dont you just love it!!
If everybody stopped buying any rubber parts from Moss, maybe they would start sourcing quality parts not just the cheapest crap they can find. Either that or you guys in the US could sue them for gazillions of dollars.
I will not buy from Moss unless I absolutely have to but the problem here is you dont alwaysknow if the supplier has sourced the part from Moss in the first place.
Chris Bond

MacGregor doesn't have much in the way of suspension rubber.
Fred H

I visit the web page of Macgregor, they may have several parts for the A´s but there are no illustration of the products.
R Garcia

englishparts.com has tie rod ends, st rack boots and other parts. Does anyone have experience with their quality?
Fred H

Englishparts.com is a Moss distributor and I think most of their stuff comes from Moss. They are nice people.
James Johanski

for a real good product check at www.mgmotorsport.com

Siggi
Siggi

I have bought all my rubber parts from Scarborough Faire and so far have had good luck. I don't know that they source differently but they seem OK. Maybe I just got lucky!
GTF
G T Foster

I wonder what the Guru uses?
Fred H

"The Guru" is very pragmatic and uses whatever works.

Almost any kind of "rubber" in the front suspension a-arm bushings is a waste of time. I used polyurethane bushings for a while, about 4-yr 40K-mi, and was very happy with them, work well and never wear out. I could have left them in there forever, but wanted to give the MGB V8 bushings a trial run. Those also work well and have now been in service for 14 years and 163,000 miles.

I suppose most people are now using poly or BV8 type suspension bushings (especially for replacement of failed rubber bushes). Someone warned my that the V8 type bushings may be difficult to disassemble in the future for two reasons. To avoid seizing on the shaft use anti-seize compound on the full length of the shaft journal. Also if you make the nuts too tight it might smash ends of the metal tube so it would seize on the shafts. I have yet to disassemble it, so no determination there yet.

As noted, about 5 years ago (2004 in my records) there was a rash of bad rubber parts from multiple suppliers, everything from suspension bushings and seals to carburetor and valve cover seals. Some suspension seals were falling apart within a year after installation, never having been out of the garage. Complaints continued for a year or more, but seem to have subsided somewhat in recent years. I have not had much problem with front suspension seals myself.

Moss recently started making the H-type carburetor float chamber bushings out of Viton, so maybe those will hold up better to modern motor fuel. I just installed a set of those, so will definitely know for sure in a couple of years.

I installed leaf spring Silentblok bushings in 1999, now 90K+-mi with no problem. Shortly thereafter I installed poly bushings in the rear spring shackles, no problem there since. I now use the original rubber shackle bushings in my trailer springs (with much smaller loading). So far using standard rubber pads in the leaf spring to axle mounts with no problem.

For a while there were dimensional problems with MGA gearbox mounts, now solved, but generally no complaints about the quality of rubber there. Hope I didn't miss anything important.
Barney Gaylord

Barney,
How about the king pin rubber seals. Mine are totally split and need replacing. Are these a questionable quality part. I have found 6 in the shed in good condition but need to buy all the soft rubber seals to complete the job.
DJ Lake

Barney, thanks for chiming in. I guess it was just about 5 years ago that I bought all the rubber susp seals and st rack boots from Moss. It would be just my luck to have gotten the bad ones. I'll go with your suggestions.

BTW, I couldn't be rebuilding this car without your website.

Thanks, Fred
Fred H

I just put Prothane bushes in the front and rear suspension and I am very glad I spent the few extra dollars for them (from Moss). I need to get kingpin seals next - where do you suggest?

Jim in NH
AJ Mail

I just looked at my swivel pin seals that were installed last year, and all 4 were split and/or cracked, as reported by others here. And the car wasn't even used, I'm still doing a restoration. Annoying to say the least. I have sent an e-mail to the British Motor Trade Association (via Carl Heideman) asking if that group can be effective in solving this major problem. Maybe some of you other guys could do the same, we need help.

George
G Goeppner

Last year I bought some decent swivel pin seals from Bob West and I recalled him saying that when they used to use standard rubber seals they sometimes did not even last the time taken for the rebuild before cracking!!
J H Cole

Cecilia at Scarborough Faire has a new petrol/gas tank sender gasket which she swears is ten times better than the original one.
Peter.
P. Tilbury

This thread was discussed between 01/08/2009 and 18/08/2009

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