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MG MGB Technical - minilites

hello just a word of warning,just had my front wheels balanced.the fitter put self adesive weights on the inside of the wheel,as a result my wheels have been damaged and the track rod end damaged .the track rod ends are very close to the inside of the wheel so the only the knock on type which tap on to the inside edge can be used.thanks
daz

Daz,
I have the Minilite replicas and the self adhesive weights, I have had no problems. What kind of damage was caused, if the weights, being just stuck on, hit a part of the track rod I would think it would just pop off.
John

14 or 15 inch wheels?

When I had mine done they stuck the weights to the inside too but the idiots didn't clean the wheel before sticking them on. When I came to bolt the wheels to the car I found a small pile of weights that had all come unstuck from the rims!
Simon Jansen

I believe there is a variation in the size of tie/track rods sold. I've a set of Minotor 14"x6" Minilikes that I had balanced with stick-on weights. On 1 wheel, there is minor interference between the weight and the cotter/split pin of the tie/track-rod. Just wore a little groove across the weight. No damage, but obviously close.

Derek Nicholson

both the rubber seals are split and i have a clonking noise when i turn the steering wheel there are now deep grooves in the alloy wheels,had a word with the manager they dont want to take responsability
daren

Daz,
There are different track rod ends for the b when using alloy wheels. They have a smaller end to them.
Contact a decent mg specialist and they should be able to help.
Tj
T J Nicolson

I have a set of original MiniLites on my 70B. Same issues, very little to no clearance between the tie/track rod ends and the inside of the rim. There are different sized tie/track rod ends. It has been a few years, but I believe that the QH brand are the smaller ones. I had to have the wheel shop rebalance the front tires as the weights were knocked off by the tie rod ends. I had them move the weights abit inboard.

HTH

Ron
Ron Smith

Do you have a small claims court in England?. If you have a receipt the Manager IS responsible for the damage his employee caused by balancing the wheels improperly.
What's his name and address, once again if you have that receipt you need not fear legal action.
Peter

Daz
The company is responsible for the damage done, don't be put off by the manager, he will try and deny liability, that's what he's payed for! Contact your local trading standards for advice and as a last resort it is worth while looking up the small claims proceedure in Google, you can actually do it on line, but the threat of it might concentrate his mind.
Ron
R. Algie

Daz,

Did you take the car with the wheels on to have the wheels balanced.

If you did not but took the wheels loose it may effect your claim. Given that the wheels are non standard fitment if you did not present the car with the wheel it may undermine your case. In a non standard situation the court may find that the person fitting the wheels to the car is responsible for checking clearance.

In product liability there is a well established view that is the customer is better placed to determine suitablility for purpose than the supplier then the customer has to accept reponsibility for doing so.
David Witham

Daz,

Sorry to hear about your problem, but I'm not sure I understand how it is the tyre-man's fault? If the wheels are gouged, rather than the weights, doesn't that suggest that the track-rod ends are hitting the wheel regardless of the balance weights?

Neil
Neil

This thread was discussed between 15/05/2006 and 16/05/2006

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