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MG MGB Technical - Steering and suspension problem

My 78B rubbernose is just about due for registration renewal so I have taken it down for the required annual safety inspection (pink slip).
I expected maybe a raised eyebrow at the persistant oil leak, and maybe a frown at the squeaky brakes. What I got was a report which sound like I need a new steering assembly and/or front suspension.

I need some advice on the "MG" version of what the mechanic has told me needs replacing.

Leaks were mentioned. But I have them covered easily with 3 new hoses to replace some old hoses where the previous owner had repaired leaks but the repairs were finally giving way.

With the car raised on a hoist, the mechanic pointed out 4 parts in the steering and suspension which are "not passable" for safety.
LH tie-rod end
RH rack end (2nd mechanic referred to this as just tie-rod)
Both LH and RH kingpins (these were located on the base of the front suspension)

Do I need to buy just these parts (is this even possible) or do I need to buy a complete rack assembly and front suspension kit?
The mechanic suggests that replacing some of these individual parts would be a much longer job in hours than replacing the entire assembly.

Road tax and rising CTP insurance means I can't afford to add hundreds of dollars to what is already an expensive annual exercise.

P.S. I need 2 new tyres to pass rego also. I'll be replacing all 4 as this is a habit my old man taught me long ago and worth the added expense I believe.
David

Hi David

Outer tie rod ends are not adjustable and must be replaced.

Inner tie rod ends are adjustable, however if wear is present, the ends should be dismantled and the cups and ball end inspected for wear. Replacement parts may be needed.

King pins will need to be replaced, and the steering knuckles will need to be rebushed and reamed.

It makes sense to renew all rubber bushes and the rack boots at the same time.

This is all straight forward work and a lot of it can be carried out at home if you are that way inclined. There are plenty of people on this BBS that have carried out this work themselves and can assist. However you will need a manual - the Haynes one is ok for this job.

Otherwise there are mg specialists in Sydney (if they are not at the World Cup Rugby) that can do the work. I'm sure that one of the Sydney readers will be able to suggest one.

Cheers
ian f
Ian Fraser

David,

First thing, you don't need a new steering rack or a front suspension. All parts are available.

I just replaced my tie-rod ends a couple of days ago. Took about an hour and then off to the alignment shop. Lots of info in the archives on various ways to remove the old ones. Actually a thread about tie-rod "splitters/separators" on-going as we speak. I used the "pickle-fork" type myself.

As for the king-pins, new ones aren't available (according to the Moss US catalogue anyway) but kits are. If you go to www.mossmotors.com and look in the front suspension section, you'll see what's available.

Just to give you an idea of prices, part #264-408 Major Suspension Kit (will do both sides) is $134.95. Tie-rods are $19.95/pair.

Also recommend you change the bushings in the ends of the wishbones as well (unless you know they're in good shape). If you're doing all this work anyway, always a good idea.

I don't work for Moss but thought their web-site would give you a good idea what you have to deal with.

I'm sure the other guys will have some suggestions as well.

Hope this helps
Simon

P.S. As for that mechanic suggesting replacing the complete assembly might be faster; well, maybe so but certainly won't be cheaper. I don't know if you could even buy a complete, new front suspension with all it's bits.
Simon Austin

Thanks for the quick reply. The only problem I've had in the past working on the underside of the car is getting it high enough on a jack or wheel ramps. For the overdrive repair I needed a hoist so I couldn't do it at home. I figure the front suspension/steering can be worked on a lot easier with just a standard jack and some stands. Obtaining the parts is going to be my biggest concern.
David

Geez you guys are quick... Simon's reply was coming in as I was replying to Ian.

Just out of interest I have all the Moss MG parts catalogues on PDF and I get the price list to match it as regularly as they update. It's my parts bible. I could only find a complete "MGB Quick Rack Assembly and Kit" but no "tie-rods" in the Performance catalogue which contained all the other suspension and steering related parts.
The suspension was the main item the mechanic suggested would be easier to replace in kit form than just the kingpins. Replacing the steering as a kit was my own idea based on not finding a "tie-rod" in any of my searches.
David

Its dark and wet here - TV is sh*t (I missed the end of Bathurst), so's there's not much to do....

I think that there are 4 or 5 MG specialists in Sydney.

The king pins/knuckle can be done as a swap, or you can get new pins, and have new bushes fitted and reamed to the knuckles. Catch here is that a special reamer is needed for the bushes. It is possible that this path would be cheaper than a rebuilt excange pair from Moss. It certainly was here when I did mine.

You may not need a tie rod, only if the ball end is badly worn or galled. Outer ends should be readily available.

Word of warning - do not attempt to undo the inner ball joint unless you are able to hold the rack itself. ( best remove whole thing from car, hold the rack ( not the housing)in a soft jawed vise) Relying on the pinion to stop the rack from rotating will damage both rack and pinion.

Cheers
ian f
Ian Fraser

Well it looks like I'll be putting the car off the road for a month or two and catching public transport.
It doesn't sound difficult, but the cost of parts I need to fix all these problems have just tripled my registration bill.

Thanks for all the advice.
D O'Brien

Glad to help out, David.

I've got the Moss web-site up on my screen and the page you may want to look at is under "MGB Suspension & Steering". When you get to the parts diagram, part #3A is the tie-rod itself. I don't know if this part is what your mechanic is refering to or not.

Part #15 are the tie-rod ends.

A good jack and stands will do the job fine. That's all I have. One day when I build the ultimate garage, I'll have a proper 4-post lift......ahh, we can all dream, eh?

Cheers
Simon
Simon Austin

I checked the Moss site again and didn't realise there was a whole lot of extra stuff not included in the PDF catalogues I downloaded. I found the steering and suspension sections and the parts are all there (though some not available separately).
Further checking with the various MG specialists in Sydney and I think I've found the place to go for these parts without having to order them from overseas. The "surprise" all came about on Saturday during the inspection and these guys weren't open until Monday morning.

P.S. I finally got around to registering with this BBS. I'm as slow as a Miata aren't I?
D O'Brien

Are you sure the mention of the RH rack end was the ball joint? Mine went a bit clonky, but it was the rack itself moving up and down - you can adjust this wear out by taking shims out of the flat cover on the top of the rack and bolting the cover back down tight. Just make sure when you've done it that there aren't any sticky spots now that you've reduced clearance.

It's a satisfying free fix :o)

As for the kingpins, what was the complaint? Too much vertical play? Or is the longitudinal bush at the bottom worn?

Good luck, hopefully we can keep you off the buses...
--
Olly
Oliver Stephenson

The guys that checked it out are tyre and wheel alignment specialists. They do a lot of work on my car, including all previous alignments. They actually told me 6 months ago that they couldn't do the alignment because I needed the tie-rod and rack end parts. They didn't mention it was very serious so I just put it out of my mind until now.
They always admit when working on my car that they aren't MG experts and I should really check things with a specialist. I know they wouldn't try to swindle me, they often don't charge me when they can't do a complete job.
I will be taking the car to an MG specialist for closer inspection. Hopefully one of the many options you all mentioned here is going to be possible. At the least the MG guy should be able to give me a more exact picture of what I'm up for.

Thanks again for all the advice everyone.
D O'Brien

This thread was discussed between 12/10/2003 and 15/10/2003

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.