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MG MGB Technical - To Grease, or not to grease

With just about 850 miles driven over the past summer, I am about to change the oil and filter on my '72B and put it to bed for the winter. Do most of you grease your B once a year, even with low mileage between intervals?
Joe

Joe. The recommended grease intervals are based on the active use of the car and the time that it requires to perform this task. Especially when you are paying someone else to do the job. Grease is relatively inexpensive and you cannot go wrong in using too much of it. You are in a "severe usage" situation with only 850 miles per year. Thus, I would recommend that you grease the car before laying it up for the winter, again before bringing it out of storage, and mid-summer.

I change the oil on my cars every three months and grease them when doing so. But, I drive my cars all year long and have done so for the last 40 years. Driving an MGA, in a blizzard, with the top down, was great fun when I was younger.

Les
Les Bengtson

Joe,

Every time I change oil/filter on my B (every 3000 miles or every three months, which ever occurs sooner), I also check/top-up the carbs, oil the center spindle on the distributor, check/top-up brake and clutch masters, grease (greasing too often will never hurt), check/top-up all four shocks, transmission, and differential, and radiator; I also check for brake fluid leaks and inspect steering gaiters, check all belts and hoses, and check front brake pads.

I repack front wheel bearings at 50,000 miles, adjust valves every 6,000. I do tune-up stuff as needed.

That's pretty much it for routine maintenance - all that I can think of at the moment anyway. But my point is to do all the stuff in the first paragraph with each oil change. This way, you pretty much know your B is ready to go all the time. It sounds like a lot, but it all goes pretty fast.

FWIW,
Allen

Allen Bachelder

It's my opinion that the relatively low 6 monthly or 6000 mile service intervals are based on that mileage being done relatively evenly week by week, i.e. a very low daily mileage which is a bad thing especially where oil is concerned. When I take my Bs out, they usually do a minimum of 40 miles, can be 400-500 in a long weekend, even though I only do about 3000 miles per year. So mine get an annual service, greasing as well as oil and filter. I still check valves, timing and carbs annually as well, but find they never alter, even with points on both. Even when the V8 was being used as a daily driver about 150 miles per day I still stuck to 3k intervals, oil (including pre-flush), filter and grease, which meant getting under it every few weeks. When I did a top-end rebuild it was as clean as a whistle inside. Too much grease is a waste, once it starts appearing I stop and wipe off the excess. Front suspension must be done with the car safely supported and the wheels hanging down.
Paul Hunt 2

I've had my 74B since 1983 and have put on only about 85000 miles since then. 5000 is about the most in one year. My habit is to change oil about twice per year and filters every other time. Car runs fine and does not blow smoke at 122000 miles. I grease the front end each time and the steering is about as perfect as when I got the car. I have had to do universals a couple of times. Probably because of neglecting them several times. It's a pain but now I do them too. USE THAT GREASE!!!
Bob Ekstrand

If you have run the car at highway speeds in rain you will be amazed at how mucg grease you pump into the king pins before it starts to ooze out. I do it every year, and more often if we have run a hundred miles or so in wet weather.
Stan Best

Allen
A bit concerned about your post on the shocks. Are they leaking? If your shocks are not leaking, they should never need "topping off" If you overfill them (the top area is an expansion reservoir) you will cause them to push fluid by the seals and then they will start leaking.

That is what Peter Caldwell owner of World Wide Auto Parts, one of the best lever shock rebuilders told us this summer at a tech session.
Bruce-C

Never topped up my dampers either. If there are no visible leaks they shouldn't need topping-up. If there are visible leaks then they should be replaced anyway. FWIW the Leyland Workshop Manual shows both front and rears with the level/filler plug on top and states "... filling up to the bottom of the filler plug hole". I've never had the lid off one but if the bottom of filler plug hole is below the 'roof' of the chamber then there is automatically an air-space left. If not, then I'd expect them to know what they are talking about. I've had to replace about four or five over about 40 years on various BL cars and always filled the new ones as above. It's true that one did fail prematurely, but they have all been rebuilt units and the rebuild is only as good as the returned unit and the rebuilder. The subsequent replacement was fine, as have been the others.
Paul Hunt 2

Bruce,

Until this last year or so, I've always had leaking shocks! I guess that's why I've always checked them. With front shocks, I thought that it's really impossible to overfill them since the the filler plug is on the side. Most of the time, when the plug is removed, a little fluid should run out. If not, I'd squirt in just enough so that a little might dribble out the bottom of the hole.

I confess that it's not yet 3000 miles since I installed my rebuilt rear shocks from World Wide, so I haven't yet checked them. My old ones did leak - you could see it - and I kept refilling them, knowing the new fluid would probably leak right back out anyway. I will still check my front and rear shocks for signs of leaking. Hopefully (for World Wide, who supplied all) I will see none and will not need to take out the filler plugs. BTW, for all I know, my old rears were the 34 year-old, 223,000-mile originals. Didn't the manual say something about replacing shocks every 200,000 miles or 30 years, which ever occurs first? 8^)

Cheers,
Allen
Allen Bachelder

Bet you won't find a leak. I think Peter guarantees it will not.

For the racers out there, Peter has even come up with a adjustable valve system for the B shocks. Drive to the track, adjust for racing. Get done, adjust for the trip back (or anything you want inbetween).

PS. NO financial interest (other than bringing more business into Wisconsin)

Bruce
Bruce-C

This thread was discussed between 11/11/2007 and 13/11/2007

MG MGB Technical index

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