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MG MGB Technical - Worst thing to repair

What is the worst thing to work on in an MGB? We asked this on the TD page and the winner was changing the brake and clutch pedal bushings.

I have not found a similar tought job on the B, but then I have not rebuild every single part on it either.

Replacing the windscreen with the dash and seats in would probably be the worst I have had to do so far.
Bruce Cunha

Replacing GT windscreen.
Replacing heater control cable for airflow?
Dave
Dave Wellings

Replacing:

1. The rear engine coreplug in situ.

2. The transmission crossmember mounts.

3. The brake and clutch masters in situ.
Luigi

Replacing the windscreen assembly with dodgy threads of my Tourer with dashboard in place was indeed horrible.
The (@#%!)-bolts of the rear gearboxmountings still cause me shudders, especially when you first try the ones with fine thread instead of course.....
With the fueltank still in place I failed to get out the rusted bolts that hold the rear bumper iron the "chassis"leg. (tips anyone?)
Willem van der Veer

I particularly hated re fitting the wiper motor in my roadster . Am I the only person here who finds jobs where you can see the bolts , but have wriggle in upside down , and work with your arms in a position where they stop doing what they are told before you can finish the job ?
S Best

Im particularly fond of changing the reverse light or overdrive lockout switches on the transmission with it in situ.
Jake

GT windshiled trim. 23 years and two restorations later, still not been able to do it!

Pete
Pete

TOOLS -- The Proper Tools -- makes any job on these simple cars, (not counting time, of course), a relativley easy affair.

Too often, I have found it's not fixing the problem --- it's getting TO the problem that is the worst part of any repair work.
glg

What about the layshaft bearings or the overdrive, both are right in the bowels of the car. The other nasty job is getting the doors to fit properly.
Iain MacKintosh

Got to be changing the front quarterlight
swivel pin, it's not the pin thats the trouble its getting the glass back in the frame with a new seal!!!!!!!

Colin
C J Bryan

I vote for the wiring harness repacement. especially the part behind the dash on late model cars. The windshield on my roadster ('80) is a close second.
R. L Carleen

I don't like changing out the choke cable on post 67 american B. I always end up loseing some blood from my arms. Bob
Bob Thompson

1. Transmission Crossmember. mark every piece. back,front,left,right,top,bottom,ect,ect.
2. Windshield Glass. my frame still has the scratches and nicks from when I did it.
Bob R.

Fitting the seal to the bottom of the roadster windshield frame.

Removing, painting and refitting a metal dashboard.

Cleaning painted wire wheels when your axle seals have been leaking!

Anything to do with upholstery.
Steve Simmons

Anyone mention the pressure relief valve with the engine inside? Then the worst of all would be the tranmission mounts and crossmember. And really it seems like the whole car was constructed by midgets with tiny little hands. The car has a very old conception in comparasion to even Triumph engine bays. I'd like to send some of the designing engineers to repair what they designed. This goes many if not all cars.
Stephan

My vote is for installing the heat/defrost flapper control cable at the heater end. What a PIA! While not as easy as checking the oil, tranny mounts have never seemed a big deal to me. I've changed a couple of oil pressure relief valves with the engine in place and had a fairly easy time of that. I made a tool from a piece of 2X2 oak lumber with a dowel screwed to the end at 90 degrees with a hollowed-out area on the end of the dowel. The cap fits into the hollow. Pull on the board to seat the threads and turn the cap with an open end wrench till the threads catch. I won't even consider windshield installation or the trim on a GT windscreen. I'll find a pro to do that for me.
David
David

I've changed most things on both a roadster and Gt and my vote goes to repalcing the heater. The hardest part is the heater cable reconnect on the reinstall. If you haven't done this try it. I'd much sooner remove the dash and front windshield than the heater.

I'd also agree that the layshaft bearings on the 3 synchro early box are a bugger, as is thelayshaft.

Andy
Andy Preston

The most often mentioned "worst thing" in this thread has been the transmission crossmember. I have a write up and some pictures of a modification that can be made to the crossmember, that makes reassembly a snap. anyone who would like to have this information, e-mail me at the above address.

David in Florida - I like your idea of the 2 X 2 with the hollowed out dowel attached for replavement of the relief valve cover in situ. I had a terrible time doing that on my daughter's GT.
Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

I find nothing on the car that difficult - the problems come with getting parts that are wrongly manufactured - oh, and fixing the nut behind the wheel 8-)
Chris at Octarine Services

I hate bleeding brakes and the clutch. Even with an Ezi-bleed, I dread to do it.
Bill Haglan

Personnally, I would choose any of the tasks noted here before choosing a reconnect of the speedo cable in a roadster.

This is a job specifically designed for very tiny people, with overly long, extremely slender arms.

Oh yes, those long, slender arms also have a multitude of "gimbal-like" joints in them and are attached to very long, slender fingers, with the pressure capacity of a pair of Vice Grip pliers.

JR
JR Ross

"...fixing the nut behind the wheel..."

Chris wins.
Steve Simmons

Hey, wait a minute, we're not all done yet. Replacing transmission mounts on a non-overdrive car is fussy but tolerable. On an overdrive transmission, the miserable becomes almost impossible unless you cut that slot in the crossmember. Attaching a speedo cable: just the thought causes my knuckles to bleed - so you take the speedo out to do it. Presuming you don't lose the knurled nuts in the process, how do we rank the job of starting them again?

Some things that look easy but aren't: removing the bezel retaining nuts on the windshield wiper wheel housings. They're right out there where you can see them and get at them with no problem. So why don't they turn loose? And how about removing tie rods from the steering arms? How about tightening the lower nut on the heater control valve? As for those transmission switches, the reverse light switch can be done OK, but the overdrive switch is flat out impossible. I even dropped the crossmember, removed the shift lever, and lowered the transmission until the drive flange hit the permanent cross member. I still couldn't reach it.

While we're at it, I'm not real fond of removing the front hub cotter pins on wire wheeled cars. And how about removing a headlamp rim with out chipping your new paint?
Allen

Hmmm...worst thing to repair?

.....bank balance.......no, wife's attitude.
Richard Evans

Not the most difficult, but one of the most memorable was when rebuilding/cleaning the rack.

According to Hayne's:
"Prise up the indentations in the locking rings from the rack and ballhousings, slack back the locking ring, and unscrew the housing to free the tie-rod..."

Needed a vise, vise-grips, and a pipe wrench with a cheater pipe for more leverage.

That little clip holding the rear wheel cylinders can be fun too.

I also remember the trans mounts - changed them w/o removing the x-member. That was the hard way.
Glenn

Thought of one more - Taking off and putting in the windscreen washer nozzle- Not the most difficult, but nearly have to be a contortionist to get your hands up there.
Bruce Cunha

Anyone who has done it knows that changing the late model drivers side (US) motor mount is a b#@ch !!! Im sure others would agree, and of course fixing good old lucas is always fun !!!
james

Given the choice between being quartered and drawn
vs. replacing the windshield in my 75B.....I would
really have to think about it.
D Caryk

..Note to self, view this thread in the future to find out what to seek a mechanics help with...

a friend down the street (73B) says the windshield took him a week to get it all lined up right and back in place.

All I have had to do was remove those freeking cotter pins on my wire wheeled 78B. I feel fortunate.
Todd C

Rear gearbox crossmember unless you have read the fantastic hints in the archives.

Anything behind the dash.

Water valve bottom screw. Under screws to engine mounts.

Nothing particular big but absolute swines to fiddle with IMO.

~PHIL
Phil

Getting the windscreen back in the frame for the roadster... definitely a job for a pro. Sticking it in the car is a snap in comparison (especialy if you drill out the pop-rivets on those little finishers and replace when done).
Getting the bottom bolt properly snugged down on the heater control valve. Had to modify a wrench with a grinder to get that last 1/8 turn.
Stinker of an 8pt nut on the rear axle... Stupid "special" socket just barely gets a grip on it and THEN you have to put your back into it!
Ding dong hanging cannister oil filter before I replaced the head-piece for a decent spin-on.
Anything up behind the dash.

Mike!
mike!

The tranny cross member is bad. That is when I found my wife has the face of an angel and the mouth of a teamster while she was trying to help me out.

I'm sure this littl task will be replaced by the windscreen that is sitting in my garage floor waiting for the new rubber.
Dave Clark

Windshield to car, especially keeping the seal flat while trying get the bolts lined up.

That annoying C clip on hte rear cylinders

Anything behind the dash

Ken
Ken Harris

Trying to repair rust down in the bottom of the heater space and vents. Almost everything else mentioned is at least doable eventually!
Simon Jansen

I vote for anything behind the dash.
Bill Boorse

I am clearly defective, but the tranny crossmember was tricky, but doable,...maybe a swivel ratchet...but I can't remember.

Rewiring the top of the overdrive transmission on the blind isn't even that bad (but totally avoidable). Nope, the thing for me was windshield wiper nozzles on my 72 BGT. Embarassing because it should be a simple job, but without another person to hold it in place, it is a frigging nightmare.

Rebuilding that engine was easy, hydraulics no problem....except for tha F%$#@*! Circlip inside the master cylinder. Doesn't anyone make a good circlip pliars anymore.

Wiring - piece of cake. But the shame and humiliation of that damned chrome windshield wiper nozzle. It mocks me daily.

Brian C.
Brian Corrigan

Chris wins, except:
Straightening out what the last guy did. This has an exponent equal to or greater than the number of "last guys". Had a GT that had gone through 6 "mechanics" trying to fix a bad head gasket, which they never found. Everything from the gas tank through the engine to the exhaust was "fixed", after several days I got it to driveable and blew antifreeze all over the windscreen - end mystery problem.
This problem is of course under some control of TNBTW, so Chris still wins!
FRM
http://www.usachoice.net/gofanu
FR Millmore

Hold it, Fletcher, we're not done yet - although I am inclined to agree with your decision. But I just discovered another PITA yesterday: starting the GT front fender bolts under the dash. But I guess that was covered in "anything under the dash".

Buit maybe the hardest thing to do on an MGB is choosing not to buy another one!

Allen

Allen

That ain't hard! The body shop "technicians", who fixed a customer's B with all new factory sheetmetal forward of the cockpit, just used 8mm taper point hardened body bolts like new cars have - they screw right in with no trouble, but it's best if you have an air wrench so's your arm doesn't get tired while f***up the nice new welded in nuts.
FRM
http://www.usachoice.net/gofanu
FR Millmore

Oh, Brian, I am WITH you man! I can't seem to get a decent circlip plier for love or money. They all either have built in flaws or the stupid points are too small and they "pop" out all the time. I want the ones in the manual!

Mike!
mike!

Waldes Truarc - at a fine bearing supply house near you! Have used the same ones (one in, one out)on everything including seriously oversized clips for 30 yrs!
FRM
http://www.usachoice.net/gofanu
FR Millmore

Another one that I had to do tonight again, the motor mount on a RB car, the one where the steering rack passes through the frame mount. Oh man, with the rack in place, thats damn near impossible without a few choice words and threats. Managed to do it though even with a flat washer and lock washer.
Jake

The hardest job? Cutting through the mythology of 75+ yrs of MG lore and exaggeration about the supposed awfulness of Lucas electrical components and wiring, and the great difficutly in understanding and Tuning SU carburettors. The sheer bulk of so much cosmic BS which has attached itself to these subjects almost ensures that most folks won't get past it.
Bob Muenchausen

THANK YOU BOB!!
In 50+ years playing with, and 40 yrs driving, I have had two Delco equipped vehicles, which both left me stranded numerous times. 50 or more Lucas ones stranded me twice, both due to aftermarket ign bits. I go through every set of SUs I get, then never touch them over years of driving, except for cleaning vacuum chambers every year or two. They always work better than the damn Rochester did. If I ever get another big block Chebby, I will make a crossflow SU manifold for it!
FRM
http://www.usachoice.net/gofanu
FR Millmore

Bit late to the game, but reconnecting the overdrive solenoid cable while the gearbox is still in the car is a bugger. Especially when the car front is only on ramps.

Solution, needle nose pliers in each hand while trying to peer round the prop-shaft in minor lighting conditions.

And to top it off, there was nothing wrong with the solenoid after all!

Rick
Rick Haynes

Tracking down the bit that squeeks and rattles, and getting it to stop it.
Peter

Peter, it seems I have to replace that part every weekend. Sure wish someone would make a higher quality one!
Steve Simmons

Replacing wiper motor has to be up there in the list, simply because it's laughably simple in concept (undo 3 7/16 machine screws, undo threaded collar, withdraw old wiper motor & do the same again backwards) but it still took me half a day and some skin - guess it's covered in the "anything behind the dash"
Andrew M

Just wonderful. Here I am with my heater cables disconnected from rebuilding my heater box and having just purchased all new seals and pads for my windshield.
Also, I have a new vert top that I have not yet taken the time to install.


R Hill

May as well buy some new sills then!
Steve Simmons

So far my favorite would be replacing the bolts on the upper fender on a GT, right behind the dash and it uses the special thick oval washer, the one that takes a good 15 minutes of digging through various boxes to find, then only to loose it down a hole that seems to go nowhere. Just today I had to remove the side covers from our 2 litre supercharged engine, that was fun. We welded bars to each cover to make it one piece so both bolts needed to come out, then jiggle and slide the unit out. I can't wait until tomorrow when I get to re-install it.

Brooks
Brooks Twist

I have replaced most things in 36 years of ownership, but I would agree with Steve Simmons about the lower windscreen frame seal. What a job, despite having the assistance of a panel beater and heaps of lubrication!

I was so pessimistic I was waiting for it to dislodge when we eventually fitted the complete frame to the car. Perhaps that is why it has to be such a tight fit.
Ian Buckley

I vote for the windshield replacment on the roadsters. I would love to see a video of how the factory did this on a production basis ! Second place is the trim around GT
windshields, another giant pain in the Ass since all replacment trim these days never fits right.
Russ Williams

In another thread someone was looking for a book penned by Ken Smith. I remember when Ken lived in the UK he had some home videos on the Abingdon production line. Maybe he's got some footage on how the windscreens go in.

Andy
Andy

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2004 and 29/06/2004

MG MGB Technical index

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