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MG TD TF 1500 - Leaf Spring Assembly

I've reviewed the archives and can't find mention of my issue. I'm in the process of reassembly of my leaf springs after cleaning repainting and refurbishment of rubber leaf spring pads. The leafs are not symetrical in that from the center hole of each spring there is a long side and a shorter side. I assume the long sides are all fitted on the same side...is this the case? When refitting to the car is the short die to the front and long side to the rear or vice versa? Thanks for any responses.

Jim
Jim Goreham

Me too!
I am starting a restoration of "TF in bits" and have a box of leaf spring bits. Any help?
Tony Griffin

The long sections are all to the back of the car. If it were otherwise your tail shaft would be too short.
Dave.
Dave Broadbridge

Just wanted tips on installing bushings on rear springs and front A-spring plates.
d.r. beaty

I did mine in a bench vise with an appropriate sized socket on the backside
W A Chasser

If replacing them make sure the inter-leaf rubbers aren't too thick. If so the camber is increased, which has resulted in damage to the rear panels on a number of cars here when the shackle inevitably springs up. See pic. Recommend measuring the eye to eye dimension PRIOR to disassembly & ensure that dimension isn't reduced. Look for a set of dimples on the side of each spring. I only discovered mine after sand blasting. Mine had a set punched into the edge of the spring with one dimple on each spring on one side of the car & two dimples on the springs on the other side. These are also an aid to reassembly as they align vertically when correctly assembled. Cheers
Peter



P Hehir

I recently discovered that my pile of TF 'bits' included TD rear springs. They are identical except for the increased arching which results in a shorter distance between the eyes as shown in Peter's image. Ray (a regular here) has fitted TD springs to his TF to reduce the incidence of suspension bottoming out. He points out that it was necessary to start the links moving in the right direction with a pry bar. Now Peter seems to be introducing the possibility that the links could reverse in use and damage the rear wings. Any experience out there or potential solutions?
Chris
C I Twidle

Hi Chris,
once the rebound strap is in place the links cannot reverse.
It is only a problem when installing springs with the wings in place, by blocking and jacking reversal is avoided.
The TD & TF chassis are identical except for the fuel pump mount on the TF. In my case due to severe corrosion the rear of my chassis ( from 1 foot ahead of the door hinges) is 1953 TD.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

The problem was that a couple of restored cars here had the rear shackle spring up when the car first crossed the gutter after just being restored. The owners were not happy with the panel damage I can tell you! The only way I could solve my issue was to throw the new interleaf rubbers in the bin & reuse the originals. The decrease in the eye to eye measurement was significant with the new rubbers. Don't see how the rebound strap would prevent the problem. Can you elaborate Ray? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Instant responses with clear answers, thank you gentlemen - it's not hard to like this forum!
Peter, I put new pads in mine, they were around 2.5mm thick from memory but I don't think they would have been enough to change the arch by the specified difference between TD and TF springs. I will make sure I bounce the car a few times before final installation of bodywork!
Ray, I hadn't realised that the rebound straps served so many functions. I assumed they were to keep the axle from dropping too low and prevent strain on the flexible brake hose.
Thanks again!

Chris
C I Twidle

If a curved leaf spring is allowed to drop so that the link is aligned with the spring, on compression it can go either way. This can do a lot of damage that is why they have retaining straps, some times loops like ours or a leather strap fastened chassis to axle.
A lot of cars, TA/TB (front) and Morgans (rear) had sliding trunnions instead of shackles.
Peter,
as you say the interleaving had reduced the eye to eye measurement, this took the spring beyond the range that the rebound strap could handle.
When cars were being banger raced in the 70's it was common to flip the shackles over to lower the rear, on the front we just took a gas axe to the coil spring. A lot of poor old Y types went out this way.
Ray
Ray Lee

Reopening this as further progress, as usual, throws up more questions. My TF has TD rear springs, apparently this was not an unusual upgrade that reduced the frequency of the axle hitting the bump stops. The original rebound straps were not amongst the boxes of bits that it came with. Somebody kindly supplied the measurements and I made a set and fitted them. Unfortunately, because of the increased curvature of the TD springs they seem to be ‘pretensioned’ to the extent that three people standing on the rear of the chassis barely produce any further movement of the springs. I would predict a particularly harsh ride if left like this.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Could it explain why the original straps were missing?
The posts above would indicate that they are desirable so would longer straps be the best solution? If so, how much longer?
Thanks in anticipation,
Chris
C I Twidle

Can't explain that Chris, except to say that they can get misshapen, and somebody might then be tempted to remove and replace them (or not).
I made my own rubber spacers for the springs and they work perfectly on my TF. Thickness of the rubber was 1.4mm or 0.055".
Dave H
Dave Hill

Don't think about longer straps, if the shackles over-rotate you will wreck your rear wings.

I have had TD springs on my TF for years, once on the road with a tank of fuel they will move when needed.

Photo shows the rear a little high but it makes the ride more comfortable with a full load, even the speed bumps in the local supermarket don't bother it.

As the TD and the TF share the same chassis the spring has to work in either car.
Ray TF 2884


Ray Lee

Thanks guys, I appreciate your opinions. Sound logic Ray. I won’t drive it with no straps at all but I might still have to look closely at the geometry to see how much further it can go before a reversal is possible. An initial eyeball measurement looked like there was still about 30o between the spring and the hanger.
The third person standing on the chassis directly over the axle has to have a mass probably twice that of a full tank of petrol and we had to bounce to get any movement out of the spring. That might be OK for Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren but might be a bit harsh for my old bones.
Chris
C I Twidle

If the shackle aligns with the spring it is anybody's guess which way it will flip.
The WSM gives the camber measurements for the TD which will apply to your TD springs on the TF. If badly outside then they have been re-cambered incorrectly.
So Try the TF ones with new interleaving and see how that works
Ray
Ray Lee

specs found on 1958 book



Michael Grogan TD23816

This thread was discussed between 18/03/2001 and 20/08/2018

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.