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MG TD TF 1500 - Lockwiring Camshaft Bearing Bolts

About to remove the camshaft. The centre & rear cam bearing bolts have a hole through the heads presumably to lockwire & secure the bolts, however there is no lockwire fitted. I have a very good article on lockwiring & used to do a lot of it on Mirage aircraft components but unsure in this case as to where, how etc. I would expect that one bolt wires to the adjacent eg main bearings, oil pump etc but that doesn't seem practical here as both bolts stand alone & are separated by a considerable distance. Anyone have a pic showing the correct wire location? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Rear cam bearing bolt is wired to the oil line block to head and the front cam bearing bolt is wired to the top bolt to the bracket of the dizzy.

Almost 300 detailed pictures can be found here.

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtf/Pictures/TF9052/Thumbnails/mgtf_tf9052.htm



Frank Cronin

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Frank Cronin

Thanks Frank. I've been through all the pics in the gallery on both the TD & TF sites looking for details on the lockwiring of the centre & rear camshaft bearing bolts. The centre bearing bolt wired around the genny bracket seems both plausable & is probably original, with evidence of this approach on more than one car.

However the rear bolt wired around the block to head oil line surely can't be right. Obviously if the rear bolt started to come loose there would be little resistance & it would just deform the copper oil line! Lockwired bolts are almost always lockwired together, each preventing the other from moving. If that's not possible then the next best thing would be to wire it to a fixed point like the genny bracket. Having said that there doesn't seem to be a fixed point within cooee of the rear bearing bolt! Hmmm..
Peter TD 5801

P Hehir

Hi Peter, it has been covered before in the archives. The rear does indeed attach to the copper line. I looked at my photo files to see if I had another photo of an original car depicting this but the snapshot of the wire was hidden by a shadow.
Frank Cronin

I have a "virgin" engine, never apart, in a chassis, and it has the lockwire for the rear cam bearing loosely twisted around the oil pipe - not so tightly that it deforms anything, but enough to stop the bolt from coming undone.

Absolutely original! I'll add a photo later of anyone wishes. By the way, the rolling chassis still has Dunlop 5.50x15 tires, and is said to have 25k miles total.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

As an aircraft mechanic it is generally not acceptable to wire to a line rather to the fitting. It's a longer run for sure but in my opinion, a more secure and acceptable safety.
JE Carroll

Thanks Frank & Tom. I'm amazed that the rear anchor point at the oil line is original, but it is what it is! Considering my car had no lockwire on either bolt when I bought it & for who knows how long before that & I drove it that way for over 18 months, I guess it's pretty unlikely that the bolts would loosen. But as it is original, I will reinstall the lockwires the Abingdon way once the new cam is in. I do appreciate your help.
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

The engine I have is the only one I have actually seen in the flesh that has the wires in place - out of the many, many hundreds (thousands?) of engines I have looked at! I believe I have seen photographs of two other "virgins" but that is all.

Tom Lange
t lange

This thread was discussed between 17/05/2014 and 18/05/2014

MG TD TF 1500 index

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