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MG TD TF 1500 - metal flecks in oil filter

Has anyone had the experience of finding flecks of metal in oil filter with no oil pressure? What was your outcome? I have a 1953 MG TD MKll
Susan
S Burnett

Susan,
Flecks of metal in the oil, can indicate the metal bearings are being chewed up with the rotation of the crankshaft. I would suggest that you not run the engine until it can be looked at. This would involve the removal of the oil pan, and the rod and main bearing caps.

George
George Raham [TD4224]

Thank-you George..........they plan to pull out my engine and check to see where the problem is. I think they plan on looking at the rod and main bearings, will that show the problem? Do they really have to take the engine out?
Thanks,
Susan
S Burnett

I hope nothing serious. I wouldn't run it until you find out what the problem is. I'm sure others will chime in.

Not to highjack this thread but somewhat related. Does anyone do an oil analysis when doing engine oil changes to see how the engine is breaking in, condition of the oil, evidence of any coolant or fuel dilution, and to see if there is traces of excessive wear on metals what would appear in the analysis?

I use Blackstone Labs for my 124" stroked Harley Davidson to make sure things are holding up.

Best,

Frank
Frank Cronin

Susan,
Your phrasing raises questions.

You asked about "flecks of metal in oil filter with no pressure."

Does "no oil pressure" mean your engine lost oil pressure when it was running and you now find metal in the oil filter???

If that's the case, the area to inspect is the oil pump drive off the camshaft. Have them pull out the oil pump and check the gear.

Also, a notorious location for metal disintegration is cam lobes/lifters. There's a cover on the side of the block where the lifters can be pulled out.

Was the engine recently rebuilt?



Jim Northrup

Susan,

An oil anaylis will almost always tell you where you are making metal, as the composition of the metal parts varies from part to part. You can examine the engine bearings with the engine in place, but to fully service the camshaft (which as Jim points out is right up there as a likely source- although a lack of oil pressure would make me think mains and rods or pump) you really want to have the engine out so you can replace the rear bearing. In any case, the engines come out easily enough that you will probably be time ahead to have them pull it to go over it thoroughly.

To service the oil pump you have to lift the engine a bit in the front, so you can clear the side chassis rail. From there again, you can pull the engine.

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

How was it running? Any chance of a deep knocking sound? George
George Butz

susan, you would not lose anything by pulling the pan with the engine in place. with the brief description you were able to give, i would be surprised if the engine did not have to come out, but pulling the pan now costs you nothing. there may be an advantage to removing the pan now..if, by removing the pan now and inspecting the internals, you are able to determine where the engine is making metal you can plan your repair scheme before there are lots of parts on the shop floor. i am not sure what your relationship is with the shop your car is located, but, if nothing else, with the engine still basically intact you still have the freedom to get bids from multiple shops.
i am a little surprised the shop has not dropped the pan if for no other reason than curiosity to see what they can see. good luck. regards, tom
tom peterson

Kind of off topic, but whenever I build an engine, I start it and run it for about 20 minutes. After a successful 20 minute test run I change the oil and filter. I always cut the filter open, and am amazed at all the little pieces of aluminum, bronze and steel. It is amazing.
-David
D. Sander

Susan - may I have the chassis and engine numbers of your car for my records? Many thanks.

Tom Lange
Bar Harbor, Maine
t lange

Thanks to all who have responded to my question, I am talking to the mechanics today and bringing with me all of your suggestions. The engine had just been redone so there are a lot of questions at this time. I will know more today or tomorrow and I will let you know what happens. I know this is a really reputable shop, they did not do the engine. I definitely will plan to have the pan removed first!
Thanks,
Susan
S Burnett

"The engine had just been redone"

The logical 2 questions...

...was there oil pressure or not?

...was the camshaft replaced or not?

The mechanics may not be aware there were problems with new camshafts that destroy the oil pump gear drive. Pulling the oil pump will take a fraction of the time as pulling the oil pan and could identify the problem area.

Please keep us informed!

Jim Northrup

Not to hijack the thread, but Jim, could you elaborate on the the oil pump gear problem? I knew about the Crane larger-base-circle problem, but I haven't heard of an oil pump gear problem....
Rob Edwards

Problem, as I perceive from this forum, the company responsible for cutting the teeth on the Crane cam for the oil pump made an error and oversized that gear (nothing was ever said about distributor gear) which in turn lead to failure of that gear and/or the oil pump gear. Results- pump failure-lost oil pressure-metal debris throughout-wasted cam

There was a lot of discussion this year on the subject-
Crane & Moss claim it was an isolated batch this year, but...
check archives for more details.
Jim Northrup

This thread was discussed between 25/10/2011 and 26/10/2011

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