MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - missing

Carbs overhauled, fuel pump overhauled,NEW coil,condenser,points, rotor, timing set, dist.weights are free. Good fuel delivery, hot spark, good compression, sounds great at idle. Everyone nods their heads and says SOUNDS GREAT. Revs smoothly, exhaust clear.
Try to drive it around the block and it misses,sputters,
dies, starts again etc.. I coast back to the garage. shot down again. The slighest load causes the miss.I'm lost
Thanks.
C.W. Derby

C.W.
I know it sounds funny but replace your rotor then your cap and then your condensor. Only do one at time .This allows you to see what one is causing the problem.You said the fuel delivery was great. How did you check it? Plugged filter at the tank end will allow fuel through at a lower rate but insufficient for driving. I have had the valves on the pump packed with rust and it still ran but would not accelerate past 10 MPH.
Sandy Sanders
Hudson Florida
Sandy Sanders

First suspect for me is the fuel delivery. Next time its cooled down. Take it out for a run and take your tools and work clothes with you. When it stumbles and dies, turn the key off imediatly and pull to the side of the road. Plan your route with the intention of doing some roadside work. After you get the bonnet open, remove the lids off both float bowls. I suspect your going to find that they are near empty. If they are if means that your pump isn't up to snuff or you may have a filter plugged. If you find the bowls are full of fuel I'd be looking another direction. Even if the condenser is new, if you find that the fuel is not the problem I would replace it with the old one and give it another try. Let us know what you find.

LaVerne
LaVerne

C.W. - I once had a similar problem which turned out to be the coupling between the two carbs. simply tightening cured the problem. - Lou
Lou Van Koningsveld

You may want to take a look at the tach drive gearbox and make sure it's not shorting out to the low tension lead to the coil. Depending on the orientation of the dizzy it can be very close and slight rocking of the engine can cause it to ground out the dizzy.

Dave
David Ahrendt

CW - See my article on fuel delivery troubleshooting at: http://www.mgexperience.net/article/fuel-tsg.html, in fact print it out and take it along with you on that drive that LaVerne suggests. That will be an excellent way to troubleshoot any fuel delivery problems. Do the first run after having replaced one of the three items suggested by Sandy. Cheers - Dave
PS. Keep us informed as to what you find.
David DuBois

All above possible. Make sure carb pistons rise and fall as they should, and there is oil in the dashpots. Did you change carb needles? The wrong one won't work (I know). Try running without the air cleaner. If all else fails, disconnect the head pipe from the manifold to make sure the muffler isn't plugged. George
George Butz III

CW,
There also was a batch of rotors on the market that were defective as described in a Sacred Octagon article by Don Lawson,tech editor,,, so you might want to install the old one,, Also, make sure that the screws holding the points plate to the distributor body are tight..

SPW
Steve Wincze

Found a badly bent lever on the front carb.bowl cover. Also:
If I remove the 4th cyl.ignition wire the engine all but stops. Not so with others. Still working........ CWD
C.W. Derby

CW, You may have been feeding all the cylinders off the rear carb. You will most likely want to adjust the mixture and idle after fixing the float lever. You will proabably find then that pulling any spark plug lead will cause a misfire but not kill the engine.

LaVerne
LED DOWNEY

pulling each plug wire should slow down the same amount. If some make no difference, those cyls are not firing. Check the firing order again- as cast into the exh. manifold, and remember the rotor turns couterclockwise. Put in new plugs at this point- they may have been fouled by the float lever problem, remember this is not a 40K volt modern electronic ignition that will fire anything.
George Butz

Check the inlet manifold for tightness or for an induction leak by spraying some carb cleaner around the flanges with the engine idling
Iain MacKintosh

put in new plugs regardless of other life. nearly always works. check inigition wires for breakdown

Ellis
Ellis Carlton

I had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago.
I think LaVerne's advice is helpful. After I ran the car and had the problem, I found that there was very little fuel in one float chamber. It was not a fuel delivery problem. The fuel overflow tube coming out of the float pot was clogged, preventing the float from freely moving and preventing fuel from entering the pot. Now, where the clog was located was the interesting part. At the far end of the overflow tube where it exhausts to the ground, the end of the tube had clogged with mud probably coming up from the road or when the car was in some mud. Poke a stick or something up there and clean it out. You may see the clog at the end of the tube or just try blowing on the tube. It worked for me!
Best,
Milton
M.E. Babirak

This thread was discussed between 27/03/2007 and 30/03/2007

MG TD TF 1500 index

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