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MG TD TF 1500 - Pulling the engine

It does not appear it takes much to pull the motor on the TD.

Exhaust Manifold to down pipe - 3 bolts
Engine mount 2 bolts
Engine Stabilizer - 1 bolt
Wires to generator - 2
Wire to Dizzy - 1
Wire to starter - 1
Fuel line to Carbs - 1
Small Oil line to cowl - 1
Drive shaft - 4
Shifter - ?

This is all I can see on the outside. What might I be missing?

I might want to pull it to detail the engine bay & powerwash the engine & repaint it.
V.W. Piña

A few other things that might be helpful to remove: The tranny to exhaust pipe mount, the rear trans. mount bolts, speedo cable, clutch linkage. This presumes you will pull the motor/transmission as a unit- I think the best and by far easiest way. Also the engine to frame ground strap. If you forget anything, just keep cranking on the engine hoist and it will break and then come free. Plan on things like the exhaust manifold studs twisting off, etc. I would definitely do the clutch and change all of the freeze plugs while the motor was out.
George
George Butz

You will also have ot remove the radiator prior to removing the engine, especially if you remove the engine and transmission as a single unit. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Throttle Linkage & CHOKE Cable I tend to forget one of these.

Starter motor cable.

Bruce Cunha

Rev counter cable, water hoses to radiator.

I like to remove the generator, starter, carbs, fan blades, waterpump, anything that may get hung up in a sling, or add unecessary complications as I hoist it. I do leave the manifolds on. I dress the engine the same way, i.e., I add that stuff on the car after the engine is in place.

Good time to send your exhaust manifold to JetHot for thermal coating inside and out.

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

And why not remove the radiator too, so you can flush it properly?

Just think twice about starting this; I think most full-body-off-restorations started with a "detail the engine bay & powerwash the engine & repaint it".....
Willem van der Veer

Should have actually mentioned that the bonnet is off as well as the grille/radiator and carbs a& manifold. Speedo cable is aso disconnected.
V.W. Piña

See Vince?

That's what happens when you create an itemized list for a bunch of literalists!

Good luck with your sprucing up.

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

"Just think twice about starting this; I think most full-body-off-restorations started with a "detail the engine bay & powerwash the engine & repaint it"..... "

This all started as just trying to wake her up. I doubt I will do a full restoration (famous last words) but we will see how it goes.

I have to figure out how to hang all of these engines I have, up high to get them off the floor. I have two 1275's from my midgets and maybe a 1800 from a GT a just picked up. I am running out of floor space.

List is as follows;

Exhaust Manifold to down pipe - 3 bolts
Engine mount 2 bolts
Engine Stabilizer - 1 bolt
Wires to generator - 2
Wire to Dizzy - 1
Wire to starter - 1
Fuel line to Carbs - 1 - OFF
Small Oil line to cowl - 1
Drive shaft - 4
Shifter - ?
Tanny to exhaust pipe mount - ?
Rear Trans mount bolts - ?
Speedo cable - 1 nut - OFF
Engine to Frame ground strap - 1 Bolt
Radiator & support - ? - OFF
Clamps, Water hoses to Radiator - 6 - OFF
Choke cable - 1 Scre & nut - OFF
Throttle linkage - 1 nut & bolt - OFF

Should I really change the freeze plugs while it is out? Will I kick myself later on for not doing so?

Feel free to add to this list.
V.W. Piña

V. W.,
You might as well send out the exhaust manifold to be aluminized,,,,,,,

SPW
Steve Wincze

<<Will I kick myself later on for not doing so?>>
Yes, in the teeth! Especially the one on the back of the engine might cause serious and bloody self inflicted injury; there's NO clearance at all.

Don't be tempted to change the engine/gearbox mounting rubbers unless really bad. It seems that some replacement rubbers are much harder, causing vibration, noise and fitment problems
Willem van der Veer

V.W.
Don’t for get the temperature gauge capillary tube. But the first thing to disconnect is the battery. You don’t want to have the capillary tube be your only ground, as it will melt if you hit the starter during removal. I learned this the hard way and yes it will melt! John
JOHN

V.W.
It's probably not absolutely necessary, but I find it easier to pull the engine with the steering column detached from the rack and pulled back to the firewall. Scott
Scott McCoy

I'd remove both battery cables. You will have to disconnect the steering shaft (3 bolts) and move it out of the way to clear the oil pump. Inside you will have to remove the seat, carpet , bell housing cover and clutch linkage.

LaVerne
LaVerne

One more point of caution,,,, right now, with everything in place, you can use the fenders to gently lean on as you reach into the engine compartment,,,, please don't lean on them with the radiator and it's shell out ot the car !!!!!

SPW
Steve Wincze

Battery Cables - 2
Exhaust Manifold to down pipe - 3 bolts
Engine mount 2 bolts
Engine Stabilizer - 1 bolt
Wires to generator - 2
Wire to Dizzy - 1
Wire to starter - 1
Fuel line to Carbs - 1 - OFF
Small Oil line to cowl - 1
Drive shaft - 4
Shifter - ?
Tanny to exhaust pipe mount - ?
Rear Trans mount bolts - ?
Speedo cable - 1 nut - OFF
Engine to Frame ground strap - 1 Bolt
Radiator & support - ? - OFF
Clamps, Water hoses to Radiator - 6 - OFF
Choke cable - 1 Scre & nut - OFF
Throttle linkage - 1 nut & bolt - OFF
Temperature Guage Capillary tube - 1
Steering Shaft - 3
Seats - 2
Carpet - All
Bell housing Cover - ?

In terms of the Manifold, I painted it with a High Heat Primer & High Heat Paint (I know it's not going to hold up) I will jet hot at a later date as $$ is a little tight.

Freeze plugs. Is this something I can do myself? How can I tell if they need replacing.
V.W. Piña

Might pull off the fenders to tell you the truth. Might as well restore it I guess.
V.W. Piña

Yes you can do the freeze plugs yourself. If you see any seepage on any I'd replace them all. If you don't see any I wouldn't touch them. If you need to change them just drive the center in with a larger punch until you can work them out. I used an air chisle with a punch end. Once out the ridge must be thourghly cleaned of all old sealer, paint and scale. New plugs should be test fit dry and should be a snug fit before setting. When setting the plugs, give the edge of the plugs and the block flange a liberal coating of permatex aircraft sealer. I think it's the #1 brown stuff. Put the plug in position and lightly tap the center with a hammer to flatten the plug being careful not to go past flat to a concave . Most people would be done at that point, however there seem to be problems with the plugs sealing (including mine) so I gave the outside joint a liberal coating of JB Weld before painting the block. Not that difficult to do. They are not that expensive so get a couple of extras in each size in case you screw the first attempt up.

LaVerne
LaVerne

Freeze plugs can get paperthin, rusting invisibly from inside out. There's nothing more frustrating then changing freeze plugs on a recently painted engine; it spoils your nice finish.

I replaced some of my freezeplugs, and removed them with a cross headed screwdriver; I rammed straight through and prised it out, the rest as LaVerne. It's worth checking the archives on freezze plugs.

Willem van der Veer

V.W.
You can remove the engine and transmission as a unit without removing the seats, carpet, floor boards and transmission tunnel. You do have to remove the gearshift lever, radiator and shroud. Once they are removed and the motor mounts and transmission mounts unbolted the engine will pull forward and the transmission will drop. In order to do this you have to have an engine hoist. I usually remove the carbs, generator, starter and steering rod at the three bolts holding it to the steering rack. Reinstallation is the reverse and you can do it yourself, but unless you have very long arms to let off the hoist while you are lining up the transmission mount, you will need a helping hand. If you decide to go this route, look up the trick for removing the gear shift lever in the archives. John
JOHN

Vince - Your itemized gets longer and longer each time you redo it. If you don't end this thread soon, you will find that you have the TD completely stipped down to the bare frame and at that point you might as well replace the freeze plugs ;) Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Dave DuBois is right again!

I started my restoration because I had a seriously worn front right tire; my number one cylinder was low on compression; and I had some wood that needed refurbishing... it was going to take me six months and about $6K.

Ha ha ha

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

(Clicks his shoes)

"I wlll not restore yet"
"I wlll not restore yet"
"I wlll not restore yet"

V.W. Piña

It really is hard to have a plan and stick to it. I pulled the eng/gearbox out about a maonth ago and the repairs seem to never end, but I like to fix items right or not-at-all (very bad personality trait). Would love to figure out how to take care of the frame rust w/out taking it all the way down. I have done quite a bit to minimize the rust but know that it will soon come through eastwood's chas. black. A positive note is that the brake pedal bushing came today and I would not have known that it was needed and s/b installed now without this forum, so many thanks to all contributors as I read this at my desk while having lunch.

tim
tim

This thread was discussed between 21/11/2006 and 27/11/2006

MG TD TF 1500 index

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