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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Fluid types & capacity

Dave D., thank you for telling me about this site. My membership is on the way for the NW MGT club.

I just purchased a 53 TD and I want to make sure all fluids are fresh. I got it from an out of state dealer, so no background on this baby, it looks like it was given excellent care. The body is a 9.5, but engine and drive train will need some more inspection. She did 55 fine on the way home from Seattle, but she does have that TD shimmy/bounce between 55-60+ (the wife didn't drive it any faster). I will have the front tires balanced first (no weights visible). It came with no manual, hand crank, side curtains or jack...but they will come with time.

Engine Oil: Castrol GTX 20W50? How many quarts?
Should I add an oil treatment? Is the dipstick aways so hard to pull/replace! My last TD wasn't so tight.

Oil Filter: (Old type)are they available local, or is it a Moss thing? Do you recommend I mod to spinoff?

Transmission: Castrol 90W? How many quarts? How will I know if it's full?


Rear End: Castrol 90W? How many quarts? How will I know if it's full?

Brakes: Bleed & Flush, any Dot 4 Syn? How many pints?

Shocks: Type? Technique?

Any fluids I forgot?

It's great to be back in the TD community!
J.C. Walck

J.C.

Welcome!

capacities in US quarts or pints.

Most of us are running 20W50 engine oil of some type, the concern recently is having enough ZDDP for our flat tappets now that the oil makers have removed most of it for the sake of the catalytic convertors. Some makers are providing 'classic' car oils, and there is a ZDDP additive out there. Small profile sump takes five quarts, large profile uses six (6.3) quarts. Go to my website http://www.dbraun99.com/ and peruse the technical section for advice on how to read the dipstick. You may be able to pinch the dipstick, but likely someone slightly bent the tube.

Oil Filter, you mean the one without pipes? There are a variety of replacement elements for the type with the center bolt. I use NAPA gold 1300. Check the presence of the skinny gasket with a mirror. If you go with a spin on adapter, make sure the faces are free of burrs before you mate them.

Gearbox- The dipstick is on the RH top under the little access panel in the carpet, up under the cowl. I like RedLine 70w90 NS or RedLine MT-90. Avoid any EP Hypoid lube as the sulfer does not play nicely with our bronze synchros. The capacity is 1.5 pints.

Rearend go with the 90 weight hypoid gear oil, EP is fine. No Bronze in there! The place to add and check the depth is under the center panel of the rear floor. Capacity is 2.7 pints.

Brakes, I would bleed and flush with Dot 3 if I didn't know what was in there. Better yet, I would remove the hoses and replace them, replace or rebuild the wheel cylinders and master cylinder, remove the pipes and flush them, and put in Dot 5 Silicon fluid, especially if I had nice paint. But that's just me, and a lot of people have a different opinion. Remember, this is a brake system where a single point failure will render it useless, except for the well adjust parking brake, and that thing has only one leading shoe. Capacity is 1.2 pints.

If you overfill the shocks they will leak. Remove the top and put in 20w motorcycle fork oil, no more than a half inch from the fill.

The cooling system is 12.3 pints. I run a 50-50 mix. I believe the best way to keep from overheating is with a well maintained distributor capable of as much advance as the engine will tolerate.

The steering rack, if it isn't already filled with grease takes 13.5 oz (.84 pints) of 90w gear oil. Have fun filling it! You can remove the front nipple and dribble in fluid, make an addapter for a bulk loading gun, or remove the pinion preload cover and dribble it in there.

Hope this helps!

dave
Dave Braun

Joe - Glad you got on the BBS - you will find the answers to 99% of your questions right here.

" It came with no manual, hand crank, side curtains or jack..."

All of those items are available from Moss or Abingdon, but I would suggest haunting e-bay first. There is a E-Bay watch site for MG stuff at: http://www.mgauctionwatch.com/auctions.php?model=General

"Engine Oil: Castrol GTX 20W50? How many quarts?
Should I add an oil treatment?"

The Castrol will do fine for now, without any oil treatment. You are going to want to read some of the discussions regarding the lack of ZDDP in today's engine oils and decide if you want to pay the higher cost of oils that have it or wait until you overhaul the engine. Both of our MGs are still running on Castrol and I haven't had any problems. Capacity is around 5 quarts with filter.

" Is the dipstick aways so hard to pull/replace! My last TD wasn't so tight."

Check both the dipstick and the tube for bends and straighten if necessary.

"Oil Filter: (Old type)are they available local, or is it a Moss thing? Do you recommend I mod to spinoff?"

By old type, are you referring to the horizontal canister with replaceable cartridge - that should be the type you have. If so, you can get replacement filters at NAPA, just ask for MGA oil filters. Perhaps others will jump in here with some part numbers.

"Transmission: Castrol 90W? How many quarts? How will I know if it's full?"

Not sure what the capacity is (my manual is in the basement and I am on the second floor). It has a dip stick, so you can fill by that. Any 90W or 80W - 90 hypoid oil is fine. Don't use the heavy duty stuff as it has additives that are harmful to yellow metals (like brass bushings and syncro rings.

"Transmission: Castrol 90W? How many quarts? How will I know if it's full?"

"Brakes: Bleed & Flush, any Dot 4 Syn?"

DOT 4 works fine (all brake fluid is synthetic - ever see a natural brake fluid spring? Castro admits to that being a marketing ploy). A quart will do for flushing everything.

"Shocks: Type? Technique?"

Motorcycle fork oil. I use 10W which works fine for us. If the shocks are leaking, contact Peter Caldwell at World Wide Auto Parts http://www.nosimport.com/ He is the only person to send shocks to for restoration. He works magic on them and warranties his work unconditionally.

I don't see 'member', so be sure to get that taken care of so you can use the archives.

To all - Please welcome Joe and Jackie Walk, our neighbors (well, almost) and long time members of our local register before they sold their other TD (they have seen the light on that). Cheers - Dave







David DuBois

You may want to check and make sure there is not silicone brake fluid already before you flush. I think you can take a few drops out and see if it mixes with water or not- regular fluid will, silicone will bead up. If it is silicone, flush, but with the same. The Daves are right that as it is a single system it may be good to check for master cyl leakage, and pull the drums to check the cylinders for leakage. At least do this: When driving slowly (5mph or so) on cement, if you nail the pedal you should leave 4 equal length skid marks. Check the master cyl. for any oozing or leakage (at the front end at the edge of the rubber boot). Carefully inspect the 3 rubber flex hoses- they likely have a DOT date code or tag stamped in or in white letters on the rubber- obviously if 10-15 years old I would change. I used the above Castrol in my TD after engine rebuild a few years ago with new cam and lifters, after about 4-5K miles, several of the lifters were really pitted and failing. Volumes in the archives (Google this also). I have used the Zinc additive from Moss at oil change since then. You can check and service the diff easily from under the car without removing the center panel (I know the owner's manual shows this..)- big square filler plug on top- you can put a length of fuel line on the plastic oil bottle and squeeze it in. I would search archives for oil filter info (especially the seal ring issue), The guy that drives his TD a lot here changed to spin-on, the original rarely driven TF had the original cannister filter- both work fine. Lastly check the fuel lines for cracks, etc., and the carbs for leakage as they are directly above the exhaust and starter, etc. George
George Butz

The Daves?

If I'm lumped in with Dave DuBois, I'm in very good company.

dave
Dave Braun

Joe an’ Jackie,
Welcome to the site !
Oil Filters,,, I have changed to the modern spin on type on our ’52. I believe that it filters the oil better than the old style, and it makes changing the oil simpler and quicker,,, no canister, or bolt, washer, and spring to clean out.. I have also had the “rubber” gasket on the old style fail which led to a real bad, almost fatal leak!!!

Steering rack oil,,, an easy way to replenish the rack is to remove the nipple from the rack, put a length of neoprene hose on the applicator nipple of the plastic oil container, and insert it into the nipple hole in the rack. Squeeze the container and the oil goes into the rack. Same method as George mentioned above for dif oil.

Send a picture of you and your car to Gordon at gblawson@vaxxine.com so he can post it along with all of the others at http://gblandco.com/gb/forum/forum.html

SPW
Steve Wincze

While we are on the subject of TD fluids, has anyone bought or tried the DOT 5.1 brake fluid? From what I have read, it is in the same family as Dot 3 and 4 but has a higher boiling point. It may be the next improvement in other characteristics over 3 and 4.
It is not a Silicone fluid although it has a very close designation.
Jim Merz

This thread was discussed between 26/05/2009 and 27/05/2009

MG TD TF 1500 index

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