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MG TD TF 1500 - towing a TD

The adventure continues :)

I have convinced my bride to attend a GOF in Rochester NY, USA and this will require a 300 plus mile drive. Has anyone out there towed a TD with a tow dolly? If not, how about an open trailer? What are the pitfalls? Does the rear end take to towing OK? Does the top "baloon" and stretch the canvas? Should the car cover be put on or will the flapping wear the paint off? I am afraid that I can't carry enough oil to make such a trip. It uses a quart in about one hundred miles through leaking :( Any advice is useful, thanks. Tom
Thomas McNamara

I was told that the MG wheels are not far enough apart to fit on a tow dolly. I did not check it out, I put it on a trailer.

Don
Don

Hi Tom. I trailored from Quebec to Michigan (University Motors) with a four wheel open trailor. All went well except that my tonneau cover wore off a lot of paint due to the wind. I would advise leaving the tonneau off and pray it does'nt rain (!)Good luck and see you at the GOF. Guy
Guy Reynolds

Tom
Dave Osborn

Tom,
About 25 years ago I built a tow bar for my TD. I actually made it so that it could be dismantled and carried/stored in the car in pieces. However, when I tested it on the actual car, I could not get the front wheels to follow through a right hand turn. It would obviously go straight, and handle more broad turns easily, but someone would have to be in the car and at least start turning the steering wheel in a tight turn for the front wheels to follow. After making the turn, the wheels would straighten out just fine and away you would go. At any rate, this beautiful masterpiece got hung on my garage wall and has been there ever since.
Maybe the geometry of my tow bar just wasn't right, I always wondered if it was the bar or the car, and forgot all about it until this thread came up. Anybody else had problems using a tow bar?
I don't think the top us an issue (leave it up), you won't be going any faster than you normally drive on the highway under TD power. If you leave it in neutral, I can't see why the rear end would complain, either. And lastly, DON'T put a car cover on it if you trailer it, you'll damage the paint with the flapping and you'll probably want to wash the car when you get to Rochester no matter how you get it there, anyway.
Good Luck, wish I were going!
Dave Osborn
'51 TD
'49 TC
Dave Osborn

I own and have used a tow bar that uses the front bumper bolts to attach it to the car. You remove the front bumper and bolt the bar to the car. I can provide specifics if desired.
Andrew Wallach

Tom,
The obvious answer is to drive it!
These cars do not mind a 300 mile drive.
I just got back from a 2300 mile drive to GOF Central in Duluth MN in my YT and plan to take it to Rochester next month.
Like the bumper sticker I saw in Hagerstown said:
"If you see this car on a trailer, CALL 911
It is being stolen."
ttbaum

If you tow, you should disconnect the drive shaft at the differential. Transmissions get oiled from the counter gear which is driven from the input shaft coming out of the engine. If the engine isn't turning the input shaft, the tranny gets no lubrication.
Blake J.

Have used a tow dolly for years to tow all my MGs and none have been injured. I bought my TD in PA and towed it back to Kentucky. I did not know then if it would be harmed or not, so I left the motor idle for part of the trip, then changed my mind and would start it at refueling points. Then when I towed the MGA or the TD I just tow them. I bought an MGC with Auto and that is when I got a full size trailer. I tend to drive them to as many meets as possible, but as the years have passed by I do not enjoy the long hauls in the TD.
Anyway, getting long winded. The best bet is to get a dual axle trailer, large enough to tow the car.
Mike R
Mike Razor

Tom,

I'm curious. Why would you want to tow a non-driveable TD to the GOF?

Bud Krueger
Bud Krueger

Hey Bud, my TD is drivable but leaks a lot of oil from the rear main seal. I am now trying to judge how far I can drive before refilling the crankcase. If it is hot in September, is it safe to drive with the dipstick down a quart? How long does it take to leak a quart or so? Heck, I'd prefer to drive. Tom
Thomas McNamara

Hi Tom,

Even with a big sump, it's not a good practice to regularly drive it a quart low. Are you planning to do the various tours that are being set up for the GOF?
I'll probably be carrying a few extra quarts of Castrol 20W/50. Look me up if you need some (Autumn Red 52TD, Mass. Reg 9877).

Bud
Bud Krueger

Hey Bud, I am using 30 weight oil and leaking. Does 20W50 leak less because of viscosity? If I add some motor honey or a simelar product, will she leak less?

Second Item, does anyone who is following this thread know of a seal fix from Australia? I was told by none other than Tony Thomas that there is such a thing. Tony is a VIP in the NEMGTREG. Thanks, Tom
Thomas McNamara

Thomas, I know of the Australian manufactured seal, contact me direct for info, the gentleman concerned may not want his name spread over the net.
Gordon Wright

Tom,

I don't think that any of the additives are really worth a tinker's dam. If yours is the classic leakage from the rear seal, you're going to have to pull the engine to replace the seal. I think that school's still out on whether, or not, the non-OEM type seals are worth the money.

BTW, in the early stages of restoring my 52, I towed it all over New England using a towbar attached to the front bumper backbar. Never a problem, just don't try to back up. See you in Rochester.
Bud Krueger

Tom,

I had a similarly large oil leak in my TD recently, and assumed incorrectly that it was the rear seal leaking, since that's what everyone cites as the TD's main source of leakage. I took good advice that I received on this forum, and cleaned up the engine, then ran it for awhile and looked carefully to see where it was leaking.

I was surprised, but very pleased, to determine that the leaks were from the valve cover gasket and the oil filter gasket, not from the rear seal. New gaskets, and now I'm leak free. (Well, OK . . . but I'm as leak free as a TD gets!)

You might want to look a the "seeking oil leak advice" thread.

Good Luck!

Ted
Ted Preston

Badly leaking rear main=worn bearings or incorrectly rebuilt rear main scroll. If the bearings are good, the rear main leaks the most when you shut the engine off. Then, the crankshaft scroll isn't screwing the oil back into the sump while there is still some oil pressure in the system or oil in the galleries. So, drive the TD and don't shut it off! ;-)
Blake J.

I pulled my 51 from Kansas to Austin, TX on a dolly. No problem it fit just fine. Some say do not tow on the dolly without disconnecting the drive shaft. Front tranny bearing will run dry. That's not possible because the angle is low and the oil level is hi enuff to be spashing the bearing. But when I get this car restored, I will make a decision partly based on how many #s I have left. I see no problem with towing by bumper bolts. I just ordered some plans from JC Whitney for a tilt trailer with just tire tracks. Will look at that too and price. As far as the rear crank oil is concerned, not a single "new" seal has come on the market that will get everyone's approval. There is no seal on the rear, just a sling ringhousing that bolts on the rear and the screw on crank. One person told me that he cut a groove from the crank bearing housing into the sump and has no more problems. This is the way they were to solve the oil loss on my 59 Jag except a hole was to be drilled from the slinger cavity thru the bearing cap to the sump. Sold it instead of paying $600 to do.
Thom Blair

This thread was discussed between 05/08/2000 and 25/08/2000

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