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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 - Valve Tappet Clearance

There is a valve cover for sale on ebay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2443250893&category=10076
with the valve clearance settings on the brass tag as .015.
My late TD/25937- engine TD2/26192, which I bought in the early seventies from the original owners, has a valve cover with this tag also, and it always has been a mystery to me. None of the data for other MGs that use the XPxx engines (TB, TC, TF, YA, YB or YT) show .015. They use .012, or .019 for earlier models. Even the XPJM Morris and the XPJW Wolseley used the .019 gap. The pre war TA did have a .015 gap for the exhaust valves only, but this is a later cover.
I have confirmed that an original AAA3096 cam is in my car, which would require .012 clearance by the book.
Do some of you gurus or other older members know the significance of this valve cover. Maybe used on some other car?
Dallas Congleton

Dallas,
Not for certain on subject of clearance...but perhaps I can narrow the field a bit. I see covers advertized all the time as being for "TD / TF"...does it make sence to anyone else out there that a good indacation that a particular valve cover with the breather pipe sticking straight up on the wrong side of it would not be for a TF as the pipe for that would have run straight to the front air cleaner. Covers such as that shown would appear (to me anyway) to have been made for the older single style air cleaner as they would attach straight to bottom of the oil bath. I have a simular cover for my 1500 but the pipe comes out as I described above and would make a straight connection to my front Volks air cleaner, (with no "bend" being needed). Perhaps someone better in the know can confirm this little theroy of mine.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

David - Sorry, but the breather going to the single air filter on the TDs also has a bend in the hose, since the breather attaches to the side of the air cleaner rather than through the bottom. The valve (rocker) cover is the same for the TC, TD and TF and probably the same for the TA and TB.
Dallas - I don't know where that .015 tag comes from, but my 53 TD had it on the rocker cover up until I got a cover from a different car. Even though the engine was the original for my car, the rocker cover must have been changed sometime in its life, because my valves have always been set at .012.
Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

David your comments about the cover on your original engine mirrors my experience. This engine also is the original and correct number for the car. The original owner had no knowledge of it being changed. He did no mechanical work, and had all service done at the then available dealerships. I have seen others of these covers on TDs leading me to wonder if there was some factory change that was not in the bulletins. Not a big thing but it would be interesting to know how many of these and why.
Dallas Congleton

Dallas, If you have a TD2 engine the clearance should be 0.12. In my case on my TD I had the wrong clearance 0.19 and the tappets were noisy, after checking the problem I saw that I took the figures from a wrong maintenance book.
Georgibus

The cam card that came with my Crane cam (Moss part 451-260) has a recommended setting of .18 intake and .020 exhaust. I assume this cam is in most of the rebuilt engines out there, so what values are people using for these?

Thanks,
Evan
Evan Ford - TD 27621

I believe David Sheward has a point. All TF's I have seen both in person and in photos had the breather pipe exiting horizontally on the carb side. TD's I have seen have the vertical breather pipe on the distributor side of the valve cover. As to the .015 clearance, I understand that the Austin B engine, with .015 valve clearances, was fitted to MG Magnettes beginning in 1953. Is this valve cover interchangeable to the XPAG?
Regards,
Dennis
Dennis Sexton

The B series engine is the one used in the MGAs and MGBs and does have a valve clearance of .015", but it has a different rocker cover than that on the XPAGs and has no valve clearance tag on it. Dave
David DuBois

This thread was discussed between 15/11/2003 and 17/11/2003

MG TD TF 1500 index

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