Saturday, September 6, 2008
Bonnet props
I just installed new gas filled bonnet props. They are really great - they allow the bonnet to open to near vertical with no effort. I ordered them here from a guy on MGExperience.net.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Brakes part deux
My post a couple of days ago talked about looking at the back brakes. I noted a few problems.
1. There was a crimp in the rear brake line - probably due to someone trying to tow the car with chains around the axle (even though there are tow hook spots on the back).
2. A leaking wheel cylinder.
3. The brake shoes were in the wrong way around, and some of the springs were aligned incorrectly.
So today I tackled these issues. I had ordered a new brake line from MossMotors. I also bought a new wheel cylinder from Advance Auto. You can get them online, but Advance could get me one in 24 hours with no shipping. Its worth bearing in mind that you might be able to get parts from your local auto parts store from time to time.
Before starting this project, I watched John Twists video on rear brakes again and took notes. Here is the video. Watch it over and over before you start!! I also used a Gunson Eezibleed - these are awesome - google it to get one.
First I dismantled the brakes. After jacking up and safely supporting the car on jack stands, I removed the brake shoes and springs. The cylinder is easy to get off, there is a U shaped spring clip on the back that holds it in place. You also have to remove the brake bleeder to get it off.
The new cylinder goes in pretty easily, although it is a bit of a pain getting that clip back in.
I put the shoes back in according to John Twists video. Basically one shoe is up, the other down. Also it is important to align the springs so that they don't interfere with other components.
The new brake line comes coiled. Its copper tubing with little nuts on the end that screw into the junction at one end (near the differential) and the wheel cylinder at the other end. You've got to be careful bending this so that it fits. I used the old tubing to get the basic shape and that worked pretty well.
Next, it is time to bleed the brakes. The Eezibleed hooks up to the spare tire and uses the air pressure to force brake fluid through the system. It literally took about 20 minutes to bleed the brakes.
The final part is adjusting the brakes. There is only one place to adjust brakes on an MGB and that is on the rear wheels. There is a square bolt that changes the spacing of the shoes. To set this bolt, first you tighten it until the wheels won't turn. Then jump in the car and pump the brakes. Hop out and see if the wheels turn. If they do, then re-tighten. If not back off the bolt a quarter turn. Hop in the car and pump the brakes again to see if the settings are good.
And while I had the car jacked up I tightened up the hand brake so that it only needs 4 or so clicks to be fully engaged.
Now the test drive!
Folks say that the stock MGB brakes are pretty good. I was previously unsure of this. I had never locked up the front wheels. Well, there are now black skid marks on the my street that attest to how keen my brakes are now. This service has certainly made a difference.
The whole thing took about 3 hours. Go ahead and do you brakes today if you haven't looked at them since getting the car!
1. There was a crimp in the rear brake line - probably due to someone trying to tow the car with chains around the axle (even though there are tow hook spots on the back).
2. A leaking wheel cylinder.
3. The brake shoes were in the wrong way around, and some of the springs were aligned incorrectly.
So today I tackled these issues. I had ordered a new brake line from MossMotors. I also bought a new wheel cylinder from Advance Auto. You can get them online, but Advance could get me one in 24 hours with no shipping. Its worth bearing in mind that you might be able to get parts from your local auto parts store from time to time.
Before starting this project, I watched John Twists video on rear brakes again and took notes. Here is the video. Watch it over and over before you start!! I also used a Gunson Eezibleed - these are awesome - google it to get one.
First I dismantled the brakes. After jacking up and safely supporting the car on jack stands, I removed the brake shoes and springs. The cylinder is easy to get off, there is a U shaped spring clip on the back that holds it in place. You also have to remove the brake bleeder to get it off.
The new cylinder goes in pretty easily, although it is a bit of a pain getting that clip back in.
I put the shoes back in according to John Twists video. Basically one shoe is up, the other down. Also it is important to align the springs so that they don't interfere with other components.
The new brake line comes coiled. Its copper tubing with little nuts on the end that screw into the junction at one end (near the differential) and the wheel cylinder at the other end. You've got to be careful bending this so that it fits. I used the old tubing to get the basic shape and that worked pretty well.
Next, it is time to bleed the brakes. The Eezibleed hooks up to the spare tire and uses the air pressure to force brake fluid through the system. It literally took about 20 minutes to bleed the brakes.
The final part is adjusting the brakes. There is only one place to adjust brakes on an MGB and that is on the rear wheels. There is a square bolt that changes the spacing of the shoes. To set this bolt, first you tighten it until the wheels won't turn. Then jump in the car and pump the brakes. Hop out and see if the wheels turn. If they do, then re-tighten. If not back off the bolt a quarter turn. Hop in the car and pump the brakes again to see if the settings are good.
And while I had the car jacked up I tightened up the hand brake so that it only needs 4 or so clicks to be fully engaged.
Now the test drive!
Folks say that the stock MGB brakes are pretty good. I was previously unsure of this. I had never locked up the front wheels. Well, there are now black skid marks on the my street that attest to how keen my brakes are now. This service has certainly made a difference.
The whole thing took about 3 hours. Go ahead and do you brakes today if you haven't looked at them since getting the car!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Brakes and a tuneup.
Its been a while since I posted, largely because I haven't done any work on the car - which is good!! I've driven it quite a bit in the meantime. I did replace shoes and rotors on the front brakes a while ago and today I took a look at the back brakes.
Before you get started take a look at this video by John Twist. It goes through the components and assembly nicely.
To do the back brakes, its worth taking a look at them before you buy any parts. (If you can't get the drum off - check you don't have the handbrake on!) Here is what one side looked like
Clearly there is plenty of life left in these shoes, although the cylinder is leaking. I checked for movement in the components by depressing the pedal and making sure everything moved it should. Then I put the wheel back on. I'll order a new cylinder and do that replacement another day.
If you have a sharp eye, you'll note that both shoes are in the same way. This is not how they are supposed to be. One should be up and one should be down - they are not supposed to be symmetric. I actually just realized this and I'll fix them next time I have the brakes apart.
I also have a pinched brake line which was probably caused by someone trying to pull the car with a rope or chain around the rear axle. I'll replace that when I do the brake cylinder as bleeding the brakes will be called for.
I also did a few other maintenance items. I had noticed a little exhaust noise from under the car, so I re-positioned and tightened the exhaust brackets.
I also did a tuneup. This involved:
1. Check spark plugs and gaps. - The plugs were all nice a clean with no bad discoloration or oil.
2. Check timing. Its where I left it at 14 BTDC.
3. Check valve clearance. This is something I haven't done before, but it is pretty easy. Check out first these two videos.
First, it helps if you can turn over then engine from under the hood. This video shows you how to do it. But basically you run a wire from the brown/white pin on the ignition starter relay to the bottom fuse of the fuse box. I also disconnected the HT lead from the top of the coil.
The second video shows you how to set the valves - basically we are adjusting the gap between the tappet and the top of the valve. The system is easy once you see it! You follow the rule of 9. There are 8 valves. When a valve is in its lowest position, its' pair (they should add to 9) is the one to adjust. So the pairing is as follows:
1 - 8
2 - 7
3 - 6
4 - 5
5 - 4
6 - 3
7 - 2
8 - 1
You get the valve in to its lowest position by just turning over the motor.
I did this with a cold engine and set the gap at 0.015. It'll be a bit narrower when warm - and the shop manual recommends 0.013 for a warm engine. I'll probably go back and check it in a few days.
You do not want to set it too tight!!!! You'll wear out the cam and you'll hurt performance. If it is set right, the valves should sound like a sewing machine!
Finally, I put a 180F stat in and took out the 195. Its been running a little warm and I want to see if this makes a difference.
Before you get started take a look at this video by John Twist. It goes through the components and assembly nicely.
To do the back brakes, its worth taking a look at them before you buy any parts. (If you can't get the drum off - check you don't have the handbrake on!) Here is what one side looked like
Clearly there is plenty of life left in these shoes, although the cylinder is leaking. I checked for movement in the components by depressing the pedal and making sure everything moved it should. Then I put the wheel back on. I'll order a new cylinder and do that replacement another day.
If you have a sharp eye, you'll note that both shoes are in the same way. This is not how they are supposed to be. One should be up and one should be down - they are not supposed to be symmetric. I actually just realized this and I'll fix them next time I have the brakes apart.
I also have a pinched brake line which was probably caused by someone trying to pull the car with a rope or chain around the rear axle. I'll replace that when I do the brake cylinder as bleeding the brakes will be called for.
I also did a few other maintenance items. I had noticed a little exhaust noise from under the car, so I re-positioned and tightened the exhaust brackets.
I also did a tuneup. This involved:
1. Check spark plugs and gaps. - The plugs were all nice a clean with no bad discoloration or oil.
2. Check timing. Its where I left it at 14 BTDC.
3. Check valve clearance. This is something I haven't done before, but it is pretty easy. Check out first these two videos.
First, it helps if you can turn over then engine from under the hood. This video shows you how to do it. But basically you run a wire from the brown/white pin on the ignition starter relay to the bottom fuse of the fuse box. I also disconnected the HT lead from the top of the coil.
The second video shows you how to set the valves - basically we are adjusting the gap between the tappet and the top of the valve. The system is easy once you see it! You follow the rule of 9. There are 8 valves. When a valve is in its lowest position, its' pair (they should add to 9) is the one to adjust. So the pairing is as follows:
1 - 8
2 - 7
3 - 6
4 - 5
5 - 4
6 - 3
7 - 2
8 - 1
You get the valve in to its lowest position by just turning over the motor.
I did this with a cold engine and set the gap at 0.015. It'll be a bit narrower when warm - and the shop manual recommends 0.013 for a warm engine. I'll probably go back and check it in a few days.
You do not want to set it too tight!!!! You'll wear out the cam and you'll hurt performance. If it is set right, the valves should sound like a sewing machine!
Finally, I put a 180F stat in and took out the 195. Its been running a little warm and I want to see if this makes a difference.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Oil change and lube!
Changed the oil on Saturday and I remembered to lubricate the front suspension and steering. So, if you haven't given your swivel axles a good going over with the grease gun recently, then get out there and do it. It only takes a few minutes and it will prolong the life of those axles dramatically. You should do it every 2000 miles or so (even though the recommended interval is longer). The PITA part of it is getting the grease gun to work.
Next job - brakes!! I ordered the minor brake kit from Brittek and I plan on doing my brakes soon.
Next job - brakes!! I ordered the minor brake kit from Brittek and I plan on doing my brakes soon.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Electric radiator fan
I finally got around to installing the new fan. That was after I put in the new radiator because I punched a hole in the old one. I'll still try and get the old one fixed though.
Installing the fan was pretty easy once I got going. I installed a thermostat control so that it comes on when the radiator is hot. I also wired it to the ignition side of the fuse box so that it will go off when the engine is turned off. Finally I included a bypass switch that is mounted on the dash (in place of the dimmer which I plan to bypass as it is useless). The bypass switch allows me to turn on the fan even if the thermostat hasn't kicked in. Basically an override. I even found a switch at advance auto that has a little red LED in it that comes on when the fan is on. Cool.
Installing the fan was pretty easy once I got going. I installed a thermostat control so that it comes on when the radiator is hot. I also wired it to the ignition side of the fuse box so that it will go off when the engine is turned off. Finally I included a bypass switch that is mounted on the dash (in place of the dimmer which I plan to bypass as it is useless). The bypass switch allows me to turn on the fan even if the thermostat hasn't kicked in. Basically an override. I even found a switch at advance auto that has a little red LED in it that comes on when the fan is on. Cool.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ignition relay
I installed an ignition relay last week. Its pretty easy really, basically you are using the power from the ignition switch (white wire) to turn on the relay and let power from the battery flow to the fuse box and the starter and coil. The advantage of this is that all that power no longer flows through the ignition switch.
The process is pretty straightforward. Incidentally, later model cars came with an ignition relay. My car had had it removed at some point! But adding a relay to an older car makes sense to.
The process is pretty straightforward. Incidentally, later model cars came with an ignition relay. My car had had it removed at some point! But adding a relay to an older car makes sense to.
Aftermarket cooling fans
I am in the process of installing an aftermarket electrical cooling fan. This basically involves wiring up the fan that will sit in front of the radiator. Once this is installed and running, I will remove the belt driven fan.
Why?
Because: the belt fan draws constant HP. It runs whether I need it or not. For example, you don't need a cooling fan at 50mph. It also runs when I don't want the engine to be cooled - for example, when I start the car in the morning and its cold. The cooling fan is also quite noisy.
The later Bs came with twin electrical fans as standard, but my car had it removed at some point, so I am basically returning it to its earlier state.
OK - the point of the post...Be very careful installing the fan - they come with plastic wires that are supposed to be threaded through the radiator. I did this and punctured the radiator - DISASTER. So now I either get a new rad, or get this one fixed. A better solution is to build a mounting bracket for the fan. I'll post more details on my solution later.
Apparently, from others on MGExp forum, this is not a unique problem - other folks have inadvertently damaged their radiators installing these fans. So you have been warned.
Why?
Because: the belt fan draws constant HP. It runs whether I need it or not. For example, you don't need a cooling fan at 50mph. It also runs when I don't want the engine to be cooled - for example, when I start the car in the morning and its cold. The cooling fan is also quite noisy.
The later Bs came with twin electrical fans as standard, but my car had it removed at some point, so I am basically returning it to its earlier state.
OK - the point of the post...Be very careful installing the fan - they come with plastic wires that are supposed to be threaded through the radiator. I did this and punctured the radiator - DISASTER. So now I either get a new rad, or get this one fixed. A better solution is to build a mounting bracket for the fan. I'll post more details on my solution later.
Apparently, from others on MGExp forum, this is not a unique problem - other folks have inadvertently damaged their radiators installing these fans. So you have been warned.
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