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MG MGA - bonnet anti-rattle spring

Can someone tell me the overall length and diameter of the bonnet anti-rattle spring, I need to find something close to original.

Thanks!
George G.

Mine has about 68 turns of 45thou wire which would make it 3" long unstretched. Diameter is around 5/16".................Mike
m.j. moore

I never refitted the anti-rattle spring after restoring the car.

Does it just prevent the bonnet release rod from rattling and is it really necessary?
John Bray

I never knew there was one until a similar post a few years back. Does not seem to make any difference on mine.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Initially I didn't have one but I found that the bonnet pull rod occasionally didn't return after opening. It was alright after adding the AR spring....................Mike
m.j. moore

It is not for anti-rattle. The pull rod is bowed slightly as it goes through the brackets on inner wing, so it will never rattle regardless. That spring is to assist return of the mechanism when you let go after pulling. If that spring is left off you may have to push after pull to make the latch return.
Barney Gaylord

Yes I can vouch for that. Before I refitted mine if I didn't remember to check the release had returned there was a chance the bonnet would pop up onto the safety latch after hitting a bump. Happened a couple of times while driving, once at speed, prompting me to fit the spring.
N McG

After Neil's observations I'm feeling a little paranoid!!

Could someone remind me where the spring is attached at either end?
John Bray

Around one of the wing mounting bolts
N McG

John,

The fore end of the spring is attached to the seventh wing bolt from the front. This wing bolt is about 1/2" longer than the rest so that you can loop the spring end onto the bolt.
The other end is not so easy and is fed through a tiny hole in the small toggle plate which itself is threaded onto the pull rod. With tension on the A/R spring the toggle plate jams against the side of the rod.

The trouble is that I don't think this toggle plate can be fed through the bulkhead and if fed on the rod at the front end you won't get it past the two slotted brackets welded onto the side flitch. Also you won't be able to remove the rod from these brackets without removing the rod completely from the car. This is not a nice job.

If you haven't had any problem with the bonnet rod returning under the hefty tension provided by the bonnet latch spring then I think it means that your two slotted brackets are nicely aligned and there is not so much friction there. If so I would leave it as it is, assuming you don't have a rattle of course!
On mine I had to put a new side flitch on the car, make a couple of the slotted rod brackets and weld them on. My positioning of these must have been slightly off as the friction was quite high. You can tell this by disconnecting the front of the rod and seeing how easy it is to pull the rod.

If you don't have a toggle plate I've got a dimensioned drawing I could let you have. It would be easy to make one up from a piece of 16 gauge sheet................................Mike
m.j. moore

Mike/Neil

Thank you for the info, together with a picture on Barney's site I'm clear on what needs doing.

Although I haven't had any problems with the release rods, the small toggle is already on the rod so its just a case of fitting a longer wing bolt.

Cheers…JB
John Bray


Hi George,

Brown and Gammon's in UK now stock this part.

Old Part # '95219
New B&G part # AAA788

http://www.ukmgparts.com/search.aspx?CID=&TYP=AND&SEA=AAA788

You may find Moss USA stock them, Moss UK don't

I always fit them. One less thing to worry about rattling.

Thanks
Mark
Mark Hester

This thread was discussed between 05/07/2014 and 08/07/2014

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