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MG MGB Technical - Hibernation niggles

Took my '66 GT out of hibernation for the first time in a good few months yesterday. I've now got a list of niggles to sort out, some of which are new and some have been around for a while but I haven't got round to fixing:

1 - The driver's door won't latch shut properly. It closes onto the safety catch, but bounces back off the "fully" latched position. The only way to close it properly is to push the door very firmly shut from the "safety" position. It used to do this occasionally and a spot of spray grease and exercising the catch has always sorted it - however I think it's now so gummed up that it needs a proper clean! Can anyone suggest how this can be done, ideally without removing the catch and disturbing the alignment? I'm paranoid about jamming it and being unable to open the door again!

2 - There's a loud rattle over poor roads (of which we have many around here). I've never quite traced it but it's around the tailgate/boot area. I have replaced the latching loop, the two spring closure units and checked the hinges for security. I've also tried jamming rags between the wooden boot floor and the metal rails in case that was it but the noise persists! Any more ideas on what it could be?

3 - The radiator is weeping very slightly (meaning a couple of drops evident after the system's been pressurised) from a "blob" of what I assume to be solder on the front of the header, opposite the angled filler (MK1 so the filler neck is to the side with no expansion tank). I tried JB Weld but it still leaks and I now have a blob of JB Weld in the way of further investigations! Can this stuff be removed so I can have another go?

4 - The heater valve doesn't shut off properly, does anyone make a decent one now or are they all still awful?

Many thanks in advance,
Tim
T Jenner

1. With the door open flick the wheel in the latch to the first and second closed positions with a screwdriver to see if it is sticking. If it flicks open again when you push the button, then it isn't sticking. Sounds like the rubbers too thick/hard, if the striker plate is adjusted so that the skins are flush when the door is fully closed. In the past I've tapped the flange in or out to 'adjust' it on daily drivers, the roadster could do with being a little further out if anything, but as it is a summer car and a soft-top there is little point. I seem to recall that the door latch is in a fixed position, it is the striker plate that is adjusted in or out, up or down for correct closing. So you can remove it with impunity ... as long as you note how the operating rods connect.

2. Exhaust? A pal bought a car with a warranty and a rattle many years ago. The garage changed engine, gearbox, prop-shaft and axle before they found it was a loose baffle. Handbrake cable? Stuff in boot? I had a rattle (over larger potholes fortunately, not all the time) from the left rear and never have found it despite changing exhaust, tank, rear axle, handbrake cable at various times over the years (for other reasons).

3. Never had a problem with the heater valve shutting off - once the cable is adjusted correctly. I've experienced four now, the problem being the diaphragm splits and they leak. If it pulls the arm onto the flat part of angled slot at the end then it should be fully closed. If it isn't then it *is* faulty. If it's an old valve then the seat that the diaphragm closes onto corrodes so could be leaking. Another problem I've had is that when it *is* fully closed, then the cable can't push it off that flat part to start opening it again, so I've fitted a push-off spring (see below).

People fret about it not being fully open when it can be fully closed, as there is a significant amount of lost motion between the dash control and the valve. But when I need to adjust mine down a bit to get warm air instead of hot, I have to go past Warm and half-way to Off before it reduces the temperature, so I can't see that as a problem. Incidentally I get around 60C at an ambient of 8-10C out of both mine, which is more than hot enough.

PaulH Solihull

Your hatch/tailgate rattle is probably caused by the hinge arms....I replaced mine with a gas-strut kit, and the rattle disappeared, completely...Also made it very easy to open the hatch.
Edward
Edward Wesson 52TD

Thanks for the replies, chaps. I'll have a go at the latch mechanism, and will try adjusting the heater control cable - I actually don't want it on and was considering bypassing it with a bit of hose anyway, so if I can get it to shut off completely that's good enough!

Regarding the rattle, I really thought it was the spring arm things but I've changed them and it didn't help. I might try taking them off completely, along with removing the stuff under the boot floor to see if that helps. It doesn't sound like it's the exhaust but certainly worth a check.

Any ideas on the radiator leak and how to remove JB Weld? Alternatively, does Bars Leaks/Rad Weld do anything nasty to the water galleries, water pump, etc or does it just form over the leak?

Thanks,
Tim
T Jenner

Recent rear end knocks/rattles on my B were found to be caused by:
(1) shock absorber, rattling when driving over uneven road
(2) rubber bushes in rear spring eyes worn through and allowing metal-to-metal contact between spring and bolt
Brian Shaw

Thanks, Brian, another thing to check. The car does very few miles these days (think it was about 80 last year!) so the bushes may well have perished. Can you determine that visually or by feel or did you need to disassemble to inspect the bushes?

Cheers,
Tim
T Jenner

I used Radweld many years ago when a Mini radiator tube sprung a leak, poured it in, and watched as the spurt slowed and stopped. Didn't have a problem with it after that.

But a pal used Barrs Leaks in his Rover 2600 and that furred the tubes up, he had to have the end removed and them rodded out. Not saying one is better or worse than the other, just that it can vary.

If the leak is from a split, or a faulty join, I don't think anything short of soldering will fix it as vibration will open it up again. Even then I had two goes at resoldering the join between the header and the body on a V8 radiator but it leaked again shortly afterwards.

To remove the rear shackle bushes you will probably have to undo the U-bolts - don't rely on the rebound straps to hold the axle up - to release all the tension then undo the shackles. Once you've got that far, replace them!
PaulH Solihull

Tim,
Springs: I'd put up with the noise for some time and was unable to locate the problem by inspection. It sounded like it was something on the driver's side. The rear springs had been on the car for about 16 years and were looking rough so I bought a pair with fitting kit from Moss. When I removed the springs I saw that the rubber bushes had worn through (driver's side). I think the only way to check them is to remove the springs.
Brian Shaw

This thread was discussed between 04/03/2013 and 05/03/2013

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