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MG TD TF 1500 - 4.3 axle conversion, Source in Europe

I finally test drove my new 4.3 axle today - absolutely great experience and probably the best modification to the car next to the clutch fix.

It was a long story, and I have been reading in the BBS about the conversion for the last 6 years, now it finally happened.

I had not found anyone in Germany who would do it, so by the end of last year I had decided to do it myself (with quite a few concerns, though, despite all the good advice and material that is around in this forum). I had sourced all the parts already (new, because the price differential to a used MGA diff was not significant, but I did not feel qualified to judge if a used diff was in usable shape).
But then in December I came across Hardy Engineering in the UK who asked all the right questions and quickly convinced me they were the right guys to do it.
Interestingly, they did not want to use new parts because they seem to be manufactured differently and "a pain to adjust". They sourced a used diff as part of the offer, so I returned all my purchases and brought my axle to the UK on our return from holiday after Christmas.



Mike Fritsch

Their workshop is in an old building, just right for our cars. And you can see they live and breathe gears ;-)




Mike Fritsch

It was ready to pick up 4 weeks later (as promised), then it sat in my garage until the Easter break when we took it back to Germany.
Here´s a photo they made while the surgery was ongoing.








Mike Fritsch


I had rebuilt all the back axle mechanics in the meantime, including springs, new rubber parts, poly bushed, JJ nylatron pads for the springs etc. No major issues here thanks to all the preparation from reading the archives. Except a lot of grime, dirt, and some rust that had to be removed. No rusted bolts, all came apart with limited force and having read how to remove the front spring bolt and the shackle bolts greatly helped.
The disassembly was a bit hampered by missing Whitworth tools, so the next investment when back in the UK was a set of WW spanners and a tap and die set (the latter saw good use for cleaning all the bolts and nuts).
The re-assembly went smoother. The only real fight I had was with the rubber corner pieces that go around the long leaves of the spring.

The axle went in fine. No length issue ( I believe at Hardy´s they said they had machined the flange a bit shorter), all a perfect fit.

More later. It took longer than planned, but the good news is that I´m super happy now that it´s done. Now the Ford 5-speed T9 box I had also bought (as a backup...) will not be needed.

Best
Mike
Mike Fritsch

Well done, Mike. My TD thanks me every time we go out for installing the 4.3 gears. Bud
Bud Krueger

Mike... how much did they charge for the conversion ?

Dave
D Moore

The total was 650£+Vat including all parts, which I found very reasonable after some comparisons and given that the parts I had sourced had ecxeeded the 500 € mark.

I was unlucky in that the conversion rate went seriously the wrong way in the first quarter, but that's life ;-(

Mike Fritsch

During the disassembly of the brakes, I found out that on one side the backplate was mounted between the axle and the outer bearing cup instead on the outside of the axle. Hard to notice visually, but of course it became evident during the disassembly. This was probably the reason why both the PO and I had to swap out oiled brake pads some years ago - clearly the seal would not sit properly on the cone that way.
That ldd to another discovery during final assembly. The wheel blocked when the center nut was tightened. After some head scratching I compared the brake shoes with some old ones only to find out that the new ones were 7mm wider and met with the drum (sideways) when fastened. Talk about trust in the workshop that changed the brakes...
Luckily I had a set of pads sitting on the shelf - which were meant for the front brakes,though. So some new purchases are in order.

Armstrong shocks were half full only so they got a refill and a nice cleaning and black coating. They lose oil, though, so I need to find a repair shop in Germany for next winter.
Fastening the center nuts drives me nuts...the hole for the cotter pin is always covered when the torque is right...and getting the cotter pin in and out is a challenge with wire wheel hubs anyway.
I seriously consider point welding a threaded bolt on the half shaft ends and use a u-shaped piece of metal to fix the crown nut. Better ideas welcome;-)

Best Rgds
Mike
Mike Fritsch

Mike,
It is easy enough to repair the dampers yourself.
Here's a link to an article I wrote on how we repair Morris Minor dampers-the TD is no more difficult
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36349&hilit=how+to+repair+a+damper
Regards
Declan

D Burns

Hi Declan,

It's good to see someone else rebuilding their shockabsorbers. I managed to remove the blanking plugs by spot MIGing on a nut and pulling them out with a piece of studding and a spacer. I fitted lip seals purchased from BSL Brammer. They were inexpensive. Unfortunately the shafts had corroded where the seals would normally run, hence the leaks. I deepened the recesses for the seals so they would run on a smooth part of the shaft. I found the circular cutters used to make housings for kitchen cabinet door hinges to be a perfect fit. There was no need for careful setting up since the cutter piloted in the existing bore. I simply removed a couple millimetres with my drillpress.

Cheers

Jan
J Targosz

Mike

A very slight thinning of the washer under the nuts will help to line them up for the split pins.

Tim
Tim Wilkinson

Declan, Jan,

Is it necessary to pull the plug or could the arm just be pulled out, e.g. with a bearing splitter? I could not see on the pics if it is fixed on the back side with a seeger ring or else.

Tim, I'll look into that. I had tried the other way, adding a thin washer, but had no proper ones at hand. Currently I'm slightly "too far" on both sides, so adding was the first attempt. I need to open them up again anyway, since something is scratching in one drum (6x / rev, so probably one of the springs is touching the nuts of the ww hub).
Can someone advise on the TPI of the center nut, then I could calculate what thickness delta is needed to line them up properly?

Best Rgds
Mike

Mike Fritsch

Mike,

The early TD's had rear axles with British threads, later ones were changed to SAE, the early half shaft thread is 7/8" BSF 11 TPI the later is 7/8" UNF 14 TPI.


John
J Scragg

Mike,
Not on the TD Girling dampers but on some of the Morris Minor dampers there is a piece that needs to be destroyed before you can press out the shaft. You need a large press not a puller.
Regards
Declan
D Burns

Mike,
Like this
Regards
Declan

D Burns

John, thanks a lot. That means I am at .15 or .2 mm in case of maximum misalignment (1/12th turn), so thinning the washer seems to be an option.

Btw, have you done your conversion yet?

Rgds Mike
Mike Fritsch

Declan, I agree a press is straightforward once the plug is off, I was just looking for options to avoid destroying the plug - and I have pullers but not a press other than a large vice which is probably at its range limits here. But maybe a good reason to build one ;-).

Jan, your idea certainly sounds good - the plug can be re-used that way, right ?

Rgds, Mike
Mike Fritsch

Hi Mike,

I suppose the welded on nut could be broken or ground off and the plug reused. I have a box of various sized core plugs and I made one of these fit by soft soldering a brass bolt in the centre so I could grip the thing in my lathe and turn it down too fit the shock absorber body recess.

Cheers

Jan
J Targosz

This thread was discussed between 12/06/2015 and 21/06/2015

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