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MG TD TF 1500 - Main and rod bearing suppliers

I am looking for quality engine bearings. There are older discussions in the archives, but I wondered what is the current thinking and availability. Moss and AS bearings have been suspect in the past.
Thanks for any help you can give,
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

A few years back when I was rebuilding my engine I did some searching. At that time and I imagine nothing has changed, the only manufacture of engine bearings for the XPAG and XPEG's was King Bearings in Israel. The bearings are bi-metal and looking at their specs I believe they are suitable for bone stock ( as in 7.5 compression) engines but not much else.

They have the capability and do manufacture tri-metal bearings for MGB's which their data shows to be more in line with what is needed for any modified XPAG/XPEG.


So what do you do? Well the issue really isn't with the main bearings so much as it is the rod bearings. One solution is to purchase a high dollar crank and rods from Manley Ford which are designed to utilize the rod bearings from an MGB.

Another option is to search for some NOS Vandervell Tri-metal bearings in the size you need. There may still be some out there but searching did not find any. Even if you do find some they may well have perished over time so beware. The owner of the TD I have in my shop accumulated parts for the car starting back in the early 70's and had a full set of them for his engine.

In my searching I found that ACL in Australia manufactured tri metal rod bearings for the XPAG/XPEG up until the turn of the century so I started looking and found a vendor on feebay that was selling them. I purchased 3 sets. Two at .010 under which is what I had my crank turned and a third set at .020. My thinking being at some point in the future I might drop the sump and inspect the bearings and possibly replace them and the .020 if needed for a possible future crank turning.

I know there have been some discussion between the vendors and King in the past about the manufacture of tri-metal bearings for our engines but haven't heard any news.

So thats my opinion....Others will most likely weigh in with theirs.







L E D LaVerne

On eBay now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224281658683?hash=item34383a853b:g:vTwAAOSwBSpf2olG
George Butz III

On last rebuild, the engine was frozen after torquing rods with new King bearings. Upon disassembly, every rod bearing shell had a line about an 1/8" from each end that had the babbitt wiped off where it had locked onto the brand new crank. Pretty darn out of round!

I was so lucking to find one set of Vandervell rod bearings online.

Don't know what the future rebuilders will use but I think I've done my last XPAG rebuild. If push comes to shove, I'll reuse the old cast iron crank and used bearings.
JIM N

Thanks for all of the comments.

My crank is a magnafluxed TF crank, so I would rather not go the Manley route due to cost concerns. George, my crank is -.010" so the Ebay offering won't work for me. Thanks for checking.

So I think LaVerne pretty accurately sums up my dilemma.

Any more feedback from the experts?

Thanks,
Jim
JV Smith TD17744

Ebay is like fishing, you can cast your line out, reel it in empty, go home....

or just keep trolling for a bite.

I'm a troll!

currently up for sale:

rod bearings

https://www.ebay.com/itm/362530283010?hash=item54687d1e02:g:bacAAOSwUQ1Zr9DM

MG TC TD TF - PLEUELLAGERSATZ +0,010 - 424-100 CON ROD BEARING SET approx $57.83 US$ from Austria

and

mains + cam bearing + rust (+ copper shim?)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324482312974?epid=28011303390&hash=item4b8ca72b0e:g:yb8AAOSwNZNe5Xx0

MG T type TC TD TF nos Main Bearing Set - 010 Glacier M3164 as Repco 3M3109 approx $112 US$ from Australia
JIM N

Just for the record, I have 30 or 40K miles on the bearings in my TC and all seems well. They are County bearings purchased from Moss. They wouldn't have been my first choice but at the time it's all I could find. That said, I have no regrets at this point.
Steve Simmons

Thanks Jim,
I have been doing some trolling on ebay, but I missed these. I must not be using the correct bait.

A couple of novice questions though. The Austrian bearings appear to be NOS Moss. If so, wouldn't it be better to just order new from Moss or AS?

I think the Australian Glacier bearings are more like what I would like to find, but they look rough to me with possible corrosion on them? Is this acceptable?

Anybody's thoughts on these two offerings?

Thanks,

Jim
JV Smith TD17744

The first listing was removed by seller for a mistake, so they say.

The second offering isn't very attractive. First off, it looks like one shell is missing. Secondly, the visible rust. Interesting that the bare steel is rusting but not the babbitt. Can't tell if the backsides are rusty or not. The rust could be cleaned off if one was desperate enough.

I wonder why there's copper shim stock in the photo. Do they expect you to shim to fit? If they included it in the package, it's a wonder there isn't more rust.

Even if these aren't viable options, it pays to scan ebay frequently and enter different combinations of words in the search.
JIM N

I contacted the seller and am posting his reply. He says there are 6 main bearing inserts but it looks to me like the 5 with a cam bearing. What can I say.

New message from: jwclassicparts (5,053Green Star)

Hello, required number of Main Bearings is 3 pairs as my picture. These have been unopened for 50 years, minor corrosion on some of the sides, bearing surface is perfect. I would not sell anything that I would not be prepared to fit myself. I have sold 5 sets of these with no reports of issues. I will try for more close up pictures when I am at work next week. Greetings, Jim


JIM N

Jim, from jwclassicparts on ebay, sent a followup message. I couldn't load the new images. It looks like there's a viable set of NOS -10 main bearings available.

New message from: jwclassicparts (5,055Green Star)

Hello again, l have updated the picture in the listing, the first picture did not accurately show the back of one main bearing shell. Must have been color distorted by reflection. Now here is a more accurate picture, along with a picture of Cam Bearings. While l have no returns on the listing, it's more for change of mind. All sellers are obliged to refund faulty or incorrectly described items. The Bearing are factory packed in greaseproof paper. The corrosion on the sides is very minimal, not rust, more like minor discolouration. Happy to share my details on any bulletin board. eBay don't allow me to quote contact info before purchase, but Google is helpful for finding info on JW Classic Car Parts. I also have Mains in -020, Cams down to my last set, but l am sure plenty of current stock Cams in your country. If any further info required, please ask. Greetings, Jim.


JIM N

This thread was discussed between 30/09/2021 and 11/10/2021

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