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MG TD TF 1500 - Removal of Bell housing bolt behind clutch lever

I want to remove the engine without gearbox and bell housing from my TD project.

All bolts except the bolt (circled) behind the clutch operating lever are loose and can be or are removed. The bolt behind the clutch shaft on the opposite side to the clutch operating system was easy to get to.

I have tried sockets, ring and plain 1/4"W spanners, but I am unable to get a grip on the bolt head.

The operating lever is held on the clutch shaft by a tapped pin (arrowed) but access to remove the pin is limited by the engine/ bell housing flange. No mention is made in the WM of how to remove the pin.

An option is to cut the bolt head off and after removing the engine remove the remains of the bolt. Then there is the problem of tightening the new bolt once engine is back in the chassis.

TIA
Stuart


Stuart Duncan

The bolt threads if I remember correctly are M8x1, somebody may have replace the Morris Metric bolt with a normal Metric fine bolt. Have you tried a metric spanner on it?
B W Wood

Stuart, like BW said, that bolt looks like it has M8 on it.Can you get a 1/4" square drive M8 socket, with a universal on it, in there, and try that.Good luck with it.Cheers,Ralph.
R E J Stewart

Thank you for your replies.
My problem isn't with bolt head size, it is the access to the bolt due to it being between clutch shaft/lever and between bellhousing and brake box. The bolt holds the bellhousing to the sump.

Over night I realised cutting the head off will be near impossible due to access, so I will bolt bellhousing back onto the engine and take engine and gearbox out as one unit.

FYI, the engine is a XPAW fitted to a Celica 5 speed box via a Dellow (Sydney) bellhousing. When I installed them some 25-30 years ago I fitted a finned MG sump. I am now rebuilding the original XPAG engine (balanced and with Len's fast road cam and roller lifters) and want to put the finned back on the XPAG engine.
Stuart
Stuart Duncan

Stuart:

FWIW...have you considered getting an offset box wrench? They are made in various sizes and varying angles...45....60....75 for example. Those may allow you the access you need to the bolt so you don't have to pull the engine.

Jim
Jim Rice

You should be able to undo that easily with a normal ring spanner(correct size) The bolt looks like it has been replaced with a modern headed metric bolt instead of the old Whitworth headed bolt--modern metric is easy, just get your calipers and measure accross two opposite flat sides of the hex and that gives the size of the metric ring spanner to use--If it measures 12mm use a 12mm metric ring spanner-If it measures 13mm use a 13 etc. maybe refit one of the bolts near it to take the load off while undoing it, it's always a good idea to do the hardest ones first---
William Revit

Stuart,
I have taken this bolt out many times in my 56 years of ownership. I use a flat spanner and latterly one half a flat at a time, turning the spanner over each time, can take up to 30mins on that one bolt but it is doable while up on ramps. sometimes you can find a short spanner which makes it easier.

I have Lens performance cams in my TD and TF1250 along with the roller rockers, its great, had to go down(or is it up) on the diff, now 4.55 and 4.3, cruse all day at 75mph.

Bernie
B W Wood

Got the bolt out after jacking the chassis up with wheels 6" (150mm) off floor so I could get under and see the bolt from underneath.

Yes, the bolt was 13mm (whereas all others have 1/4"W heads) and as Bernie said you only have a small area to work in.

Gearbox on blocks loosely attached to engine on jack, just need to borrow engine hoist tomorrow to take engine out and place on stand.

Bernie, I have Len's cam and rollers lifters in my YT (purchased some years ago when less than 1/3rd price now for this TD) with a Morris Minor diff. My YT cruises all day at 90kph at 3100rpm. I have had over 110kph on motorway, but on narrow ply tyres, that isn't a safe speed.

Stuart
Stuart Duncan

Yes that position is a PITA. A short socket and short universal with long extensions should do it. May not get it on squarely but if an gorilla didn’t over torque it on installation it should break free without much fuss. Better yet get a swivel socket the appropriate size for added clearance. You can also cut down a short socket or even the swivel socket so that there is just enough material to cover the bolt head for maximum engagement. Then put that socket aside and keep it for that purpose.

While the oil pan is removed square it up on a drill press and and install thread inserts in all the aluminum holes for the bellhousing and timing cover. Trying to fix pulled threads on installion in situ is not the time to be doing it.

Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD/c-8151
W A Chasser

This thread was discussed between 20/06/2026 and 24/06/2026

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