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MG TD TF 1500 - Speedo Pinion oil leak

The gearbox speedo pinion on my TF is leaking oil like *****! I'm aware of the O ring modification but getting it out of the gearbox means taking the floor out and then mailing it off to the US to get it done, with the risk I'll never see it again! I've tried crawling around underneath but am pretty sure it won't come out with the floor in the car.

I was wondering whether anyone has tried fitting an electronic drive to the speedo and blanking off the gearbox connection. If so how is it done and what does it cost?

A
A R Jones

Alan,
I have a spare speedo pinion here (as well as two complete gearboxes) that you could use to send to the US or even to try out. If you want I could send it to you or I could post it to the US as your exchange unit.
I can't help with the electronic unit.
Have you tried the trick of putting a 17mm flat rubber washer in the cable connection if that's where it is leaking?
I also will take a closer look at it and see if I can do this mod rather than posting it to the US.

Regards
Declan
D Burns

I made a CAD drawing of this pinion two years ago intending to do this mod but never got around to it.
Now I have the 5 speed in my TD, -so the project was shelved.

Regards
Declan


D Burns

Alan
I had the same problem with my TD. It was easy enough to install the seal conversion kit from underneath the car. I did not have to take floor boards apart. By the way, the seal conversion works well but my speedo needs a complete overhaul as the gearbox oil went up the speedo cable (like an Archimedean screw) and into the speedo.
Regards
Richard
R A B Wilson

Agreed Richard
I have had the available conversion kit for several years now and it is still dry, no leaks. Simple installation.
Regards, Keith
K. McKenzie

Well, if you want to just blank off the connection any phone with a gps will give you a more accurate speedometer reading anyway...
Geoffrey M Baker

Geoffrey, I don't think travelling down the road and checking your phone to see your speed is a very good idea. Albeit the GPS would be more accurate.

Tim
TD12524
TW Burchfield

I have a GPS driven speedometer in my Factory Five Cobra replica, semi-custom made by Speedhut in Utah. They say they also do custom application work and I don't think it would be very difficult to install the system into a TF speedo body (but what do I know).
The big advantages are hi accuracy, complete independent action relative to the final drive ratio, and ease of installation. It might be worth a call to see if they could provide a unit using the TF speedo housing, dial, etc.
T W Moore

I seem to recall no special problems getting the pinion out of my TD with the homemade floor boards in place. Maybe just a small bit of chiseling of some of the edge for clearance. The modification works well and the turn around time was minimal.
John Quilter

No necessity to send the pinion out of the country. Just take it to an engineering shop that has a small lathe accompanied by a suitable O ring that is an interference fit in the gearbox pinion hole.

Any half qualified machinist will grind a suitable tool and plunge cut a groove that matches the o ring dimensions in the pinion.

No trouble to remove the pinion from the gearbox with the floor boards insitu.

Graeme
G Evans

Could someone do a drawing as to where the O ring goes for this old dumb bum who is interested

Regards

George
G Mills

George,
I would use a lipseal and a brass sleeve as it is probably easier to turn.
Here'e a drawing of what I would do. You can pass it on to the machine shop and tell them you want an O-Ring instead or ask their opinion.

Regards
Declan

D Burns

George,

The o-ring (viton) goes approx 1/2" in from the flange.

Gene
Gene Gillam

Thank you both for that info and for the drawing Declan, I don't think I will trust my only speedo unit to the machine shops in my area, firstly they don't like small jobs and if they did take it on it could take weeks for them to get around to it.


regards

George
G Mills

This thread was discussed between 03/12/2015 and 05/12/2015

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