Hello fellow listers,
I'm back on the list after being away for awhile (was doing a job
search). I've got a new email address - mgnut@peck.org - some of you
might remember me as peck@digex.net.
I've taken a new job in Austin, Texas (Howdy Carol!) so I've decided to
drive my little B from Washington, DC to its new home. I took it to my
local MG shop to get a complete checkout before heading out on the road
and guess what - they came up with $3200 worth of repairs. So I need
some advice on what I can put off without risking getting stranded in
bumph**k Tennessee. The two biggies are front axle kingpins and the
rear differential.
BTW - the car is an 80 'B and has 106k miles, 5,000 since I rebuilt the
engine.
I opted to get new brake hoses and lines, as well as new fuel hoses,
since these were rotting. Also got new front bearings, what the heck.
(I'd just put on new rotors and noticed the bearings needed repacking,
but I didn't have any axle grease on hand when I had the hubs off. I
hate that!)
One of my rear brake calipers was stuck, so that's getting
rebuilt/replaced. I hope that takes care of the weak braking I've had.
Jeez, now I've got new rotors, pads, shoes, hoses, and lines. Guess
I'll have to overhaul the master cylinder to make it complete.
Anyway, the two biggies still needing work are the rear differential and
the front axle kingpins. My question for the list is how much risk do
you think I'm running by waiting til I get to Texas to fix these, and
how much work is it to replace the differential myself (The shop wants
$350 parts, $220 in labor for the differential, same thing for the
kingpins). I like doing my own work so I'm not used to paying someone
else for labor :-)
The rear diff has been making clunking noise for a while now. Sounds
like something rattling around in the trunk, especially if I'm driving
on a bumpy road. The spider gear needs replacing according to the shop.
"Could make it to Texas, could go anytime. One way it could go is to
lock up". Does this sound right? How can I tell how much time I've got
left on the thing, like whether I've got at least 1500 miles left :-).
I had the machanic rate things by priority - he put this at "C" (A, B, C
scale, A is must do, like the brake hoses)
I was thinking of cannibalizing and transplanting the differential from
my second 'B, but the Bentley manual makes it looks like a lot of work.
Are there any shortcuts? Like, do I really need to remove the whole
axle assemble from the car, or can I leave this on the car? It looks
like I just need to pop the hubs off, pull the shafts, then open up the
transfer case and pull out the differential. Is that about right? The
manual says I'll need to stretch the transfer case to be able to pull
out the differential. Is that always true, and how do I do this if I
don't have one of those fancy transfer case stretching speciality
tools? What gotchas are there I should expect? What should I make sure
I don't screw up?
The kingpins I'm thinking of leaving alone. I just got state inspected
last month (MD) by a regular shop (they work on "normal" cars :-). The
guy was going to fail me for the kingpins but he lubed them and they
held the lube ok and "tightened up", so he said they'll last a while
longer but I should replace them soon. Now the MG shop wants to replace
them. They put this as a "B" on the priority scale. What kind of
failure mode am I looking at here?
And finally, I've got to replace the A-frame bushings on the front end.
I'd already bought the parts and was going to do it myself, but I'm
starting to run short on time. (Movers pack up my stuff Monday). I
don't have a coil compressing tool. The parts guy told me I can just
raise a floor jack under the coil to compress it. Sounds like how
people die under their car. Have any of you folks done it this way? I
could put jack stands under the frame as a safety measure, but still it
seems risky. Anyone care to describe how to replace the bushings this
way? Are those coil compressing tools expensive, and are they MG
specific or can I just pick one up at Pep Boys?
Those are the major items I've got questions on. Other work I've still
got to do include transplanting the wiper motor from my second 'B (the
stupid wipers need to "park" all the way down when they're shut off, so
that I can pass the Maryland state inspection and get a current license
plate, just so I can drive it to Texas, where I hear it doesn't rain.
I've got temporary tags that last til the 12th, but my trip just got
delayed and I won't arrive in Texas til the 14th. grrrrr!
The car also needs a carbuerator rebuild, but the shop won't touch the
carb unless I get their $272 major tuneup. Screw that! I just hope
I've got time to do it myself.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your sage advice. Please cc replies
directly to me, since I'm subscribed to the digest version and don't
want to wait to see your helpful, insightful, information-packed,
accurate answers. (Umm, no, that's some other list I'm thinking of :-)
Thanks much, and I'll let you know what mishaps I have on my drive.
Here's the route I'm planning:
Skyline Drive (VA) through Shenendoah National Park, then
the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stop over in
Ashville, NC. backroads from Ashville to Chattanooga, TN.
Route 64 through Tennessee, to Memphis, then northeast on 63
to north central Arkansas to visit my Dad.
Interstate 30 from Little Rock to Dallas, then south to Austin.
One last note: this move has got me hustling to get the engine back in
my second 'B. The rebuild has been done for months. The weather
finally warmed up enough for me to paint the engine compartment. This
was my first paint job with a compressor and a spray gun. Wow! That's
fun, and it looks great! Stripped to the bare metal, two coats primer,
two coats sealant, two coats paint. I can't wait to do the body. Last
night I even cleaned up and spray painted the transmission. Cast metal
gray. It all goes back in the car today and boy, is it gonna look
sharp. I've got pictures and will put them on a web site in a couple of
months.
PS - I was looking at an A coupe a couple of months ago. The woman
wouldn't sell it to me cause I told her I was considering moving out of
the area.
Cheers,
Joe
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