I was delighted with your comment about the rear of the TA/TB/TC chassis
potentially rusting when the final rear axle leak is closed. Allow me to
add another fish to your pot.
I was attending school in Chicago (actually Champaign-Urbana) in 1956 when
the MGA was released. The winter in that part of the country includes
months of snow and hence salted roads to dissolve the ice and snow. This
salt and electrochemistry would frequently allow one to tell when an MGA
had been originally sold. If it had been sold in the Spring, the oil
dribbling down from wherever would coat the bottom on the chassis and
capillary up around the floorboard screws. This protected the screws
(somewhat) from rusting. If the vehicle had been sold in the Fall, the
salt water got to the screws before the oil. Boy, did those floorboard
screws rust in solid. Forget about the nice cadmium plating on those
screws, it probably delayed rusting for all of one day. The sports car
garages would then drill out the screws when the wooden floor boards had to
be removed. This was accomplished with an electric hand drill that was
allowed to walk off of the axis of the screw and over to the interface
between the screw and its tapped hole. Now that they had buggered up the
tapped hole, the mechanics (clowns) would justify omitting the floorboard
screws. It bothered me to see new machinery butchered like this - it still
does.
Best wishes, Carl Cederstrand / Orange, California
>Good advice Bob,
>
>Because nearly all TA,B,C's leak oil from around the welded axle housing and
>all those rivets I suggest you thoroughly clean the inside of axle housing
>with petrol or similar and then run some "sloshing compound" or petrol tank
>sealant around the total insides. That way you will have no oil weeps
>whatsoever. If you are stripping it all down that far make full use of the
>opportunity.
>You may however find the rear half of your chassis will start to
>rust???!!!!
>Good luck.
>Harry
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Bob and Carolyn Grunau
>To:
>Cc: T-ABCs_Forever
>Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 9:53 PM
>Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] %$#&%
>
>
>> Hi Jim,
>> Consider yourself lucky, the bearing is SUPPOSED to be tight on the axle
>> housing and a bearing puller is the only correct way to remove the bearing
>> housing and bearing. I would use MGA octagonal nuts ( another pair of
>> octagons on the car can do no harm ), or hex. nuts and oil seals and
>torque
>> the nuts to 125 ft-lbs to hold the bearing on the axle tube on
>> re-assembly..
>>
>> As I said to you before, I would strip the entire rear axle, clean and
>> check everything. There is sure to be some grit/steel in the axle as a
>> result of the shaft breaking . I would install tapered roller bearings in
>> the diff, or at the very least check the front double row pinion ball
>> bearing brass cages. Also ensure the other non-broken axle to hub is a
>> TIGHT fit ( bounce the axle end on a concrete floor and the whole assembly
>> should 'ring" ). New oil seals and other new parts as required and you
>> have a chance of getting a maintenance free rear axle assembly.
>>
>> BTW, why does the bearing carrier have to come off to replace just a
>> half-shaft?.
>> Bob
>> ----------
>> > From: FDShade@aol.com
>> > To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
>> > Subject: [mg-tabc] %$#&%
>> > Date: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 12:45 AM
>> >
>> > As you may recall, I broke my axle shaft. I decided to install one of
>> Phil
>> > Marino's tapered shafts. In order to do that one has to remove the
>> bearing
>> > housing. Well, I spent a couple hours trying to figure out how to
>remove
>> the
>> > lock nuts that hold the bearing housing onto the axle housing. Finally I
>> > called John Seim and he told me about the little tabs on the washer that
>> were
>> > bent into the grooves of the lock nut. So now I have the lock nut off
>> and
>> > the bearing housing should slide right off right? WRONG ! I have
>> pried
>> > and pulled and hammered and tried everything but a wheel puller with no
>> luck.
>> >
>> >
>> > Should the bearing housing slide off now, or am I missing something?
>> >
>> > Jim Shade, West Covina CA
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>