Re: [mg-tabc] MG T-Series Distributors

[randell s Kegg]

To All :
I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
overhaul that I could use some help with.

1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?

2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
Back to the present:
When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of them was
a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
from the shaft?
Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........

Randy Kegg

[CFritz7001@aol.com]

Randy,
!) Assuming you can get the mating surfaces clean enough, I would be
inclined to use epoxy (JB Weld has worked well for me every time I;ve used
it), rather than trying to peen the upper & lower parts together.
2) I'd go with the rolled pin, with or without the safety wire. You
could add a dab of one of the "Loktite" products in lieu of the safety wire
Regards,
Carl Fritz

[Malcolm Castle]

Hi Randy

What I have done in the past is turn the distributor upside down and peen
the alloy with a center punch around the metal shaft this tightens
up the bowl. As for the pin that holds the gear to the shaft, it is a solid
pin that you might have to shorten some and then peen the pin on both sides.
good luck

malcolm castle

>From: randell s Kegg
>To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
>Subject: [mg-tabc] MG T-Series Distributors
>Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 11:09:39 -0400
>
>To All :
> I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
>opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
>bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
>that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
>overhaul that I could use some help with.
>
>1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
>and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
>time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
>this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
>loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
>little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
>plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
>shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
>point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
>the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?
>
>2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
>pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
>This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
>road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
>the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
>rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
>it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
> Back to the present:
> When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of them was
>a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
>not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
>one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
>over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
>rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
>you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
>from the shaft?
>Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........
>
>Randy Kegg
>
>
>

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[Blair Engle]

>Hi Randy,

The loose distributor housing you mentioned is a common problem. I have
been rebuilding XPAG distributors for many years and have developed the
tooling to repair this situation. The loose housing causes a varying point
gap as well as a changing dwell angle. Several members of this group have
used my services and are very satisfied.
As for the solid versus the roll pin. I use roll pins with no problems.
Press on regardless,
Blair Engle #199
The Classic MG Shop

>To All :
> I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
>opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
>bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
>that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
>overhaul that I could use some help with.
>
>1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
>and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
>time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
>this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
>loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
>little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
>plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
>shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
>point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
>the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?
>
>2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
>pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
>This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
>road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
>the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
>rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
>it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
> Back to the present:
> When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of
> them was
>a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
>not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
>one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
>over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
>rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
>you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
>from the shaft?
>Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........
>
>Randy Kegg
>

[Dean Jensen]

Randy
I will try to address the first part of your question, if the top is
loose from the shaft, it needs to be secured together, to get
the timing stable. I am not sure where you are, but there is a
person in the states, Jim Taylor, from Oklahama, that pins
the two parts together, goes a good job, I had him do one of
mine
Dean
-----Original Message-----
From: randell s Kegg
To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
Date: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 10:27 AM
Subject: [mg-tabc] MG T-Series Distributors

>To All :
> I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
>opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
>bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
>that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
>overhaul that I could use some help with.
>
>1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
>and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
>time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
>this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
>loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
>little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
>plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
>shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
>point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
>the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?
>
>2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
>pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
>This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
>road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
>the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
>rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
>it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
> Back to the present:
> When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of them was
>a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
>not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
>one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
>over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
>rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
>you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
>from the shaft?
>Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........
>
>Randy Kegg
>
>
>

[neil.cairns@virgin.net]

The standard distributor from any 'A' series BMC engine will fit the
TC,TB,TD.TF,YA,YB,YT, from the Mini, A30.A35,A40, Morris Minor 1000,
etc, if you get really stuck. Obviously the weights will differ and
points plate, and the cap & rotor.

Neil.

Dean Jensen wrote:

>
> Randy
> I will try to address the first part of your question, if the top is
> loose from the shaft, it needs to be secured together, to get
> the timing stable. I am not sure where you are, but there is a
> person in the states, Jim Taylor, from Oklahama, that pins
> the two parts together, goes a good job, I had him do one of
> mine
> Dean
> -----Original Message-----
> From: randell s Kegg
> To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 10:27 AM
> Subject: [mg-tabc] MG T-Series Distributors
>
> >To All :
> > I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
> >opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
> >bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
> >that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
> >overhaul that I could use some help with.
> >
> >1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
> >and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
> >time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
> >this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
> >loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
> >little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
> >plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
> >shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
> >point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
> >the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?
> >
> >2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
> >pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
> >This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
> >road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
> >the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
> >rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
> >it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
> > Back to the present:
> > When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of them was
> >a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
> >not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
> >one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
> >over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
> >rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
> >you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
> >from the shaft?
> >Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........
> >
> >Randy Kegg
> >
> >
> >

[Roger Furneaux]

Neil - you might be opening another can of worms here!

MUCH better to restore the original to good-as-new condition than try to use
a non-XPAG part with a totally different advance curve. Anyway, our Colonial
cousins might not have any A30s etc. in their local scrap-yards. Perhaps
places like squeaky-clean California are not even allowed such things as
dumps for rusty old cars!

ocTagonally

Roger

>The standard distributor from any 'A' series BMC engine will fit the
>TC,TB,TD.TF,YA,YB,YT, from the Mini, A30.A35,A40, Morris Minor 1000,
>etc, if you get really stuck. Obviously the weights will differ and
>points plate, and the cap & rotor.
>
>Neil.
>
>Dean Jensen wrote:
>>
>> Randy
>> I will try to address the first part of your question, if the top is
>> loose from the shaft, it needs to be secured together, to get
>> the timing stable. I am not sure where you are, but there is a
>> person in the states, Jim Taylor, from Oklahama, that pins
>> the two parts together, goes a good job, I had him do one of
>> mine
>> Dean
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: randell s Kegg
>> To: mg-tabc@egroups.com
>> Date: Tuesday, May 02, 2000 10:27 AM
>> Subject: [mg-tabc] MG T-Series Distributors
>>
>> >To All :
>> > I ran across a problem the other day and would like to get your
>> >opinions. I was overhauling a distributor on a friend's TD; replacing the
>> >bushings, toggles, thrust washers, etc. The bushings had become so worn
>> >that the car would no longer run reliably. There were two aspects to the
>> >overhaul that I could use some help with.
>> >
>> >1. The body of the distributor is made up of two parts; an alloy bowl,
>> >and a steel cylinder . I assume that these two parts were mated at the
>> >time of manufacture by casting the alloy bowl around the cylinder. Is
>> >this correct? I bring this up because, in this case, the bowl is slightly
>> >loose on the cylinder,(the part that holds the bushings). It rocks a
>> >little bit. Is there a way to eliminate this looseness? SInce the point
>> >plate is screwed to the bowl, and the distributor cam is part of the
>> >shaft, too much play in this area will affect the consistency of the
>> >point gap. I am afraid to try to peen the two parts for fear of cracking
>> >the bowl. Epoxy? What do you think?
>> >
>> >2. In this particular car, the owner had a problem years ago, where the
>> >pin that secures the distributor drive gear fell out into the oil pan.
>> >This caused the drive gear to detach and left him by the side of the
>> >road. At that time, a local mechanic fixed the problem by fishing out
>> >the gear with a magnet and reattaching it to the shaft with a split
>> >rolled pin, (hollow in the middle). He also safety wired the pin, so that
>> >it could not fall out. For many years, this arrangement has worked well.
>> > Back to the present:
>> > When our replacement parts arrived for the distributor, one of them was
>> >a new pin. It is solid and twice as long as it needs to be. It also does
>> >not fit super tightly. Not having had a T distributor apart before this
>> >one, I don't know how to fit this new pin. Do I cut it off? Do I peen
>> >over the ends a bit so that it can't fall out? I don't know. The split
>> >rolled pin with the safety wire seems to be an improvement to me. What do
>> >you think? Has anyone else had the problem of the pin removing itself
>> >from the shaft?
>> >Thanks for your help. I am looking forward to hearing from you.........
>> >
>> >Randy Kegg
>> >
>> >
>> >
>
>
>