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MG MGA - oild dripping from under dashboard

I rewired my '60 A. I still have the dash unbolted and the tach and speedo unhooked up. I keep getting some sort of oil or lubricant dripping from under the dash. Are the speedo and tach lubed and could the oil be coming from them? If so, do I need to relub them somehow?
Thanks
J Weiss

The cables are lubed with grease, not oil. It is possible that the seal on either the tach drive or speedo drive is bad which would allow oil to get into the cable.
Jeff Schultz

If you need to change the seals, Barney has a page about it. http://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/gearbox/gt106.htm

The other possibility for an oil leak under the dash is a loose connection to the oil pressure gauge.
Jeff Schultz

The gauges are not "lubed". If the drip is directly behind the dash I'm with Jeff, loose connection to oil pressure gauge.

If it's more into the drivers footwell area then it's likely to be the master cylinder.
Neil McGurk

Thanks, all. The leak is a drip that falls on the driver (left) side of the gear box hump, just in front of the gear shift. I would imagine an oil gauge leak would probably fall on the passenger (right) side of the gear box.
Will this new information of where the drip is change any of the anwers?
Thanks
J Weiss

Oil will cling to anything and dribble down until it reaches the lowest point. Where it falls is not necessarily an indication of where it is coming from. It could be coming from any higher point. The only thing to do is look under the dash and trace it back to the source. Hopefully it is not brake fluid from the master like Neil suggested, but that is a definate possibility.
Jeff Schultz

As Jeff says, it's probably the speedo cable drive oil seal; down on the gearbox where the cable connects. Barney's website link tells you all you need to know. I had exactly the same thing happen on my car, eventually the oil messed up the speedo head and I had to have it repaired/ cleaned, the oil winds its way up the cable as it turns. Looking at a standard left-hand drive dashboard, the speedo seems to be in the right place to give a drip where you said it is. Disconnect the cable from the speedo head and I'm sure you will end up with black oily hands!
Lindsay Sampford

I believe the leak is coming from the oil gauge. There seems to be a lot of oil there. If it is, can the seal be replaced or do I need a new gauge?
Thanks
J Weiss

There is a leather gasket (part 27a) at http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29271&SortOrder=31#27a between the tube and the gauge.

Because the leak appeared after you were in the area the first thing I would do is tighten it.
R J Brown

Isn't the oil pressure gauge way over on the right? Anyway, I cut myself a gasket from a piece of the thin leather used to cover the cockpit rails using a hole punch (the kind with rotating hole size selector)to make the hole in the middle and a small sharp pair of scissors, works fine with no leaks. A piece of chamois leather would probably do the job, but as RJB says, it's probably just loose.
Lindsay Sampford

This thread was discussed between 31/05/2009 and 01/06/2009

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