MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Baden Baden I didn't reach...

Hi Guys,

Last friday at 06.30 I started the TD from my garage to go to that classic carshow in Germany, some 350 miles away. Well after a few hours of driving I reached Nurburgring in very heavy rain; horror! I checked engine oil and i saw that the top of the oilfilter had a little crack from which I lost rather a lot of engine oil. But because I stil had to do another 300 km I decided to turn back and find myself a garage who could maybe weld it. But in the end nobody wanted to repair so i drove back to the dutch border where I called the ANWB (that's the dutch AAA) and after a hour of waiting, me and the mechanic disconnected the pipes of the outside hanging filter (like a TC) and he soldered around the top connection, we took some new copper washers and filled the engine up and then all was well, but in the meantime it was already 7 in the evening and I decided to go back home. During my trip home (some 100 miles) the car was running fine and reached 70 on the dial again :-)
Anyway all dressed up and no place to go!
My motto? don't drive on friday the 13th.

Greetings,
Joop

PS. Is there someone outthere with a extra by-pass filter which he or she wants to sell? I pay for the P&P to Holland, ofcourse :-)
Joop Terpstra

Hello Joop, sorry to hear of your misfortune. I've run into a number of discussions regarding fatigue problems with the hanging filter system. A solution that some have gone for is to replace the rigid pipes with fexible lines. I was looking at this setup on a 1950 TD owned by Paul Hinchcliffe, a sometimes poster to this forum. If you'll send me your email address I'll have Paul get in touch with you.
Bud Krueger

Joop,

It's a shame you didn't make it, but you still had an advanture. Interesting that the things we were considering about your TD on the trip were fine... and something completely different suprised you instead!

warmly,
dave
Dave Braun

Joop, I just ordered a set of the flexible pipes from John Seim in California. They are full sets for around 125.00 US. You can see them on e bay under MGTD stuff. Yours is not the first failure of those things and that is why I am going to the flexible type and keeping the old ones for spares when travelling.
TRM Maine

Joop - "My motto? don't drive on friday the 13th." That would be a good motto. Many years ago, my wife an I departed on the afternoon of Fri. 13th with our two young children. We were driving our TD and a 1936 PB and heading to GoF West some 1200 mile away in Southern California. It was raining when we left and the trip went down hill from there. We did make it to our destination and back (sans the 1936 PB and plus a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 - which is another story), but vowed we would never do that again! My wife kept a journal of the trip and wrote an article for the Sacred Octagon, which Dave B. recently unearthed.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but that is sometimes the result of trips in T series cars (on the other hand, we later took two seperate 5000 mile trips through the Western US in the TD and had a wonderful time and absolutely no problems whatsoever). Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Hi, one more thing to mention is the fact that when I arrived at my garage late that night the result was that I made a round trip of some 500 km and the TD is still in one piece and more important I learned from the experience! Saterday I washed the dirt from the car and with some nice music from the radio I waxed the car with a smile. I even checked that repair on the oilfilter and it looks solid so for now I will keep it on the car. My friend from Baden Baden called me later to say that I should do like him; buy a classic german car! I heared myself say to him: 'No way, can't do that, it's bad to change to something without a soul' So sorry miss Joplin but 'Oh Lord won't you buy me a m...' no never, not for me :-)

Cheers, Joop
Joop

Hi, Joop sorry to hear about your more or less failed trip; I guess the rooster is still alive?

I'm really impressed that the ANWB-man did this roadside(?) repair. You don't get that with Route Mobiel!
Willem van der Veer

Joop,

Over the years I have been in 3 MG caravans when another driver's oil pipe fractured. Twice the loss of oil pressure was noticed in time. The third incident was not pretty.

I have an earlier engine (TD2/10059) in my 53 TD. I have the flexible hose conversion and it has been trouble free. If a strap should loosen or break, the clunking of the filter would probably get my attention faster than the oil pressure gauge drop.

I also replaced the old Moss 2 piece aluminum cannister (with replaceable internal element) with the ASL cast aluminum filter, p3, #89a (with spin on modern filter). This change was nearly catastrophic. On my maiden voyage, after a total ground up home restoration, I lost almost all the oil in about ten miles. The oil was spurting through a plugged drilled hole (not my handiwork) in the aluminum filter. I had not noticed any leak at initial startup. After having that area welded shut, all has been well for 15 years.

Cliff
C A Schnell

Joop,
Ha!! You know Joop, you are right, there is something utterly theraputic about waxing a TD. Particularly after you have just overcome some major mechanical challenge that stretches your abilities.
I have been battling various teathing problems since putting my frame -up back on the road and just got to put my first coat of wax on her last week- just like you said, radio playing and a smile on my face.....

Cheers, Keith

K. McKenzie

Joop,

I belong to an MG TABC forum in which discussion has taken place regarding the rigid pipeline to/from the oil filter developing hairline fractures due to it's rigidity, fragility and vibrations of the filter and motor. The horror stories were of pipes bursting, oil pressure loss, and engines seizing before you could pull over.

Flexible replacement lines were suggested as a solution. I did this change on my 48 TC and then realized that the early TD's (I have a 51 TD) have the rigid lines also, so I did the swap there too.

I ordered the flexible line kit from John Seim in Sep 2006 - took about 15 minutes to install - quite easy - and no issues since.

John Seim can be reached at kingseim@earthlink.net
use "MGTC - Flexible Oil Lines" as your subject line.

Good Luck!

Paul Hinchcliffe
Paul Hinchcliffe

Just got my new pipes from John and are they ever nice. Cant wait to put them on the engine. That may be a while though. New Crank is ordered and pistons and con rods to be ordered next week. Both orders out at least 3 months.
TRM Maine

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Joop !
I think the whole subject of metal fatigue is very underestimated in our hobby. Not only the oil filter connections are prone to it. We renew or repair a lot of parts, bearings, seals, gaskets etc. during a restoration. But which one of us has a set of new front stub axles on his car ??? Or a new crankshaft in his engine ????
Very often these have been subjected to lots of varying forces during their fifty years lifespan...
Keeping this in mind, I seldom take my classic cars over the 110 km/h (65 mph) mark.....8^)
Cheers,

Nick, 52TD/63midget/74MGB.
D.G.J. Herwegh

Hi guys, thanks for all the response. I will buy a new oilfilter, the one with the changeable filter and I will change to flexible lines. The suggestion to drive not faster than 65 mph by Nick, is a matter of choice...I think that if the XPAG is in 100% tune (tight but not too tight valve clearance, timing and properly adjusted SU's) and fully crack-tested cylinderhead, block and crankshaft, not a lot can go wrong and what is nicer for the ear than a singing engine at almost top-rpm? :-)

Oh and because I can not get enough of these cars: I recently bought a MG TC 1948 in USA. The car has a MARSHALL compressor and is in very nice condition, photos will follow. It's now travelling by ship and will arrive in Rotterdam in a month.

Can't wait to see and drive it.

Cheers, Joop
Joop Terpstra

This thread was discussed between 17/07/2007 and 25/07/2007

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.