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MG TD TF 1500 - MG TD gear stick rattle

Hi all,
just thought I would share a discovery I made while trying to get rid of very bad gear stick rattle I had when I would accelerate in any gear in my 1953 mg td.First up I removed the gear shift extension unit and machined the guides and fit up new bronze bushes,made no improvement. Fit a second anti rattle spring to the front bush,no improvement. Finally I retarded the timing and would you believe it no more gear stick rattle. Hope this helps some one before they pull there hair out as I did.
PC Clinton

Hi PC,
When you say the rattle disappeared when the timing was retarded, could you tell me where the timing was set to begin with, and when you set it to eliminate the rattle.

Thanks for your comments.

George
George Raham [TD4224]

Too late,. My hair fell out years ago.
L E D LaVerne

>
Hi George,
I believe the timing was slightly advanced before I retarded it and now it is sitting around eight hundred rpm
PC Clinton

I supposes if it's just a boulevard cruiser and ice cream run goer that would be okay, but retarding the timing quickly reduces the performance. I set mine at 34 degrees at 3500 rpm using an advance timing light and just enjoy the rattle when it shows up. It doesn't seem to be too bad (at least in my car).

Alex
Alex Waugh

Hi again PC,
I would like to suggest that you try an experiment. Try setting your timing at 10 degrees BTDC and see how the engine responds. I'm not sure what this will do for the "rattle" but it should make an improvement in your engine performance. I would be very interested in what change it makes,and if the "rattle" is still there. Hope to hear back from you. Mine is set at 12 degrees BTDC.

George
George Raham [TD4224]

Hi guys
I had a similar "rattle" on my gear shift. However when I stripped it down I found that there was considerable wear on the knuckle at the bottom of the gear shift lever. A new gear shift lever completely got rid of the rattle.
Mick 52 TD
Mick Cook

Hi Guy's
thanks for the feed back. I will try as you suggested George and set the timing to 10 degrees BTDC. I will get back to you and let you know the outcome.
PC Clinton

pc, in your response to george you talked about timing but then mentioned 800 rpm. perhaps i am misreading, but i could not understand what you wrote. did you reset the timing then reset the idle speed? regards, tom
tom peterson

Hi Tom,
yes that is exactly what I did
PC Clinton

PC, although the archives are hard to search, there are volumes in there about the gear rattle and ignition timing and how to set it. If I retard the timing enough, I have no rattle, but the car is a dog. I have gone through rebuilding the remote housing and still have some rattle, just part of the character of the car. George
George Butz

This thread was discussed between 16/03/2013 and 20/03/2013

MG TD TF 1500 index

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