Following on from tip #4 in the last issue of Driveline, talking about the aging of rubber and it is going hard, there is an exception. Oil can act as a solvent thus softening and swelling rubber and speeding up its deterioration. There are not many MGs or even other cars of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s that are totally dry underneath. The result is some rustproofing but potentially nasty rubber.

The picture shows a pair of MGB transmission mounts. No prizes for figuring out which is the old one and which is the new!

The problem with MGB transmission mounts is access when changing them and when they get all mushy like the one on the left, it swells and hides the bolt heads that connects the mount to the trans. This all goes to making this job one of the more frustrating ones to do on a B. For the two mounts involved there are a total of six connections to undo and then redo. Three orfour hours is not unheard of…………. Still better to do this then have the transmission swaying in the breeze and bouncing up and down to a tune of its own.

On a B the engine mounts don’t usually suffer this fate, going into the hard and cracked category, however on a T series car the front engine mount can definitely get mushy, and a bouncy engine is not a good thing.

Other, often missed rubber items under the car, are the rear parking brake dust boots, the steering rack gaiters, tie rod end boots and the clutch release fork dust cover. We regularly find these in bad condition and sometimes missing altogether. Ofcourse, some are more important than others. The steering rack gaiters are probably highest on the list as failed ones let out lubricant and let in dirt and dust which accelerates wear in the rack in both ways, a double whammy! I once came across a case where the gaiters had failed allowing in water which in winter froze of course, making the car impossible to steer until one had literally “broken the ice”. Not something one is likely to come across on a car used in the warmer driving season, but it is possible.

Steve Skegg
Technical Coordinator





Editor Note: Steve is a long-time active member of the Chicagoland MG Club and spends his days working on British cars in the Fix-it Garage in Naperville, IL. These Tech Tips are his personal favorites of things that go wrong with the cars he sees. This will be a continuing article in the coming issues of Driveline.