Anyone with an MGB should take a few minutes to inspect
the lower A-arm on the driver's side of the car. When
I recently had my street B up for an oil change and
chassis lube, I noticed that the hole in the outboard
end of the A-arm was elongated dramatically, and in fact
was within a fraction of an inch of the edge of the A-arm.
(The passenger's side seems to be all right.)
Since I just recently acquired a spare B, I was intending
to swap the pieces from the spare into the runner and save
some money and time. To my surprise, the spare -- which
is a year newer and has some 35,000 fewer miles on it --
has the same problem, though it's not quite as badly worn.
So anyone with a B (especially anyone who's thinking about
taking a long drive on a winding road, not to mention any
names, Lydia) should take a quick peek at the suspension.
Here are the details:
Look at the outboard end of the lower A-arm, the end where
it attaches to the suspension upright. There should be a
large nut in the end of the A-arm; this nut should be an
equal distance from the top, bottom, and outer end of the
A-arm. You should not be able to see any of the hole through
which the bolt (held on by the nut) passes.
The suspension pieces in question only cost about $15 each
from the usual sources. The question then becomes how much
of the surrounding stuff you want to start replacing "as
long as I've got it apart..."
--Scott "Hmm, new bushings, and of course a kingpin set..." Fisher
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