Q. Why don't the British build computers?
A. Because they haven't figured out how to make them leak.
Mates
My MG TF 1250 is used nearly every day this time of year. The car is a
"driver" by MG T-Series collector standards, but the engine has been fully,
professionally rbuilt and the tranny was gone through to some extent or
another. The car starts/runs strong and basically doesn't leak, except for a
quarter-size stain under the front half of the motor most (not all) of the
time.
I also have a TD that is in about the same shape, though the motor and
trans in this car are not recently rebuilt. This car doesn't leak terribly
either, though it does drip a bit more than the TF. However, the TF often
stinks when being driven. And in the past few weeks the "burning grease"
smell got so bad my girlfriend was ready to bail out at high speed (about 50
mph, I think, but who cares when 50 feels like 80!)
After a smelly trip to a show last weekend, I decided to get under the
car and see what's up. It was easy to spot. Some type of fluuid
(transmission oil I think) was dripping on the exhaust pipe right below the
spot where the speedometer cable attaches to the transmission. There were no
drips onto the ground, but the entire region under the car was wet with 80W
oil and the entire speedometer cable in the area of the frame rail was oily.
It would appear the oil was coming out of the fitting and running down the
cable to a point where gravity forced it to drip on the exhaust pipe.
This was not a bad leak at all. It seems to be coming a drop at a time.
But it adds up and when it hits the hot exhaust pipe it really stinks.
The fitting is not really easy to get at, but It have a small vise-grip
that worked and tightened it. For a few days on my 10-mile round trip to
work nothing seemed to be leaking. But fter a 35-mile run to cruise night
last evening, there was one drip of oil on the speedo cable fitting.
I cannot really tell if it is coming from the fitting or the little
diamond-shaped plate right behind it that is held on by two small screws
with safety wires. The speedometer cable is a Moss part -- the non-original
type with black rubber shrouding.
My question is if anyone else has encountered this problem and dreamed
up a good fix? Maybe an O-ring or a felt washers, etc. The leak is really
very minor and would not be a problem at all if the oil was not dripping on
the exhaust pipe.
Any opinions about how to achieve a smell-free MG experience will be
appreciated.
John Gunnell
Automotive Books Editor
F + W Publications
700 E. State Street
Iola, WI 54990
715 445 2214 extension 248
John.Gunnell@FWPubs.com
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