Jay, the hydraulic problems might indicate that the wrong brake fluid
was used in the car. Do you know its history? If you are new to
MGs, you should know that the ONLY correct fluid to use is DOT 4
brake fluid (Castrol GT LMA is the most common in the US). If
someone has used standard DOT 3 fluid, the rubber seals in all of the
hydraulics will quickly fail due to water absorption. This is true
for both the clutch and brake systems. Some lurkers out there might
flame me for not recommending DOT 5 (silicone) fluid for MGs, as this
is the trendy way to go in the 90s, but I didn't want to go into all
the problems we've had with brake light switch failure and discs
locking on when we tried to use silicone fluid. Big headache. Stay
with DOT 4, and if you have reason to believe anything else was used,
be prepared for a total hydraulic system purge and rebuild.
As for the fuel pump, your intuition has led you to the right end of
the car for the pump, but on a 1972 B it should be mounted underneath
the right side of the car in front of the rear wheel, near the
battery box. The next time you experience the problem, leave the
ignition on, creep up to the pump and give it a good bonk on the side
with a small ball peen hammer. If you suddenly hear a flurry of
ticking from the pump, then you know it's the points in the pump that
are going bad. New pump time, but don't chuck the old one, it can be
rebuilt (too complex to get into here). The round canister in the
trunk is an expansion chamber designed to contain overflow and vapors
from the tank, part of the fuel evaporative loss control system.
Make sure the braided hoses going to this tank are in good shape,
otherwise you will get fuel odors in the trunk.
Paul D. Kile
kile_paul@aphub.aerojetpd.com
(916) 355-5162
GenCorp Aerojet
POB 13222
Dept 5784 Building 20019
Sacramento, California 95813-6000
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