I just did a little spring maintenance on my '71 B, and boy am I mad. First
I discovered that the steering rack boots, that I replaced two years ago,
had numerous splits. Of course the holes are on the bottom of the boots, so
all the oil can drain away. I put a new set on, of course these are made of
the same crappy rubber that failed on the first ones.
Next I took a little test drive, big puddles of oil everywhere I stopped.
The little braided stainless steel oil sensor hose was leaking like a sieve.
This is my second new one! And there's no doubt it's the hose, with the
engine running you can actually see oil spraying from the side of the hose.
(I'm not running any kind of high pressure pump, in fact my pressure runs a
little on the low side.) My first new hose failed on a trip, the oil got so
low I had to add a quart just to get to the bottom of the dip stick. At
least the original 30 year old hose had the grace to fail with a slow leak!
The vendor never made good on the first hose. He claimed they are made of
teflon, and teflon never goes bad. I tore the failed hose open and found it
was made of rubber, rubber full of cracks!
As long as I'm ranting, I'll mention the radiator hoses. I went through
three sets of these, before I gave up on the MG catalog vendors. I bought
some equivalents at the local auto supply store. These have been in service
for several years now and show no cracks or signs of sagging. What really
disappoints me, is these hoses were made in England. Usually the bad new
parts I encounter, are made in Taiwan.
Oh yes, I've also been through several sets of front springs. I can't find a
good set, they're all weak. Makes the car look like the ass end is jacked
up.
People are always bad mouthing Lucas, but all the Lucas parts I've replaced
on my MG's are holding up fine. Credit where credit due, I always say.
BTW: If anyone wants to discuss the vendors of these parts, let's take it
off list. Does anyone know of vendor that can be trusted?
Bob Donahue (Still stuck in the '50s)
Email - bobmgtd@insightbb.com
52 MGTD - NEMGTR #11470
71 MGB - NAMGBR #7-3336
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