[Robertf]

Hi batoutofhull.

Total job (two people) took 4 hours. Main problems:

The removal of the existing lower damper bolts, needed a pry bar. Did use plenty of PlusGas but a hell of a job.

Top front shock fixings were comparitively easy to remove, but rear real pigs. Allan key location rounderd! and would not move even with a windy gun.

Removal of front shocks, no problem. Rear needed the ARB have the fixing bolts removed so it could be pushed upward in order to wiggle the spring out.

Fitting, no problem except one person had to stand on the disks to enable new bolts to be located and also use a pry bar to position top of new shock cemtral in location mounting. Poly bushes fitted ok on front. Rear top poly bushes extremely difficult to compress in order to fit lock nut.

Yes, fitted new lock nuts and uprated lower damper bolts.

You will need garge quality tools, windy gun, pry bar etc. But having said that w well worth ugrade.

Robert

 

[dert]

and most importantly I have refurbed the front callipers and finished the rear brake upgrade to 4 pot callipers And vented discs And wow what difference the brakes are insanely good now . View attachment 135543

Care to share how you setup the rear discs...I've some spare 4 pots and like the idea

 

[batoutofhull]

Hi batoutofhull.

Total job (two people) took 4 hours. Main problems:

The removal of the existing lower damper bolts, needed a pry bar. Did use plenty of PlusGas but a hell of a job.

Top front shock fixings were comparitively easy to remove, but rear real pigs. Allan key location rounderd! and would not move even with a windy gun.

Removal of front shocks, no problem. Rear needed the ARB have the fixing bolts removed so it could be pushed upward in order to wiggle the spring out.

Fitting, no problem except one person had to stand on the disks to enable new bolts to be located and also use a pry bar to position top of new shock cemtral in location mounting. Poly bushes fitted ok on front. Rear top poly bushes extremely difficult to compress in order to fit lock nut.

Yes, fitted new lock nuts and uprated lower damper bolts.

You will need garge quality tools, windy gun, pry bar etc. But having said that w well worth ugrade.

Robert

Thanks for this. It is still on my to do list. Good tip about the poly bushes difficult to squash down.
I can see this been one of those things that will take a bit of time.

 

[98luke]

One job that I have finally got round to is replacing the inner CV joints on my 2002 MG TF and both Diff Seals. Not that there was an issue but after 18 years I suspected the grease in the CV joint may have lost most of its properties and the seals were a preventative measure whilst I had the drive shafts out. Indeed, when I removed the boot the grease poured out like a thick oil.

Whilst at it the drive shafts have been cleaned and painted also. I replaced the outer CV joints less than 2000 miles ago so they were in good shape.

Another job ticked off.

 

[rogrover38]

Today have got to remove the failed front pipe.. Dammned thing has broken in the flexi. The outer mesh is fine it is the inner corrogated bit that has failed and this pipe was new in January.

This is the second one to fail like this .............................. first one was the replacemnt on Blue and now the one on the 75th has failed. Obviously cheaply made and the supplier wants it back to inspect as I made a complaint.. of course I have to pay for everything and will not have an exhaust while ths is being done but that does not seem to bother them one little bit.

Anyone have a suggestion where to get a decent 4 bolt flange front pipe that won't fall apart in a ew thousand miles?

Hi mines failed on the mot I cut it out and welded in a new flexi joint

 

[MGJohn]

Admirable skill there.

 

[steviejones133]

Not so much as to what I did but what someone else did......AGAIN!

Supermarket car crash and leave by third party without giving a toss about my car. 3 panels damaged, drivers door, rear wing and rear bumper. Insurance repair quote at £1247 and deemed a total loss yet again (same 4 yrs ago with another supermarket hit and run).

Minor paint damage, not deep, no dents...

Insurer refusing to pay out for a repair over £740, refused me the option for a cash settlement and left me with option of cat N write off.

merry Xmas to you too, SAGA over 50s car insurance.....

 

[batoutofhull]

Not so much as to what I did but what someone else did......AGAIN!

Supermarket car crash and leave by third party without giving a toss about my car. 3 panels damaged, drivers door, rear wing and rear bumper. Insurance repair quote at £1247 and deemed a total loss yet again (same 4 yrs ago with another supermarket hit and run).

Minor paint damage, not deep, no dents...

Insurer refusing to pay out for a repair over £740, refused me the option for a cash settlement and left me with option of cat N write off.

merry Xmas to you too, SAGA over 50s car insurance.....

What! No way Steve. That is such a (insert choice terminology). You have my sympathy. Saying that I did eventually get to repair the hff front wing....only 13 years after it was first dinked. In fact I get the guy who fixes all the new cars that come of the docks. Who knew? He said he had done 5 on the dockside before he nipped over the Avon to do mine.

 

[steviejones133]

What! No way Steve. That is such a (insert choice terminology). You have my sympathy. Saying that I did eventually get to repair the hff front wing....only 13 years after it was first dinked. In fact I get the guy who fixes all the new cars that come of the docks. Who knew? He said he had done 5 on the dockside before he nipped over the Avon to do mine.

I know!! - from now on, I’m going to park in disabled and family spaces and suffer the nasty stares....still waiting on the insurers deciding what they are going to do, its not off the table yet that they will proceed with the repair.

 

[batoutofhull]

I know!! - from now on, I’m going to park in disabled and family spaces and suffer the nasty stares....still waiting on the insurers deciding what they are going to do, its not off the table yet that they will proceed with the repair.

I have my TF insured at a fixed valuation. It gets assessed by the mgoc. The value of our cars is pretty low at the moment. If the valuation is fixed then the cost of repair has to be 66% or less for it to be mended. Mine is valued at nearly 4K. No body would pay that though if it ever came up for sale. At that valuation my insurance went down. Every MG owner with a car over 16 years should be doing classic ins. Just a thought.

 

[nocturneblue]

I've come to the conclusion that if you value a car and have put lots of work into it but it's not worth much to anyone else, it's for Sunday drives and holidays only and SORNed six months of the year - it's not your daily drive or for nipping to the supermarket. There're just too many 'enemies' out there for a car to survive unscathed for long.
With an F/TF mollycoddled and only doing maybe 3,000 miles per year on quiet roads, it could survive a long time. I know, who wants to drive a boring car instead of your roadster of choice, and most people haven't the space or money for two cars - one of which does nothing at any one time - but it is an obvious solution.
I like batoutofhulls classic insurance suggestion, I may look into that when I finally get my TF back on the road next spring.
My TF needs a new nose panel after a lorry kicked up debris on the M4 two years ago (I've got a waiting LE500 nose panel). It actually has had loads of work done to it but always needs more.
Next year apart from the nose panel, the left sill paintwork needs taking back to metal to stop the tinworm in their tracks, plus the clutch fluid and seals need doing and the gearchange needs work to get it to select reverse right - it has that problem where it is necessary to crash the gearstick into reverse hard to stop it making that peppergrinder noise when it fails to mesh. I realised the problem was that the cable travel wasn't enough in reverse, hence the need to slam reverse in and rely on inertia to get the gear selector rod home. However, when I started fiddling with the gear cable at the stick end and the bellcrank end, getting reverse right also made the gearstick counterweight strike the tunnel. I'm sure I can get it adjusted so it hits the sweet spot and solve both problems but it's a time-consuming, fair weather job. The gearchange had problems with other gears too on occasion, caused by poor adjustment, so it needs doing...

 

[gnu]

You’re right NB, the price you would get for our cars is no where near the value they have to us as owners. Most would be worth hundreds rather than thousands, yet have many years left if looked after. I’m not complaining as I’ve had many good, enjoyable MG-R’s that have had a fraction of the depreciation of mainstream cars. I hope I can keep on running them...

 

[batoutofhull]

I’ve had many good, enjoyable MG-R’s that have had a fraction of the depreciation of mainstream cars.

I paid 12,000 for my TF in 2004 with 8 miles on the clock. It has never been sorn and when a job needs doing it goes to an mg rover mechanic or ex mgr. I still love it today as I did seeing it displayed in the showroom. I remember the new car smell.
It looks good for a 17 year old car. It has had scrapes and bumps. All now dealt with. Underneath still needs some more work. It is a list of little jobs that have built up. Rusty springs and dampers. surface rust reappearing on the rear subs.
I try to drive it as much as I can. When to drive it depends on where I am going. I do a quick risk assessment. If it is the shops. It has to be the old truck. A long distance then the hybrid, a drive in the Wye valley, there is only one choice.
Minimising dents is difficult. Road rash from the m5 or troley and door clangs in supermarkets. I have a spare front wing but opted to have the original stripped back, treated and painted. It looks like new paint because it is new.

Its Christmas day. Everyone is working today, so for me a little tlc for the mg.
Merry Christmas everyone.

 

[dert]

Today I decided it was about time I changed the rear brake pads on my TF 160, they had been grinding a tad for a couple of weeks but with the weather, then getting covid over Christmas I've only now felt up to getting the job done......

Later I'm going to try and recover my keys which I managed to lock in my 75th...at least they are in the ignition and not the boot

 

[nocturneblue]

dert,
How do you lock your keys in the passenger compartment except with another set of keys, unless the locking system is playing up? I presume you have a method for getting in? I can get into my car with no damage or dodgy stuff if the soft top is up. Let me know if you want to know the method.

 

[dert]

dert,
How do you lock your keys in the passenger compartment except with another set of keys, unless the locking system is playing up? I presume you have a method for getting in? I can get into my car with no damage or dodgy stuff if the soft top is up. Let me know if you want to know the method.

I've a few F's and TF's and had pushed the F onto the drive as it had a snapped gear cable and then went to lock it with the key forgetting the keys were still in the ignition (both sets on same keyring) as I had my TF keys in my hand.....the drivers lock is a tad iffy and locks without needing to turn the lock...by the time I reaslised the system had locked.

On a positive, I've now recovered the keys, I used a small air bag to prise the top of the window and then used a long screwdriver to lift the door button. Also decided to get my pscan out and programme another fob so now have two seperate keys and fobs and hopefully no similar problem in the future

 

[gnu]

Yes, those pads need changing! Are you changing the discs as well?

 

[dert]

Yes, those pads need changing! Are you changing the discs as well?

Nah, just the pads on this occassion, checked condition of disc, it not too badly scored so will see how things go, have a few new spare sets of discs and pads at hand if the pads wear quicker than expected.

 

[gnu]

Nah, just the pads on this occassion, checked condition of disc, it not too badly scored so will see how things go, have a few new spare sets of discs and pads at hand if the pads wear quicker than expected.

I wondered, as they look bad in the pic, but could be just rust that would clean off with a short drive.

 

[IanMc]

Made sure my F was still under the cover I left in under in September. There is something Red under there, so I suppose its OK lol