HOW TO BUFF AND POLISH
MOTOR OIL 101
OIL ADDITIVES &
ENGINE TREATMENTS
BRAKE
FLUID 101
STOPPING COOLING SYSTEM CORROSION
POPULAR
MECHANICS
CAR CARE
CAR CRAFT TECH ARTICLES
CAR CRAFT HOW-TO ARTICLES
ADVANCE
AUTO PARTS HOW-TO ARTICLES
10. (03/06/01) Prevent
rust by keeping the underside of your car clean. Place a lawn sprinkler
under your car and turn it on full blast. Move occasionally so it
will reach all areas. This is a good way to remove all salt and
road grime.
9. (03/06/01) To avoid
streaks, use newspaper to wipe windows dry after cleaning.
8. (03/06/01) A new
blackboard eraser is great for quickly removing the fog from inside
car windows.
7. (03/06/01) When tuning
up your car, set gap on plugs using the widest gap that the manufacturer
recommends, Your car will run better, idle better, and will give
you better gas mileage.
6. (03/06/01) Clean
hard to reach areas (dash, cup holders) with a dampened sponge-tipped
paintbrush.
5. (03/06/01) Avoid
putting air in your tire if the temperature is below 10 degrees.
The valve could stick and let out all of the air.
4. (03/06/01) To keep
a radio antenna from sticking, occasionally rub wax paper up and
down the antenna.
3. (03/06/01) Keep a
few Handy Wipes In the glove box to remove gas odor from your hands
after filling the tank.
2. (03/06/01) If your
engine or transmission leaks, you can make a drip pan by placing
corrugated cardboard or kitty litter in a cookie sheet.
1. (03/06/01) Oil drips
on your garage floor can be absorbed with kitty litter or oatmeal.
9. (12/20/05) TRANSMISSION SUPPORT MOD - If you have
ever removed the transmission mounts, you know what royal pain it
can be to get to the bolts and nuts. Here is a quick and easy modification
to the crossmember that will make this chore a breeze.
First, slot the holes for the studs on the rubber mounts
(about 2.5 times as long as they are wide) so that it can be passed
over the studs when the mounts are on the box. Second, drill two holes
on axis with the two studs (in the regular position) in the main part
of the crossmember, big enough to get your 1/2" socket through
(about 7/8”). These don't need to be oval, as your extension
is narrower than the socket and you can tilt it over just fine once
you've pushed the socket through. PHOTO
8. (04/15/05) If you can barely see the instruments in your MGB at
night, replace those old, dim bulbs with some much brighter ones from
Radio Shack. The bulbs are RS #272-1133A, screw-base, 220 mA @ 7.5
V. In the first photo, I have upgraded all of bulbs except the tach.
In the second photo, the tach lamp has been also upgraded. PHOTOS
UPDATE:
These Radio Shack bulbs lasted only two months! I have since replaced
them with LED bulbs from autolumination.com
. I purchased their single
LED, inverted lens Super White E10 screw base lamps for the gauges.
Unfortunately, they are no brighter than the original stock bulbs.
I will try the 4-LED cluster E10's soon and let you know how they
work out.
I also bought the inverted lens
Ba7s lamps for the heater temp and air damper knobs. They are just
fine.
7. (2/12/05) LIFT-THE-DOT
POST REPLACEMENT- The posts for the Lift-the-Dot snaps on the back
of MGB tops can be a real pain to remove and reinstall. Their location
makes it almost impossible to get a wrench on the backing nut. When
you are ready to reinstall the posts, replace the hex nuts with wing
nuts. A lock washer or a drop of Locktite will make sure that they
don't back off.
6. (6/19/98)
FUEL GAUGE SENDING UNIT- If your fuel gauge never reads above empty,
the most common cause is that the sending unit plastic float has cracked
and filled with fuel. Insead of spending $50 for a replacement of
the entire unit, you can get a brass float of the same dimensions
from your local Ford dealer for about $10. The part number is COAZ-9202-B.
Thanks Bill Breithoff.
5. (6/19/98) HEAT/DEFROST
CONTROL CABLE - The original control cable that operates the damper
for directing the air coming out of the heater has a stranded wire
core. The after-market replacements I have seen have a solid core,
which is much too stiff. A good replacement is the brake cable from
a ten-speed bicycle. Thanks Cort Musgrave, Jr.
4. (6/19/98) A-FRAME BUSHINGS
- When it is time to replace the stock bushings, get the V-8 one-piece
bushings. To install them, dip them in DOT 5 (silicone) brake fluid
and give them a couple of good whacks with a hammer; they slide right
in. Thanks Peter Brauen.
3. (6/19/98) NON-OVERDRIVE
TRANSMISSIONS - The output shaft passes through a tight seal on the
rear half of the transmission case. When you reinstall the rear case,
the gears will be in a bind until you torque up the drive shaft flange
on the output shaft. If you start checking for proper shifting before
the flange is in place, you will swear you reassembled it incorrectly.
2. (6/19/98) TURN SIGNAL
FLASHER - Tired of your turn signal slowing to a crawl every time
you step on the brakes? Replace the original Lucas flasher unit with
a round generic flasher. They won't fit in the mounting clip under
the glove box, but are one fifth the price and perform much better.
1. (6/19/98) HARD TO TURN
SIDE WINDOWS - I've tried greasing the window crank gears and rails
with little relief. Spray silicone liberally on the felt window runners.
You could also use WD-40, but I find it attracts more dirt. Thanks
Kevin Gambino.
<TOP>
2. (9/18/04) Long time TR6 owners already now
this, but me being a beginner thought I should share a tip for other
fellow BMNCO beginners with a TR6. The timing cover on the TR6 is
held on by bolts and two very important studs. During my tear down
I only had one stud (which turned out to not even be in the correct
position anyway). When I reassembled it, like I took it apart, after
cleaning all the oil and gunk I started the motor and had a glycol
leak from behind the two bolts on the timing cover directly below
the water pump housing where it bolts to the cylinder head. Very bad
news I thought. Not leaking from anywhere else. I thought the front
engine plug had failed or had a cracked block. So I had to remove
the radiator, steering rack, fan belt, fan, fan extension, crank pully,
timing chain, cam gear, and front engine plate (AGAIN!!) only to find
no sign of a blown plug and no crack. After studying the Moss Motors
catalog I found two very curious sealing "studs" about $0.75
each that should be in those two positions where I had standard bolts
and split washers. These two threaded holes tapped into the coolant
gallery of the block!
Moral of the story. Yes be diligent in remembering how you dis-assembled
the components...but also be diligent to review your shop manuals
and parts catalogs as you do not know how "smart" the last
guy was who took it apart! Remember, how it came apart is not always
how it should go back together. Thanks M Rankin
1. (7/13/98) TR4A FLASHER UNIT - When I started
working on my TR4A, I noticed the turn signal indicator did not work.
After further checking, I discovered the flasher unit installed is
a generic two prong unit; the owners manual calls for a three prong
unit. The attached drawning is a basic schematic of how I solved the
problem without purcashing a three prong flasher unit. "1" is the
center wire for the turn signal switch, which connects to the output
of the flasher unit under the dash. For the physical placement of
the diodes, I found left and right signal light wires and indicator
lamp wire under the dash, then made the connection near the steering
column. I used crimp electrical splices for the connections and then
insulated each connection with electrical tape. Thanks Dave Dupre.
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