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MG MGA - Boot (trunk) fitting

Following a posting last year I have at long last adjusted the latch on the bootlid so that my boot closes properly (and it no longer opens every time I go over a bump).
But initially I loosened the three vertical bolts attaching the bracket to the lid, before I realised it is the two horizontal bolts that I needed to adjust. The problem is, I cant re-tighten the 3 vertical bolts. They just keep turning. From the very limited access, it looks like the nuts are boxed in making access even with a small screwdriver as a wedge, impossible. Does anyone know if there's a trick to this?
Thanks
Graham M V

Graham, I did the same thing last summer trying to remove the three hex head screws. They go into caged nuts and mine had completely rusted solid. I managed to get a 4" angle grinder disc in to remove the front two cages (plus nuts) and also most of the more remote third cage. I've not reassembled yet but it will be almost impossible to replace with new caged nuts so I'm planning to use plain nuts and a small spanner to hold them while tightening.................mike
m.j. moore

DPO use self tapping screws. Sounds terrible but looks like original and works well! I guess they shouldn't be too long though.

Neil
Neil McGurk

Sorry, I dont quite understand. If they are caged nuts, why dont they grip on the bolts and tighten up?

Neil, thanks for the suggestion. I think I will use that as a last resort. (I assume DPO means dreaded previous owner, so I may become the dreaded current owner!)
Graham M V

Sounds like the threads are stripped!
Neil McGurk

The trouble with the small cages is that they seem to be made of thin gauge sheet and they are often not strong enough to prevent the nut from turning especially if there is any rust seizing. Once the nut turns the cage is rendered useless. They shouldn't really have used caged nuts in that position. A better idea would have been to use a plate the same size as the brackets bottom area with three holes drilled and three nuts soldered in position. Unless you grind off the cages I don't see how you are going to do it. If you grind off the screw heads you can remove the bracket but you still have the problem of removing the rest of the screw/nut for reassembling even if you decided to use self tappers...........mike
m.j. moore

Thanks for your help. What a nuisance for something that should be so simple!
I am thinking about taking the boot lid off to have a proper look or do you think this will lead to more problems? There are 3 bolts attaching the hinge to the lid on each side. The two outer bolts look like they will go back easily enough as the nut appears to be welded in place, but I cant see the nut on the middle one. I assume it will be the same?
Graham M V

If you want to grind off the cages I think you'll have to remove the lid as I did on mine; it's tricky enough to use a grinder in that limited space even when removed.
All six hinge holes on the lid have similar caged nuts behind them! So take care in unscrewing (use plenty of WD40) because if you ruin the cages you will not be able to grind them off due to the poor access. It might be better to remove the screws on the other side of the hinge; the front one goes through the drainage channel and would be easy to remove if seized. The back two again have nut cages. However, in removing my hinges I had no problems at all whereas all three of my latch bracket screws were seized so removing the lid may go smoothly for you. Good luck.........Mike
m.j. moore

This thread was discussed between 12/03/2010 and 14/03/2010

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