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MG MGB Technical - Nut(ty) Question

Hello All,

Having worked through the electrical troubles on the '63 B, it's now time for some minutia.

I'm wondering - the exposed cylinder head nuts along the right side of the engine are rusty. I would like to take off and clean up each nut, one-by-one, then re-torque it before taking off and cleaning up another one.

Do I risk warping the head doing that?

Thanks,
Greg

Greg Van Hook

Greg - That should not be a problem, it would be the same as re-torquing the head, in fact I would suggest that you remove the rocker cover and just go through the whole re-torque sequence while you are at it. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

I wouldn't think so (?) but I'd avoid removing them anyway and just use a little brass brush on the end of a Dremel to clean them up. Of course put something on them afterwards otherwise they'll only rust again (very quickly too)!

Simon
Simon Jansen

Hey Dave,

That's a really good idea. I hadn't thought of that before. I know the head work was just done in November, and I'll bet it was never torqued a second time!

Simon, that brings up a good point. I use my Dremel with the brass brush a lot for carburetor detail work. The Dremel brass brushes last about 5 minutes before all of the bristles have flung off into space. Do you know of a longer-lasting brass brush for the Dremel?

Greg
Greg Van Hook

Yes, I find they don't last long either. The trick is not to apply too much pressure. The same applies for wire brushes on anything I find.

Simon
Simon Jansen

Greg

Once you start loosing the wires, the brushes seem to go to hell very fast. They do have a couple of types. Some of the more expensive ones seem to last a bit longer.

I also like the small cup types, they work well.

Clean the nuts as much as you can get to, then retorque. It will probably move the nut enough to get to the back flat.
Bruce-C

"it would be the same as re-torquing the head"

Personally I retorque by backing off the nut just enough to break the stiction. I wouldn't like to loosen it altogether much less remove it while you polish your nuts. Unless the rest of the engine bay is pristine it is going to look like a diamond in a goat's bottom :o)
Paul Hunt

I was looking around at images on Google, and saw a '63 B with the cylinder head nuts painted the same color as the engine.

Should they be painted?

Thanks,
Greg
Greg Van Hook

In 1970 the engines were given a coat of paint after assembly, so Yes the nuts were painted. After the 500 mile Service I took the car 1200 miles to Jugoslavija and had a head gasket failure between cylinders 3 & 4.
The paint was pristine and clean on the nuts, rocker cover gasket and seals.
geoff F.
Geoff Farthing

This thread was discussed between 07/04/2009 and 08/04/2009

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