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MG MGB Technical - space between harmonic balancer and steering rack

I am trying to assemble a chrome bumper drive train into a rubber bumper body.I have changed the motor mounts to rubber bumper style and made modifications to the front engine plate to attach the mount brackets. The transmission cross member lined up with the first two mounting holes on the chassis from the front of the car when the engine and tranny were installed. I thought at this point I was home free. I had made significant changes to the fire wall for the change in the steering differences between RB and CB.
But when I installed the steering rack to the front cross member there is only about a 1/8" gap between it and the harmonic balancer,so small I cannot install the fan belt. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is not correct. Could anyone tell me what the gap should be and does anybody know what went wrong?

Thanks Joe
JH Clark

Dear Joe,

I think something is dimensionally out. On my 73, and fan belt will fit through the space you describe. I would not say that space is generous, and belt is rubbing the rack and pulley as is passing through on installation.

As for what component is out I am not sure. My harmonic damper is a single pulley. My car is stock in the dimensional respects.

Thanks,
Shareef
Shareef Hassan

Had a similar problem on my factory V8, first noticed when the crank pulley started rubbing on the (uprated) front anti-roll bar under heavy braking. Another curious aspect was that the removable rear cross-member was attached to the front chassis rail holes one side but the rears on the other!

Eventually realised that the engine had been installed with the plates that go between the block and the rubber mounts on the wrong sides - they are handed but fit either way, the incorrect way moving the engine forward by nearly an inch.

Later rubber bumper bodies used the V8 mounts, although the engine attachments were different. But I'd still be looking at them closely to see if things could be fitted backwards or to the wrong sides.
Paul Hunt 2

Thanks for your comments,but I can't see how the engine mount brackets could be put on differently. I have the short 90 degree angled part with two mounting points attached to the front plate,and the single angled hole, mounted to the block. Having never seen a rubber bumper mounting I am guessing this is correct. If anyone has a picture which shows the orientation of the mounting bracket I would appreciate it if you would post it.
Thanks Joe
JH Clark

Joe,

The metal mounts can only fit one way - I don't know how Paul got his the wrong way round!

However the rubber mounts are mounted at an angle - the front is higher than the back and since the single bolt on the other side is not centralised it matters which way up the rubber mount goes, with the bolt downwards (the right way) the engine sits further back than with the bolt upwards.
Chris at Octarine Services

I didn't, someone else did, that was how the car came to me. It is the V8 engine mounting plates I'm talking about and they definitely can be fitted to either side but only one way is correct, as I said I don't know whether the later 4-cylinder mounts that use the same rubber and chassis mounts can be similarly afected, looks like not.

I sorted mine out just before the reshell of a factory V8 at the NEC Classic Car Show in 1995 when BMIHT had just started producing V8 GT shells. When I got to the stand I could see they had them on the wrong way round, and they couldn't get the engine in at all. I discreetly attracted the attention of the compere during a quiet moment and mentioned my experience. He told me that they had been trying to get the engine in for a couple of hours and had had the mounting plates both ways round but still no go. However they swapped them over again, this time removed the gear lever form the gearbox, and it went straight in.
Paul Hunt 2

Paul - that makes sense, yes the V8 brackets fit both ways but only one is right. The four pot brackets only fit one way - the key is in the rubber mount orientation.
Chris at Octarine Services

Chris,
Thanks I'm pretty sure I mounted the rubber mounts the wrong way with stud up,I did this because I thought the engine would sit too proud for the hood(bonnet) to fit. Thanks for the info, now all I need is about a week to loosen the bloody nylock nuts I used on the mount studs.

Thanks again Joe
JH Clark

No matter which way up you fit the mounts, the engine height is the same as the disc of the rubber mount rests on the bottom lip of the chassis rail mounting.
Chris at Octarine Services

RB cars use a different damper, larger diameter but much narrower than CB cars. The damper is only the width of the pulley groove at the OD. The thicker damper should fit, but in combination with the mounts backwards as Chris says, could easily cause interference.
I have previously posted how to correctly assemble and install the mounts, and how to shim them so the brackets don't keep cracking. In archives someplace maybe two years ago, if you can't find it after reasonable effort, I'll try to look it up. If you do find my original, please let me know the link as I forgot to make a copy, and I am tired of rewriting stuff constantly! Someone else has pirated and published my description , without credit to me, and that version is widely available, but I haven't checked to see if it is still accurate, since it is somewhat mixed up with other info on the subject. The last comment by Chris is mainly true but a bit misleading, as it is subject to variation by improper final installation.
FRM
FR Millmore

Do I take it correctly that you have a CB crossmember in the RB car? In that case, the RB damper may not clear the crossmember, don't know, never did it, but I think it will. But I think the early damper should clear the rack if everything but the mounts is CB, provided the mounts are right way about.
FRm
FR Millmore

Thanks Everyone,
right now the car is still in winter storage but it is getting warmer and the itch is getting stronger.Thae last thing I did was install the steering rack on the cross member and noticed the narrow gap between the damper and rack. When I do pull it out of storage I will start with Chris's suggestion and check the orientation of the rubber engine mounts. This will hopefully solve the problem.

Regards Joe
JH Clark

JH-
It is worth (and sometimes necessary) removing the rack to get the LH mount nut off! And, if you file a 9/16 open end out so it's sloppy, it is a lot easier to keep the flip-flop going required to unscrew the wretched nut.
Try to find my original post on assembly of mounts before you get in there - could save a few repeat attempts.
FRM
FR Millmore

This thread was discussed between 16/03/2007 and 23/03/2007

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