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MG MGF Technical - Engine Cover?

Guys,

can you explain how I get the engine cover off please as I would like to investigate the wear on the spark plugs.

Is it easy to take off?

Regards,
MG
Mike Gibson

unclip all clips around the rear of the softtop and lift and secure up.
Pull out carpet that sits under where the rear window should be
10mm spanner or socket and remove all the bolts that poke thru the engine cover.
Lift out, taking care with your knuckles as the bottom of the Tbar is quite sharp

Refitting is the reverse procedure, but be carefull not to over tightnen the bolts or you will strip the threads

Will
Will Munns

Basically as Will says:

Additional things to note are the presence of a windstop can make accessing the rear hood catches tricky, i always remove mine before starting but you may have some success by just folding it down.

Good point about the aluminium angle below the T bar (i have had many a grazed knuckle from this thing!)

There are 5 overcentre catches securing the back of the hood frame, when these are release, fold the back of the hood upwards until it is vertical then secure it in this position as it tends to want to fall down. I use a bungee cord hooked from the front of the hood, but some people get equally good results using a bit of string tied around the rear of the side window frame.

There are 11 short bolts securing the engine bay access panel, they have a 10mm head and as Will says should not be overtightened when you refit them. Finger tight is adequate, much more than this and you run the risk of stripping the thread in the bodywork.

Lastly, be aware of the wiring and multiplug for the hard top heated rear screen. In the past i have seen this trapped under the parcel shelf carpet and even trapped by the inspection panel with the multiplug hanging inside the engine bay! It's just a case of making sure it is free of these things when you are reassembling the car.

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Once you are in the engine bay, remove the HT leads cover plate by undoing the 2 (IIRC) philips head screws and lifting it upwards. This will give access to the HT leads and the tops of the spark plugs.

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HTH

SF
SF

A tip when undoing or doing up the over-center catches is to wear some stout gloves as its easy to trap your fingers and can be painfull.
Dave - Rugby

Mike,

There's an article in the new MGF/TF FAQ that shows and explains how to gain access to the engine compartment. There's also another FAQ article concerning the changing of spark plugs...

http://www.dotcomoff.demon.co.uk

Also home of the MG Dealer Guide and F'ers Gallery. :)
Paul Lathwell

Paul you beat me to it. I was going to cross reference with MGs other thread. Ho Hum.

MG (cool initials) plugs and leads are dead easy. It might look a bit complex, but it's simpler than Meccanno.
David Mills

Mike, in addition to Paul's excellent resource, see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/replace_sparkplugs.htm

Hope this helps :o)

Rob
Rob Bell

and don't overtighten the spark plugs!

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

This thread was discussed between 02/10/2002 and 03/10/2002

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