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MG MGF Technical - speedo's stopped

Aaaaargh! First the steering felt uncannily light, then I noticed I was doing 0mph, then a bit further on the steering light came on and I had to start heaving on the wheel. This of course is to go with the severely rattling silencer and the impending welding job on the rear jacking points 8-{
Assuming it is the cable failed, and depending on which section has gone and also on availability, any awkward corners to look out for if I replace the whole lot?
Mike Cunningham

Had the same problem myself last year. I guessed the back section had gone which was all the scrappie had at the time. My inner cable had parted about 4 inches in from the gearbox end. Easy job to fix, just a little fiddly undoing the plastic clip under the car where the rear/mid sections meet. In excitement of finding the problem and having the right replacement, I was a bit hasty in removing the old, without checking it's original route. Obviously the cable shouldn't bend sharply but getting the route wrong can leave you "short" of cable. You'll need a few cable ties handy to make a proper job. Use some LM grease on the inner cable to increase it's life and promote smooth rotation. I had speedo wobble before, but not after.

Jeff
J Lennon

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How does one explain this!?
Checked the front cable - OK, and by twiddling it with the ignition on the power steering came back. Intermediate cable appeared not to be turning (back wheel off ground and rotated.) Separated the inter & rear sections, both inners free to turn when withdrawn from the casings. Reassembled all three sections, jacked up a wheel - lo and behold, the speedo now works. Should be mechanically impossible, so maybe it's on borrowed time. Or perhaps it will go on for years - who knows. At least I don't have to fork out for a new one yet.
Mike Cunningham

Erm...

Well, when a cable fails, the section that 'always' goes is the gearbox section - and in my experience, usually close to the insertion to the gearbox itself.

If your inner cables are all intact, then it suggests that the cables weren't properly located into one another - so hopefully now you've had a chance to look at everything and reassembled, all will be well?
Rob Bell

All three sections have been there since Feb '96 apart from being disturbed when I had the subframes done 4 years ago, so I assume they can only have been correctly engaged. It's the return of function that's surprising (and welcome), but I'm confidently expecting it to fail again - probably on the way to MGF15.
You forget what it used to be like without power steering - did the early Fs without it have a different ratio? I prefer mine with, anyway. My first modern car was a 1962 VX 4-90 which had really good steering feel, but probably required a fair heave on the wheel to park it!
Mike Cunningham

Yes, non-EPAS have a slower rack - 3.4 turns lock to lock compared to 3.2 for EPAS racks, and 2.8 turns for TF EPAS racks. :o)

I too like EPAS - but I also have a button to be able to switch it off as the mood takes me :o) http://mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/DIY/epas/epas_bypass.htm
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 29/06/2010 and 05/07/2010

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