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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Cam followers

My machine shop guy called, and most of the news was good - good crank, passable cam, piston conrods need overbore, pistons good... but the cam followers are toast. They were definitely worn, but I didn't know how badly. He seems to think a new set all round will be needed.
My question is has anyone used these cam followers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230838764162?rmvSB=true&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%253A80%252Frover%252F1%252F711-53200-19255-0%252F1%253Fff3%253D4%2526pub%253D5574630722%2526toolid%253D10001%2526campid%253D5335871092%2526customid%253D230838764162%2526mpre%253Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fitm%252F230838764162%2526srcrot%253D711-53200-19255-0

They claim to be improvements on the original.

In other news, he told me the engine head had severe blockage in the water passages, esp on 1 & 2 cylinders. Given the wrong gasket was in place anyway it looks like my engine was headed for significant overheating issues...

I'll be assembling a list of parts, new bearings (throughout), new cam followers, new valves, full gaskets...
Geoffrey M Baker

Although not the set you are looking at..these have the elongated openings. 10000 miles. Consider them sacrificial. The only good solution at this point is Len's roller cam. I heard some talk in the past about some super duty hardened tappets but nothing of late.

MG LaVerne

At only 10000 miles, doesn't seem like it's worth it to buy any fancy ones, just replace them with standard ones regularly :)
Geoffrey M Baker

Hi Geoff,

Are you sure your followers are that bad? Can you post a photo? Are they "toast" because of the bottoms or the sides? I was told by an old MG expert many years ago that the followers are not case hardened but "chilled" (whatever that means). He said the bottom face can be re ground and they get harder as you grind further. I have been doing that with my engines for 47 years and it seems to work well. A machine shop should be able to do it. I believe a very slight positive radius is ideal. Don't have them hardened!

When worn, they look as if they have gone through the hardening but that must be "work-hardening" that has flaked off. Usually, they are only unusable if they have been re-faced so much they are too thin on the bottom face or are cracked or excessively worn on the sides.

Bob Schapel
R L Schapel

I'll be meeting with the machine shop guy on Wed and can take pictures then. They were badly worn, most of the faces had tons of markings - much worse than Laverne's. One - the first one - had some edge damage but almost all had bad pitting from cam contact. I'll talk with him about resurfacing, but my initial impression was these had taken a beating. Now why they would wear worse than anything else (the cam still looks good) I don't know. (Of course they may have been designed to fail first) ... does it indicate excessive play or too little play, I wonder?
Geoffrey M Baker

Before ordering replacement cam followers, make sure your mechanic knows what type grind and material your cam is. Both of you should read the tappet information from Moss...

http://www.mossmotors.com/graphics/products/PDF/433-365.pdf

Print out a copy and give it to him. There's a lot of good information pertinent to our old toys.

Here's one clip from that file...

Reusing a “Good Used Cam”
160 While it is possible to use new tappets with a used cam that has been inspected by a machinist and given
161 a clean bill of health, it is not recommended. Replace the cam and tappets together. For maximum life,
162 they need to wear in together.

For what it's worth. Read the bulletin.



JRN JIM

I've reground two cams. They both disappointed. The last went only 10K miles before the lifters were completely trashed. Others have surely achieved better results, but in my opinion it's penny wise to just buy new ones and do what you can to ensure they live a long and happy life.
Steve Simmons

A very good mechanic buddy of mine rebuilt a small block Chevy with a warm cam and high pressure springs. On initial startup, he adjusted the hydrulic lifters, then readjusted, and later readjusted. Maybe he didn't have it idling fast enough and verify the pushrods were spinning, but in 45 minutes, the cam & lifters were not only destroyed, everything else inside was ruined from the debris.

again, a little knowledge goes a long ways....

http://www.mossmotors.com/graphics/products/PDF/433-365.pdf

JRN JIM

Not sure what kind of machine shop would endorse dropping new followers in on a used cam. Regards, tom
tm peterson

This thread was discussed between 31/03/2015 and 02/04/2015

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