MGB This is gettin' tiresome

Thought I'd do a good deed and finally install the GT sway-bar I got from The Great Pumpkin Tony a while ago (obviously).

Done it with a bit of MacGyverin' but it's UP in there now. *yay*

...except now the clutch slave has given up and out. Puked fluid and died. "NO problemo" says self. Just happen to have another on the shelf. With a rebuild kit. Honed that puppy and put the cup and boot in it. Front-end jacked BACK up in the air, slide under th' beast with tools to the ready. The durn'd flex-line will NOT be undone from the slave... rounded off the flats with a line wrench. *grumble* *grumble* *grumble*

Conclude the session with throwin' weasel pee on the chassis fitting side in hopes THAT will come apart without the gland nut twisting the Bundy pipe and causing me to chase this issue all the way to the master cylinder. Figger'd I would CUT the basty nastard and have another made up at a local hydraulics shop. We have a nifty Ma & Pa place a mile away, they have done our lines for decades. And for us it's a "While-U-Wait" service. great folk.

This has now gone since Monday, BTW. We're in the 4 PM rain-on-schedule time of year, my J.O.B. ties me up usually from 9 AM to 2 or 3 PM. Today bein' Friday I thought I better get me wagon in gear and down to the hosepipe maker... then said to self: Check yer OWN inventory first, Bubba. Dug thru multiple boxes and shelves, found brake flex-lines, a spare front end rebound bumper, assorted shiny-pretties. Clutch flex-line? "No joy." Then the light went on: checked the top compartment of the toolbox... ~LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER!!!~ Tomorrow morning the deed will commence.

...and to attain Castrol brake fluid I drove around half the county on Monday, stopping every place I could remember seeing it. NOBODY had it, some even laughed at me. Had to go to the local Harley shop and ORDER it... a case or nothing. I now have a lifetime supply. *sigh*

It's always an adventure, isn't it. One of the first lessons I learned when I got that first Bugeye years ago was that being in a rush when working on these cars was a pointless endeavor -- something unexpected will *always* crop up. Zen and the art of LBC maintenance, a true lesson in patience, perseverance, and multiple trips to the parts bins.

I'm young enough that local parts supplies for these cars have never been common while I've been working on them. I've learned to expect to have to make a few calls to Moss before a project is finished, no matter how hard I think it all through beforehand.

Ah well, I guess that's an upside for having two of the little beasties now -- odds are better that *one* will be running.

I really try to keep an inventory of the bits I know to cause issues with availability if they fail.

For a while now I will be in the same boat as Don_R, needing the MGB to be a daily driver while I transfer the running gear, gauges and seats from the current Alfa into a less rust eaten chassis.

UPDATE:

Got the old slave cylinder off, decided I'd "cheat" it by undoing the gland nut at the chassis and removing the flex hose and cylinder as an "assembly." Put the rebuilt one up the same way. Most challenging task was getting that bloody gland nut started into the flex line without boogerin' up the threads. Now for the EEZ E Bleed!

Well done, Doc.

Just ordered an Eezibleed myself -- really need to at least bleed the B's clutch. Probably should replace the flex line, but I'm considering waiting until the next time I've got the engine out.

When I can't find something or I don't like the price I try Amazon. Just looked and there is a nice selection of Castrol brake fluids.

If it helps, this is what I got from Castrol when I asked about Castrol GT LMA brake fluid over a year ago:

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I asked Castrol if they could tell me which retailers in my area carried Castrol GT LMA. This is the response they sent today, 04-03-2012:
Harry

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This ticket has been updated by LT - Castrol Representative

Thank you for contacting Castrol North America,

Castrol GT LMA has been renamed to Castrol Brake Fluid DOT 4. This product is sold at retailers such as Wal-Mart and is also available at all major Auto Parts retailers such as AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly, Pep Boys, Strauss, NAPA and by select quick lubes, dealerships and auto service centers around the country.

The above mentioned national retailers who carry Castrol products order their products from a warehouse, who in turn, order the product from us. Generally it is based on consumer demand therefore we are unable to advise you of a specific retail location that carries that particular product -- please call the surrounding stores directly to inquire about product availability.

If you would like to locate another retail source near you, you may contact the following authorized distributors:

Isgett Distributors
Asheville, NC
828-667-9846

Pugh Oil Company
Asheboro, NC
336-629-2061

Castrol Consumer Relations

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It was still difficult to find in the stores, and the last fluid I bought was Valvoline DOT 4.

I know what you mean..tiresome. Glad I still have flesh on my arms after still working on engine mounts...really need to pull the whole motor to change them! Love nuts and bolts...who would think that a nut welded to the part would make things easier????
I guess everyone at MG thought it was jolly good fun to juggle two "spanners" while installing a bolt into an impossibly small space..oh and let's juggle a nut and lock washer at the same time. Love to drive my B and am building my own encyclopedia of what to do and what not to do....just wish I had that "person" there to tell me..."oh don't do that..do this first". Well live and learn and makes good war stories for the pub.

Castrol has always been DOT 4. DOT 4 by definition of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard is Low Moisture Activity LMA. Conversely, any brake fluid that is labeled as DOT 4 is LMA (it doesn't have to be made by Castrol to be LMA).
Cheers,

Castrol has always been DOT 4. DOT 4 by definition of the Part 571 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard is Low Moisture Activity LMA. Conversely, any brake fluid that is labeled as DOT 4 is LMA (it doesn't have to be made by Castrol to be LMA).
Cheers,

The only Castrol products on the shelves of the stores I searched was their oils. The brake fluid selections were either "house brand" fluids or Prestone-Valvolene-other branded. Very likely any Dot-4 FMVSS #116 would be fine but call me superstition-laden. Castrol products are what I know and trust. Been faithful to 'em through decades, whether I was working in dealership shops, independent shops or for my personal vehicles.

Boggsy64 said:

just wish I had that "person" there to tell me..."oh don't do that..do this first". Well live and learn and makes good war stories for the pub.

Click to expand...

I've had that same wish over the years! I'm young enough that "back in the day when these cars were new" was before I was born, so I'm learning as I go. I'm on my second Bugeye now, and finding that at least there I'm remembering my mistakes from the first one. On my MGB I just get to learn them all over again.

That's one of the reasons we're on this forum!

Clutch bled in seconds, took longer to rig the Eezi-Bleed and clean everything up after the deed. I built an adaptor to use the male end for an air chuck mated it to a Schrader valve so it can use the compressor (regulated down to 10 PSI) as the air pressure source.




I.D. threaded the air chuck, used epoxy instead of Teflon tape. It split the chuck a couple places but doesn't leak and maked finding a low pressure air source easier.


Found a NOS front-end rebound bumper in the MGB parts bin... it is now on the port side where it should have been a year ago :wink:

DrEntropy said:

That's one of the reasons we're on this forum!

Clutch bled in seconds, took longer to rig the Eezi-Bleed and clean everything up after the deed.

Found a NOS front-end rebound bumper in the MGB parts bin... it is now on the port side where it should have been a year ago :wink:

Click to expand...

This place has been of inestimable value to me through the years, cheaper than hiring one of y'all gurus to come sit and watch what I do in person.

My Eezibleed should show up next week, need to do the clutch on the B. hoping for a nice, simple process.

And at least that bumper made it in the car eventually -- just think, it's fresher than had it undergone that extra year of road use.

drooartz said:

This place has been of inestimable value

Click to expand...

Good word! ~~Now, where have I heard that one before...?~~

Dang! I knew this was a classy place to hang...

"Very likely any Dot-4 FMVSS #116 would be fine but call me superstition-laden. Castrol products are what I know and trust. Been faithful to 'em through decades..."

I know the feeling - I was the same until I got to the point that I didn't have any Castrol fluid and I gritted my teeth and used some generic DOT 4 fluid - and lo and behold, it works the same! No problem after several years.
Cheers,

A little voice in my head keeps telling me the stuff is probably like antifreeze: most of it made in the same place and packaged according to whichever company is distributing it.

But my superstition will persist a bit longer now that I have a stash of the Castrol.

So all that fuss over the clutch ended, did the poly bushings in the front suspension, all good. Lit the engine off and wanted to run it up to temp as per the monthly ritual. Sat in the driver's seat and revved it a bit, watching the gauges. After about ten minutes the O.P. gauge started goin' spastic so I shut it down and got out to look in the engine bay... the stinkin' flex-line for the gauge had let go and hemorrhaged its fluids all over the engine, the compartment and the driveway. Ordered replacement from Moss along with some replacement radiator hoses.

A never ending "hobby" isn't it...