• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

well this is off to a great start....

jmayzer

Member
Offline
GOOD NEWS GENTS: i finally found one! its a 1965 mg midget mk ii, two tone red and black. found it from a member of the mg experience forum and got a great deal on it.


BAD NEWS GENTS: the car has a lot more problems than i was expecting. going to get it, i was told that the car made "a funny noise in 3rd gear" but otherwise ran like a charm. and it certainly did! for the first test drive.


i brought it home, whipped it around for about 30 minutes and it was great (i'd just skip 3rd when shifting). next morning i rode it around for almost an hour when i started to notice the exact noise in 3rd gear start to spread to 2nd and 4th very very quietly at first until it got gradually louder. then it got bad.


first off it doesn't idle very well to begin with (gotta keep giving it gas or it stalls), and i came into the driveway, shut it off, went inside for less than 10 munutes and then came out to find it dead (left the headlights on, my fault). so i got it jumped, and at this point our 3rd gear noise has spread to the idle in neutral. i get it in 1st gear and go to take off; i make it all of 6 inches until the gearbox locks up completely. took out of gear, tried it again, and the same thing happens. this morning i can't even get it running due to both of the issues getting worse.






he 3rd gear noise is very hard to describe other than a very loud, violent knocking or rattling coming from the gearbox (i feel it in the shifter and in between the seats). but as i said, it has now spread to all the gears and even neutral idle.






help.....:dispirited::dispirited:
 

nomad

Yoda
Offline
No choice but going into the gear box. Sorry!

Kurt.
 
D

Deleted member 8987

Guest
Guest
Offline
If I was to fathom a WAG, my first thought was that the transmission was completely dry.
Most likely proven wrong once I checked the level, but first thought nonetheless.

Just stop driving it.
You get a tooth wedged between gears, it's like a 60-ton press...it'll spread the case and make it fully compliant with local scrap metal regulations.

Take the trans apart and see what's up...check the clutch while you're at it.
 
OP
jmayzer

jmayzer

Member
Offline
for someone who only has experience changing oil and doing brake jobs, is taking apart the tranny something i could tackle myself?
 
Country flag
Online
Probably not something you'd feel confident in trying. One thing you can do, get a pan and pull the drain plug. If nothing comes out or it's got lots of brass and steel colored flecks, then it needs to come out and have someone determine if it can be rebuilt or is so damaged it would be better replacing it. Since it locks up, good chance you have damaged gears or the cluster.
 

JPSmit

Moderator
Staff member
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Good news is replacement transmissions are reasonably plentiful and, depending on your budget you might want to go to a five speed. Oh, and this thread would be much better with pictures.
 

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
Offline
As JP says, the transmission should be pretty easy to find.

E-bay, craigslist or car-part.com

A gearbox from about '64 all the way up to earlier '74 will fit. We usually refer to these transmissions as the "ribcase" or "ribcage" trans.

The bad news is that the engine must be removed to install a replacement trans. This is not terribly difficult if you have reasonable mechanical knowledge but there are a lot of steps to the job and you would need to rent or buy a small engine hoist.

Suggestion: Join your local MG club and start attending their meetings. You will likely get some good suggestions (or even help) for the job.

They are pretty close to you:

https://www.mgsofbaltimore.org/
 

SaxMan

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
Congrats on the purchase Jake! Welcome to the world of Spridgets! Does this car still have the original 1098, or is there a 1275 lurking under the hood?

Go ahead and change the tranny fluid first. IIRC, about two and half quarts should come out. I use the same 20W-50 that is used in the engine crankcase.

With the rough idle, basically, you have to start troubleshooting and ruling out each possibility until you find the culprit. I'd start with the carbs, and then head over to the plugs, wires, cap...does this car have distributor points, or was it converted to a Pentronix? It could also be fuel filter or a clogged fuel line. As you troubleshoot each system, whether it's the culprit or not, you're going to start learning the car.

You can absolutely do this. We're literally on the eve of the one year anniversary of when I took the plunge and bought my Sprite. I had about the same level of car repair knowledge as you do. I can safely say that I now know my car inside out and there are very few things on the Sprite that I would shy away from trying (although rebuilding a transmission would be one of them). There is no better car to learn how to work on cars than a Spridget. You don't need fancy tools (although having them is a lot of fun and can make life easier) and with a few exceptions, almost everything on the car is put together in a very intuitive manner.

Check out Amazon.com and pick up a tech manual. I used the British Leyland shop manual, and a couple of other sources to cross reference, such as the Victoria British catalog.

Feel free to drop me a line if you want to bounce some stuff off me before you dive into it.
 

bugedd

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
Anything on these cars can be done by a person who can change motor oil. These are very fun, simple cars, so dig into it while asking questions here and you will be able to do everything yourself. Pulling the motor/transmission is simple...my first time took 4 hours. Pull it apart, have fun with it, that's what they are about.
 
OP
jmayzer

jmayzer

Member
Offline
thanks for the great help everyone!

jpsmit: my budget is definitely keeping me at a four speed. i'll get photos posted as soon as i can.

aeronca65t: i'm already in the process of joining them!

saxman: good to hear from you dave! i almost called you over the weekend to tell you about it. the engines still the 1098 and does still have distributor points. and the guy i bought it from threw in a haynes and a bentley shop manual!


otherwise gents, i have a guy from the mg experience who is outside of philly and has worked on these cars for about 40 years. he's very graciously offered to do a full multi point inspection, run a compression test, etc. and let me know what kind of car i'm getting myself into. because i'll have to trailer it up there, that won't be until this weekend. my brother has a shop down at our barn with a plethora of tools and even an engine hoist. i'm hoping with our combined knowledge and the use of the haynes and bentley manuals, we'll be able to start to take the engine out next week. cheers
 
OP
jmayzer

jmayzer

Member
Offline
update: take a look at the shards of whats left of my gearbox:laugh: everythings out/taken apart. gonna lift out the engine and gearbox tomorrow. more photos to follow! cheers!
IMG_3691.jpg
 

Boink

Yoda
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
Maybe there's jewelry potential. It does sparkle. :wink-new: My sympathies.
Will be curious to see the open case photos.
 

nomad

Yoda
Offline
Sycro's are brass! Brass that's all polished up shines but BMC was to cheap to put any gold in there!:glee:

Nothing to loose so open that puppy up!

Kurt.
 

AN5Sprite

Jedi Knight
Offline
jmayzer,

There's a shop in N. Virginia call Motorhead. If you find yourself needing pro-help, I have dealt with them and think very highly of them.
 

SaxMan

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
Ouch. Looks like someone mistook your tranny for a slot machine: Pull the lever and have stuff come out the bottom. I guess in this case, not hitting the jackpot was a good thing.

Sorry that your initial plunge into Spridget-world was a rather rude one. It does get better.
 

LarryK

Yoda
Gold
Country flag
Offline
Trannys are doable, need good manual and hopefully read bearing no.s for replacements. Gears are not cheap, but you can do it and feel an accomplishment if you follow manual and measure all spacing as in manual. Do not mix any additives with oiling solution on re-assembly. Did one time and could not fit everything back together, made fit too tight.
 
Last edited:
OP
jmayzer

jmayzer

Member
Offline
here's whats left of my tranny! honestly i was expecting much worse!! :highly_amused: (sorry in advance for any neck pains that the sideways photos might cause)
IMG_1344.jpgIMG_5977.jpg


also while the engine and gearbox is sitting down in my barn, i wanted to take a minute to just emphasize the unmitigated and almost overwhelming amount of pride i'm feeling right now. as a 21 year old college student with practically no mechanical experience whatsoever, the fact that i was able to take an entire engine and transmission out of a car strictly with the help of a shop manual and over-the-phone advice is something i never thought i would do so young with so little experience. this is a great day and i can't wait to go to the next step. cheers gentlemen.
 

SaxMan

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
Well, you still have parts that are identifiable as transmission parts, so that's a good start.

And, yes, these cars are the perfect platform for someone who has never turned wrenches before on a car. Remember, I'm just one year ahead of you, and I have developed a considerable amount of confidence in virtually any task needed on the car. Brakes still scare me a little bit, because there's no "well, it's 90% there" with them, but I'll probably take the plunge during my winter maintenance to do some work on them.

While turning wrenches is fun, the real pleasure is when it all goes back together and you drive it, and you know that YOU did it.
 

JPSmit

Moderator
Staff member
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Well done on the removal! While I would strongly suggest swapping in a replacement, if you are inclined to rebuild, I have 2/3 of the instructions on how to rebuild an a series transmission (i know - but it is better than nothing :smile: - this from Practical Classics magazine) PM me your email if you are interested and I will send it next week. Oh, and, noting that you are 21, thanks for lowering the age of this place some. ;)

cheers!
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
steveg [OFF] Great Leno Garage vid driving Alfa 8C 2300 Monza Replica Austin Healey 1
K TR2/3/3A Old school battery shut off switch....... Triumph 3
petnatcar Knock-Off Wrench - The New and Improved Version Austin Healey 12
B TR4/4A Headlights Blink Off Triumph 15
S TR2/3/3A getting the circlip off 3rd gear Triumph 9
Editor_Reid TR2/3/3A Original Knock-Off Hammer Triumph 14
B MGB while driving engine cuts out if I let off or push more throttle it comes right back on MG 5
scottkilpatrick TR4/4A Knock off wire wheels procedure..basic questions Triumph 9
Editor_Reid Knock-Off Hammer Austin Healey 8
kodpkd Signing Off Austin Healey 8
KVH General Tech Loud Metallic Click Pop Every Time After Engine Off Triumph 11
T Knock-Off Spinners Austin Healey 43
jfarris TR2/3/3A Plug/cap sizes to block off heater Triumph 5
G Engine Will Not Turn Off Austin Healey 10
L BUG EYE WHAT CAUSES A VOLTAGE REGULATOR TO STICK ON WHEN U TURN KEY OFF Spridgets 3
Tr3aguy TR2/3/3A Gasket part way off Triumph 10
T TR4/4A Fenders off the car for paint? Triumph 8
G Inertia Cut-Off Switch - E-Fuel Pump to Ignition [Key] Switch Austin Healey 3
R Turn Signal Knob goes off center Austin Healey 9
J BJ8 flywheel take some pounds off Austin Healey 17
A Setting Camber Really Off Austin Healey 13
W For Sale 1961 TR3a - Full Off Frame Restoration Triumph Classifieds 0
JPSmit So I guess I don't need to lay off the churros after all Spridgets 4
S TR2/3/3A Frame off vs. body on restoration Triumph 21
Basil Easy[er] way to get frozen brake rotors off Restoration & Tools 13
B TR4/4A Can't get rear extension off. Help! Triumph 24
S TR2/3/3A fixed one of those brass fuel shut off deals? Triumph 13
JPSmit Off to bed for the winter Spridgets 10
TomMull Knock Off Tool Restoration & Tools 6
S MGB When your breaks off. who ya gonna call......? MG 2
L Tight spot on steering box is way off Austin Healey 18
R TR4/4A Speedometer off 10mph Triumph 6
Boink MGB MGB-GT off-roading? MG 4
T Even but low compression on 3.8 - timing slightly off? Jaguar 7
J Gas pump auto shut off question Austin Healey 2
Got_All_4 TR6 How does this steering lock come off Triumph 9
Jim_Gruber Braided Line for Spin Off Oil Filter Adapter Spridgets 13
Got_All_4 TR6 Rear Panel Reflector off a parts car? Triumph 8
D TR2/3/3A off topic , but can you help with a quotation Triumph 5
T TR4/4A Heater control valve - cant completely turn off Triumph 3
JPSmit Off to British Car Day Spridgets 8
D cut-off switch Austin Healey 20
D TR2/3/3A curious tachometer take-off Triumph 5
Joe Schlosser Transmission Tailshaft housing off center Spridgets 3
Jim_Gruber New Shoes, New Shoes Bugsy got to show off his new shoes today. Spridgets 6
jfarris TR2/3/3A Off the shelf oil filter Triumph 9
A turn signal knocked off center Austin Healey 14
J For Sale 1980 MGB - frame off restoration 1,700 kms ago MG Classifieds 0
J TR4/4A Fuel Pump just checking before I snap off the lever. Triumph 11
CJD TR2/3/3A Knock Off Differences Triumph 13

Similar threads

Top