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1500 Midget Clutch & Transmission Question

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I received my "new" 76 MG Midget last night. It looks great and everthing seems exactly as I thought it would be. I do have a question or two. I have never owned a car with a hydraulic clutch (my old Fords had mechanical linkage & springs). Is there any adjustment for this system? The clutch engages just as the clutch pedal comes off the floor. Is this correct? Also, the gears grind a little when down shifting from 4th to 3rd. If I double clutch I can usually down shift without the grinding. Is this a clutch issue (adjusted incorrectly or worn) or is this a transmission issue (syncronizers)? Any help provided will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
probably just your clutch.

Pick up a Haynes or Chilton's manual (maybe also the FSM), and bleed the clutch.

Clutch pedal should feel firm, clutch should disengage a couple of inches away from the floor and the grinding should go away....
 
Tony,
Most likely the synchro's are feeling their age. You'll probably have to just live with it unless you plan to pull the motor and transmission. As far as a clutch adjustment, I don't think there is much of one. Bleeding the clutch cylinder is a royal pain but it can be done. The problem is the bleeder port isn't the highest point so it is very easy to get air in the system while trying to bleed it. My clutch actually engages pretty high. But I just replaced the clutch and pressure plate during a recent engine rebuild. I also rebuilt the transmission but now have a slight growl if I hurry the gearbox from 3rd to 4th. I'm hoping that the synchros will wear in after a few hundred miles.
JC
 
Sounds like you need a new clutch thats the only thing that solved my same problem. And of course you got to pull the engine. ya ya I know its such an easy job.....So is pulling my own teeth !!
 
I absolutely would not pull your engine and replace the clutch with the symptoms you've described.

The clutch likely needs to be bled. It can be a pain, but keep at it. It may help if you bleed at the high end of the system too....have someone pump the clutch pedal and hold while you loosen (and then re-tighten) the metal hose going into the clutch master cylinder. This is messy and may eat some under-hood paint, but it often helps.

Also, the pedal "fulcrum hole" can become elongated. Even a tiny amount translates to a large loss in motion. I welded mine up and re-drilled. Check to see if the fulcrum pin is worn too.

Finally, look at the slave cylinder. On these cars, it fits into a hole on the bell-housing and is clamped in place. Loosen the clamp bolt and be sure it is fully pushed in. Then tighten clamp bolt. Even a tiny bit more "in" will help.

There is no adjustments on these systems...they are self-adjusting by design.

On most of these cars, it helps if you slide it into second before trying for first. The 1500 has a syncro first so this really shouldn't help, but it does on mine. Traditionally, the weakest syncro on these transmissions is second and third and they can still live for years with weak syncros.

G'luck!
 
I agree, the clutch disk is probably fine. Bleeding it is a pain though, I'll vouch for that. Even with a good clutch my first gear synchro doesn't always cooperate; sometimes it takes shifting into other gears before it goes into first. I used a Mityvac to bleed mine, and since the hose is higher than the slave or the master, I had to stomp the clutch hard a few times after the initial bleeding to get rid of the air pocket trapped in the hose, then I had to bleed it again. Good luck!
 
Thank you very much for the information. I will try to bleed the system and also look at the mounting for the slave cylinder. The more I have driven the car the better it shifts. If I double clutch into third it goes in without any problem. Thanks again for your help.
 
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