Moss Motors, Ltd

Hi All

New to this MGB thing. I got a 1977 MGB for my birthday last year......I think it was a family joke (or currse)....It was my father-in-laws and sat in a garage for 12 years.....well after many visist to the Moss Catalog and a lot of maintenance, it's running okay. I still have some carb issues with the ZS.....I think a strap on Weber may be the cure, not sure, but that's for another discussion

My current issue is that the clutch seems to slip in 4th gear (probaly in excess of 45 mph) when I hit a bump. I noticed it when I saw the tach jump speed, then I heard the engine rev the other day, confirming the engine speed is jumping.

My thought is the fingers on the pressure plate have gotten weak and the clutch needs rebuilt......opinions?????

Second question....from all the research, it looks like this is an engine pull job? Correct???? Here's where the arguing with my father-in-law takes place..... :) he said he replaced the clutch years ago without pulling the engine????? Is it possible???

Thanks for commenting

I can't say that the clutch is definitely the problem, perhaps someone else can comment on that. I did do the clutch job a few years back, and I decided to remove the engine/transmission as a single assembly. I borrowed an engine hoist from a local tool rental, and the job went easily. Sort of a 1 man job for removal, and maybe a second man to guide it back in. Could it be done without removing the engine? Probably. I think all the crossmember supports are bolt on. If you are taking it to a shop, they may prefer to remove the transmission from below. From my experience, I'd say to take it all out.

I took the opportunity to change a bunch of the seals on the transmission. There are several paper gaskets that you can get to without knowing anything about disassembling the tranny. I think I also changed the rear main oil seal on the engine. The engine itself is relatively light. Two people can pick it up and move it around. I used the opportunity to change a bunch of gaskets on the engine too.

With the engine and trans out, it is very easy to line up the clutch and reassemble everything.

1. The clutch is shot. Rebuilding it is out of the question price and parts wise

2. you'll probably also need to have the flywheel resurfaced

3. Pull the engine and gearbox as a unit and separate them on the floor. The most important crossmember would have to be cut into pieces to enable easy transmission access from underneath. There is talk that it's possible to yank the gearbox without pulling the engine. I scoped this out. As usual, the shortcut will get you into more trouble, and probably take more time in the end, than doing the job correctly. If you don't have a good manual yet, get the factory reprint from Robert Bentley publishers. Moss and others sell it. You WILL need it in future, if you don't already have it. Enjoy.

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Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon