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MG TD TF 1500 - Transmission chatter

To all thanks for the help last month on my brake problem. It was solved by changing shoe material to a composite mtl and arching the shoes to lightly turned drums. Stops quite nicely now
New issue,the transmission chatters very noisely and much vibration when accelerating in 2nd and 3rd only. We redid the xmission with the engine rebuild, all new bearings, seals etc. The gears were all fine, no chips,not even in 1st. Complete engine redo with complete balance including clutch pressure plate,flywheel.
The chatter can be minimized by applying pressure to the shift lever but does not go away. Pilot bushing was replaced along with all else including the drive shaft dynamically balanced. We are mystified to say the least. Your thoughts gentlemen?
Mike Michel
l michel

Mike,

I am no expert on anything to do with the MG although I am learning a lot as I go. I don't know if you did the rebuild on the gearbox with the DVD from the MGCC. But he shows a chattering occuring due to bushings in the shifter remote housing being worn. Even if the anti rattle bolt and spring are tightened well, if the bushings are worn it will rattle. Just a possibility.

Rob
Rob Welborne

All TDs and TFs do it to some degree, some worse than others. John Twist rebushed my shifter housing and it reduced chatter maybe 25% at best. Make sure the damper and spring (under the chrome cap on the top) are present and not damaged. Also that the spring/cotter pin are there at the end of the shift lever ball. The downward pressure of the top damper is partly what wears the holes in the aluminum housing oval. Lastly, for some reason, retarding the ignition timing a bit helps. George
George Butz

Similar story to Georges. TD rattled bad. Went to the Twist rebuild and the whole unit was rebuilt. Rattle reduced but not removed. I just let my knee rest against it. Probably not the best thing to do, but my knee tends to go to that area naturally.
Bruce Cunha

Check the timing advance on your distributor. too much advance can cause pinging which will ofter be amplified through the gear shift remote. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Mike, if you are talking about a shift rattle, Dave D. is on the correct track. Timing can make the thing shake like it is going to fall apart. Mine was so bad I thought it would break. Did a full timing route on the car and it mostly went away, I do not know why this happens but it does.
Tom Maine (TD8105)

mike, a third vote to check the timing. regards, tom
tom peterson

Thanks for the tips. Who or what is the Twist rebuild?
l michel

See universitymotorsltd.com

John is a very good British sportscar mechanic, although his first love seems to be T-types. He and I were business partners back in the 70's in college - MGT Services - just after he got back from Viet Nam. He is full of practical experience and good advice, and is usually right (although I still disagree with his suggestion to use JB Weld when putting in core plugs...).

His web page gives a lot of information, including his call-in hour for technical advice. He is in demand by car show organizers for technical sessions, where he may cover a complete tune-up or a transmission rebuild.

Tom Lange
Bar Harbor, Maine
t lange

Just checked the U/M site. No mention at all about John's call-in hour. Wonder if he's re-instituted it. Bud
Bud Krueger

And don't foget his YouTube Video's,,, here is a link to a sample,,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-WUuz4BzTw
STEVE WINCZE

Tom, now we don't need the JB Weld with your core plugs. Before that however, not a bad idea!
George Butz

John Twist used to run rebuilding sessions in his old shop. Not sure if those have started up again, but they were fantastic. You do the work, he supervises. By day one you have your transmission all apart with all the parts laid out. The pieces are all cleaned and John inspects them and his assistant would order what you needed and have it in by the next morning. You then reassembled it, again with John checking your work. It was a great experience and rather fun.
Bruce Cunha

George - I agree! JB Weld, by design, is devilishly hard stuff to remove, once it has dried hard. Since core plugs will have to be removed and replaced the next time the engine is rebuilt, I discourage using it.

Tom Lange, Bar Harbor, Maine
t lange

Mike,
Over 10 years ago I purchased my TF and immediately had much tranny noise from the shifter area, as well as grinding gears on up and down shifts into and out of third.

After some online searching on another forum I came across people who swore by changing their transmission fluid to RedLine MT 90, a synthetic racing fluid.

In my case the tranny noises immediately all but disappeared and the gear grinding dramatically lessened to the point where they no longer occur "IF" I don't rush the shifts.

Gene
P Burgess

AGAIN thanks all for your tips; we dissasembled the trans and found no faults. the linkage was checked as suggested;no faults; and by chance we pulled the pilot bushing { new from Moss} it was machined incorectly and off center. Problem solved !
mike michel TF 1500
l michel

This thread was discussed between 19/10/2011 and 02/11/2011

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