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MG TD TF 1500 - Uh-oh! Mystery spring?!?

My flywheel replacement job has turned into a complete engine rebuild and transmission refresh. I've got the engine stripped to a bare block and I've replaced some seals & gaskets on the transmission. As I was putting tools away this afternoon I spotted this spring on the floor. I don't recall seeing it as I was disassembling so I think it fell out of something without me noticing. Anyone recognise it?

Rob Edwards

I think that is the anti-rattle spring. p/n 443-070 in the Moss Catalog if I'm not mistaken.
Keith Yarbrough(TD1558)

Hi Keith,
Thanks, but it's much smaller than that. 443-070 is about 2" in diameter, this one is about 1/4" on the large end and 3/16" or so on the small end.

You got me thinking though and I checked to see if I had installed the spring in the end of the lever that the shift lever goes into (the spring held by a split pin and that presses the ball into the bottom of the shift lever). Unfortunately that's not it either....
Rob Edwards

Don't think so. That one's a lot 'squatter' and is much larger in diameter. Bud
Bud Krueger

could it be one of the 3 detent ball springs...above the shifter rods?
Steven Tobias

If it is brass, it could go into the float bowl under the banjo fitting, and holds the brass screen strainer in (although your pictured spring may be a bit thicker that the carb spring).
Jim Northrup

Hi Keith. Have you had the clutch apart. It seems to me to be one of the
(four ?) trust springs in the clutch.
Hope not. that's a big job and the clutch on't
operate properly.See section E in WSM.
Thoralf. Norway TD 4490
Thoralf Sorensen (TD4490)

How about one of the oil pump springs? Although I think they are straight.
George Butz

Thanks everyone! It's steel, not brass. I know it's not from the pressure plate because I have not had that apart. The shifter springs are longer and not tapered. I have the oil pump apart and was wondering if it might be from the pump, but I haven't seen on the parts diagram one that looks similar.
Rob Edwards

Co-incidental as it's mysterious appearance may seem, I don't believe it has any place in a T-series. If it came from the clutch, trans, carb filter or the oil pump, it is NOT original, and ought to be replaced. I don't remember any tapered spring that size or dimension anywhere.

If you can't find a missing spring anywhere I would forge ahead without it and without fear.

Tom Lange
Bar Harbor, Maine
t lange

Oil pump- one spring under the big brass cap on the bottom of it, and I think another in the block on the separate filter type, under the ball/guide.
George Butz

George - aren't those straight, not tapered springs? This one is clearly tapered, like the brake shoe hold-down spring.

Tom Lange
t lange

Yep, see my comment above. But over the years who knows what could have been used? Maybe not from the TD at all. George
George Butz

When I had my car apart I found a part I couldn't id either. Searched for days! Finally discovered it came from my floor jack, not the car at all! Pretend the car didn't exist and search everthing but the car.
efh Haskell

Rob; Don't have one in front of me just now, but you might check the spring under the chrome cap on top of the trans selector assy. Moss calls it 329-010; operating shaft spring. Just a thought-will look at my spares later tonite. Dan
Dan Craig

Looks like the relief ball spring from the oil pump. Mine is tapered like that.
Bruce Cunha

The taper indicates that it holds itself in position by fitting over a cylindrical feature. The only thing I can think of is a wheel cylinder spring, but they're not that robust:
Bud

Bud Krueger

Thanks for the additional input. It's not the selector shaft spring -- I just checked and I have that, and it's not tapered. I'm not sure what else it could be from if not the TD -- I don't really have any other projects going on in the garage right now. However, if y'all don't think it's from the car, then it's probably not from the car, unless Bruce is on to something. I've taken the oil pump off but I'm not sure where exactly this would go. I have the later style filter. I have not removed the cover plug, nor the filter bypass valve.


Rob Edwards

I also do not appear to have the bypass valve components as shown on the earlier filter (I'm assuming you get one or the other but not both).

This is my first XPAG rebuild -- does it show? ;-)


Rob Edwards

Rob

On the bottom of your oil pump is a larger plug. Inside that is the relief spring. Did you take that plug off?

The plug holds the bypass spring up against the ball. The tapered side of the spring would fit against the ball. Some engines I have seen run two springs. One inside the other to give it more push. This may have been the inner spring.
Bruce Cunha

Hi Keith. Inside the filterhouse there shall be a spring to keep the filtertight against the sealing.Just a thougt
Thoralf. Norway TD 4490
Thoralf Sorensen (TD4490)

Hi Bruce,
Are you referring what's called in the diagrams the "cover plug"? As I said in my previous post, I have not removed the cover plug.

Thoralf,
I'm the confused person, not Keith. :-) The spring in the oil canister for the filter is quite a bit larger than this little spring.

Thanks!
Rob Edwards

This thread was discussed between 09/10/2011 and 11/10/2011

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