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MG TD TF 1500 - XPAG Learning Curve

If someone claims they have reconditioned the engine in the vehicle you have purchased apply large amounts of caution prior to "lighting the blue touch paper". There are engine reconditioners in the market place and there are cowboys who claim they have the knowledge.

After being exposed to a worst case scenario I am at the final stages of the reassembly process and hope to have seen the last of a long list of misdemeanors that terminated in finding the crankshaft oil slinger missing.

For all those contemplating installng the Moss rear oil seal conversion kit dont do so without having access to a lathe. The speedi sleeves sold by Moss are too narrow to provide sufficient surface area for the seal to operate correctly.

The depth of the seal retainer may be machined incorrectly, to locate the seal correctly in the longitudinal plane 0.030 thick spacer rings had to be installed to move the seal further aft. After doing this, in my case, further issues were created:

1. The fly wheel face had to be machined so there was clearance between the fly wheel and the rear face of the seal. There are limitations on how much material can be removed from the fly wheel without compromising the crank shaft boss to fly wheel locating function. Removing 0.040 from the fly wheel face using the lathe still didnt provide the required clearance. No clearance is the reason why these seals over heat and fail.

2. The seal lip still over hung the supplied speedi sleeve which was installed as per the Moss instructions.

After a series of measurements, one of the 0.030 spacer rings was removed to locate the seal further forward and provide clearance between fly wheel and rear face of the seal. The required width of the speedi sleeve to provide the correct running surface calculated.

The removal of the supplied sleeve, purchase and fitment of a wider item became the next task. The wider sleeve was fitted as per the Moss instruction to locate the sleeve longitudinally by fitting the fly wheel.

The crankshaft was then placed in the lathe and the new speedi sleeve width reduced to provide the required 0.030 over hang from the forward face of the crank shaft boss.

The process terminated in a correctly fitted seal and clearance between the fly wheel and the rear face of the seal ,all necessary to meet the design intent this conversion claims to address.
G Evans

By any chance was that a new crankshaft? I had one and the flange of the cranksahft was .052 thinner that it was supposed to be. The flywheel was touching the rear face of the seal housing.
darnoc31

Hmmm,
I'd like to here more from people who also installed the seal conversion. Are these typical problems ?
I'm also in the process of fitting it. I don't have the speedy sleeve yet but the seal retainer seems to fit correctly. It does foul the rear main but that is well known.
I'll be following this one !
Greets
Gert
GD Nijhof

Wow!...I have the retainer and sleeve in boxes, and the more I read , the more I want to return the product for credit....
I understand that I have to face the main bearing cap, a few thousanths, and I can do that...But, turning the crank, NOT! Nor do I want to have to modify the flywheel, or flange....
This post is the first that I've seen with this many different issues.
Mr. Evans...Hope yours is the exception!
Edward
E.B. Wesson

I installed a Moss rear seal kit recently and I didn't have to do anything to the crank or flywheel. I milled down the rear cap face, and overhung the speedi sleeve a bit. Messed up the first speedi sleeve but the second one went well. I didn't buy the sleeve from Moss but I did use the one recommended in the instructions. It fit perfectly.

The Moss instructions state that there are variances in blocks, so each fitment may be slightly different from another. In my case I could not use the flywheel to press the speedi sleeve on so I had to do it by hand which was a tricky process. You have to ensure it is perfectly straight before the locktite dries. The engine has run only a few minutes so far but as yet there is nary a drip anywhere. Kind of scary really, because oil dripping has always been a reassurance that it is circulating through the engine!

You can see a few photos of the process I went through here (scroll to near the bottom of the first page): http://www.vintagemotoring.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1544&p=11878
Steve Simmons

To the best of my knowledge the original crank shaft is fitted in this engine, main bearing journals had been ground 0.030 under size by the engine reconditioner.
G Evans

This thread was discussed on 15/12/2011

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