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Bruce, You should be able to operate both pistons by hand by grasping each shoe near the cylinder and moving both in the same direction (back and forth). This will tell you if one piston is frozen or not. If it is, the piston is rusted to the cylinder wall. The only solution is to remove and disassemble the cylinder, and hone the cylinder. Chances are the cylinder will be too pitted to continue using, but if it's not, install a new seal kit. Wheel cylinder aren;t that expensive, so if it's marginal, it's best to replace the unit... MORE
Don, Make sure you have adjusted the brake microms correctly too. You should go full clicks until the drum is locked, and then back off one or at most two clicks, depending on how the whel frees up. Your ebrake lever should only need to travel 2 to 3 clicks to lock the brakes. When it travels farther, time to adjust the brakes again. You could also replace the clevis pins to reduce the play you have in the rods and cable. Gerard "gerardchateau" 13399... MORE
Both sides, though without the drum on it maybe that the pistons react to whichever side offers least resistance and only one will come out. Be careful operating the pedal when the drums are off, it is possible to pop the pistons right out. You can tell if you have a seized piston by comparing how much wear you are getting on each shoe. "Jeremy Cogman" 13393... MORE
As part of checking out my brakes, a question came up: on a rear wheel (Drum brake, should the piston extend out from both sides of the wheel cylinder when the brake is pushed down? I was watching the action in the brake, and I noticed that the piston only exends from one side of the cylinder. Any tips on cleaning it out/fixing it so I don't have to replace it? Thanks, Bruce "redrider417" 13390... MORE
Bruce, The pistons on the wheel cylinder should operate on both sides. You can take the cylinder off the car and clean it up and try it agani., make sure the rubber on the piston is not damaged and after cleaning lubricate the inside with brake fluid. Mike kna331@... 13395... MORE
Perhaps a little background information would help understand my ending up here asking so many questions. Recently Gerard turned me onto a fella that was selling his 62 Midget MK1 that had been sitting on blocks in an old wood working shop for 18 plus years. It had been last run for a couple of months in 1986 and had also been in storage for a few years prior to that. Time is defiantly not kind to brake systems and the sound of an engine starting for the first time in 16 years sounds a bit like a demolition... MORE
Today I jacked the rear end of my Midget as high as I could get it. Squeezing under my car, I see the slave cylinder pointing in a downward direction... the bleeder valve in the back being the highest point... cool! My 5 year old daughter is becoming an expert "press the pedal and hold... now release slow..." helper. Air bubbles gushed out of the slave cylinder... until soon... only pure break fluid would return when the pedal was pressed/bleeder valve cracked open. Out from under the car... press clutch in and hold... transmission in 1st... turn the starter... MORE
Ian, Yes that was my 1275 engined Mini that I used for rallies and autotests. However the rust got to it and I eventually sold it to someone who broke it up. There's a picture of the Mini autotesting at www.blackpalfrey.co.uk Also on that site are pictures of another Arkley that a friend ran in sprints and autotests back in the 1980s, and there's a Sprite Mk II that I had in the 1970s.. Andy '65 Arkley "Andrew Gibson" 13350... MORE
Tye, I don't think your "air" theory is valid. I suspect you had an engine seizure, possibly just one cylinder. How was oil pressure before and now? You might want to put a few shots of good-quality upper-cylinder lube straight into the cylinders (remove plugs) and then let engine crank for a few bursts of, say, 5 seconds per time with plugs still out. Be gentle with the starter. This lube won't do any harm, even if a cylinder is scored or a ring is broken. Compression check before and after this would be good too. Tony P. "anthony... MORE
Last time I had to bleed the clutch, used an Easibleed to get most of the air out of the system. That didn't work, so got a piece of wood and wedged the clutch pedal down and left it down overnight. In theory, this allows the air in the system to rise up and takes advantage of the fact that the master cylinder is way above the slave. This also gave time to go away and think about the problem. By the time I returned the follwing day, theory and fact had met and the clutch has worked fine... MORE
That was a factory modification (I believe) in 1975 with the 1500's. It is a really bad design because when battery acid and byproduct are ignored when spilled, they will find their way to the slave cylinder and furtehr aid in it's destruction. Gerard "gerardchateau" 13306... MORE
Brett, You leave the hose connected, but you remove the bolt(s) which attach the slave to the gearbox. Then you lift the slave up to the same height of the master cylinder- all without detaching the hose. Most Midgets had a long flexible hose which allows you to do this- although it sounds like yours has metal pipes rather than the flexible plastic item? I'm not sure why your hose goes through a small hole near the battery either- this may be a modification or a factory change I've never seen before. It sounds daft in any case. :-)... MORE
Air in the slave sylinder can certainly cause the problem you're having- the slave cylinder moves, but the moment it encounters any resistance (like a clutch plate, for example) the air just compresses. Does your pedal feel 'springy'? The other alternative is mechanical problems- worn clevis pins, a pushrod which is too short, worn pivot in the pedal box can all reduce the amount of available travel. Midget clutch hydraulics are a nightmare to bleed because the slave cylinder is so far below the master cylinder. Your best bet is to buy a Mityvac or similar bleeding device, or... MORE
Only if you take a grinder to the inside of your bellhousing. I did it once when I mated a 1098 engine with a Mk 1 Midget gearbox to go in a Frogeye. Andy '65 Arkley "Andrew Gibson" 13280... MORE
Good points, Jay Shaffer....especially the last two, which definitely are worthy of consideration IMHO. There are times wherein I wish I could keep the water circulating while my electric fan brings the engine temperature down at a reasonable rate. It DOES tend to get pretty hot under there after shutdown on these summer days.... real good point! Bernie and his ilk along with our government types who sit by and allow this "stealing" to exist and continue by their irresponsible "slap on the hand" "wink, wink" bit, should all go to hell, considering they've made hell on earth a... MORE
Dear all, especially Jeremy, Doug, David and Bob, Thanks for your help with the problem. Bashing with a mallet and drift didn't work (just pulled bits of rubber off) so I burnt the rubber off them, then tapped the metal ring out. Not pretty, a bit messy,but effective and rather satisfying! Thanks again Chris '58 Frogeye, South Wales "howes" 13276... MORE
With the electric fan, it should turn off when not needed. (When you=92re cruising at 70 mph, there should be enough air to cool the car without a fan, so why turn an engine-driven fan at several thousand rpm? When the car is cold, you don=92t need the fan to cool it either). This provides the horsepower gain, as the alternator does not need to provide any power for the fan when it is idle. Not sure how an electric water pump works, but I would guess it runs fairly constantly, so you=92ve no gain overall. Charlie =9272 RWA... MORE
where are you ? i may be interested in the engine .what sort of price are you looking for ? kev SAXOVTRGUY@... 13282... MORE
OK... I am confused. This is the second reply telling me to bleed the slave cylinder at the level of the master. But... my master cylindar is in the engine compartment... the hose comes out the back, down through a very small hole next to the battery... down to the tranny and into the slave. Am I supposed to unhook the slave... then hook it up... bleed it.. unhook it again without letting air in it? then reinstall it? Or ??? I am missing something? -Brett '76 problem child "Brett LaCroix" 13292... MORE
Master clutch cylinder seems to work fine... the slave cylinder sounds like it is moving... but pushing in the clutch pedal in isn't disengaging the clutch plate. I rebuilt the slave cylinder myself... Can air in the slave cylinder cause this? Should the bleeder valve be in the top most hole... or does it matter? I thought I put it in just like it was... feeder pipe in the top, bleeder in the bottom... but now that I think of it... air would rise to the top.. The slave cylinder can be removed from the trans while it is... MORE
I had a quarter-race cam in my Mini. A quarter of the way through the race and "bang!".... ;-) "Grant Bowyer" 13250... MORE
Capt'n I couldn't agree more about about the dirty thieves in suits. Bernie could afford to buy BREE! a Spridget or two for what he spends on lunch. I hope he and his ilk spend the rest of their lives panhandling on street corners. Back to the real (physical) world. On the electric pump thing: Drag racers use them because the energy to run them is stored in their battery. Works great, saves ponies for their short duration runs. Same story with the "leaf blower" electric superchargers. However there is a couple areas of efficiency that should also be... MORE
Yes you can, I've done it albeit on Dad's mk2 Jag which we've just installed one on. Where you put the light to tell you whether the 'points' are open is a bit of a mystery. I phoned Aldon, the Petronix agent in England and they were unsure (unlike them, very knowledgeable people) so I fiddled with care. In the end I found out that it worked between the coil and ground (the Jag is +ve earth) but wierdly not between the petronix and the coil, probably something to do with the relative impeadances of bulb and coil though... MORE
Anyone know where I can pick up an alternator for a 1974 MG Midget, 1275 engine? My died last weekend. Thanks! Ted DSutteiii@... 13261... MORE
Hi Folks, I've got a 1978 MG Midget 1500 cc engine sharing the garage with my Toyota Spyder. The engine was rebuilt to factory specs with a 1/4 race cam by a professional engine rebuilder. The engine is to factory specs and I've got various and sundry extra parts that will go with it. If anyone is interested drop me a line, i need more room in my garage than I do an MG engine. Tim Soxman "tentec2002" 13243... MORE
