Engine, Gearbox and Engine Bay Ready!

This is quite an exciting post to make tonight - Finally, the engine has its clutch and back plate in place, the gearbox bell housing is clean, with a new pivot arm bush and bolt, and the engine bay paint has had a week or so to harden.

I had put the engine back plate back on last week, with a new crank seal and new locking tabs all round. When it was dismantled I recovered the spigot bush but didn't realise its significance. Obviously this meant that when it came to reassembly I'd not bought a replacement and the old one was worn sufficiently to spin in the crankshaft.

After a quick chat with Steve, followed by a search on the MG Experience Forum I bought a replacement from the MGBHive and stuck it in a plastic bag, covered in engine oil, and put it in the freezer. It's odd, but I can't find any reference to fitting it in the Haynes Manual. It exists in a diagram, but no mention seems to be made to refitting it before putting the clutch assembly back together.

This evening I recovered it from the freezer and gently tapped it into place with a bit of wood, as recommended by the forum. It was actually just about small enough when frozen to rock into place but the wooden block got it in place in seconds. The whole area was then wiped clean with a alcohol-soaked cloth. The clutch plate also recieved the same treatment.

The clutch was soon in place after that and the clutch alignment tool that I bought about a year ago did its job. I Hope!

So that's the engine ready for refitting.

Last week, I also finished washing out the bell-housing and replaced the clutch arm pivot bolt and bush, as well as the graphite release bearing. Just as well actually because the old one was worn right down to the casing.

Alongside the spigot bush, I also bought two oil cooler straps, a rubber boot for where the clutch arm passes through the bellhousing, and the correct bolts for the water pump.

Here are some pictures - next step is to put the engine back into the car.