Getting under the car

Laz1957 wrote: OK, after much doubt, I have the car on axle stands :woohoo:

I have loosened the 2 bolts on the hanging hook and the bolt on the backbox strap in preparation for the new exhaust. The bolts on the cat won't budge but I have some Plusgas on the way

2 of the bolts are easy to access but is there any trick to getting at the furthest one?

Also I won't have the Plusgas until tomorrw - is it OK to leave the car on axle stands for that length of time?

Should be ok to leave on stands, providing they are firm on the subframe and on solid ground, if worried pop the wheels back on with a couple of nuts. my F has been on stands for over a year now and my MGB is also up on stands to take the load off the tyres and stop flat spots.

You may have to resort to cutting the cat nuts off and getting a "cat saver nuts kit" ~ you may need to leave the plus gas 24 to 48 hours to release the bond, apply at regular intervals. you can also try tightening the nut a bit first as this sometimes will break the rust bond. another trick is to put some heat on them, pencil flame on a blowtorch and heat one side then try undoing them. if this does not work then apply more plusgas while they are warm. please keep us informed on progress :omg:

Laz1957 wrote: OK, after much doubt, I have the car on axle stands :woohoo:

I have loosened the 2 bolts on the hanging hook and the bolt on the backbox strap in preparation for the new exhaust. The bolts on the cat won't budge but I have some Plusgas on the way

2 of the bolts are easy to access but is there any trick to getting at the furthest one?

Also I won't have the Plusgas until tomorrw - is it OK to leave the car on axle stands for that length of time?

Good luck with the bolts :yesnod:
You'll be OK to leave the car on stands, as long as no one is going to run into it. :whistle:

I would try a dremel cutting disc on the third bolt. :broon:

Plus gas hasn't arrived but I have everything loose apart from the hardest to get to bolt - time for the Dremel

I have removed the nearside rear wheel to make things easier to get at and remembered the reversing lights sensor, so I have the engine inspection panel off as well now :lol:

I scraped one of my rear calipers with a wrench and the gold paint flaked revealing red underneath - which is the colour I want them :lol:

So I now have 4 jobs on the go.

Fit new exhaust - 1 bolt left and waiting for gaskets and saver nuts (tomorrow hopefully)

Check/replace reversing light sensor

Remove gold paint from rear calipers

and most important of all fix the gear change problem :lol:

You will have the entire car disassembled for restoration before you know it!

3 nuts all removed and exhaust is off :woohoo:

However, the 3 bolts that connect from the cat are really coroded and won't budge (yet)

Also, we cut the wires to the reverse switch and bypassed the switch - both reverse lights came on so I thought I'd order this:

MG Rover F TF ZR ZS MGF MGTF Reverse Light Lamp Switch Completed

Can now see the gear linkage better but that will have to wait until tomorrow

Note all jobs done today thanks to the help of my son

Laz1957 wrote: 3 nuts all removed and exhaust is off :woohoo:

However, the 3 bolts that connect from the cat are really coroded and won't budge (yet)

Also, we cut the wires to the reverse switch and bypassed the switch - both reverse lights came on so I thought I'd order this:

MG Rover F TF ZR ZS MGF MGTF Reverse Light Lamp Switch

Completed

Can now see the gear linkage better but that will have to wait until tomorrow

Note all jobs done today thanks to the help of my son

Yaaay, run free, Rohan!

Rich in Vancouver wrote: You will have the entire car disassembled for restoration before you know it!

That is exactly what i did, thinking that it "" would be a good idea just to do this job too whilst i am here and got this in bits"" ended up taking much more apart than i had originally intended. i have now done a list of jobs and it currently runs to 50 items :omg: as it is not my everyday car the urgency seems to wane. :thumbsup:

I had a brainwave this moring and realised that I could use the bolts that were still attatched to the cat instead of trying to get them out :oops:

After a lot of cleaning they accepted the new saver nuts without a problem so we fitted the new exhaust :woohoo:

I have a problem that the exhaust is too close the the bottom section of the bumper. The rubber brackets that the hooks fit in look ok so does anyone know a way to get the exhast to sit a bit higher (about 2 cm at the tailpipes)?

I have also removed the centre console and can see the cables are properly attached at the gear lever end, so the problem is at the bellcrank. Unfortunately, according to Mike Satur's website and eBay shop, he is out of stock of the bellcrank

I think I'm finally getting my head around this

As an aside I ordered an electronic boot release and that arrive today as well

I could still use a photo of a functioning MGF bell crank to compare to what I see on my car please.

Laz1957 wrote: I had a brainwave this moring and realised that I could use the bolts that were still attatched to the cat instead of trying to get them out :oops:

After a lot of cleaning they accepted the new saver nuts without a problem so we fitted the new exhaust :woohoo:

I have a problem that the exhaust is too close the the bottom section of the bumper. The rubber brackets that the hooks fit in look ok so does anyone know a way to get the exhast to sit a bit higher (about 2 cm at the tailpipes)?

I have also removed the centre console and can see the cables are properly attached at the gear lever end, so the problem is at the bellcrank. Unfortunately, according to Mike Satur's website and eBay shop, he is out of stock of the bellcrank

I think I'm finally getting my head around this

As an aside I ordered an electronic boot release and that arrive today as well

I could still use a photo of a functioning MGF bell crank to compare to what I see on my car please.

Check out this How to fit the Mike Satur SSK gear change mechanism, including his bell crank.

On the exhaust fit. Does that particular TT have one fixed and one adjustable hanger or two fixed hangers?
I think the only way to adjust the fixed ones is to bend them a little.

So far..........

Exhaust on, but needs a little adjustment as it's about 1.5cm too low at the bumper (don't want melted plastic)

Reverse lights fixed.

Boot release installed and working off a switch blank for security (thanks to Clive for some invaluable advice )

Diagnosed lower cable snapped on gears. Cable released from under car and replacement ordered from Portland Trading.

Which gives me tomorrow to paint the rear calipers

Not working Tuesday - so that's gear cable day (if I manage to do it in a day )

:woohoo: it is looking good so far. the exhaust box may "Ground" if its too low. keep up the good work :omg: :thumbsup: