MGB: a mechanic fixed my clutch

My saga began a month ago when I attempted to resurrect my youth with a 1976 Midget rather than a three wheel Harley as our kids suggested. It was raining and my son and I were taking a swing around the back roads when a stop sign resulted in my being unable to put the car into any gear without grinding and not even then. I turned off the ignition, put the car in gear but had to get a push from my son to get going. He of course was soaked and we had a quiet ride home.

I attempted to bleed the system to no avail and finally took it to a mechanic who pressure bled the hydraulics concluding that both the slave and master were leaking and should be replaced. OK said I since they had already been recently been rebuilt. Several days later we had "great hydraulics" but "something was broken in the clutch". I considered towing it home and rigging a hoist to pull the engine, but my metal building has no electricity or heat and both would have to be jury rigged to complete the task. After some negotiations to arrange the price for pulling the engine, The mechanic did so and concluded the throwout bearing was "toast" and the housing was "worn" though the pressure plate still had the model number stamped on it. Also the clutch arm bushing had a number of fairly deep wear marks and looked like a plumber's fitting rather than a bushing.

$972.00 later I have a new three way, new hydraulics, most of the old parts, a new radiator hose, and a repaired spare tire The throwout doesn't look like toast to me nor does the wear in the housing strike me as significant. The arm bushing does have some gouges in it and may not be a kosher replacement part.

I wonder if the bushing and a hydraulic replacement was all that I needed, but I suppose that since the engine was out to get to the bushing, not replacing the clutch and reassembling to find problems later would be foolish economy.

Anyway, I need to get set up to work on this beastie as I can't afford those rates which is my problem. How do I learn this studd? The issue I raise here is do you guys and gals think that the clutch arm bushing could account for my problems along with air in the haydraulic system? Is pressure bleeding the way to go to insure a good clutch bleed? I would appreciate your comments.
Jim

based on your description, yes, an incorrect part used as a bushing could use up enough travel to make disengagement troublesome, and once you've pulled the engine to replace it you are wise to replace all the rest just for good measure.

oh, wait, this is a Marina transmission, I don't know much about it, I was thinking of the Morris set up ('58 ~ '74). My bad. Still, though, the logic should apply.

Did you get a chance to drive it between the "great hydraulics" and the "something was broken" stage? Just curious.

Once you've found a cobbled part like that in an old car, it makes you wonder what other surprises await. Ideally, your mechanic looked over the engine and transmission when they were out to make sure you didn't want some other preventative maintenance done "cheap now, expensive later", while they are on the bench.

Welcome to the world of old British cars: doing a thorough rebuild can give thousands of miles of (relatively) trouble free motoring. On the other hand, only replacing one bit at a time can lead to endless frustration and disappointment. I am a strong advocate for preventative maintenance for LBCs, as deferred maintenance often leads to re-work and re-do ("I just had that out, why didn't it break BEFORE I but it all back together again?!"

Norm

Welcome to the fold Jim.
Glad MG won out over Harley Davidson.:beer:
You're in the right place, and you will find if,you dig a little, a considerable number of posts regarding clutch problems on both 1500 and earlier Midgets. There has been no clear cut solution, as every case has had its own unique twists. I get the impression from those that know, significant wear in mechanical components such as those you describe, will result in the problems you have experienced, so the mechanic likely made the right call.( I have an earlier 1275 RWA car which has a different set up.)
Pressure/vacuum or the old pump and hold methods of bleeding all work, and some favor one, others another. Whatever works I guess, I've used vacuum bleeding to great effect.
A good repair manual such as Haynes or Bentley will certainly help to have around. I use Haynes, others prefer Bentley which I'm not familiar with.
There are a number of members here from Illinois, so I'm sure they will chime in. You are in a good spot from what I see and hear, as there is a very active MG community in your part of the world, and particularly Chicagoland where there are some reputable shops/suppliers.:thumbup:

Norm and Andy:
Thanks for your replies. I guess I tend to feel similar to you Tha going to such lengths, one probably should complete the job before reassembling the vehicle. Looking at the cover I see what appear to be some grooves which are highly visible though difficult to feel. The bushing however is deeply grooved and distorted.

Tonight my wife and I took a great ride on the interstate and enjoyed the response of this great little car. Many more little tasks remain to be done but perhaps with the help of you guys and local enthusiasts, this can be accomplished.. I found my next problem. I have no instrument lights at night. My first hunch is the reostat which if I can get my hands on it way up in the dash, I'll try to remove and take apart as noted in the journal section of this site. If anyone has some ideas on this, I'd appreciate imputs as this is by no means my field of expertise.

Thanks again for your replies.
Jim