Moss Motors, Ltd

I just got my Midget a couple of weeks ago and knew when I bought it that it needed a brake master cylinder. I'm pretty good with a wrench and have put master cylinders on my BMW2002 and Karmann Ghia. I saw Moss had a rebuild kit so I thought "hey I've never done that before, let's give it a try". Here's how it went:

- Spent about an hour trying to get the master cylinder out of the car because of rusted bolts and MG apparently never thought anybody would ever have to replace one seeing how you can just ever so barely get to the lower nut and bolt.

 - Spent about 4 hours trying to disassemble the bloody thing . Circlips were hellishly stubborn (I'm now convinced they're the work of the devil) , had to actually cut and prigh out the circular nylon thingy, and spent waaaaay to much time trying to get the micro size roll pin out. One of the screws holding the resivoir on was frozen so it wasn't coming off at all.

- Started putting everything back together with the new seals and noticed a really big crack in the resivoir which must have happened when I was struggling with disassembly. At this point I'm super pissed off because there's no way to fix such a crack meaning all my time has been for naught.

- Noticing my 5lb. hammer was within reach on the workbench, I casually picked it up, raised it above my head mightily and commenced to beating the sh*t out of the master cylinder. It did make me feel much batter.

- Seconds later ..............................I was ordering a new master cylinder online .

 

Stay tuned for: DRAINING THE DASTERDLY RADIATOR AND REPLACING HOSES

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"SAVE 'EM FROM THE CRUSHER!"

Every experience teaches us something, and it's a wise man whom learns from his mistakes; but It's a WISER man whom learns from the mistakes of others!!!

Thanks for your story, when my MC needs rebuilding, I'll strongly consider just buying new!

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On their death bed, nobody ever said, "Gee I wish I'd spent more time at work!"

Glad to shed some light on rebuiling oh wiser one.

 I've rebuild suspensions, replaced heads, redone interiors, cooling systems, etc, but have never had anything like this master cylinder before. It fought me literaly every step of the way.

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"SAVE 'EM FROM THE CRUSHER!"

Hey I feel your pain.  Many years ago I rebuilt an MC for a B with moderate difficulty.  When I undertook another rebuild over the past several weeks I new some of what to expect. HOWEVER, once I got the circlips and nylon washer out with plennty of difficulty I was unable to get the pistons out (by the way mine is a dual piston MC).  Having broken the connector between the 2 pistons I attempted on another old MC,  (Each of these has sat around for nearly 20 years).  I'm at the same point but have not yet broken the connector link.  I have tried every solvent I can think of and have tried compressed air without success.  What was your secret for removing the pistons?  Thanks

Barry s,

 Have you tried PB Blaster yet? That stuff is good enough to DRINK! Spray it on and walk away. One of the differences between PB Blaster and other "Water Displacement"  formulas is that PB doesn't evaporate. You can spray it on a Monday and let it work all week for you.

Another trick that almost always works (unless your part is plastic), is heat. A few seconds (30 or 40) of a properly placed propane flame does wonders!

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On their death bed, nobody ever said, "Gee I wish I'd spent more time at work!"

Another way to get stuck parts moving with pressure is to have a bolt (3/8-nf) drilled thru, i.e. from the head to the other end. Drill size for a ¼-nf thread, then thread in a zerk fitting. Screw in the 3/8 bolt into a master cylinder or wheel cylinder or slave cylinder and pump it loose or out completely with grease. Much safer and more powerful than air. Nice and easy!!

ah948cc