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MG MGF Technical - MOT Failure - Brake Pipes

Hi guys,

Just had the motor in for it's MOT today and it's failed. Was expecting the wiper blades to get replaced, but not the 'Rear T piece to O/S/R Flex Hose corroded to excess'. Aparrently it's been rubbing on the heat shield material, or something similar, which hasn't helped.

Garage (NOT MGR) have guestimated £100 - £150 to replace, with anywhere between 3 and 5 hours labour.

I have thought about doing this myself. With the recent articles in Enjoying MG on the brakes, I think I could give it a shot, however it is winter, and it's not a good time of year to be lying on concrete for 3 hours. I'd also have to get the old one off so I could get a replacement made, which I can see being a major pain too.

Can anyone tell me where the pipe is routed, or advice on replacement so I can try and keep the repair time down?

Another thing I thought of was to get my 5 year service done early, though at MGR labour rates I'm not sure there would be any saving in cost to be made.

Any views / thoughts / guidance appreciated!

Leigh
L Reid

hi leigh

are you talking about the coolant pipes here?

if so, i had mine replaced recently and my non-MGR garage said they were quite surprised that said pipes only cost about £28+vat as they look more expensive!

t
tony

Tony, see heading of the thread. Brake pipes.
I would have thought 3-5 hours to replace the O/S/R tee piece and hose a bit excessive.
John.
JFK

<<<Tony, see heading of the thread. Brake pipes.>>>>

JFK oops! wasn’t properly awake then!

t
tony

They're referring to the brake pipe leading from the 'T' piece on the near-side to the flexi-hose on the offside. It looks like the pipe disappears up into the engine bay (lhs) then reappears (rhs) and is then connected to the flex hose leading to the rhs rear brake.

Any advice on the route this pipe takes through the engine compartment would also be welcome! Anyone with a workshop manual able to shed any light on the procedure for this?

Also, what are peoples views on undersealing the 'F'? The garage suggested getting this done, and could anyone suggest where I could get this done (pref in
Central Scotland).

Cheers!

Leigh
Leigh

Is it just the hose that's corroded ?
I would guess that much of the time quoted is for bleeding the brakes afterwards - so you wouldn't be laying on a concrete floor for that time.
If you're going to replace one hose, you may want to consider replacing ALL brake hoses with braided hoses.
You may also want to use silicone fluid as this doesn't need changing every so often. Are you at the 4 year service now ? In which case they'll be changing the fluid anyway.
Make sure the brakes are bled in the correct order !

Steve
Steve

Leigh

There's a place in Wishaw, that does undersealing for about £60.
Few people here have had it done, and very happy with it.

Will try and get details for you.

Paul

paul weatherill

My that was a quick reply!

Unfortunately 4 year service was done 9 months ago. Looking at the big 5 coming up. It's the pipe (not the hose) that's corroded (i.e. the copper pipe, not flex hose). The reason the job's costed so high, is that they think they'll have problems removing the old pipe and installing the new, as they can't see where it goes after leaving the 'T' piece.

They don't expect materials / fluid to be expensive, just the hassle of removing the old pipe and fitting the new one. If I could give them some guidelines on where the pipe goes in the engine bay, and some directions on fitting then this might mean a quicker job and less cost.

This has got me thinking about the braided hoses, however as it's not one of those that needs replaced, I'll probably just leave it for another day. They've hinted that the front brake discs are a bit corroded too and may need replaced soon, so I plan to do that first. However, first priority is to get the brake pipe fixed.

Cheers.
Leigh

Cheers Paul,

You going on Thursday? Was expecting to be there, but I may now find myself without car on Thursday unfortunately.

Leigh
Leigh

>>You may also want to use silicone fluid as this doesn't need changing every so often. Are you at the 4 year service now ? <<

Not sure that that is advisable Paul; some have reported that silicone fluids appear to have a low boiling point, and results in a more 'mushy' pedal feel. Moreover, if changing over from a conventional brake fluid to silicone, all the rubber components (seals etc) need to be changed too (they'll be contaminated).

IMO simpler and cheaper to replace with DOT 4 or 5 brake fluid.

Changing to braided hoses sounds like a very good idea! :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

I agree with what you say about silicone fluid. Moreover it shouldn't be used with ABS. BUT DOT 5 is silicone fluid. DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 are the kind you would use on the F.

Spyros
Spyros Papageorghiou

Sorry for the confusion - you're right of course Spyros - DOT 5.1 it should be (the stuff in my car's master cylinder!)
Rob Bell

So, does anyone have any info on the route of this brake pipe through the engine bay, and directions on a replacement?

Cheers.
L Reid

I would expect to find this information in the workshop manual - but it isn't; there's only a simple schematic showing brake pipes - no layout details at all.
If you were considering using a MGR dealer than maybe a chat with the Technician (who hopefully has access to this on CD-ROM, or via testbook) would give you the detail you require.

Steve
Steve

I thought the brake pipes ran next to the hydrogas pipes under the car and then directly out to the brake calipers using flexipipe. No need for any routing round the engine bay.

Tom
Tom Randell

Hmmm.

Interesting point Tom. Wonder if they've actually failed the hydragas pipes? Anyone got a picture?

Leigh
Leigh

Hi Leigh

£150 sounds a bit excessive to me. I have copper pipe and the tool needed to make up new pipes.
If you want to borrow it or need a hand let me know, I'm in Livingston.

A handy hint is to make sure the bleed nipples undo OK before you remove any pipes.

Cheers

Alastair
Alastair McLeod

Thanks for the offer Alastair.

I'll get under the car and have a look this weekend. If it looks fairly straightforward, I'll probably try tackling it myself.

Leigh
Leigh

Hydragas pipes are much larger bore and plastic with metal unions!

How about going to your local dealer parts counter and asking for them to check whether SGB 002570 is exactly what you need. If so at £15.85 plus vat it will be a complete pipe already made up and ready to fit.

Rog
Roger Parker

This thread was discussed between 02/12/2002 and 11/12/2002

MG MGF Technical index

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