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MG TD TF 1500 - Help with pedal box/brakes '53TD

I need some advice....I am not an MG owner, however I restore early BMW's. I'm sure much of the mechanicals are similar for this vintage car. My brother-in-law has a '53 MG TD....nice unrestored example. Lately the brakes have quit working...no leak or obvious signs.

But, when I looked at the car yesterday I noticed that when either the clutch "or" the brake was depressed "both" pedals moved significantly...I would say this is not a good sign....I didn't have my tools with me nor was I dressed to crawl under and take a look, but my bet is that the pedal box needs a rebuild...possibly a pivot pin or similar device had dislodged and allows the pedals to move excessively instead of applying leverage where necessary to work the hydraulics?

Is this a common problem on these cars....I know this may be a somewhat limited explanation, but I thought I'd give it a try....any help or advice much appreciated.

John Weese
Lancaster County, PA
John Weese

John - In all likelyhood, the brakes stopped working because of a hydraulic problem that is unrelated to the movement of the pedals that you are seeing. I would guess, if you are not seeing any brake fluid at the wheels, that there is a leak in the master cylinder main cup that is allowing fluid to go past it. The other thing that could cause the problem is that the reservoir of the master cylinder is out of fluid, particularlysince the fill plug is so hard to get to. The pedal movement that you are seeing when the clutch is depressed is caused by the excluder draging the other pedal with it. This can be so bad with new excluders that the brake light will come on when the clutch is depressed. The fix is to push the excluder down as far as possible on each pedal.

Yes, the pedal shaft probably needs to be replace, the brake pedal pivot will need a new bushing and the bushings in the frame where the shaft rides will need replacement, but this is not a job that one takes on lightly (it requires a gun to my head for me to do it after having done it twice). It is a very difficult and dirty job and there are circlips that very effectively hide and are not shown in the drawings that make getting things apart close to impossible (at least without an expanded vocabulary of explectives). Before undertaking the job, I would suggest that you go through the list of local clubs listed on the home web site for this BBS (MG Cars Enthusiasts Club) and find a local MG club. Contact them and see if anyone there will admit to having done this job before that can guide you or your brother-in-law through it.
Good luck - Dave
David DuBois

Maybe John's problem relates to the MG factory's attempt to provide automatic transmissions in American spec T series cars. Come up to a red stop sign, press the brake pedal and the clutch releases by itself.

Message for John - if you are new to this site half the messages give good advice, the other half's banter


Jan T
J Targosz

The brake pedal pivots on the clutch pedal shaft, which is supported only on the left side, rather than on both sides. Pushing on the brake pedal cocks and moves the shaft (right side foreward), and between old grease, gunk, rust, wear, angular pressure and the design, the clutch pedal moves also. As David stated, the rubber excluder does this even with all new parts, and there is no doubt a basic hydraulic problem as above, or rusted/stuck MC. Search the archives for the pedal job. Find someone you really hate and get them to do it, or wait until doing a frame off. If you do end up doing it, post or e me and I can advise.
George Butz

This thread was discussed on 07/07/2003

MG TD TF 1500 index

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