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1977 MG HELP!!! Fluid issue

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jsladovich

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I'm new to MG's. I don't know the exact issue of my friends 1977 MG. He states that the car has sat for a year, and he has never been rebuilt the engine. He also claims that the oil is now white and the consistency of a glue, not good. what could this possibly be? Did coolant leak into the oil somehow? Is it the oil that sat and this is the result?

2nd question, does anyone have any ideas, tricks, thoughts on how to rebuild a 1977 MG engine? Thanks.

If you would like to post here, fine, but if you could send me your response to jsladovich@hotmail.com that would be great.
 
HI Jsladovich, If the oil is greenish its OK, If its Black its ok. But if its white or grey it suggests that water has gotten in to the oil from someplace and that is not OK!. The oil should be drained out immediately and fresh oil put in. I have no tricks to contribute to overhauling an engine its pretty straight forward though. Others may provide guidance on the forum if required.---Fwiw---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Where do you think water could have come in from? I don't know these motors very well. I'm not a furtune teller, but I see a rebuild in my future.

What can you do to these cars to perk them up in performance? Anyone have any ideas about:
Cams
Air/Fuel
Port Polish
Valve Job
Exhaust
Gearing

Thanks.
 
OH , I would guess the most likely point would be the head gasket.Or a crack in the head itself.---Keoke?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif Rebuild is possible.
 
How to Power Tune MGB 4-Cylinder Engines by Peter Burgess.

He recommends:

Cylinder head conversion/tuning
Air Filters (such as K&N)
Camshaft change
Performance Exhaust
Electronic Ignition
Carburation Tuning (?sp)
and Rolling Road Tuning

There's lot's more info in the book - it includes a number of "power recipes" for different situations and effort.
 
Amazon.com has the Peter Burgess book for $19.01. He has others too just put his name on the search at Amazon.
 
Well, we drained the oil out of the engine and the lower end had oil just like house paint. It had some regular colored oil and some white in color. There was not much in the head, although I'm sure that this is the source of the water leak.

does anyone know about the coolant lines in the exhaust manifold? Where could water/coolant leak in from other than a crack or a bad head gasket? Anywhere? We are going to replace all the seals we can now. Anyone have any advice for engine rebuilds and what cam sets or mods to do that are cheap?
 
If you have water in the oil you need to find out where it comes from before you start and drive your car. If not you will be in danger of a complete rebuild and not just a head gasket change. The head gasket is easy to change on these motors. Just follow a good manual. I also, recommend (as others have) that you get a catalog form Moss or Victoria. They are great for how items go together as well as parts. I have rebuilt my daughter's motor and they are a long weekend job if you are patience. Good Luck.
 
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