MG Car Repair: 74 midgit clutch, grinding gears, haynes manuals


Question
QUESTION: You said to refill the clutch with DOT4 brake fluid but the manual said 3. How come?

ANSWER: Ryan, I don't know what manual you have, but DOT 3 brake  fluid will eat natural rubber and the British own most of the natural rubber in the world and they used a lot of this natural rubber in their seals and that was true in 1974 also. So If you want to use DOT 3 fluid that is your choice. If all your seals are doing well in the next few months, let us all know.
Howard

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QUESTION: Howard it was the Haynes service manual for MG midgits that said to use DOT3.  I am off to pep boys for DOT4.

ANSWER: I looked in several Haynes manuals and you are correct that they say DOT 3. I seen too many incidents where DOT 3 destroyed the seals in older MGs. I will confront Haynes about it and post their answer.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Okay, I replaced the master and the slave and bled the clutch.  With the car off I can shift into all gears without a problem. However, with the car turned on and running at about 2000rpm's (started cold) I can not get it to shift into either 1st or reverse it is stuck in neutral.  all I get is the horrible sound of a missed shift and grinding gears.  any ideas?

Answer
If the pedal feels firm from the top to the floor it is possible that you have a disk problem, a pilot bearing or a pressure plate problem. However, if the pedal feels soft, You could still have air in the system.

Also 2000 RPM is too fast even for a cold fast idle. Idle it down to 700 to 800 RPM and try to put the gear lever from neutral into 2nd, 3rd or 4th and see if it grinds. If not continue to hold the pedal down and shift into 1st from 2nd with your foot off of the brake and no hand brake on and on a level ground and note if the car tries to creep along. Let me know about the pedal feel and the second test at 700 to 800 RPM and the shift from 2nd to first.
Howard