In todays instalment of 'Cars You Don't Get In The US', my Mothers MG3!
Back in 2021 my Mother decided to retire her '13 Suzuki Jimny as it was getting a bit rough around the edges, and was totally impractical with the impending requirements to look after the grandchildren. The Jimny had been utterly reliable, albeit it a bit thirsty. In the 8 years she owned in she put just shy of 50k on the clock and the only thing that was replaced other than basic servicing needs was the swivel hub bearings at the front. I did the these bearings myself and it cost less than £20 and took a couple of hours out of my day.
My Mother isn't easy on cars, she's a district nurse who works for the national health service and goes to peoples houses to administer care. She's been retired for a few years now but still chooses to work for a few mornings 3 days a week. These often mean lots of very short journeys, often very show speeds and lots of hill starts in the rather vertical valleys of South Wales. Add onto that the daily collection and general taxi services she provides for her grandchildren and it stands to reason that this car gets used and abused.
Maybe a manual isn't best served for a usage case like this? A torque converter auto would make far more sense, surley? But my Mother has always driven manuals (like most in the UK), isn't a fan of automatics and these cheaper, smaller cars aren't often available with an automatic gearbox, or weren't at the time. You see, it was me that selected the MG3. It was available with a chain driven, port injected, 4 cylinder N/A engine and had a 5 year warranty. Also, while there was money available to buy the car outright, MG was offering 0% finance for 5 years. By the time the Suzuki Jimny was part exchanged, the monthly payment was £80/month. An absolute no brainer.
For those curious, this is what an MG3 looks like...
When my Mum said there was something up with the car and it felt like the clutch was slipping, I didn't believe her. This 4 year old car doesn't have 25k on the clock. The clutch couldn't be worn out. Right? I took it out for a drive and it quickly became apparent that nope, the clutch was most definitely slipping. The clutch pedal was heavy and 'notchy' too. I spoke to our local MG dealer who we purchased the car from and had done all the maintenance since who advised that the clutch would be classed as a wear and tear item and therefore wouldn't be covered under warranty at all, despite the low mileage. I wasn't shocked but it's still somewhat frustrating. My Mother is most certainly hard on cars, but not hard enough to wear a clutch out in such short timescales. The earliest she wore out a clutch was 80k on a MK1 Focus back in the early 2000's.
I've changed a handful of clutches on my driveway now. And every time I make a promise to myself never to do it again, this time was no exception. I'm battered, bruised and covered in cuts and scrapes. The sooner I get my big garage built and get a lift sorted the better!
The aftermarket offers next to no support for the MG3. This surprises me as these things are EVERYWHERE over here. Other than filters and brakes, I struggled to get anything. So all clutch components had to come from the dealer.
I did the clutch change over 3 days. Doing 3 hours on Friday, 3 hours on Saturday and 3 hours yesterday. The car didn't fight me at all with all fixtures and fittings coming out with no issues.
Engine bay before...
I started by doing all the housekeeping in the enigne bay first. Battery out, battery tray and ECU all out. I unplugged all electrical connectors on the gearbox and popped off the gearbox linkages and slave cylinder.
I did think this MG logo in the bonnet lining was a nice touch.
I drained the gearbox oil which looked suprisingly clean. Usually the first drain of any manual gearbox always looks a bit dirtier than this...
There wasn't much debris on the magnet either...
Then I dismantled the N/S hub to get the driveshaft out...
And same again on the O/S...
Back in 2021 my Mother decided to retire her '13 Suzuki Jimny as it was getting a bit rough around the edges, and was totally impractical with the impending requirements to look after the grandchildren. The Jimny had been utterly reliable, albeit it a bit thirsty. In the 8 years she owned in she put just shy of 50k on the clock and the only thing that was replaced other than basic servicing needs was the swivel hub bearings at the front. I did the these bearings myself and it cost less than £20 and took a couple of hours out of my day.
My Mother isn't easy on cars, she's a district nurse who works for the national health service and goes to peoples houses to administer care. She's been retired for a few years now but still chooses to work for a few mornings 3 days a week. These often mean lots of very short journeys, often very show speeds and lots of hill starts in the rather vertical valleys of South Wales. Add onto that the daily collection and general taxi services she provides for her grandchildren and it stands to reason that this car gets used and abused.
Maybe a manual isn't best served for a usage case like this? A torque converter auto would make far more sense, surley? But my Mother has always driven manuals (like most in the UK), isn't a fan of automatics and these cheaper, smaller cars aren't often available with an automatic gearbox, or weren't at the time. You see, it was me that selected the MG3. It was available with a chain driven, port injected, 4 cylinder N/A engine and had a 5 year warranty. Also, while there was money available to buy the car outright, MG was offering 0% finance for 5 years. By the time the Suzuki Jimny was part exchanged, the monthly payment was £80/month. An absolute no brainer.
For those curious, this is what an MG3 looks like...
When my Mum said there was something up with the car and it felt like the clutch was slipping, I didn't believe her. This 4 year old car doesn't have 25k on the clock. The clutch couldn't be worn out. Right? I took it out for a drive and it quickly became apparent that nope, the clutch was most definitely slipping. The clutch pedal was heavy and 'notchy' too. I spoke to our local MG dealer who we purchased the car from and had done all the maintenance since who advised that the clutch would be classed as a wear and tear item and therefore wouldn't be covered under warranty at all, despite the low mileage. I wasn't shocked but it's still somewhat frustrating. My Mother is most certainly hard on cars, but not hard enough to wear a clutch out in such short timescales. The earliest she wore out a clutch was 80k on a MK1 Focus back in the early 2000's.
I've changed a handful of clutches on my driveway now. And every time I make a promise to myself never to do it again, this time was no exception. I'm battered, bruised and covered in cuts and scrapes. The sooner I get my big garage built and get a lift sorted the better!
The aftermarket offers next to no support for the MG3. This surprises me as these things are EVERYWHERE over here. Other than filters and brakes, I struggled to get anything. So all clutch components had to come from the dealer.
I did the clutch change over 3 days. Doing 3 hours on Friday, 3 hours on Saturday and 3 hours yesterday. The car didn't fight me at all with all fixtures and fittings coming out with no issues.
Engine bay before...
I started by doing all the housekeeping in the enigne bay first. Battery out, battery tray and ECU all out. I unplugged all electrical connectors on the gearbox and popped off the gearbox linkages and slave cylinder.
I did think this MG logo in the bonnet lining was a nice touch.
I drained the gearbox oil which looked suprisingly clean. Usually the first drain of any manual gearbox always looks a bit dirtier than this...
There wasn't much debris on the magnet either...
Then I dismantled the N/S hub to get the driveshaft out...
And same again on the O/S...
