@britishcarfreak
Took the gearbox out to fix a leak. Now it won’t go back in. Arghhhhh related with Triumph 2500 2.7L S with Lucas PI
April 10, 2017 in
Horrible work trying to refit my Triumph 2500 overdrive gearbox by myself.
I had found a leak on the back of the overdrive where there are copper washers. Oil dripped out at a rapid rate when the gearbox was tipped back. No evidence of a leak anywhere obvious when car was sitting flat. So the box came out.
Each one of the bolts holding the rear extension of the overdrive to the overdrive body was quite loose. I put some thread sealant around the copper washer and put it all back together.
After lifting it into place it’s ended up stuck about 20-25mm from the engine plate.
I guess I’ll have to pull it out and try again. A few people have suggested that it be left in gear so one hand can hold the back of the box up and rotate the output flange while trying to lift and slide the gearbox into place.
After about 7-8 years of having this car off the road it was time to tweak the metering unit minimum fuel setting…. related with Triumph 2500 2.7L S with Lucas PI
April 6, 2017 in
I always felt the car was too lean at idle. Just a bit rough. Over the last 2 years during my bare metal rebuild I figured I’d fit an Air/Fuel ratio.
Idle was about 18-20:1 (not good) – should be 14.7:1 for a modern car and apparently closer to 13:1 for older cars.
So I was encouraged to turn down the A3 (small screw on top of the MU stack). When I took the cover off I was shocked to find the lock nut on A1 (the largest nut in the top stack) was completely loose – say 3-4mm above turned down. I was unsure if the lock nut had turned loose or the whole stack (A1/A2/A3) had all vibrated and turned up with the lock not. Bravely I decided to turn the whole combo down until the locknut touched the body of the MU and then locked it off.
Then I turned A3 down a lot until the idle was in range. It went so far down that there’s no thread showing on A3 anymore and just enough to lock off with the lock nut.
Now the car idles at about 13:1 and is vastly more perky to drive. It was hesitating when the throttle was first pressed – or anytime I quickly jabbed the throttle. That improved a lot after the adjustment but it still feels like it lags a bit more than I’d like.
Gearbox leak on first few drives since rebuild related with Triumph 2500 2.7L S with Lucas PI
April 6, 2017 in
Sadly I’m stalled again with the rebuild. I got it out for a few test runs but each time I’ve found oil at the back of the gearbox.
I thought it was simply weeping around overdrive but it seems to be as high as the back of the selector linkages.
I thought it could be from the speedo pinion gear but it’s not.
I thought I’d overfilled it but oil is just below the filler hole threads (so it’s low). Most likely it’s the o-rings in the selector rods. And Thompson recommended I fit X rings (known as quad rings) size 112 from www.sealingaustralia.com.au
So, the box will have to come out again. Crap.
EWP failed related with Stag MK2
January 18, 2017 in
Yesterday I drove a few kms to drop my son at child care. By the time I got home I noticed a trail of coolant up the road, the drive, and under my car. I checked levels later that day and all seemed OK.
This morning I left home and a few KM from home I noticed my engine guard was reading 22deg c but my standard triumph temp gauge was at 1/3rd. Not right! I pulled over, thankfully, and checked my Electric Water Pump controller that I hide in the glovebox. No lights – DEAD! I cautiously drove it home very gently but was spewing coolant out the overflow hose by the time I got there. My engine guard jumped to 91deg (my alarm goes off at 95C) and the Triumph analogue guage was at 2/3rds.
Clearly I saved it in time. But I learned a valuable lesson. My engine guard isn’t accurately measuring coolant temp when there’s a lot of air up top – a situation that happens when no pump is running – and that it’s an insanely fine line between no notice and the engine guard noticing the true temp as fluid starts to boil to the top of the motor.
First problem – find out why the EWP controller is dead.
Second problem – move the Engine guard sensor so it is in fluid at the bottom of the motor
Three find a way to wire in an alert that detects the EWP controller is dead… this seems most difficult.
Not happy – but at least the car is safe.
Power steering rack parts on the way related with Stag MK2
September 7, 2016 in
I’m eagerly awaiting a selection of bits and pieces so I can pull my sloppy power steering rack out and fix it up. I’m hopeful that it’s just a pinion bearing that is causing slop where pinion worm gear meets rack teeth.
Leaking inlet manifold again. Coolant in the V. related with Stag MK2
September 3, 2016 in
I just can’t seem to get this to reliably seal. The inlet manifold was machined (skimmed) when we had the heads reconditioned. It is so close that I struggle to get the inlet manifold bolts to line up and have to press the manifold down a fair bit when trying to get it all in place. Yet this is the second time I’ve had leaks. Last time I made my own custom gaskets with a scalpel. I wish we could get something modern with rubber rings around each waterway so it would deal with movement from heating and cooling. I’ve also got a few bolts that don’t bite properly anymore as the head stud holes have got damaged threads.