Nick Jones

They should be a solid pin and one made from a strong material at that. The splines should also be a firm press fit as without that, it doesn't matter what the pin is made from - it will fail eventually. Same failure as the Herald estate in Samarkand, but after fewer miles and on smoother roads (well, bit smoother). My concern is that if all of these repro shafts are being sold with slack splines and roll pins, I believe they are wholly unfit for purpose, more failures are inevitable and could easily lead to a serious accident. If you've bought new shafts recently, check to see if they have a roll pin (you'll be able to see daylight through it as the pin is hollow). If they are on a car you use, I'd also have a close look at the area where the splines meet and if there is any sign of movement there, be afraid and I'd be getting straight onto the supplier...... and don't be afraid to show them Rogers pics and/or the ones posted by the intrepid overlanders. Glad all 3 Triumphs in this household are roto/CV equipped cars...... Nick

Doubt there is more than one manufacturing source. Not a massive market. I suppose that at price of around £75 and low production volumes it's unsurprising there are quality issues. However, they do need to be good enough not to try to kill you after less than 10,000 miles ( and heard of issues occurring well below that) Nick

If it only judders in reverse and is fine in forward gears then I'd say the clutch is fine and you need to look at the engine and gearbox mounts first. Nick

Pump itself can be fine but the impeller needs to be a close fit to the housing for it to function properly. This housing can occasionally be corroded or eaten away by cavitation. Would probably check gauge calibration first though. Nick

Agree. Has been an ambition of mine to measure how the various settings change over the range of suspension travel. Then we'd know how much the laden/unladen thing matters and what the correct unladen figures would be. Nick

Quite likely that a fair bit of the rear end (diff, driveshafts etc) are Datsun 240Z. Agree with Clive on the TRR trackdays. Nick

Roll pin....... Jeez.......! Do the people selling these realise what they are selling? Would be less of a hazard if the splines were properly tight (that's 20 ton press tight) but I can see from the polish on yours that it had been fretting for a while. Yes, the welding worry would be creating a brittle zone and possibly a stress-raiser at the weld edge. However, given the roll pin and sloppy splines I think the weld is probably the safer option - though you are already better off by using a cut down bolt! See what you mean about repairing where it came to rest...... Just seen your river crossing vid....... bit of a sudden stop on the first attempt! Sump guard earning it's keep! Make sure you charge Pete enough for the film rights ? Nick

Replace the nylocs with new nylocs, no washers, and do them up proper tight by locking two spanners together for leverage. Torque should be transmitted by the clamped friction between the flange surfaces, not the bolt shanks (threaded or not)! Nick

You've found the weak point (or one of them) on the repro shafts then...... Never seen an OE shaft fail like that, though I did once manage to dismantle one at that point after a lengthy and bloody battle. Actually I agree with your Kyrgyz mechanic re the welding, assuming you meant welding around the exposed side? Though it is a bit of a case of what is the greater weakness! I would be happy to weld around the inside, where the extreme end of the shaft sits inside the UJ trunnion, though you'll probably need to split the UJ to get access. Was it really a roll pin that failed? Absolutely NOT fit for purpose in that application - it takes the cornering loads ffs! OE ones are solid and something tough. Love the middle of the road fix pic........ presumably traffic was quite light? May the force be with you! Nick

Phew......! CV shafts are a comparative bargain...... Nick

Richard, Thanks for the education. Wasn't aware that CDD offer that kit. Seems to offer worthwhile improvements but no idea what costs? If you use your car a lot, especially if you drive it quite hard, it's probably worth considering. I'd think about it if the three Triumphs in this household weren't roto based. Nick

All the figures I gave were unladen. Don't know why the factory were stupid enough to quote laden figures. Very awkward to comply with and thus pretty much guaranteed to be ignored. Unladen figures would be so much more useful. All worthless if the car is lowered too, though I suppose a lowered car might match the laden position....... Forget to say before but have my rear toe set to 2mm toe in. If you like a "lively" rear try parallel or even a couple of mm toe out. Suggest the latter for track use only! Nick

As above but I disagree about the equal number at the front and rear. Caster angle is altered by varying the relative numbers of shims front to rear which shifts the outer end forwards or back. Caster is important for steering weight, feel and self catering action. My own Vitesse is set approximately as follows 350 lb springs 10.5" free length giving approx 1.5" lowering Konis set about 2 clicks from fully soft std ARB Camber 1deg negative Caster 3deg (iirc, need to find notes!) Toe parallel (this with poly bushes-may need 1-2mm toe in with rubber ones ) Rear is roto with CVs, std (but well sagged) spring and standard mk1 dampers on chassis extensions. Camber more like 2 deg negative due to lowing ride height. This adds up to a fairly neutral handling road car. It still has a slight understeer tendency which is further reduced by 25 - 50 Kg in the boot. It is fair to say this won't give max tyre life on the front -tends to wear the inner edges, though not at a great rate, but the parallel toe really helps turn-in. Also have a Herald rack for the faster gearing - doesn't affect the basic handling though. Nick

You need to do another compression test, preferably with the engine hot, but more importantly including a second round with a couple of spoonfuls of oil added to each cylinder as a wet test. If the compressions are significantly higher on the wet test, this suggests rings/bores are an issue. Little change implies valve seating issues. The latter is quite likely given the tight tappet settings you report. Nick

Trouble with that is it also means converting to the rotoflex suspension (or following John with the MGF route) which is significant effort and expensive. The original style shafts are available new and presumably unfatigued. Quality unknown (to me). Special racing ones are also available from Summers Brothers in the USA if you have a kidney spare to sell..... Nick

Diesels with low compression are a real challenge, especially if no working glow plugs. Nick

Fairly common unfortunately. Especially with racers, or cars that get a lot of hard use, but most original driveshafts have done a fair mileage by now and not always on the same side as Pete mentions. Either break there as the pic where the end of the keyway creates a stress raiser or just inside the inner side of the bearing housing where the roller bearing creates a lip. Certainly scary. Three wheels on my wagon and no brakes! Was one of the factors in deciding to convert out Spit to roto/cv. Nick

Sounds quite similar to ours Ken, except ours is ok when cold but stiffens up when hot. Will be very curious to know what you find. I've never taken the selectors apart before, partly because I never had a problem with one before and partly because I prefer the single rail where possible. Controversial I know...... Nick

Seen in the flesh earlier this year. I like it. Looking at the pic now I'm wondering how he reshape the windows.... Nick

100 psi per pot is plenty to start. I once managed to start a 1300 that had no compression above 50 psi and most rather less. Did take 24v and a whiff of easy start but once running the rings freed off as it warmed and it made a full recovery. Stale fuel is a major problem these days, as are NGK plugs that have got wet with fuel and no longer work. Nick

Clunk when engaging drive, reverse or especially switching between drive and reverse is usually the result of backlash in the drive train rather than a gearbox issue. Diff, prop-shaft joints, driveshaft joints or splines are all possible sources and sometimes, on a well worn car you can hear a chain of clunks working back down the car. High idle speed can increase the violence of the clunk. other issues sound fluid/filter related. Not sure why advise you not to change it........... Park issue is potentially the most awkward though external linkage adjustment should be checked before getting too worried. Nick

Does it feel stiff and notchy in both 1/2 and 2/4 gates? Is it the same with the remote and box top off the gearbox body? Thanks for the pics clearly showing the air release holes btw, I had been wondering what Pete was on about in our thread -now very clear! Nick

Ken, Posted recently with a similar problem on our mk iv Spitfire. On ours it mostly affects the 3/4 gate though. not sure how to link to that thread via iPad but it's (mistakenly) in the drivetrain and rear axle section. Nick

My favourite plugs are the Bosch multi-electrode ones. Used to be triple, now I think the quad ones are easier to find. I'm guessing that being a mk 1 you have the short reach plugs? Nick

Mk1 saloon are manual adjust. Mk 2 self-(not)adjust though not the same arrangement as Dolomite etc. Nick