[A persistent wheel squeak]

i have told Nick i may have brain fog on why i had these spare 

he was going to try them if they are no good the bin is calling time  ha 

Pete

[Diff rebuild, or reconditioned]

whine is normally bearings    

the most likely being the pinion outer 

due to reliance on splash fed lube  

you can change the outer without upseting the mounting distance or backlash setting 

any others need accurate setting up and is not most DIY possible .

pete

[Steering column bush change - bit left over!]

jeff  get well soon  

too many classic owners joining the Hospital clubs 

pete

[Spitfire steering rack]

just be aware some refurbished racks just get a clean spray of paint 

there are two ratio on for 4 cyl and lower ratio for 6 cyl  ( due to engine weight ) 

6 cyl rack should have a  double groove  in the input shaft spline to identify it is a different ratio

if they say they are all the same steer well clear they certainly are not

you can reset the sperical ball joints and replace the idler brgs  and re shim the damper slipper  by 

carefull DIY    you cant easilly replace the outer n/s tube bush  if its worn 

most recons will never see a new rack 

pete

 

 

[Steering column bush change - bit left over!]

Oh graham ... Ha     awarded   Im a  silly  sausage    100 times  and    see me after school 

that springy bit has been left out before 

it holds the outer tube but still allows it to collapse along with the inner slip joint 

suppose its quite clever 

Pete 

(up early and trying to master a new laptop as a windows update screwed my Dell the whole 

windows operating system is blocked and unable to reboot anything   Grrrr 

[Vitesse Speedo Seizure.]

if you remove the instrument the rim will rotate to remove the glass ( can be stuck with degraded rubber seals ) but you can prise the rim lugs to release it  take the glass out, undo the two srews in the back and you have the work in your hands 

some carefully applied lubricant on the main drive will maintain its life , i wont recomend you strip 

one down if its beyond simple recovery best to send it to speedy cables or JDO  etc.

never remove the needle or the hair spring unwinds and you wont know where to reposition it .

dont get grease on the alloy drive disc or its magnet 

you can oi anywhere else ok

Pete

[Vitesse Speedo Seizure.]

mostly due to speedo head seizure 

pete

[Steering column bush change - bit left over!]

its the slip clip that fits  in the lower facia mount allows the column to collapse 

pete

 

[Spitfire steering rack]

setting   up the damper shims is quite  easy   i would suggest you start from scratch

get the basics right before you jump 

Pete

[Replacement horn relay.]

using a relay implanted in to act as a feed reduces the current through the old contacts to a minimal 

the main load is passed through the relay only a small current is used to trigger the relay so the this helps all our old switch gear 

be it horn or lights  

Pete

[Petrol reacted with paint.]

petrol has always reacted with paint it comes from a similar base ,  generally once celly has hardened its ok 

was the rattle can a recent job ???

Pete

[Will copper grease do the same job as dialectic electrical grease?]

i only say this as one end is soldered  the other end has the longer brass brush to wear on the column ring  

use it solder down and that wears quickly ad the thing flies apart 

Pete

[Herald 1200 handbrake cable length]

the 15deg is to make sure the pull has the best advantage , so you pul from 10 oclock to 12   not  11 to 1  if youhave a clock !!!

its imortant to get the best leverage but not to a degree or two wont hurt 

Pete

[Herald 1200 handbrake cable length]

you need to tighten the cable with the drums locked  so the clevis is just a neat fit in the lever hole,   if you can see slack its too loose 

what you have done is above and better than many achieve in correcting the problems bits but i think you have the secondary cable a bit slack 

with 9 clicks   thats too many and once you de adjust the locked drums will get far worse 

Pete

[Will copper grease do the same job as dialectic electrical grease?]

ian make sure the pencil is the right way up 

copaslip is an anti seize compound not a lubricant 

Pete

[Fitting a vacuum gauge]

i would drill and tap the manifold (use a well greased drill to collect swarf)  

you will need a restrictor in the supply pipe  many add a short bit of brake pipe and squash it with pliers till you get a steady reading or the needle will flutter a lot 

then driving with the highest vacuum is no fun at all 

Pete

[Removing temperature sender]

dave if you get wooly running when in traffic with a mechanical fan then it points its set too rich    its all designed to run at 82c  there is no summer winter spec   but 

based on overall climate make the engine run at 78c the cooler spec and you will need to richen it more   which wont help ypur problem 

i would lean her off and raise the idle a bit  as a first step

Pete

[Spark plug colour]

we had acase with a 1300 fwd when the flywheel made contact with the back plate and stalled the engine 

yes the thrusts had dropped out , the crank had worn down the main brg. cap lugs? that locate the thrusts from rotating  

 

we welded up some diy protrusions and fettled the lumpy work to resemble the original and the motor went on for 130,000 miles before getting scrapped 

so yes if the cap has some contact destruction its easy to rebuild it wit some care build of weld and  not  scrap the engine .

Pete

[Faint pulsing noise.]

all i remember of a visit to Charmouth (well not really) was some geezer with big motor bike fitted with some proximity alarm  which kept repeating 

Move away from the Bike it is armed ......so loud the grockles just kept taunting it ,  the amusment didnt last long 

but we did walk the shores and never found a dinosaur footprint 

have a nice holiday 

Pete

[Removing temperature sender]

thermostats modulate  thats they open and close as cooler water enters the head it closes and reopens when the setting is reached 

leaner engines of the 70s mostly run hotter 88c than earlier engines in uk are 82c  all pretty standard stuff of the era

if you look in the rad header /filler on a hot engine you will see the flow across the rad tubes flow and ebb as the stat controls the temperature 

its not just case of open or shut  but anywhere in  between 

Pete

[Kangaroo]

and dont discount engine mounts allows the whole thing to shift about as you apply load

Pete

[Faint pulsing noise.]

Happy Birthday   then you will soon be catching me up  Ha !!

Pete

[Is it possible to replace steering column bush with steering wheel in place?]

i am surprised a good pull on a socket wrench  wont shift the nut  seem to remember two AF sizes  15/16" or 1.1/8 " get someone  to hold the wheel firmly

as you apply the torque or you just wind up the steering with lost effort .

then a real good wiggle /waggle on the handwheel to free it off the splines ,and you end up sitting in the back with a wheel in your hands 

so it pays to spin the nut on a couple of turns .

torque on refitting is only 28-30 lbft    ( just a light hand tight )  no gorilla   hands here 

Pete

[TRIUMPH SPITFIRE MK4 1500 BOOT LOCK WITH DUST COVER]

if you return to your original 1st post   click the 3 dots to the right and you can edit the title to read  Locks  

if that helps everyone 

Pete

[Stromberg CD150 Throttle stop and missing fast idle screw]

on some only one carb will have a fast idle cam , as the throttle and choke are all linked up  so what happens on one happens on the other

yes there are many variations over the years

to balance you only need the idle screw the choke fast idle should have always a small gap between choke cam and its adjustable screw

the choke should have no connection with basic balancing   which relly just needs back the idle screw to just off/ wind it in 1.5 turns  then clamp the links so both throttles are in th same place  

you dont need any siily equipment to achieve the basics 

Pete