Adrian

I put braided hoses on so can’t clamp. Will look at any play but initially I was thinking it could probably do with a new MC anyway, pretty sure it’s the original.

Morning Chaps I'm opening up this old conversation again after a period of inactivity with the cars because it follows on. Brake pedal spongy, firms up with pumps but does not stop the car. Trawlled the usual mini forums and general comments are air trapped in the master cylinder, compensator valve or calipers (calipers are the right way up). General guidance is to start at Master and crack seals and replace with bleed nipples and systematically bleed to try to ID air lock. Then work way down the system. So my question is do you have to detatch these components to twist to dislodge any air locks during bleeding? Because I can't see any advantage to leaving them in situ as normal bleeding (used ezibleed) would otherwise disslodge an air lock....wouldn't it? NB system was off the car for approx 6 months prior to rebuild. Cheers Adrian

Hi Aiden Good to see you are back to the car! I have no words of wisdom as have not done a full rebuild other than swapping the sealing bar to steel (still giggle over the fact that a couple of bits of wood are an intergral part of the sealling of the block!). I'll be keeping an eye on this thread as an engine rebuild is something I want to do at some point (for fun at the moment as mine arn't burning oil). So I hope you will keep a journal to go alongside the excellent fuse box upgrade!. Adrian

I did the voltage stabiliser in mine, problem persisted, turned out to be the actual fuel sender. Ditto braking, scary, I've got a master cylinder rebuild kit ready to install! Adrian

I’ve had reasonable success (eventually) with the ezibleed but because the gt6 needs the ‘strap on’ adaptor on both occasions I’ve had fluid leaking everywhere because of not getting it sealed well enough. I might look into the solo bleed. Now before it starts I am aware of the wording of this post regarding strap on and fluid everywhere!

Nice gadget, nice and techy with buttons......must have one

The garage told me the boil test was to measure the dissolved water content (boil small sample and determine volume loss, lost volume=water) most likely with a view to determining the 2.5% danger level.

I have an old Land Cruiser as my everyday driver and it must be 6-8 years since any brake fluid change. I just ask for a boil test. My brakes are still as sharp as anything. Maybe the modern systems have better seals! PS I've just received a seal kit from MevSpares.

I suppose you could look at it as the DOT4 has already absorbed the water and consequently there wouldn't be any left behind during a change to DOT5. If there was any water left behind then it would be no better or worse than if DOT4 remained. I was dubiouse at first about the change particularly if you broke down but most breakdown services would either carry the correct stuff or relay you home anyway. But the positives are the fact that my cars are not daily drivers and I don't have to worry about the fluid degrading AND any leaks wont strip the paint! I understand that schisms exist on multiple topics and it is importantly down to individual experience. I'm just glad that we can discusse ALL opinions / options openly so that we can make informed 'eyes wide open' desicions and then come back to the forum when it all goes wrong! Cheers Adrian

Hi all Not quite the same topic as recently submitted (how good should our brakes be) but on that note - new pistons in rear, adjusted and new lines to front. Bled and Dot 5 installed. I currently can't get to all the joints to check but reasonably confident that they are pinched up ok. SO when testing resistance at the brake pedal I notice that with continued pressure the pedal slowly sinks which to my mind means that there is fluid leakage around the seals in the Master? Assuming this is correct ,what would you suggest - new seals for a rebuild, new Master or .............light the blue touch paper...............Servo!!!! I think the servo could be a lot of additional fitting so easier and quicker to keep standard. If I can lock the wheels after i'll be happy with any solution. Thanks Adrian

I went in from the center, pulled the Speedo to gain access. Still not easy though. Daft place!

Will have to wait until older and wiser heads comment, I’m a first timer for everything triumph as well!

Hi Richard i think you are on the wrong side of the carbs as I believe the temperature change is via the inlet manifold hence the cutout on the manifold side. Although im not sure what the additional cutouts are for. cheers Adrian

Ditto Doug. Club powder coated alloy valence and cowl, a little minor fettling but fine. Didn’t know about the cracking though!

Hi Pete I've been considering a lifting solution for the GT6 as it's a lot of faffing to get it high enough to work underneath, especially if the wheels are off. Just wondering what feedback you have on your choice? I have limited space so no pillar lift. Thanks Adrian

I bought a Rockwell 1 tonne crane off ebay, 3 years ago for £97 (they are now £150). I was dubious but was very impressed, well put together and does the job admirably. I suppose we all take risks using ebay.

I do find it quite amazing, reading through other threads as well, that there are elements of cars that just don't line up consistently. An engine, a gearbox and an overdrive, nothing there that has any variability so with very predictable measurements between fixing points. Makes me wonder why they don't line up, unless the plate itself has some wriggle room. Will have to wait and see! (I realise that the plate isn't actually a fixing point).

I think I’m going to yank it, Dremell it and see what else. One job always turns into many as this all started with brake pipes (now done with dot 5, but yet to test so maybe MC as well). Next the carbs as discussed elsewhere. Then Turn car around to free up a little extra space on the passenger side.....oh for a bigger garage, hydraulic lift, etc!

Sod it. Can it be done insitu or is it best to remove to avoid damaging the OD? Or remove to check everything else

Looking a bit further into it and there is oil under the OD as well. Noticed that the OD nuts are not central to the support plat with some burring. Certainly can’t get a socket on them. I’m wondering if it may be appropriate for a yank and proper check

Hi chaps a niggling problem I’ve been meaning to do. A leak from the gearbox which obviously accumulates at the lowest point, the drain plug. Apart from general oil/dirt it appears to also originate from the plug. Now it’s clear that it’s not the proper plug and I assume it’s a taper thread? The gear box was overhauled by Jigsaw around 2014 according to the po receipts. So what do you think I should do,; assume the bolt is the correct thread and pinch it up a bit more (assuming it can); wash it all down and recheck; drain it and get a correct plug; or something else? As always, thanks

it says it doesn't stick well to previous painted surfaces so I used wire wheel / flap disc to clean up. So not that rusty (in places) hence why i was careful to use the metal prep as the etch is supposed to provide a key on clean metal but some of the current flaking is also on the rusted surface. The idea is it bonds with the metal/rust to exclude oxygen and hence prevent rust, it's done neither and I'm only lucky in the fact that my tears of dissappointment are running down my upturned face whilst lying under the car and not the paintwork. An expensive mistake (although could be worse) so I'm in Nicks camp and keeping away from it in the future. Again I will say that the degreaser, etc appear to be very good, if expensive.

I've changed my mind. 3 or so years ago I spent in excess of 100 hours stripping and prepping the underside and engine bay of the car. I FULLY prepped it as per the instructions prior to using POR15. Putting new brake lines on this week I noticed cracking of the body colour paint primarily on the chassis and delaminating from the POR15 (OK i thought, perhaps I didn't rough up the surface enough prior to top coating, so I ordered the POR15 bonding etch primer to allow a better key). I started cleaning it up this morning and lo and behold the POR15 coating is peeling away. I have done absolutely nothing wrong, have spent plenty of time prepping it, It just hasn't bonded to the metal, especially on the chassis and bodywork in the engine bay, presumably where there is excess heat and a bit of oil. The only think I can think of is that the humidity in the uk is generally too high for ideal application. Nevertheless I would have expected SOME bonding to have occurred. I suppose the only positive is, if it hasn't bonded I should be abler to peel it away in large strips. I will however say the degreaser is the best I've seen, Metal prep is good and the engine and manifold paints are good. Just not looking forwar to repeating the many hours on my back - need a lift and workshop like Colins!

I did wonder at the time, so will probably reverse the gaskets.

When I've started the GT6 its struggled to achieve a nice even running and chugs, almost dying until it is up to temperature. Since upgrading to a club electronic dizzy it starts really well and I've been wondering if it is either the choke or compensators (I maybe stupidly, reversed the gasket to unblank the compensator). Whilst I want to get it sorted I also found the following article on the vintage triumph register which you may know about and have dismissed as poppycock! Your thoughts would be appreciated. THE ART OF TEMPERATURE COMPENSATOR ADJUSTMENT by Steve Sutton, ssutton@ridgecrest.ca.us What exactly are Temperature Compensators? To paraphrase the Haynes ‘Zenith-Stromberg CD Carburettor’ owners workshop manual: “The temperature compensator (TC) is a rectangular housing with a plastic cover that contains a bi-metallic strip, one end is secured to the housing with a screw or rivet, and an adjusting nut is located part-way along its length. The other end of the strip engages a plastic plunger with a conical end which slides in a cylindrical extension of the housing and thus forms a regulating valve. Changes in temperature causes the bi-metallic strip to flex, moving the plunger in its bore, regulating the annular area around the bore thus controlling the amount of by-pass air that is allowed into the carburettors mixing chamber.” A common problem with the TC’s is that the plastic cylindrical plunger becomes stuck, either open or closed due to buildup of gunk. When this happens the owner usually pulls the TC’s apart, removes the bi-metallic strip, cleans off the gunk and puts it back together again. However in doing so, you must remove the adjusting nut, and unless you knew that the middle nut was an adjustment…..you were doomed. The specifications on how to adjust the TC’s were a closely guarded secret at the Zenith Carburettor factory and were never revealed to any known, living person! The following is the procedure I used on my 1974 1/2 model TR-6, fitted with Zenith-Stromberg 175CD-SEVX carburettors. I image the procedure to be identical for any ZS carburettor fitted with TC’s. First remove the bi-metallic strips. At room temperature they should be straight, however you may find yours bent because the DPO screwed down the nylock adjusting nut too much and bent them. After straightening, put them back together and gently tighten the adjusting nut until the plastic plunger just seals the opening in the cylindrical extension of the TC housing, then tighten it one more turn. You now need to ‘balance’ (if you have multiple carbs) and adjust the opening rate of the plastic plunger. This will take some trial and error, but will be worth the trouble. Fill a pan with water, put it on the stove, and place the TC’s in the pan so they are completely covered in water and position them so you can observe the opening and closing of the plunger(s) together. Place a cooking thermometer in the water. Turn on the burner real low and observe what temperature the TC’s start to open. Based on much experimentation, I found that the plunger should not start to open until around 115F; at 125F it should be about half open, and at 140F the plunger should be fully open. This will introduce a fair amount of ‘bypass’ air into the mixing chamber when the ambient temperature is fairly warm (90F plus) – probably having to due with decreased air density as well. These should be taken as rough approximations at best, with probably a good 10F – 15F leeway. My experiments took into account cold starting, warm starting, carb needle adjustments (not being fully lean or rich), and general driveability for both in town and open road conditions. When you have the TC’s in the pan on the stove, keep a close eye on the water temp. If you need to adjust them, and you will, simply take them out of the water, run some cold tap water over them to cool them down, make the adjustment and put them back in the pan. They react very fast. To make the TC’s open at a higher temperature, tighten the adjusting nut – about a 1/2 turn at a time. Most importantly you want the TC’s to be balanced, i.e. open and close together at the same temperature. After they are adjusted, put a drop of loctite on the exposed threads of the adjusting nut to keep the nut from moving. Don’t move the nut, the loctite will ‘seep’ down into the nut enough to hold it. Also, check to make sure that the rubber sealing ring in the carburettor body that the nose of the TC’s press up against is indeed there and in good shape. Same for the O-ring that goes around the ‘snout’ of the TC’s and presses up against the outside of the carb body. If any of these are missing or cracked you will end up with a major air leak. Some symptoms I have observed from not having enough bypass air is generally good driveability when cold and poor driveability when warm (if EVERYTHING else is in working order – ignition, timing, compression, etc) . Also overly rich mixture only when warm, difficult warm starting and needle mixture adjustment ineffective only when warm. I also had the opportunity to test two brand new, unopened NOS TC’s that I came across. The two TC’s opening/closing characteristics closely approximated my revised findings, however I was suprised (although not very) to observe a 20F – 25F variance in the opening/closing characteristics of these two TC’s. Production tolerance? However, based upon my testing, I believe that the most important operating parameter when dealing with TC’s on a multi carb engine is to balance the opening/closing temps and not the absolute temp that the TC’s open or close. Several performance articles I have read said to leave the TC’s intact as they are necessary for the correct operation of the carburettors. I believe it, as I tried sealing off the TC’s and ended up with driveability and hesitation problems on my TR when it was warm. After making the above adjustments, my TR has never run better. But remember, your mileage may vary! Good Luck