Nortonius

Message sent to Clive, thank you!

Thanks Pete. I'm using 97 fuel. Maybe it is pinking, I'll try retarding the timing a bit this evening, using the strobe, as I don't trust myself doing this by turning the distributor alone. Talk of clutch clatter is interesting... I'm based in Brighton.

Good to hear you like the Aldon, as I'd not heard of that one before – I've been out of the loop for about a decade. The car has a 12v coil and no sign of a ballast resistor (where would it be? I know where it is on a Norton Commando, right next to the coils...) so I got the version for no ballast. I confess I routinely stick electronic ignition on any old vehicle that comes my way, having had quite enough in my time of things like dodgy old condensers etc. But I felt a bit stumped on the Herald, as there's no provision for strobe timing – ye gods, thought I, even 1960s BSAs had that... Anyway, my hearing's rubbish, even with hearing aids, hence the time it took for my brain to isolate the rattling sound. More relevant, I'm not sure I'd be able to identify pinking from inside the car even if it were happening, although obviously that's what the rattle could be. I tried turning the distributor and then back a tad as you describe, but the car started kangarooing and the strobe showed it was waaay too advanced. Anyway I'll try retarding it a tad. I'm getting the feeling that the best way forward here would be to hook up with someone who knows the Herald well and has decent hearing, and take them for a spin...! Rattle & thrum...

Thanks Doug, what you say about the prop makes sense. I'll try swapping the wheels around when I can. The tyres all look good. About pinking, I feel as though I've done my best with the ignition timing: I've installed Aldon electronic ignition, and timed it at tick-over via a strobe on a white dot on the crankshaft pulley, which I added per the owner's handbook. A quick question before I start fiddling with the timing again: can pinking occur in a cold engine? I get the rattle when slipping the clutch to get out of my parking space at home, where the camber into the kerb is fairly steep, and when the engine has only been running for a minute or so.

Hi, When I got my 13/60 a couple of months ago, I noticed that a 'thrumming' noise came in at about 35 mph and faded around 50 mph. My first thought was wheel balancing, although any vibration that I thought might be related was minimal. In fact, on the whole, there's very little vibration to be felt while driving. I had the wheels balanced off the car – no-one around my way does it on-car – and the chap said the balancing had been way out. That the new balancing was very different to the old was easily confirmed by a quick visual check. But the noise persists. As I grew more familiar with the car, I also noticed a light rattle when engaging the clutch, and a similar sound – maybe the same one – when opening the throttle at speed: it sounds like rattling a paint aerosol, or indeed shot small ends, although I'm pretty sure it's not the latter as things are nice and quiet at lower speeds, whatever the revs. I've no idea what the rattle might be, but I'm afraid that the thrumming might be something like an out-of-balance prop shaft. All I know is that my old 1200 made no such noises. Any thoughts? Cheers.

Interesting... The kit I got was about half the price wanted by Rimmer's, where I didn't actually look, I just followed a tip I saw for a 'carb specialist', possibly somewhere in this forum. Maybe the lower price explains it, even though it came in a nice, new Zenith box... I think in future I'll just order bit by bit, it'll still be cheaper! Thanks again.

Thanks Pete – there's no O-ring on mine, but there was an 'extra' one about that size in the Zenith service kit I got recently – fortunately my needle's fixed and the jet adjusts as you say, so I'll leave it alone. That reminds me though, I got the Zenith kit because the O-rings on the jet screw and jet assembly had failed – the one on the jet screw came to pieces as I removed it, so probably was original – but the kit seemed a bit odd. Besides a new jet and other bits and bobs it included nice, shiny new screws for the carb top, but no metering needle! What?! The old screws were fine, but no needle?! And I'd found that my metering needle was bent...! So I ordered a new one from one of the usual suspects. Is this normal, or should I get onto Burlen/Zenith about their service kits?

True dat, about the censor bot... Search Wikipedia for the said term, it's there!

I'm sure I've seen somewhere that 20 grade oil is hard to come by. I had a bottle of 20 grade fork oil for a motorbike knocking around when I got my 13/60, so I used that, it seemed ideal since it largely serves to damp the forks – unless anyone knows better. Otherwise, if 20 grade can't be found, go to a motorbike shop. Mind you, every time I look in the top of the carb the oil needs topping up – foggy though things still are, I've been very busy going over everything I can think of or reasonably get at on this 46-year-old car, so I've fiddled with the carb a lot. I've tried removing and installing the damper super-slowly but it doesn't seem to make any difference to how much oil is left in there. I thought that about the air filter and the mixture too, but assumed Triumph thought it'd be ok... Did early versions of the CD150 not have that spring-loaded pin, maybe, so the only way to lift the air valve was to get in there with a tool...?

...and I see that there are used Wanners on ebay. I'll have one last go with my own side-lever grease gun, because I've found the steel delivery tube, which I'd forgotten I had! That should give a better grip on things, I'll have fitted the flexible hose for somewhere awkward on a bike. Molybdenum, eh... There's a thought.

Ok, so no spring for the 13/60 – the diaphragm retainer did seem a bit heavy when I had most of the carb apart. Yes, it occurred to me to keep the air filter on when playing with the spring-loaded pin: it suddenly struck me that it was a much more grown-up way of checking the mixture than sticking a screwdriver or heaven knows what else into the carb to lift the air valve! I couldn't quite believe it when I first read that, it seemed an insane invitation to destroy the engine! Maybe I'm just more at home with Amal bike carbs, where the cable pulls directly on the throttle slide, and there is a coil spring... Yet the manuals don't mention the pin! Hey ho. Thanks again Pete!

I was just perusing Triumph's owner's handbook for my 13/60 whilst trying to get the hang of the ignition timing process – sorry, I've only had the car since early August, and stuff like this is still a bit foggy for me. Anyway, I turned a page and noticed that the diagrams for the carburettor include a 'coil spring' between the top cover and the diaphragm/air valve (Fig. 95, p. 56, item 15 in the owner's handbook, if you have a copy). I'm guessing the diagrams are generic for the CD150, in that the carb was used for different applications, so maybe some had this coil spring and some didn't. Point is, mine doesn't. Should it? While I'm here, none of the manuals seem to mention the 'spring-loaded pin' that lurks below the top of the carb, that can be used to check the mixture: am I right in thinking this only wants a light touch when in use, rather than being pushed up as far as it'll go? The same diagrams seem to show that its head actually pushes against the air valve when it's lifted. TIA

Perfect, a pack is on its way to me now – thanks Mr Lewis!

Thanks for the tip. Yes, rude tools. I wonder if I've got any of those dust covers in my bleeding kit... I'll be using that when it's not raining, and I'll have another go with the grease. Thanks for your time everyone.

dougbgt6, since you mentioned it, how do you cover your nipples? With bleed nipple dust covers or...? (It's hardly our fault if they're called nipples!)

I do *try* to get the angle right. Maybe I should just bar myself from nipple duty. Or just grow a third arm/hand for a steadier grip.

Har-de-har! I just tried brand new nipples on the rear hubs but no... Grease everywhere but into the nipple. I asked a well-known supplier about dust caps, they said no. What do you use, the same as for the hydraulic bleed nipples or...?

A Wanner like this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-WANNER-OIL-GUN-Direct-From-Myford/120889885221 Wow, pricey indeed at £75. I've never yet found a grease/oil gun that actually got anything past the ball valve in the nipple, including a gun much the same as the shop one, so I've used the top-up routine. But if there's anything affordable that someone swears by I'd love to know!

Those UUC mounts look good, and given the juddering I'm getting at the moment I like the sound of the 'Transmission Mount Enforcers' too! Though the TMEs would probably be overkill on my humble 13/60... I suppose I'll just use what I'm sent by the usual suspects, unless something like the UUC mounts is available in the UK...? Cheers.

Ah great, thanks both for the replies! For some reason I didn't get any email notification this time – I'll get my ½" spanner out then! I'll be interested to see what new gearbox mounts look like too... Cheers!

Hi, My Herald 13/60 judders when moving off from a standstill, unless I make the effort to rev the engine higher than ought to be necessary and engage the clutch really slowly. Experience with a different, modern car told me to replace the engine mounts. I've done the front ones, which looked about ready to let go, but of course on the Herald the rear ones are in fact gearbox mounts. Can I do this job from inside the car? The manuals aren't clear on this... TIA

Just to say thanks again, new engine mounts now fitted after considerable fiddling and an achey back, but on the whole it was very easy! Cheers, Nortonius

Right, thank you Casper, and again to Darren, I get the picture, very grateful! Cheers, Nortonius