johny

This is a spitfire so were there various flywheels used for those?

The clutch bearing can rattle until used but its far quieter than a worn gearbox☹️

What power and torque are you making, anywhere near factory?

That would do it but still worth doing the test out of interest. Even if good at least you know what it should do if theres a problem in the future👍

Are you sure youre getting every horse out of your existing set up Pete?

Yes theres a set bleeding procedure in the manual to try to work the air out of system otherwise it could be pushed from one place to another. However I would find the leak first as no point bleeding everything only to have to replace something and do it all again👍

If its not air in the system (have you bled the rears as well?) then the master cylinder can be knackered. If you look in the workshop manual you can see it has two seals. As you start to press the pedal the first seal closes the hole to the reservoir and then the piston with its seal can start to pressurise the cylinder and operate the brakes. If the first seal wears it can take several pumps before it closes the hole well enough to allow pressure build up. You can check this by watching the level in the reservoir carefully. If it goes up as you push slowly on a soft pedal then thats your problem...

But the fluid level should never go down no matter how long its left, its a sealed system so somewhere there must be a sign of where it came out as it doesnt evaporate. It might be very slow loss but it could quickly get worse😳 Have you got a servo fitted?

But doesnt the spacer move the bendix gear closer not further away😩

Well to lose fluid there must be a leak. Most likely are drum slave cylinders and the master. The former will be easy to see when the drums are removed while the latter can be more difficult as the fluid runs down inside the car and disappears in the carpet. Find the reason before driving the car again!

It could be the valves in the pump not sealing properly or it could be air getting in somewhere in the suction pipework from the tank. When you have fuel through disconnect the carb pipe so it can discharge into a container. Also disconnect coil and spin engine on starter to confirm that fuel squirts out in good pulses...

Also you dont know the extent of the wear although noise level must be an indication. You could have damage to both mainshaft tip and laygear and this is expensive...

Yes you can have a long or short rod, move the slave in and out but the pedal and master will stay exactly the same so when you press it the same amount of fluid as always is moved to give exactly the same bite point....

Does it make much difference? A hydraulic system always takes up any freeplay so the pedal always acts the same whatever you do as long as you dont get to the end of travel of either master or slave of course...

I think theres always going to be some noise in those as youre driving through gears while 4th is direct. Luckily the torque allows for very early use of top gear😁

Its true there is a protection diode in the WSM diagram (item D) or even the zener diode but neither go to earth as looks to be the case in the photo...

Probably best if suppression not needed as capacitors can go short circuit😳

Oh well interesting job. Will you get a selection of shims at the same time as the bearings?

Is it that the leather seals dry out and lose their flexibility because to me they look like they offer a greater surface contact area than modern lip seals?

Hee hee no Im saying John I checked my timing with a strobe using no1 spark lead and then did the same using lead 6. The spark for each was coming at slightly different marks on the pulley - if the electronic ignition trigger was accurate they would be the same😁

Think Ive said before but I tested my accuspark timing on cylinder six as its uses same TDC mark and it was a couple of degrees different☹️

Theres a vast range of belt sizes practically down to a few millimeter between each, although of course youve got to find them...

No youre ok the thing you musnt do is disconnect the battery while running👍

Spin pump and alternator by hand to see if one feels rough? And from Fireflys comment run the engine normally but with the alternator electrics disconnected to remove any electrical load from it?

I know theres two different sizes of front seal depending on the diff. Then theres modern rubber lip seals or old leather type which might only be available as old stock. Ive got a feeling the latter might be best but probably more difficult to get hold of. If using the newer type its important the surface it runs on isnt grooved or if it is the replacement seal lip is adjusted so it doesnt run in the same place....