My sliding joint was at the front but I found this in the manual (see NOTE:) and reversing it certainly improved the smoothness although I subsequently had the prop straightened and balanced. Certainly easier to grease the splines with it at the rear....
Ive just noticed theres something that doesnt add up here. You say this is the damage to the front needle rollers but in the photo that should be the rear of the layshaft. Did you just get mixed up as its normally the rear bearing that suffers most as it takes the highest load from 1st and second gear....
I still go with an oil problem because theres also too much wear for only 5000 miles at the rear of the layshaft and its unlikely to have had missing rollers in both bearings. That or the layshaft wasnt new or if so of very poor hardeness...
The good end of the laygear should be left alone and only the damaged part bored out the minimum necessary to allow a hardened and ground sleeve to be fitted to bring its bore back to the correct size. Theres a modification where longer rollers can be used to spread the load👍
Yes thats really weird! Was the oil port open right from the end of the layshaft to the hole inside the laygear to allow a flow through to lube the rollers?
As for sleeving the laygear I dont think its a simple job. It cant be too big a diameter as that affects the thrust faces at each end of the laygear and then its ID needs to be a very strange size to suit the layshaft plus needle rollers. Effectively the sleeves have to be custom made and then correctly hardened so as to as last...
Definitely mk2 dash and it looks like a combined manual pump and wiper switch going by the knob and the connections to it (plastic pipe and spade connectors). Not sure if that was original on the mk 2 vitesse?
Once more Ive just downloaded the Vitesse/GT6 manual kindly put online here and it seems to have been modified. Has anyone else found sections missing from it now? For example I can no longer see the complete bodywork section 5 for the GT6 although 5V for the Vitesse is included - is it just me?
In the end I find one of the biggest factors is how bright the coolant colour is so you can easily confirm the overflow pipe and bottle (if fitted) are correct...
Its always been said that most oil is drawn in through valve guides on overrun. That is drive, throttle off and then accelerate which, if a puff of smoke is produced, indicates worn valve guides ..
Are you having problems with the dynamo then Martyn? Ive still got mine (25amp max) and it supplies all I need ok but then theres no extra load apart from an electric fan...
One problem I can see straight away is that the splines are different. For cost savings Triumph later went to rolled fine splines for many drives (gearbox, clutch and diff) in place of machined ones. This means you would need the later coupling however I have a feeling theres other issues as well....