johny

Rimmers supplies them as Doug shows but says in some uses it needs to be taken out of the bezel and presumably fitted using the backing plate that Mack has....

Is it even a rubber seal? I seem to remember its just a hard bit of something as because the caps vented an air tight seal isnt necessary. I certainly would keep it vented as it works in tandem with the PCR valve to correctly draw of fumes to the intake manifold...

Is there much play in the steering wheel side to side? Heres the arrangement with 44 being the contact ring that sits in the top of the outer column so the pencil 48 can slide on it. If the steering wheel boss 46 touches the ring as might happen with an aftermarket steering wheel or worn shaft bushes (41, 42, 43) the horn circuit will be made...

Dont forget the steering wheel hasnt got too much adjustment relative to the outer column because of the indicator self cancelling cam. Pull the wheel and inner shaft out too much and your indicators will stay on after completing a turn☹️

Yes the Ford type 9 five speed gearbox from Capris and Sierras was a conversion that was available but they are hard to find now. It was stronger and of course effectively had overdrive but again the ratios available werent great. We have quite an unusual beast with the six cylinder cars in that theres high torque but relatively low weight (the Vitesse was advertised as out accelerating the E type up to 30mph) so if 1st gear isnt going to be useless it requires a close ratio gearbox...

A photo or two of the steering wheel and its lack of pencil would be useful as its hard to think how the horn could work without it...

Yes thats the gearbox Triumph should have fitted but its a lot bigger, especially with OD, and also its ratios are quite different☹️

Certainly worth a look underneath, a good inspection, check tightness of all bolts and feel for play in UJs and all suspension bushes with a lever. This is also to be recommended as a routine maintenance check👍

Dont forget you cant grease moderns wheel bearings and it would probably be difficult to even feel their temperature😁

First you could feel the temperature of the drum and wheel bearing housing on each side after a good run. Then get some grease into it to see if that makes any difference. Do one side then the other with test runs inbetween👍

Yes gearbox is sweet enough and not too heavy although if the main case had been aluminium as well it would have been a featherweight but having to deal with the torque of the long stroke 6 really is pushing it😒

Ah youve hit on our cars weakest point! The gearbox was originally used in the 948 herald (and maybe something before that?) and although uprated in some aspects it was kept during the whole production time. This was mainly because of lack of room in the separate chassis to fit anything stronger and you only have to look at it to see its undersized! Oil level is critical but also its life can be extended by not having overdrive and minimising time spent accelerating in 1, 2 and 3 gears....

oh you had to go and spoil it didnt you!

Oh and does it feel faster with a Maserati filter?

Brilliant I'll be doing the same when Ive finished off my supply of standard spin ons...

Surely that one would allow the 'drain' current to flow so not improving the situation😭

But theres no measureable external leakage current🤪

Well if no external leakage that only leaves internal and a duff battery Im afraid.....

Strange, wonder if the meter is ok. With it connected in series to the battery, on opening a door you should see a reading when the interior light comes on?

Yes I did wonder if a PO has adjusted the screen to allow the soft top to fit😩

Could adjusting the screen angle also affect how the soft top still fits?

All this could be clarified very quickly by setting the multimeter to the highest DC amp scale (maybe changing lead positions on it) and, with the ignition off, connecting the meter between a battery terminal and its disconnected lead. You dont have to touch anything else to see if theres a drain current showing - please put us out of our misery Mike!

I think it would certainly need quite a whack as the front plate is reinforced by the 90º lip it has top and bottom plus the braces each side so might not bend in the place you want😲 Isnt there more than one design of plate so is this one different to the original? As a last resort perhaps some metal could be ground off the contact point...

Yes mine is slightly out although I dont think the plate is bent and I always assumed the threaded mounting stud had been welded a bit off. It still bolts up and theres no contact with the chassis as in this case. As far as your idea goes Puglet have a look at the manual diagram here. The plate actually fits onto the boss of the casting front face so supporting it and I would be wary about moving the plate away from that...

I think a Dowty would work well if there wasnt the recess round the holes in the rocker box so they might be good for cast alloy aftermarket versions. On the original steel types the recess means the rubber of the seal wouldnt be squashed between two flat surfaces as required...