Iain T

I had one of the first E30 325i and complained of an engine vibration at 2500rpm and only noticeable because everything else was so smooth. Eventually after the year warranty was up and the BMW dealer fed up with me complaining they admitted BMW had a recall due to a faulty oil pump. However as it was now out of warranty and they had no 'official' record of my complaints I had to pay £900 before they would let me have my car back. Then the fight with BMW UK started! I bought and Audi next.. However once fixed the 325 was a lovely car. I have to admit Triumph could only dream of making a car that good. Iain

I've had many BMW's and think the best of the bunch was the E90 coupe and much better than my current bloated 4 series coupe. I was getting a tad frustrated with my Vitesse but since the diff issues have been solved it's renewed our love hate relationship. Iain

I hope it goes to a good home and don't forget to mention joining the TSSC! Will you be looking for another classic car? Iain

Sorry Dave it's in my nature to hunt for perfection. I've cut down the springs two more coils and now 170g at 53mm. Definitely better as I seem to be near the crossover point of air speed vs needle taper. At 200g the spring was holding the air piston down and yes increasing air speed but at certain conditions not allowing the needle taper to let in enough petrol. However sorted the timing and noisy diff😁 Iain

I think the short bolts had thin star washers which didn't work as half were hand tight. On my installation there is very little clearance to some small cap head bolts. Hardy's solution was to cut a longer thread to stop bottoming out and loctite them in. Perhaps Nord lock washers may work but there is only 3mm or so clearance. Iain

The spring spacer hasn't been modified, I think it's a 1/2". By initially rotating the diff up it would have altered the angle of the upright. Iain PS I looked at the drawing and can't see how the above can actually change anything apart from cause a lot of unwanted tension in the hub, spring and bushes. Perhaps releasing that tension has allowed everything to move correctly?

Old short driveshaft bolt and new one.

Peter, my diff assembly was previously altered by removing the bush cups on the upper face of the carrier and rewelded to the bottom face. The bushes were rotated to suit with the cone on the bottom. By doing so it raised the carrier and therefore the diff nose above horizontal to make it more parallel to the slightly downward facing gearbox. However it does then alter the angle of the transverse spring and I assume the geometry of the rear suspension. This was done in an attempt to rectify an excessive driveline vibration at 50+mph which made the car almost unusable but didn't correct the problem. I solved the vibration by correctly locating the bellhousing using the 3/8" odd larger size bolt but the harshness still existed in the driveline and the diff leaked hence the trip to Hardy's. On inspection Hardy's advised to put it all back as designed and see how it drives. They also found half the drive shaft bolts were barely finger tight. Note I have a cv joint conversion. Also the diff rear bushes were in poor condition. So Hardy's installed a reconditioned diff with a standard carrier, my old front bushes which they said were in good condition and new rear bushes. Therefore the suspension geometry is now apart from my spring spacer as per standard Triumph design. On inspection yesterday it looks as though both diff and gearbox are pointing down but with very little angle on each UJ. However they are not parallel as the boffins advise. I can only assume that the slightly reduced angle between from the gb/prop and prop/diff is possibly more important than getting the diff and gb parallel?? Having said that it could also be the correctly tightened and lengthened Loctited in driveshaft bolts and new rear bushes. Note Hardy's said my old crown wheel and pinion blued up the same as the recon unit. As I said the end result is finally after 7 years I have a lovely smooth and quiet driveline interrupted only by the wheelbarrow exhaust and lots of wind noise from both ill fitting door glass! As to the rear end it seems more compliant and the only thing that has changed is the transverse spring angle that's bolted to the top of the diff. If I had to guess the diff has rotated anticlockwise 5 or so degrees. Even Hardy's said on their test drive what a lovely car to drive and I agree! Iain

Collected the car from Hardy Eng and it's transformed 😁. Gone is the harsh vibration under load and deceleration. The rumbling noise has gone and due to the spring now being in the correct angle the suspension seems more compliant. It really was a joy to drive and at last I can use those smooth 6 pot revs! Although both diff and gb are pointing very slightly down it hasn't caused any vibrations I can detect. If it's dry I'll go for another drive tomorrow. I can thoroughly recommend Hardy's. Iain

That's how my friend made the steel flared arches for his Sebring MGB V8. Fibre glass reverse off his wrecked Sebring then concrete male hammerform. Iain

Yes!! Although rewarding there comes a time if you can to call time. Happy retirement🍻

Worrying is my natural state! At work my wife and I were known as Mr Worry and Mrs Careful. I spent 4 decades worrying about sales, profit and keeping the workforce happy..... Retirement is bliss! 😃

I have a T9 box and the rubber mount is new. The rear can't be raised any further or the prop will be in the cabin,..! Mounts and droops 😂 oh yes....

To raise the nose of the diff above the horizontal as the gb points down and good driveline geometry for ujs says both units should be near parallel and prop to gb and diff angle 0.5 to 3 degrees. The theory is fine but does it work on our cars? Certainly having both gb and diff pointing down is not ideal for a uj prop. Iain

I bought a used Vitesse air box to do just that and a cone filter to fit on the end of the tube. I thought to not use my K&N filters inside to restrict flow. It's all a bit tight for room! I think my cone has a 70mm ish fitting and good for around 250bhp... Iain

Hardy's have the diff out and can now see how the nose has been made to point up. The carrier bush cups have been removed from the top and welded on the bottom thereby raising the nose. Also some of the bolts to the cv driveshafts were loose and too short! Now I know what the occasion clonk was and rumbly back end. It's all going back as Triumph intended with a reconditioned diff and carrier and hopefully no leaks and a nice smooth quiet rear end🤞. Iain

I used an old bolt and wrapped tape around it until it was a tight fit. A 2lb hammer did the trick but don't wear your best overalls! Iain

I have an annoying tick at around 60+mph. I've tracked down most culprits and now think it is speedo or cable related. The speedo is stable so I'll unscrew the cable at the dizzy and see. Iain

Does the sound vary with engine revs or road speed?

Be creative and rename organ pipes or xxxxl size bagpipes 😂 Honestly I do think that by now the situation would have stabilised and common sense prevail......good luck! Iain

Colin, out of interest I've put any old area postcodes in for both you and Eric on DHL for car parts and it seems as though you might be able to send from no man's land to UK mainland. Iain

That's me!!! 😂😂

I don't have enough knowledge to comment but Hardy's have a good reputation so I'm taking their advice and opening my wallet!

More like paying for it. The diff was supposed to have been refurbished by the POs restoration company but yet again this may not be the case. This is hopefully the last whirly bit to sort out then just enjoy driving it until........ Iain

Had a look at Hardy's and my diff nose is pointing up ! The front mounts have already been cut down. The diff has to come out as there is excessive backlash and the rear bushes look shot. Should know more next week. Iain