Mikeo632

Very nice, looks great! It will be nice to be able to take her out without comingh home feeling like I've had an upper body workout!

Cheers Pete. Got all of the parts from a donor car I bought. Purchased new high & low pressure pipes & new pipework from Chris Witor, so was just anxious about the internal seals. Feedback from Chris is that stripping & replacing seals might be awkward, am tempted to trust in what is already in place, but a part of me thinks it might be sound sense to replace the seals whilst everything is off the car! Mike.

Hi all. I am the proud owner of a 2500TC estate which I am slowly working my way through fixing/updating as I see fit. The latest area for attention is the steering. Currently un assisted, but I have all of the parts required to fit power steering from a slightly later 2500S. Before fitting, it would seem to me to be common sense to replace the seals in the pump & rack, but on investigation, this looks more complex that I had originally hoped. I am reasonably competent, but might have problems if special tools or knowledge are required! My questions are: Has anybody out there rebuilt the rack/pump, & if so, how hard is it? Are specialist tools needed? Does anybody know of anyone out there who undertakes rebuilds (& possible cost??) Or, as the system was working ok on the donor car is it best to leave well alone?? (There is alot of gunk on the pump/rack/cross member, but to the untrained eye it looks like old engine oil, & that it to be expected of a 40 year old car). Any help/advice would be appreciated. Mike.

Thanks all. Will wait for the leather seal to arrive from CW before hacking out the metal ring & replacing the seal. Flanges currently with a friendly engineering firm. Mike.

Sorry Nick, just re-read your post. So, the new bearing should be ok, but I need to replace the oilseal, & it would seem that the one supplied by Rimmers is incorrect as it will not fit within the metal ring? Will order the leather one from CW which should hopefully fit ok. Will talk to Rimmers re the one supplied.

Have replaced the quill shaft bearing with a replacement from Rimmers. There was a reasonable amount of oil that came out of the quill shaft extension when I (a) seprated the diff from the extension when lowering the diff, & (b) when I removed the extension from the car. Is the diff oil supposed to go into the extension or does this mean the front (pinnion?) oilseal on the diff has failed? If so, how do I replace the oil seal? Does the oilseal currently in place just pull out of the casing? As mentioned, the one suppled by Rimmers appears to be of a larger diameter then the one fitted, but is the right part according to Rimmers website.

Hi again. Have now dropped the diff (seperate to extension), removed the extension & replaced the quill bearing. Both driveshaft output flanges appear to have slight leaks, although to be fair, there was so much crud covering the underside of the diff, it could be a real small weep over many many years! But, having got it apart, seems sensible to try to resolve, so have new oilseals from Rimmers. Will try to find somewhere with a press to remove the flanges tomorrow! Have also got a replacement pinion oil seal (Part No 137346) from Rimmers, as oil seemed to be collecting around the quill shaft extension front flange, meaning it was possible that the leak was coming from the front (pinion shaft) oil seal? Possibly supported by the quantity of oil that came out when I seperated the diff from the extension?? According to Rimmers, the part number is correct, however, when I compare the new seal to the current set up in place, it appears too big a diameter. (See pics). The old seal appears to fit inside the metal ring with the number stamped on it, the diameter of the new seal would seem to match the outer of the metal ring with the number stamped on it? Anyone any experience of this? If fitting the new seal means I have to dismantle the diff, then I think I will leave well alone. Mike.

Pete: Once you have 14 or 15" wheels, is the upgrade to Stag calipers/pads/discs a straight swap or do you have to mess with the caliper brackets? M.

Good point, makes sense, thanks. Brakes are good, far better than when I picked the car up & drove home, so all told, a good result me thinks. M.

Thanks for all of your help. I spent a pleasant afternoon removing the servo, splitting the canister & replacing all of the bits. I was very surprised as to how easy removing the servo was, once the underdash shelf was removed, easy access to all the required bits. Shows good thought in design. As suggested, once taken (carefully) apart, most of it was common sense. I found a small split in the diaphragm, hopefully that was the issue. The hardest part was twisting the 2 halves of the canister back together....it won't quite twist as far as it was originally, but I will damage the canister if I'm not carefull. One worry. when taking apart, a pool of what looked like oil came out from the canister, quite a lot actually. I almost had a deep end & shallow end in the canister. Can't see any reason for this, it didn't look or smell like brake fluid, but reckon it must be? The pipe from the manifold to the servo is clean & dry inside. The only thing I can think of is that there has possibly been a problem with the master cylinder in the past, which has been resolved, but the fluid remained in the servo? Any thoughts of anything else I should be looking at before I fire her up? Pics attached. Mike

Anyone know of any articles on how to strip/re-assemble a servo? Mike.

Ok, so have had all wheels balanced, & after a quick drive, the difference is significant! Much smoother, no nasty vibrations at low speed, will check at a higher speed once I have sorted the brake servo! Mike.

Unfortunately the LD servo is a stag item only (nice very helpful guys though!) Quillers don't have, so have bitten the bullit & ordered a service kit for my current servo.

Hi Pete. Tried to call Chris Witor as the "Go-To" option several times this morning, no joy. Hence desperately looking at all other suppliers! Makes it harder with me not having the servo off the car to make direct comparisons. will give them a call, see what they think. Mike.

Hi. Tony: Have checked the pipe from the manifold to server, looks good all round. Pete: Will go for that if they can confirm that the servo shown via that link is the same as mine. The part number I keep coming up with is 518698. They're closed now, but will call them tomorrow! Mike.

Hello all. My 2500 Estate has started hissing at me when I apply the brakes. My thinking is that this will be servo related. Apply brakes, get hissing, release brakes, hissing stops. Noise appears to be coming from drivers footwell area. Also getting a groaning/farting sound from the same area when brakes applied. Brakes initially work ok, but if I hold them on slightly down a hill, peddle becomes hard & braking deminishes/effort to brake increases (loss of vacuum?) If I pump tghe brake a few times with the engine off, then hold down the footbrake when starting, the peddle is hard, doesn't move down at all. Don't want to mess with this due to potential serious problems when driving! Have phoned around, Rimmers can do a servo, £204 incl plus a £100 exchange surcharge, Canley classics can get it rebuilt for £160 incl, but need my servo & it takes 5-6 weeks. Have seen the rebuild kits in the on-line shop. Anyone had any experience of doing this? I've never had a servo apart so have no idea of degree of difficulty or tools required? Anyone any other ideas to help me out?? Mike.

Pete. If I am looking at the Quill shaft bearing, if I disconnect the prop, would there be play in the quill shaft with it in place that would indicate bearing wear, or would I need to take it apart to investigate? Thanks. Mike.

Thanks all for the speedy replies. Following your advice, & starting from the basics, I checked the tyre pressures again, having checked them before setting off from the vendors. The vendors TP guage read mid 20's all round which was ok. Having now checked at home, the TP's were all 10psi down! Correcting that has made a hell of a difference, it now seems happier at 70 than 55. There is still a vibration, but much less so, therefore am having all wheels rebalanced Saturday morning. I still have some doubts that balancing will totally cure, it might be my imagination, but now the TP's are correct, the remaining vibration could be dependent on engine revs. Ie 4th at 60 there is a certain tempo of vibration, engage OD & the tempo reduces? But if I am right in that, it would point to engine rather than diff? Did I imagine it, or did I read somewhere about a vibration damper on the front pulley of the crank? Mike.

Hi all. My recently aquired 2.5TC Estate is a solid but scruffy example in need of TLC. The most urgent problem involves a vibration coming in at about 55mph. Had hoped it was the prop UJ's, but those plus the UJ's on the drive shafts have a very small amount of movement, but nothing I would think of as worrying. There is also a small amount of rotational movement on the driveshaft mid-joints, but again, not a great deal. What there is, is a leak from the diff, & after scraping years worth of crud/oil from the diff & surrounding area, & cleaning with degreaser (how I love that job), it appears to be coming from the nose of the diff. What I think there also might be, is play in the diff. With the car in the air, handbrake on, I can rotate the prop back & forwards with no movement of the driveshafts . Measuring the movement from one of the nuts on the prop flange, I have movement of 7-8mm (Backlash?) Is that normal, or does this seem excessive, & therefore, would it possibly lead to the vibration? Would appreciate thoughts. Mike.

Definitely planning on going tyo Fen Ditton on 4th November!

Ifr I was into namong my cars (which I might be for this one!) I'd have to call her Winnie the Poo, on the account of the colour! Mike.

Hi all, sorry for the recent silence, I've been juggling time. Great advice, which I can really understand.....So much so that part of the juggling enabled me to go & view the 2500TC. Seems like an incredibly honest car, loads of info on line from when it was a Classics Monthly staff car (2016-18). Lots of important work done, found 2 small holes underneath, needs TLC & is scruffy but sound. So I am now the proud owner! Collecting Saturday. Now the fun starts...Is there anyone in the club that would offer an evaluation, to see what needs doing urgently/less urgently/when time allows? Sitting here with a BIG smile! Mike.

Hi Tony. Saw this earlier. Am tempted, especially as it was featured in a classic car mag for a while. Trouble is, I really want either a PI or S, for the performance & gadgets. Possibly being fussy? But really want either if possible.

Hello all. I am a newbie here, so apologies in advance if I have put this into the wrong area of the Forum! My name is Mike Oldham, & I am looking for advice/help regarding buying a Triumph. I currently have a “Modern” estate car which requires no involvement to drive, is seriously over complicated, & which is now starting to cause problems, with error codes & faults that are hard to resolve. To be fair, the car has been good until recently, but current repairs look like they will cost more than the car is worth. Enough is enough! I know my way around cars, & am happy to work on them. I have a passion for classic cars from the 70’s & 80’s, & own a Mk1 Golf GTi which I have owned since new & restored a couple of years ago. I have also built a couple of kitcars in the past, one of which we still have. Sanity has finally prevailed, & now that I am retired(ish), I have decided that I could/should have a classic estate car to replace the “Modern” It would be far more satisfying to drive, but would need to be a realistic proposition for daily use, with room for the wife, & 2 dogs, plus have good support regarding marque knowledge & supply of spares. It also needs to be user friendly to work on! Giving it some thought, the obvious choice would be a Triumph 2.5 estate, either the PI or S, being well equipped, would keep up with modern traffic, cruise on the motorway, be comfortable on long journeys, & they look so right! They are also a car that will carry the 2 dogs, & that my wife would be very happy to be seen in! (Not a point to be underestimated!) Having made the decision & started to investigate, I now find that these seem to be somewhat rare! (Compared to when I last looked a couple of years ago). As said, providing the car is realistically priced, I am not concerned too much about the mechanical side of things, & do not mind if the car is “Cosmetically challenged!” However, I do not want a weld-fest, as my welding skills are not great, & I do not want to go back to college to learn! So, am I being realistic? Will the car perform ok within modern traffic, & be a realistic reliable proposition for day to day use? If so, do they exist?! I had thought that I could perhaps pick up a car that needed some work for perhaps 4k. Do you think that is possible, or am I being silly? Finally (of course), if I am being realistic, does anybody know of such a car that could be for sale? Mike.