Rockape

Thanks ….the trouble is the grease is a lot more viscous than the oil - so just a push-fit with the end of the oil can is not going to develop enough pressure to remove the grease…. I don’t see any alternative to removal, degreasing on the bench and then replacement…hence my other question…is it worth the hassle?🤷‍♂️🤔

It looks like PO fitted new trunnions - but it also seems he packed them with grease…… so - given I do very few miles in the car, do I need to get the grease out - if so, how? Or just leave well alone? photo shows grease nipple removed….

At speed? What is this of which you speak !!! And yes - will look at the guide pieces.

Chaps. the window on the drivers side is a long way from the newly installed door seal (1cm+ at the top) the only adjustment I can see is to slacken the top pair of retaining bolts, remove and install a spacer in the lower pair of bolts shown in the drawings and then tighten all four. This should push the guides slightly towards the seal at the top. photos show my door with the card off (surprisingly easy to do - and now I know I need a new handle!) anyone done this and have any feedback before I make a complete horlicks of it?

Thanks. If you can manage to do that it will give me something to compare with. I have a Haynes manual so I probably need to have a closer look at the diagram - it never occurred to me that there could be a missing spring. i will disconnect the choke cable and test the return free of that and see what happens.

My engine starts pretty well on full choke and a couple of dabs on the throttle. Ease the choke in - so far so good. But on pushing the choke knob fully home, the choke actually stays half open. Occasionally, pulling the knob out and then giving it a firm push home gets it to seat (but runs the risk of not being able to “catch it” with the throttle) with the bonnet up, I can see the end of the throttle cable comes out of the socket - but there is no clamp mechanism. Which seems odd. when operating the choke manually with the bonnet up, there is a definite “click” as the choke goes past approximately 25% open. But this is not repeatable - sometimes it closes smoothly. i had thought the issue was that the bowden cable had come out of the socket (see photo) but I am not convinced. Any suggestions welcome…

Have fitted new roof lining and rubbers to the hard top. Looks great. but the passenger and especially drivers door glass when up is nowhere near touching the door seal. I believe there is a way to adjust the angle of the glass with shims. has anyone done this? Any tips? Are the shims a thing? Or just anything you can find in the workshop ? thanks

So - just noticed that one of the nuts on the exhaust manifold was finger tight. couldn’t find a torque setting in the Haynes manual for this fastener. But then again the dimensions of the casting would appear to prevent any regular socket being used. what to do?

Thinking about the coming winter period. Not much opportunity to drive the car, salt on the roads etc. I am thinking i could jack the car up and lower the chassis onto some large wooden blocks to take the weight off the wheels. Does anyone else do this? cheers

Yup - got it cleaned up fine. seeing as that component is running in oil, it’s a bit of a puzzle how it could happen ! But the recovered pinion is fine…

I thought I would post a wee update…. the build-up of melt material easily separated from the rest of the unit, with the back end sliding off. I now know why I can’t withdraw the pinion - molten plastic on the shaft! This thing got pretty hot at some point in it’s life! i will try to recover the pinion as a spare, and have ordered the o-rings and seal to rebuild the other one. !

Thanks. And this could help explain the oil drip as well - the first O ring is probably not doing much work…..

Clarity is starting to break-out. the central disc in the removed unit actually rotates - so the extraneous material I can see is certainly melted plastic/nylon. this also explains why I can’t withdraw the pinion and shaft - the disc in the middle is stopping this. so - do I just replace the o rings and re-install (assuming the melt damage is old) or try to install the “spare” which has a different design without the central rotating bit. if i go that route - how do you remove the bushing at the end (assuming I can get a spare that is!

Yes - the colour and feel is exactly like the rest if the unit.

Thanks all -got the drive out - a very small amount of leverage on the end moulding and it came out fairly easily with no damage… but of course - there is a surprise. I happen to have a spare drive head and can see the moulding in the middle is quite different - and in the one I have just removed, it almost looks as though there has been something either glued in, or perhaps melted? the attached photos show the “clean” spare next to the one I have taken out. thoughts? question on the O Rings - Is there a specific part for these, or do I just use one from the generic O ring box?

Right. Finally got round to getting the tunnel cover off to try to fix the oil drip from the speedo. Have removed the stud bolt, and the cable so now the drive unit should withdraw except it doesnt….. i assume its tight because of the O rings? So just keep working it out without twisting? Or is there something obvious I am missing here?

What’s the recommended oil ?

I have nipples on the front trunnions. how do you get oil in them?

And then there is this … Strictly speaking, Teflon tape is not a thread sealant (Fig. 1). The tape may have the effect of clogging the thread path, but it does not actually adhere to surfaces as a true sealant should. During installation, the tape must be carefully wrapped in the direction of the threads or it unravels and tears. i know when I did my training as an Instrument Technician it was frowned on to try to cure leaks with this stuff… but - as you say - if the leak has stopped , the job’s a goodun !

PTFE tape is a thread lubricant, rather than a sealant. I know sometimes it can work, but that’s not really the intent of it. and - i already tried that ….drip, drip, drip!!!!

Just had a look at my Dif on the Mk3 Spitfire - which has a drain plug ! Pretty sure it’s not a home-made job…… so who knows what the rear end might be !! going to apply Loctite to my gearbox drain plug to try to stop a small drip - will any type do in that service?

What size nipples and plugs (?) do i need to buy for a Spitfire mk3? Will I need to get a specific size grease gun ? thanks

Right ho…. am now the proud possessor of a pair of CJ Autos ramp jacks (jack ramps? - whatever) so now I can get underneath really easily and quickly. Applied the talc powder yesterday and had a look this morning…. found a few bolts loose - engine oil sump mainly - so got those tightened up the gearbox oil leak seems to be mainly from the speedo cable entry. I happen to have a spare and it seems the seals are a pair of “O” rings around the barrel - so in principle tightening the ferrule won’t make any difference - the answer is to probably remove the speedo connection, replace the seals and re-install. tricky getting fingers onto that ferrule though….carpets out ?? does the hive-mind have any thoughts on this? cheers

Triumph Spitfire Planning to use the CJ Autos jack-ramps - so should be fine at 15” elevation at the wheel. I was thinking about 30% incline would be fine - on my axle stands it looked just like a reasonable incline hill. but there must be a limit at some point point - there are various fluids in the car - battery, brakes, clutch, water, petrol in the carbs etc….. anyway - its just a theoretical problem I guess….

Right - today’s stupid question When jacking up the front (or rear) of the car, and putting onto axle stands, what is the maximum inclination you can go to? Is there an “angle of attack” that will start to do harm - fluids in the wrong place for example?