daverclasper

Thanks for getting back Pete. Sorry, but not sure what you meant by "yes". I am getting it wrong, or yes there are nipple access problems with some UJ's. If so,are the castings a different size/shape?. When my blanking plug was out, looking into the hole it was all spotless inside, like it had never been greased!. Cheers, Dave

Hi everyone Vitesse Mk1 2Litre Having a problem getting enough clearance between the yolk and the other part of UJ to fit a long (1 1/8") grease nipple at 90 degrees to be able to screw it in. Have raised the axle up and this almost gave enough clearance, but not quite. Am I doing something wrong please. Cheers, Dave

Cheers Pete Do the long ones need a deep reach socket to fit, or is there enough access for a spanner, do you know please. Cheers, dave

Hi everyone Vitesse Mk1 2Litre My prop shaft and Half shaft UJ's currently have different types of blanking plug fitted (allen key head and flat blade screwdriver head types). I understand they could be metric or imperial. Does anyone know any of the possible different thread sizes/types so I can order one of each (I'm not experienced enough to determine different thread types) and who may supply them. Also is the longer grease nipple type easier to fit and grease in UJ's. Any advice much appreciated. Cheers, Dave

I have just bought my second cover from Classic additions today (ultimate semi fit small for Vitesse). my 1st one is on it's 3rd winter, on the car permanently and started to leak a bit in this wet winter, before this 100% waterproof. I think it's UV light that's deteriorates them mainly. Its breathable to a point, but I think there will always be some condensation with car covers if the the air outside is damp. They gave me a trade discount today as a previous customer (£30 off) and it cost me £140 delivered. I leave the windows down a bit and the boot opened a bit, resting on the handle. Has not been damp in these areas. The car is parked on the street, up on the kerb, so this helps with air circulation, as does having lengths of foam lagging for 22mm water pipes running and extending. along the roof and also on the bonnet. Hope this helps. cheers, Dave

Thanks Guys. I seem to remember reading about welding a 5/6mm section into the pushrod to extend it. Would this work, or also unbalance the see saw leverage do you know. will try a re-bleed first. Cheers, Dave

Hi and thanks so much for getting back. There was wear on the brake pedal hole/clevis pin where it joins MC. I replaced the clevis pin (I haven't got facilities to weld hole/re drill or weld washers on). MC and SC were rebuilt recently with seals from rarebits I think . There is some play in MC push rod when at rest. Would it be worth bringing the SC forward even more with longer spacers to compensate for wear/Shorter clutch bearing, do you think. Also re bleed system. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Aidan Dhooo. Sorry, I meant to say it is in the top hole. Cheers, Dave

Hi everyone Triumph Vitesse Mk1 2Litre. Sometime back I moved my clutch slave cylinder forward with spacers by about 6mm, as going into reverse was grinding sometimes and intermittent balking into first. Also clutch was starting to disengage very close to floor. This has helped a lot with reverse, though first still balking intermittently. If I pump the clutch, it seems to go in more smoothly. As far as I know the clutch system was properly bled a while back (bleed nipple is in the lower hole and and system bled with push rod extended and finally by pushing push rod back in to expel any remaining air in slave cylinder) and also car was raised at the rear. Could this be an actual clutch problem that is temporarily helped by pumping the pedal even if no air in system. The gearbox was rebuilt by Mike Papworth recently, including remote bushes etc. Any advice as always much appreciated. Cheers Dave

Cheers guys. Its a sort of cheap experiment with these carbs to see if car will run a bit better.. I've built up the worn spindles (the ones on the car are also worn) with JB weld and flatted down, now only small amount of play and made up gaskets out of gasket card. I will use my current carb diaphragms, lifting pistons and jets/needles as car runs well and good mileage on runs, though apart from uneven idle and maybe the plugs are a bit too sooty when driving in the city I live. cheers, Dave

Sorry I meant to say "Throttle stop on left OF rear carb"

Cheers Pete that's great. Very useful info and not in any manuals. Some thing else I noticed with these carbs that were bought with no history. Looking at the carbs from the air filter side. The Throttle lifter cable plate (sort of double L shaped) is at the right hand of front carb, as is the throttle stop (as shown in Haynes Vitesse manual) and the rear carb throttle spindle is not threaded on the left, unlike my current carbs with the throttle lifter accommodated here and also the throttle stop on left or rear carb (and as shown in the factory manual). Would a longer throttle cable to the front carb to sort this be ok. Hope this makes some sense. Cheers, Dave

Seasons greetings and all that to everyone. Vitesse Mk1 2Litre. Just reconditioning twin Stromberg 150 CD carbs. Setting the float height to 18mm, the other plastic float side/half on each carb is about 17mm. Is this acceptable, or should I try and bend other side a bit to match. Any advice much appreciated. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Pete Will investigate. Are you able to explain what a shimmy is please?. Cheers, Dave

Hi everyone. Vitesse Mk1 2Litre. I have scraped all the very thick oldish schutz off my chassis and underbody (horribly dirty, time consuming job) to see what's going on there. (surface rust, but no rot). The car is now much more noisy over rough roads/bumps etc as maybe expected. Just wondering what may be sort of normal , or if I can improve this without the shultz route. The wishbone/vertical link and other suspension bushes have not been replaced for years as far as I know and look like the black rubber variety. Car has had no MOT issues with these areas since owning it 2 years ago. Any ideas of what I can do to disguise/eliminate this, without spending a fortune. Cheers, Dave

Hi Pete, sorry about this getting long winded. It's just that when I greased the nipple on the telescopic slide, grease seem to exit from the uj yolk bearing/journals and nowhere else that I could see (so maybe uj now greased anyway?). I was just wondering therefore if the sliding joint was getting enough/any grease and assumed this could be separated/stripped to check without interfering with the uj journals. Apologies if I'm not getting it. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Pete I guess a stripdown and regrease would be a good idea. If I leave it and sliding joint gets wear, then it may not just be a case of new SJ/UJ as propshaft may end up out of balance do you think?. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Pete Where would old/excess grease normally exit from the sliding joint, do you know please. cheers, Dave

Hi everyone Vitesse with J Type Overdrive and shorter prop shaft. There is a grease nipple forward of the prop shaft universal joint. I thought this may be to grease the sliding joint, though when greased the grease appeared to exit through the UJ bearings. Any advice on this much appreciated. Cheers, Dave

Hi everyone Wondering what are the main causes of cars (especially classics) catching fire and any preventative/emergency measures please. Cheers, Dave

Hi Can anyone advise me of the likely causes of half shaft failure/damage and any avoidance measures. Cheers, Dave

Hi Andy. Glad you sorted it in the end (and a good learning curve on all the possible aspects of the problem I imagine). Just out of interest, does moisture/condensation tend to settle at bottom of tank, underneath petrol do you know ?. Cheers Dave

Not sure exactly what this joint is. Would the use of a gas heat if no rubber seals etc part of it, (then spray with water) to crack the rust help. Undone many rusted fixings like this. Maybe have to try it a few times. Also ptfe tape that plumbers use is good for sealing threaded joints. Dave

Hi Yes. Clean out the crud with carb cleaner/petrol. There is something? ,at back end inside that needs to make a clacking noise if you shake the solonoid. Also you can check solonoid direct from battery when off. The end moves out maybe a couple of mm. If you muller the circlip and also want to replace the O rings as they get hard (2 small for plunger,1 I think for main body) then Dave Twigger at O/D spares Rugby is a good source and helpfull with advice. I had proplems with J type not engaging/disengaging and also engaging when disconnected !. He advised doing solonoid as above (which may be enough to sort yours out) and also changing o rings in pressure relief valve (fidley job). Buckeye Triumph have very good info on these jobs online. I wouldn't attempt it without reading this first. Also need a tool to remove the plugs for filter, Pressure relief valve, and pump which are accessed above the sump. some people make them up, but I used a punch to undo them. I did this from under car) O/D worked fine after this. Hope this helps, Dave

Have been using a powerspark for a few months on vitesse with no problems so far . cheers, Dave