Waynebaby

I'm afraid so Shaun, You should have a spring to help keep the fork on the pivot pin. Wayne

Hi, I didn't get around to greasing the joint as it turns out I didn't have the correct grease nipple (it seems to be a different thread to those used on the UJs) As the joint slides easily enough and there is no obvious wear I think I'll leave it alone. I spoke to Mike Papworth about it and he made a useful observation, which was to make sure you only greased the SJ with the slide compressed. If you pump grease in with the sliding joint extended and then compress the joint there is a risk of blowing the cork seal. Wayne

Cheers chaps. I'll break out my selection of grease nipples. Wayne

Hi everyone, As my gearbox is out, I thought I'd take off the prop shaft to do a precautionary UJ change. There is a 7/16" bolt at the yoke end of the sliding joint and I was wondering if anybody could tell me what it is. I thought that perhaps the bolt blanks off a greasing point, but as the manual warns darkly about not dismantling the sliding joint I didn't want to undo the bolt and wreck something! Wayne

Darren, From my experience on my GT6 I found that a new rear spring made the wheel camber excessively positive (I think this is quite common) After a year of driving around with two bags of sand behind the seats to counteract the rather alarming lift-off over-steer I've decided to fit a 1/2" lowering block. You might want to consider buying one now and saving yourself a job later on. Wayne

Do you have a Lumention system fitted? I ask because I had similar issues to the ones you describe and after chasing all the usual potential fuel gremlins it turned out that the Lumention power module was failing. Just a thought. Wayne

Colin, Please see my other thread regarding my splines which are now very shiny and smooth. I think the stiction was partly down to baked on clutch dust and lubricant at the extreme end of the input shaft so I'll probably do as you do and leave it dry. Do you grease the pivot points on the actuator fork and the release bearing carrier? Wayne

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm pleased to say that fettling the splines did the trick. Half an hour with a needle file and 2000-grit oil and emery and the driven plate is now happy to slide up and down the shaft like a very slidey thing. What was interesting to note was the difference in the willingness of the three driven plates I now have to slide smoothly on the fettled input shaft. The original (a Luk) was the smoothest, presumably because it's had several thousand miles already on the car. The new (and flat!) plate from James Paddock (a Taiwanese Powertune) was reluctant to slide before fettling but happy afterwards, whereas the warped Borg Beck was still only begrudgingly doing what it was designed to do. I guess the difference is down to manufacturing tolerances. Just need to get the g/box down to Mike Papworth for his tender ministrations and I can start thinking about putting things back together. Wayne

Pete, This is really useful. I've already been able to identify two problems with the old clutch from the clutch failure pictures. Can anybody recommend the correct type of grease to lightly smear the input shaft splines with? I know it isn't supposed to be normal bearing grease, which is prone to being flung onto the driven plate. The manual recommends zinc oxide grease which I've never seen sold (it sounds more like something to put on nappy rash!) Wayne

Colin and Peter, Thanks for your thoughts. I think it is the correct clutch for a GT6 (HK 8910) Both the new plate and the one that came off the car have 10 splines like the shaft and as far as I can measure with calipers the dimensions are identical. In the attached photos the new plate is on the right. Once I get the plate ~1 cm onto the shaft it frees up, so I'm assuming that that must be the normal operating range of the clutch in service. I'll try fettling the splines to see if that helps the plate onto the shaft.. The suitability of the new plate is now academic. When I got it onto the shaft I spun it to check for run-out. I'd got out my dial gauge but didn't need it as I could tell straight away that it has a run-out of 2-3mm. Another case of buy in haste on flea-bay and repent at your leisure - there's usually a reason why an item is so cheap isn't there but at ~half the price of the club shop it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'll see how I get on with the new plate and let you know. Wayne

Hi All, I'm changing the clutch on my Mk3 GT6 for the first time and, following the instructions that came with the Borg Beck 3 in 1 clutch kit, I've tried a trial fit of the driven plate onto the splines of the gearbox input shaft. To start with it wouldn't go onto the shaft at all and I began to think I had a miss-match of some kind until I found that the old driven plate was equally reluctant to mesh with the splines (only doing so after a lot of cursing and jiggling) The shoulders on the splines at the engine end of the shaft seem designed to encourage disengagement of the mesh rather than engagement. I find that I can now get the new plate started on the splines but have to drive it up the shaft with a large socket. Hardly a sliding fit. All I can say is that it's not surprising that installing the gearbox in the car is so difficult if spline-engagement puts up this much of a fight with the gearbox on the bench! My question is whether or not what I am experiencing is normal or if there is something amiss with the shaft or driven plate? Any suggestions will be as usual, greatly appreciated. Wayne

The grease nipple is in the same location as those sold by ANG and so I guess it must be OK. It'd certainly make greasing the UJ in service a lot simpler. http://www.angclassiccarparts.co.uk/home/triumph-5981/spitfire/drive-train-gearbox/universal-joint-circlips-spitfire

Glad it's OK now. You do know what is worse than a fault though, don't you?.... an intermittent fault! (fingers crossed) Wayne

A quick check on Paddock's site shows that a new pump costs about £16 whereas a repair kit is about £8 so there isn't really much to differentiate between the options price-wise. Someone else on the forum may be able to tell you if there are any pros and cons with the two alternative routes. Wayne

Did the pump just stop pumping or did this happen after you've had the petrol pump lid off? If the lid isn't sealed correctly then you can end up sucking air at the pump body/lid joint rather than petrol from the tank. Wayne

Darren, I've heard it said that whilst the OD is OK to run with engine oil, the Triumph gearbox (an altogether less well engineered item) needs the EP oil (GL4 specification). I think the suggestion that the OD disengagement symptoms are the result of the EP90 oil is a red-herring. My OD runs fine with Comma EP80-90 GL4. Wayne

There's also a Haynes manual published in 1976 specifically for the Stromberg CD carbs. Copies appear on ebay occasionally, which is where I got mine a few years back. Needless to say it wasn't £1.95! The ISBN number is 0 85696 300 3. Wayne

I've got a little bottle of SU damper oil so I guess I'm using the right weight oil. No idea where it disappears to though - I seem to have to top them up every week!

Doug, Thanks for the suggestion about the timing. When I'm done with mixture twiddling I'll try retarding the timing and see how that goes. The local team is Middlesbrough, but we try not to mention it too much! Wayne

Hi Pete, I've a very late Mk. 3. Wayne

Hi Pete/Richard. The plugs are NGK BP6ET (T for triple) but I've today swapped back to the standard BP6ES (S for single) and an annoying soft misfire across the rev range that I've been trying to eradicate for months has now vanished! The swap to triple electrode plugs was prompted by a comment from Nigel Clark in Practical Classics, where he contributes articles on his GT6 and Scimitar. I'm not too sure about the needles. The PO claimed they'd been "fettled" but I have my doubts. The dreaded compensators are fitted (I haven't hardened down the screws) and the breather system is the pipe from the rocker box to the intake manifold. Wayne

Hi Doug, My commiserations regarding the news about your son-in-law.. I checked the timing today and it is a 10 degrees using the strobe gun, so I'm happy with that. Wayne

Thanks Doug, You've confirmed my suspicions. As to a hint of pink I have to pass. I'm red-green colour-blind and so the concept of pink is a mystery to me! No fuel additive needed since I splashed out and got the head refurbished by Searles in 2015, although if my memory serves me I might well have used some for the octane boost when I couldn't get to a 99 octane pump. The interesting thing is why the mixture is so weak. The only thing I've changed is to go from K&N pancake filters back to a standard filter set up and I'd assumed that if anything this switch would make the mixture richer. Perhaps the after-market set up isn't a free flowing as it's made out to be - I know that the car has run smoother and had a better tick over since the swap (and it's a lot quieter too). I've enriched the mixture by a quarter of a turn (top adjustment on mine) and I'll take another look in a week to see what's changed. Thanks for your help. Wayne

Hi All, Can someone with more experience and better colour vision than me tell me if they think these spark plugs are too pale? To my eyes I think they're indicating a weak fuel-air mixture but I'd appreciate a second opinion. Cheers Wayne

Colin, I fit mine on the GT6 facing the prop rather than the flange. I have a feeling that if you do it the other way there isn't enough space for a grease gun to attach on the nipple. And yes, the more observant will have noticed that my prop shaft is fitted back to front (i.e. with the sliding joint at the front) It came that way around and since it doesn't vibrate I'm leaving it that way! Wayne