Pete Lewis Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Well its our local area agm tonight I might need new vocation But draw the line at knitting, and cross stitching in varifocals ...xxx×+++++}}}}}} £££££ doesnt appeal much Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted November 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: and cross stitching in varifocals ...xxx×+++++}}}}}} £££££ doesnt appeal much Mrs B manages perfectly well with varifocals! You just need to improve your manual dexterity! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyman Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Bordfunker said: Mrs B manages perfectly well with varifocals! You just need to improve your manual dexterity! Karl Is that "workshop manual" dexterity....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Sounds like more pills required Signatures now need V for varifocal , X for stitching , D for dexterrrrity K for knits Other categories on a post card PeteVXDK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2018 Given that I am going to be welding up the base of the inner A-pillar, as well as the homemade repair section at the bottom of the front bulkhead, and given my tendency to blow through thin metal when welding, I thought I would invest in a welder's copper block. This is placed behind the area being welded and absorbs some of the heat, allowing a strong weld without blowing through the thin bodywork steel, and thus given what I still need to do on the Herald, is probably a wise and long overdue investment. To that end I ordered a block mid-week, thinking that'll be here by the weekend, albeit it was from a supplier I've not used before. As you have probably guessed, last post delivery on Saturday came and went without the afore mentioned block appearing, and looking at the mail I received from them, they haven't even shipped it yet! I wouldn't mind, but I've now realised the vendor is in Kettering, so not even that far from me! I could have driven over and collected it on Saturday! As you can probably tell, slow deliveries from online retailers is one of my pet peeves, probably as a result of working in retail IT for 16 years, and the generally excellent service that I have always received from the main Triumph part retailers. Anyway whinge over, I had to go and find something else to go and do, so started doing some further tidying up of the external base of the A-pillar, which was going well until I found another tiny patch of grot, which I duly cut out. This part of the A-pillar is a real Frankenstein creation, but at least it's getting stronger. Tiny repair section made up... ...and in place... I'm not keen on welding small patches, and ideally I would replace this whole section but no one appears to do a repair section for the front of the door shut, only the rear, and the two are very different, with the front section being a fairly complex shape. This is it after a lot of clean up with the tungsten carbide tip in the die grinder, various grinding stones and a mini flap wheel. It will get a coat of filler hide my messy welding, but it is nice and solid now, which just leaves this to tackle next week. Definitely a candidate for the copper block, as that will allow me to fill what is essentially just a nick with a bead of weld from inside the panel. Which will hopefully mean that I can then finally close up the A-pillar and foot well, which just leaves the driver's side to do. Oh well!! As a break from the endless welding I thought I'd get my hands dirty and do something mechanical for the first time in what feels like months, and look at replacing the leaking oil seal on the nose of the diff. But how to lock the diff, to allow me to remove the castellated nut? Cue angle iron and drills, which left with a means of stopping the diff input flange from turning. Bolted to the flange, and the split spin removed from the castellated nut, on went the socket and breaker bar.... ..... a good heave on the breaker bar and the nut came loose, which is where I decided to leave it for today, as I need to find where I put the diff oil seal in the spares stash. The aim is to replace the seal, and then tighten everything back up, at which point I'll drop the rear suspension, strip it down, and give it a good clean followed by a coat of paint, which will also allow me to clean up the rear of the chassis ahead of a repaint. Almost feels like progress! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted December 3, 2018 Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 Did you remember to mark the nut for reassembly to the same position? Or is that only 1500 Spitfire diffs? Good attention to detail on the A-post. It would help if somebody made the panel but, as you said, it's a complicated shape, so a lot of effort for panel fabricators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 1 hour ago, NonMember said: Did you remember to mark the nut for reassembly to the same position? Or is that only 1500 Spitfire diffs? I didn’t actually even think of that, as having read the WSM, there was no mention of it, just remove split pin, followed by nut and seal, and repeat to reassemble! Hopefully I haven’t cocked it up! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 3, 2018 Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 In general With a castle nut you have solid spacers to control the pinion pre load so torque , nut position is not so important When its a nyloc you have a spacer which collapses to a size when tightend so refitting to the same place matters. Theres nothing to stop the nuts being swapped If youre unsure you need to when the seal is out remove the inner race and pull the spacer out to see if its just a straight tube with shims or it is just a tube which has a collapsible kink in it . Wonderful Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 Mine’s got a castellated nut fitted, so hopefully that makes it simple, as there’s no mention of nylocs in the WSM. The pics in the WSM look like my set up as well, which is a first! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 The copper block I ordered the other week finally turned up on Thursday, but rather than do some welding today, I thought I would do a bit more mechanical work on the back end of the car, replacing the diff nose oil seal, and dropping the rear suspension. Well, that was the plan..... The WSM states that after removing the castellated nut, you simply remove the flange, and extract the old seal, only I can't get the flange out! I did try tapping it with a mallet to see if that would loosen it, but no joy, so rather than stressing I decided to carry on with the removal of the rear suspension. All of the rear suspension bolts were treated with WD40 a few months back when I first removed the rear tub, which appears to have helped as they all came out without too much of a fight, which is a first on this car! It only took me a couple of hours to get to this point, with the spring tucked away in the corner of the garage, along with the rear hubs and drive shafts. These need a further strip down to check the state of the trunnions, and a very deep clean as most of the rear suspension is coated in 50 years of leaking diff oil. It does explain why the bolts came out without a fight! You can see how much crud there is on the diff in this shot. Everything got a coat of Gunk before I packed up for the evening, leaving it to soak, so hopefully tomorrow it should all scrape/wire brush off, ahead of dropping the diff out, and leaving me with a chassis that I can finally clean up completely, and apply a coat of paint to. And talking of taking things off the car, earlier in the week I went into the garage to dig out the diff oil seal, figuring that it would not be where I remember leaving it, and it would take me ages to find. Amazingly it was exactly where I remember leaving it, so with time on my hands, and the devil on my shoulder, I started picking at the rubber seal around the windscreen. You know what happened next, 15 minutes later the seal is out, as is the windscreen. The windscreen frame is in good condition, but the same can't be said of the rain gutters either side of the screen, where the rear of the pillar has rotted in a couple of places, so I'll need to remove the gutters, weld in new metal, and either re-fit the old gutters which are fairly solid, or get some replacements, so removing the screen was a necessity. Hopefully I'll get some time in the garage tomorrow, at which point I should be able to get the diff out, but if anyone has any ideas on how I am supposed to remove he diff flange, please let me know. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 8, 2018 Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 The diff flange will come off with pullers; if you don't have those get a length of wood, chamfer it and lightly hammer it down between the flange and the diff body, if it doesn't move at once rotate it and try various sides. Anything softish that won't damage either the diff or the pulley can be used to force the pulley out and off the axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2018 Colin thanks for that, I’ll give it a go tomorrow. It makes perfect sense that you’d need a puller thinking about it, just would have expected the WSM to have remembered that bit! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 9, 2018 Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Ive always found they come off easy, Whilst things can get mixed , castle nut is just torqued up with solid spacer and shims to create the pre load So just refit and re torque Diff with nylock nut generally has the collapsible spacer so best to do the nut up back to exactly where it came from Thats if using the same coupling, a changed coupling may be different depth then its a problem A Re torque may collapse it more and raise the pre load , Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2018 Pete, this one isn't coming easy as I tried Colin's advice with a piece of wood, but no joy, so I'll make up a home made puller when I get a chance, as I'm guessing I'm going to need the same for the gearbox tail seal. Therefore I gave up on trying to remove the drive flange and settled for just dropping the diff out. The diff got an initial scrape off and brush with Gunk in a BBQ cleaning tray on the garage floor before I moved it up to what passes for my bench for a more thorough clean up. As you can see, even after an initial clean up, still very grotty, especially in glorious close up. The entire diff was clarted up with 50 years of leaking hypoy and road dirt! What followed was a hour in which the diff got cleaner and I got progressively filthier. At least the diff looked better. One of the benefits of giving the diff a good clean up was it meant I could see where the diff was actually leaking from. I knew that the oil seal in the nose of the diff was shot, but it appears the gasket between the two halves of the diffs has also failed, as you can see in the photo below. Not a major problem, as I'll probably end up replacing all the seals that I can without having to seriously dismantle the diff's inner workings. With that out of the way I was left with a bare chassis to start cleaning up next weekend. Tearing down the rear suspension has been a nice break from the endless welding I seem to have been doing for the last few months. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 you can split the case halves with out any trouble , theres nowt to upset anything, best use a new gasket and some loctite 574 or silimar leave the gasket off will off set the output shaft alignment by a few thou. so best replace and seal do make sure the bolts in the front frame are wedgelock the 4 holes in the plate are bigger than the 3/8 thread so there are special bolts with a tapered shank and important internal star washers, std bolts allow the frame to walk and if unscrewed will jam the propshaft ( the only ever time i needed recovery Tee shirt ) and mine was a recon diff from a reputable supplier) you can see the bolts on rimmers site 132856 Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 16 hours ago, Bordfunker said: I knew that the oil seal in the nose of the diff was shot, but it appears the gasket between the two halves of the diffs has also failed, as you can see in the photo below. Not a major problem, as I'll probably end up replacing all the seals that I can without having to seriously dismantle the diff's inner workings. Replacing the seal is a good idea with the diff out, for peace of mind, but bear in mind this is the lowest part of the diff casing, so any oil that leaks invariably finds its' way there and drips off, so you think it's leaking but in reality, it isn't... Replacing the half-shaft seals and bearings is quite easy too; just four allen-headed bolts on each side then pull out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Pete, I’m assuming that I can simply re-use the existing bolts as they look to be in very good condition? Particularly as having looked at the prices on the JP site!!! £5 each! What are they made from? I’m assuming that the Loctite goes on both sides of the paper gasket? Colin, the pic was taken after I’d cleaned and dried the underside of the diff. The oil started weeping through in a matter of minutes, which further explains the state of the underside of the diff. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 You can tell it's getting close to Christmas because I'm getting even less time in the garage, having had to drive up to Lancashire yesterday to pick up youngest son from university in Ormskirk. Today was then spent recovering from a truly horrible drive, both due to the weather, which was foul, and having to use the M6, which is dire in any conditions, so I only got a couple of hours in the sanctuary/garage this afternoon, which ruled out anything particularly involved like bodywork welding. Therefore I thought I would start cleaning up the areas of the chassis exposed with the removal of the diff last week, cue a selection of wire brushes, motorised wire brushes, both with drill and angle grinder attached. Not very exciting, but once I have got this out of the way, I can think about priming the chassis with epoxy mastic. I seemed to end up focussing on the driver's side, for no better reason that that is where all the tools were! As you can see the back end of the chassis is in very good condition, no doubt as a result of the liberal application of under-seal which is now peeling off alarmingly. Excuse the crap pic, but it's dark in the garage, and this is the only pic which adequately illustrates the clean up that I will need to do in the rear diff mounts. So looking forward to that! Equally fun have been the rear suspension uprights, well truthfully, just the driver's side one, as I haven't touched the passenger side one yet. Again a bit of a crap picture, but it shows that it's all in remarkably good shape, however that's the easy bit to clean up, the inside, not so much. This is after attack with a variety of tools, and is a great example of where media blasting would perhaps be the better solution. Oh well, I’ll have to wait and see what Mrs B has got me for Xmas. Failing that I may be in the market for a cheapie blast gun, which would prove useful for keying the chassis ahead of applying the epoxy mastic. Like I said, not a very exciting update, but nice to be getting close to a fully cleaned up chassis. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 16, 2018 Report Share Posted December 16, 2018 We had a dried sand pick power from the pressure washer, lots water and sand everywhere but a bag of sand goes a long way Its a cheap method ,, best not used in the lounge !!!! Handy if the brick drive needs dressing Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 I just see the state of the garage after attacking the chassis with a pressure washer and a load of sand! Bournemouth would have nothing on it! I’ll have to see what Santa brings. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 LIDL have a blast gun with two tubs of grit and assorted nozzles for around a tenner; the nozzles help you recirculate the grit so less mess or waste. I've been very impressed with the one I bought. Have a look at the post I put in the 'Tools' Section for some idea of what it's like. The nozzles may get right into those sections and clean them out to bare metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 I did have a look in Lidl before Xmas but they were out of the blast guns unfortunately, and not sure when I’ll get back to another Lidl, so it may have to be order to Machine Mart instead. Having said that, Santa did bring me a welding apron, a mains portable lamp, and a set of taps an dies, so I think the Herald has done well this year. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Bordfunker said: Santa did bring me a welding apron Snap! (I got told off a few weeks ago for having spatter burns on both arms after welding a floor repair in Tessa from below. I mentioned that my overalls were not a proper welding apron and that was the problem. Santa was obviously listening in...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Mrs B has told me I am only allowed to wear it in the garage and in concert with overalls! So no apron and pants when it gets hot in the summer! Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2018 Spot blaster gun and bearing/hub puller ordered from MachineMart today, supposedly turning up New Year’s Eve. We shall see..... In the interim I suppose I ought to do a bit of welding with my new welding apron. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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