Refurbishing gearbox remote linkages

[Colin Lindsay]

Hi all - I've now moved to refurbishing the remote linkages and gearlever of the Herald box(es) in my garage and have dug out a kit from around 2014, bought from Rimmers - you can see how damp my old garage was by the state of the parts in an unopened and sealed plastic pouch.

However there are a few questions already: firstly why oh why don't they tell you what the parts are? The tall white bush to the left, the taller spacer in the centre and the cupped washer near the lower centre don't appear on any parts diagram that I've found so far, and aren't in the remote assembly I've just disassembled. Having said that neither were the white washers.

Secondly the black washers / bushes bottom left match those removed but the new ones have o-rings around them, which make them impossible to fit into the bottom of the gearstick. Any ideas?

Thirdly the metal dome to the top left is just that - metal, not nylon as some parts diagrams suggest. Any experience of the metal as opposed to nylon?

And finally - the second, and better condition, remote assembly has the bolt holding the actuating rod on fed through from the top... so it can't be pushed out. The other one has the nut to the top, so the bolt will drop out below. I don't want to grind it off until I'm sure which is correct, and I've got a spare bolt. Thoughts?

Colin

[Ben Caswell]

All the diagrams in my WSM's show the bolt head up nut down. You need to remove the square headed taper locking pin from the selector and the withdraw the shaft.

with the shaft bolt head up at least it wont fall out if the nut comes off. The O rings go in the remote housing where the shaft goes through.

[Pete Lewis]

Theres a variety of these kits all done to help !!!

There should be 2  0rings , one each end of the short shaft fit inside the bores of the hsg. , dont change these as getting the taper dowel bolt out can be a real sod

And you wil chop the new rings on re assy.

Some gear levers have a rubber bush in the pivot  some have 2 white top hat bushes and tube.

The black sometimes red  bushes fit the centre pivot , I reckon its better bolt down at least you can take it out to change the bushes

Along with Ben that the other way it cant fall out  but you cant repair the joint without stip down of that dowel bolt   they are normally assemble by a gorilla

Do check the spherical cup is not razor edged or these chop the new platic cup and new balls are often made of recycled junk

Many shread up very quickly,  if the old is sound re use it

 

[Colin Lindsay]

10 hours ago, Ben Caswell said:

You need to remove the square headed taper locking pin from the selector and the withdraw the shaft.

 

Thanks Ben, that one has already bent one spanner... it's so tight in place it stretched the jaws of the spanner. I didn't want to shear it off...so will persevere gently and see if it moves. Any idea of torque for refitting?

Pete: you reckon I'm better off with the nylon cup washer rather than steel? The old one is too badly worn to reuse. The black washers fit the bottom of the gearstick, at least they match the ones just removed so I'm hoping the white ones fit the centre pivot, which has none at all? Or do I need another pair of black ones?

[dougbgt6]

And another thing, Rimmers quite often do universal kits which appear on a number of models. I bought an RB carb refurb kit and had lots of bits and gaskets left over at the end.

[Pete Lewis]

told you them square headed dowel bolts are a nightmare of rounded corners , if you can get the middle bolt out theres a bit more rotation to align up on the head , you really need a square cut socket to fit them or you round off the corners.

you will also find whilst the bolt is gorilla tight that the ward will move a bit on the shaft as if the threads are over sized ... always puzzled me 

but hold shaft and wiggle  the selector ward and theres often movement between the two

the middle pivot has a rubber or nylon bush in the rear rod.hole.

[Pete Lewis]

remote   make up

Pete

remotepdf.pdf

[Colin Lindsay]

Thanks Pete - it appears there are a few unknowns / issues here; firstly the white washers, along with the white spacer and the longer metal tube spacer, are superfluous on the Herald setup; if not, I can't at present identify where they go. The smaller cup washer is a spring retaining cap and goes over the end of the larger spring.

Secondly it appears that identical black bushes fit both on the end of the gearlever (19 in your PDF) and in the end of the remote lever (18 in your PDF) so I require two sets of these, plus the small spacer. I'll need to buy another kit to get the second set of black bushes plus a nylon spherical cup bush in place of the metal version.

That kit was from Rimmers and as Doug says,  a lot of left over bits; incidentally Canleys show the same kit makeup on their site.

I've located the two o-rings in the housing and am leaving those untouched.

BTW I got the square dowel bolt to undo quite easily off the second remote assembly (lower one in photo with the red sealant); I suspect that as the bolt is upside down it's been dismantled before. The other will not budge so currently applying heat. 

[Pete Lewis]

We used similar larger dowel bolts on early truck gearboxes , and i dont remember them ever being such a tight gripped fit as the

ones on these  3 rails ,  in fact they are often wired in place, 

i love some of the kits , you get lots of what you dont want and less of what you do need

i guess the list is made up by  someone who hates classics and likes to leave out the one salient savior part

good luck 

Pete

 

[Ben Caswell]

WSM says 10 ft/lbs but perhaps the taper causes it to be difficult to undo. Probably best to follow

Petes advice and leave it alone.

[Colin Lindsay]

Too late guys, it sheared. Other one came out easily enough so not stuck, plus the remote assembly is usually easy enough to find S/H. Having said that, usually when you're not looking for one....

[Pete Lewis]

the  shaft and tapered hole is hardened otherwise you could play with a re design 

told you  they are  nasty little sods 

Pete

[Ben Caswell]

OH NO thats another T shirt Colin

[Gully]

The metal dome cap is much better than the nylon version, particularly with the cupped metal washer over the top of the spring underneath it. Both Andy Cook and I had experience of the spring pushing through the nylon dome cap in under 12 months of refurbishing, despite taking all the sharp edges off the cover.

Gully

[Colin Lindsay]

it's funny but I thought that would be the case... although I was wary that the metal to metal contact might get the teeth going with every gear change...

[Pete Lewis]

I believe the plastic was introduced to reduce gear lever sizzle

But modern replacements seem rubish

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

Just bought a kit from eBay - NOT from any of the more hi-profile Triumph suppliers but from a seller who sells bits for a range of Marques.

It's got the nylon dome cap, in the same hard nylon as the original, doesn't have the spring end cap, has only one o-ring, but the metal parts are all nicely blackened (is that an anodised finish?) and I'd be more inclined to use those than the rusty untreated ones. It'll be a mix and match set then.

My engineer brother-in-law is in some hot clime at present so I can't get his assistance until next week to machine the broken screw out, along with the end of a sheared Screwfix stud extractor that cost £3.99 and lasted until I breathed on it. This is the benefit of having a couple of assemblies - he can look at the one I've already dismantled and know the dimensions and danger points before he starts on the broken one.

(The father-in-law is now in his late seventies and although with a wealth of experience and a milling / machining business that he's been running for years, can take up to an hour to select the correct drill bit.)

Good news is that the setscrews are available new for around £2.

 

[dave.vitesse]

Back in the 1960's Standard Triumph marketed an anti rattle kit for the remote. This was a rebuild kit that also contained a nylon dished washer to replace the original steel inner dished washer. Well it didn't work as the gear leaver still rattled and the large spring had a habit after use of eating its way through the nylon dished washer. If your remote still has a metal inner dished washer leave it in place. And before anybody asked,  yes I did buy the kit and fit one back then. I tried leaving the steel washer and adding the nylon washer. It still didn't work.

Dave