How is this supposed to fit?

[Bordfunker]

I’ve just put the fuel tank back in, but I’m really not sure this part is supposed to fit.

It’s an L shaped piece about 4 inches long, that’s 10cm for those of you watching from Europe, with a hole for the tank drain.

It sits over the fuel tank drain spout, but how it fits with relation to the boot floor and the sealing bung I can neither fathom nor remember.

The WSM doesn’t mention it, and no drawings I have seen show it.

How is it supposed to fit?

Thanks in advance.

Karl

 

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

Parts list shows it as 610470 bracket drain plug

Pictorialy  shown as tank > foam > bracket > drain plug   in that order

Where the floor goes in that  I have no idea, have a spare one as new tank had no drain so its in the odds and sod box of unknowns

Not really very helpfull !!!!

Pete

[Bordfunker]

Pete, thanks for that.

Can I ask what the orientation of the L bracket is?

Is it with the arm of the L facing down so that the back,of the L is roughly parallel with the road?

Struggling to see how it is supposed to seal the boot.

Karl

[Darren Groves]

Diagram below shows how it should fit, never really understood how it was supposed to keep the water out the boot though.

Done away with drain taps on my tanks years ago, just have a big grommet in the hole instead. The drain taps are just an aggravation as they  make it hard to remove/refit and nobody dares use them as you know they'll just snap off!  

Darren

 

[Pete Lewis]

this is not mentioned anywhere in any  WSM or Body manual as far as i can see, it may even been some crack pot idea to locate the seal prior to fitting on line 

who knows ...someone  somewhere will have a clue but as for which side of the floor it is supposed to fit is anyone's guess. or its purpose in life 

i would add it to the bin of unused left overs that are not of any significant importance   or  a mystery raffle it at the local pub meeting 

how about the floor hole was too big so they closed it down with this plate  to stop the foam  squeezing out   !!!!

Pete

 

[Bordfunker]

Thanks Darren, thanks Pete.

I’m going to need to take the tank out again and fit the seal and the plate in the correct order.

At least I now know how it is supposed to fit.

Thanks again.

Karl

[Pete Lewis]

if you find out what or why its there  when doing the refit ..................................keep it to yourself  Ha !!

 

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

Try this theory - the sponge is supposed to act as a spring between the tank and the bracket so that it can flex as the car drives, and especially with the weight of a full tank above, whilst still keeping a seal against the boot floor. This allows condensation from the tank and any water getting in through the boot lid seal to drip out, but keeps the bracket tightly enough against the floor to prevent water coming in from underneath as the Herald drives; as the sponge compresses and expands during driving it mops up excess water inside then dumps it out below when compressed due to the car bodywork flexing.

Of course it could also just be a drain that requires periodic emptying by pressing the bracket up from underneath to allow water to run out...

BTW use a proper seal if you can, some modern versions (if you can find any) are merely sponge that actually holds water and so rots out the boot floor. 

[Bordfunker]

Colin why didn’t they just make the drain hole smaller to stop water ingress in the first place, or put a rubber grommet around it?

The sponge seal that I took out was solid as a rock and most certainly not have absorbed any shocks, just transmitted them straight to the underside of the tank!

And we all know that condensation doesn’t settle around the drain, but around the rear chassis mounting bolts as I have discovered!

Karl

 

[Pete Lewis]

Colin can your put all  that to music 

Think the orig was a close cell foam ring , 

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

On 11/3/2017 at 10:54 AM, Bordfunker said:

Colin why didn’t they just make the drain hole smaller to stop water ingress in the first place, or put a rubber grommet around it?

 

 

... because then they couldn't get the tank to fit in the first place, as many owners have found out the hard way! (Just another theory caused by lack of coffee)

There has to be some reason why a solid rubber mount wouldn't work, especially as the top mounts are all solidly bolted brackets. Flexing of the boot floor, maybe?

[dougbgt6]

The GT6 tank appears to have donut shaped things underneath but also vertical links bolted to the tank at the top and the floor at the bottom. How does this work? It does not compute! One of my verticals was never fitted, a factory oversight. Only recently John Bonnet was kind enough to make me a stainless steel one. I tied a label to it "Made by John Bonnet" Should add to the value of my car.

[Bordfunker]

The tank is now in, including the additional piece and the rubber donut, all without putting up much of a fight at all.

The additional plate does close off the hole in the boot floor a bit more, so I can only surmise that this solution is to allow wiggle room on the production line given the high tolerances so which all Triumphs were no doubt built.

After all that, it looks like the pump has failed, as I can blow into the tank, the pumps failing to draw any fuel, so I’m guessing a failed diaphragm.

Karl

[Pete Lewis]

Or the valves are clagged up, they are only simple plate valves with a light spring,  on my Vit6 it worked but the springs had long gone

Temp fix by adding a ball point retractable cut down springs .

Then a nos glass top  turned up 

Pete

[Bordfunker]

Pete, I think you might have something there as I took the top off the pump and extracted the diaphragm, no holes, but it does feel very crispy if you know what I mean.

I’ll remove the rest of the pump this evening and order a rebuild kit to be on the safe side.

Karl

[Colin Lindsay]

On 11/7/2017 at 7:40 AM, Pete Lewis said:

Or the valves are clagged up, they are only simple plate valves with a light spring,  on my Vit6 it worked but the springs had long gone

Temp fix by adding a ball point retractable cut down springs .

Then a nos glass top  turned up 

Pete

The glass tops are very easy to service, much more so than the sealed versions. They're all pretty much the same, usually only the lever varies between models, so if you get any kind of NOS one you can swap over. Service kits are also available which include seals, valves and brass filter.