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trunnion oiling, greasing and inspection. and now trunnion v trunnionless ??


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15 minutes ago, johny said:

But isnt that why you did the conversion - to have a stronger set up? Or is it that even the conversion isnt up to your driving😲 

I think Mathew means the car is modified, but still as std type trunnions? 

I would have happily used new std trunnions etc with my car, but the cost difference was tiny to have the trunnionless. So a no brainer.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 08/05/2022 at 12:42, Pete Lewis said:

triumph never fitted the grease nipples only blanking plugs  its a previous owner thats left the nipples in place 

and dear old garage techy  just used whats seen  nver looked at the WSM 

happens a lot 

i woud re use the lower pic but scrapp the others

Pete 

Pete,

unfortunately, I think the grease nipples on my trunnions have also been pumped full of grease by the chap at the local garage (I must admit I would probably have done the same). What do you suggest I do now? Should I have them taken off and stripped down, degreased and refilled with oil, or don't you think it will cause any serious damage?

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The nipple connects to an internal channel down to the bottom of the vertical link so pumping oil in will tend to push the grease out and up through the trunnion thread to be ejected from the top rubber seal. It'll be a bit messy but rather than stripping them down I would do this flush with oil while the wheel is off the ground...

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Mine were gunged up with grease by the local 'professionals' (which went solid during a lay up), despite me telling them to oil them. When I found out,  I took off the nipples and cleaned them up and then used a cotton bud soaked in thinners to form a void at the top so that I could get some oil in there. Worked it through over about a week. The oil eventually softened the grease and, as Chris said, the muck eventually softened enough to be forced out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Took my GT6 for its annual MOT inspection earlier in the week (it passed), but was surprised to find some tip appearing in both front trunnions after only around 5-6,000 miles being driven on each. Everything moves freely on the suspension and they've been oiled with EP90 every 6 months, so I would have expected them to last longer. Anyone else on here found premature trunnion wear? The VL threads looked in great condition when the trunnions were replaced and there was no play at the last inspection (c. 2,000 miles ago).

Thanks,

Gully

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I think that refers to rocking of the trunnion on the VL indicating play in the thread....

These will be pattern part trunnions and like many of the bits supplied now I do wonder how similar they are to original specification. Brass for example wouldnt be as good OR as expensive as phosphor bronze🤔

 

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3 hours ago, johny said:

I think that refers to rocking of the trunnion on the VL indicating play in the thread....

These will be pattern part trunnions and like many of the bits supplied now I do wonder how similar they are to original specification. Brass for example wouldnt be as good OR as expensive as phosphor bronze🤔

 

That's my suspicion! And your interpretation of 'tip' is right 👍

Gully

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Did have some play in mine on the Herald on one side picked up on MOT, stripped it out when I got back home & managed to get a full turn on the trunnion, when I rebuilt it when I first got it assembled it on the bench & it was hard to tell how many turns it needed, easier when it's on the car, all good now.  

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9 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

and take care you dont confuse lower bush wear as trunion wear 

Pete

Definitely the trunnion on the VL, and it was definitely screwed on sufficiently. The only thing 'out of the ordinary' I did was heat soak the trunnion when I soldered the base disc before fitting to the car so it didn't leak oil (based on the experiences of others with the 'new' trunnions).

Oh well. Something to do over Winter / Spring 🙂

Gully

 

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Cant see why anyone would chose a thread and bush system over a ball joint unless it was for cost. Maybe Im missing something but youve got two things to wear, a bolt that rusts in the bush, a thread that needs oiling regularly and then can even break off😮

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2 hours ago, johny said:

Cant see why anyone would chose a thread and bush system over a ball joint unless it was for cost. Maybe Im missing something but youve got two things to wear, a bolt that rusts in the bush, a thread that needs oiling regularly and then can even break off😮

Firstly oiling was part of the weekly routine, drivers of the day were used to it. There were multiple grease points that needed regular attention on most cars.

Secondly they were really only expected to last a few years, certainly not fifty or sixty! Well oiled, they wouldn't rust through except at the top, where the oil never reached, but not for a year or two and hopefully just long enough for the expected life of the particular model. We're used to cars that have been on the road for forty years or more and are as rusty as can be expected, but if you check any part that you fitted ten or so years ago to your own car, while there may be surface rust they shouldn't yet be heavily corroded or totally seized.

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