Federau Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 In order to inspect and adjust my (A) overdrive unit, I - not by surprise - found out that the unit had been fitted at some time along the way. Having got the fascia support out and after removing the carpet I found that there was no lid covering a inspection possibility to be seen. What I found was a hole in the fiber glass just big enough for faciliating the overdrive unit, see photo. In order not to cut away too much, could anyone advise me on where/how much to cut away? I have a Dremel mashine with small cutting discs and I do not think it will cause any trouble to do the actual cutting. Thanks in advance Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 The cutout in the photo uncovers the speedometer drive - which often fails. The overdrive solenoid is on the other side. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi Peter Thanks. The question is if the adjustment is done from the other side as well. Do you know? Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi Manfred, as well as an inspection hole on the left side to adjust the solenoid you will need another hole on the right side to see that the alignment lever is in alignment. I'll measure mine tomorrow to give you a dimension from the angle drive. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi Peter Thanks. The question is if the adjustment is done from the other side as well. Do you know? Manfred Manfred, Follow Roger's advice above. I used a stiff wire from a coathanger to give the solenoid a bit extra pull to engage. It was meant be a short term get-me-by but worked for months! Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Thanks, Roger and Peter. It is very much appreciated! Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Roger, couldn't you just measure from the rear end of the cover? M PS. cannot communicate tomorrow. Wlil be away to buy beer in Germany. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hi Manfred, the the centre of the inspection window for the OD alignment hole on my 'A' type box on the 4A is - 420 mm rear of the front of the tunnel. 450 mm forward of the rear of the tunnel. immediately above the third screw from the front that holds the tunnel to the floor pan. 20 mm up from the top face of the flange. On my car the hole is apprx 50mm diameter - however get your blanking bung first. I use a Marmite cap from a large jar. I hope this is OK. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 This adjustment is quite difficult. The difference between operating properly and failing to engage sometimes is quite small. The clamp on the shaft is crude and tends to move when you tighten it. Or slip afterwards. You really need to remove the clamp and recondition it so that it grips nicely. There is quite a lot of expansion on the OD when hot and you need to check the adjustments after you have run for a while. If you neglect any of this you will be back asking why the OD does not always engage. Lots of the OD topics we have had on here recently are related to this adjustment. The hydraulics is all precision engineering working to 0.2mm or better. The solenoid and clamp would make a crude door-bell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 (edited) Roger, Thanks for the info. I have two comments (or questions): 1. Does or does it not matter if we're talking TR4 or TR6? Can you or someone else give the answer? 2. If the hole is 50 mm how can it be only 20 mm up from the bottom (or is it me, not understanding your message?) Alan, Thank you very much for the advice. However, I do not intend to do the job myself but to follow the process and learn how to do it. I am so lucky to have a skilled person to help me, a "cooleague" from the Danish TR club network. What I really want to do is to make things ready for him, i.e. remove seats, fascia support, carpets, etc. Furthermore, from what you say, it would be really nice to have easy access to the adjustment items on the OD. In fact I am surprised that window(s) hasn't been fitted from the beginning. I gather it would be easier to make holes than to attempt to remove the tunnel cover. So, what I really want to do now is to have the necessary hole(s) made and to find out how to cover them nicely. I hope it then will be possible to reach the vital parts just by lifting the carpet. Manfred Edited October 31, 2014 by Federau Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 2. If the hole is 50 mm how can it be only 20 mm up from the bottom (or is it me, not understanding your message?) I seem to have set you a conundrum. The 50mm was simple guess from a dodgy memory and I didn't actually measure the marmite cap. The hole can be quite small as you are only popping a drill through the alignment holes. My hoke hole may well be off-set upwards. The other dimensions were measured and are quite accurate. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlanT Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 If you have an original fibre cover it will be in poor condition by now. If its a replacement the you may already have holes. Getting the covers off is easy, its getting it back thats difficult. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Roger, Thanks. Are you sure the situation is the same in my 6'er? Alan, my cover is certainly original and it has no holes at all. If you look at the phote (above) you'll see that a hole was cut to faciliate the new placing of the speedo drive when the OD was fitted (I think) - some 20 years ago! The cover looks quite good and I think it would be easy just to cut the necessary hole(s). I think even a large hole could be made without harm because I think the cutaway piece easily could be used as a lid if some aluminum strips were used as overlapping edges (hope you understand my funny English). In the same process I'll enlarge the hole on the right hand side and make a proper lid over it in order to make easy access to the angle drive - could be useful. I still need to be sure where the hole should be cut. I take it that it is operation 40.22.01 in the workshop manual that is called for, see attachment, meaning that I need space for pushing the rod and fastening/slackening the clamp bolt on the operating rod. Thanks again Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Hi Manfred, I would have thought that the gearbox and OD are pretty similar on the 4/4A/5/6 for its placement. The 'H' dash support fits all the cars and the gear lever is in the same place in the 'H' gearstick hole. Gearboxes are interchangable between all the above. Thus, I would assume that they are pretty close. Drill a small hole to see if it is apprx centred on the alignment lever, Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John L Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Federau You may also consider while you have the carpets out of the way to cutting a hole in the left hand side to correspond with the oil level plug, I don't have the measurement to hand but I was given them in this forum, its been much handier to check and refill the oil level now. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hi Roger, Please look at the file I've attached. I found it on the home page of Canley Classics. It appears that the lid part number 705851 covers what we talk about. As far as I can see it covers the area you're talking about and I think I could find an appropreate size and placement from looking at this diagramme. Do you agree? Atb Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 The attachment didn't appear. I'll try again. It didn't work either - I cannot understand that a pdf-file can be that big! Try to follow this link: http://www.canleyclassics.com/triumph-tr6-late-overdrive-kit Hope it works! Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hi Manfred, the inspection panel 705851 will give access to the solenoid. This looks like a 'J' Ttype solenoid. The 4A has the 'A' type that is vertically mounted. The inspection /access panel - 809271 - is for the angle drive. There is no mention of the small access hole for the alignment lever. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 Roger, yes, you're right. The diagramme is a J-type OD where I understand that the solenoid is horizontal. I'll take your advice and try to make a hole for the alignment lever. However, now the thing is "naked" I'll take the opportunity to make a window on the other side for adjusting the clamp position, should that be necessary. And John, do you have any possibility af telling me where the hole for checking oil level/filling should be placed. I'll try to search the forum, though. Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John L Posted November 2, 2014 Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 This should cover it, unfortunately I don't seem to be able to paste items onto a reply, can anybody help me with please? Search for 'Gearbox tunnel - Access panel' John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 Thanks, John. I found it Using cut and past (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) I got this: "The answer is approx 8" forwards from the H frame leg and 2" upwards" However, one must be sharp because it is said to be on the passenger side, which in this case is the left hand side (UK conditions!), i.e my driver's side!!! Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Roger, I've now found and got acces to alignmet lever, solenoid and oil filler plug. Furthermore, I have traced all the wires under the dash and got rid of all unnecessary ones (it was really a mess!!) The car has at one time been equipped with a thermostate guided fan system and these wires were confusing the the layout. Also, it is no help that all the wireing of the OD system is done with black wires! Using Buckeyes troubleshooting guide I've come to the conclusion that - since there is no ground in the relay circuit, i.e. "behind" the gearbox switches, there must be a loose connection or the switches must be faulty. When I test with the multimeter I measure not 12 V, not zero, but approx. 0.3 V. What I need to do now is to check the wireing from the last connector to the switches and - probably - the switches themselves. Can you, or any other for that matter - tell me the placement ot the switches? From what i can se on the internet they are probably placed on top of the gearbox ahead of the gear lever - but I'm not sure. If this is true I gather that it is not possible to reach from under the car, meaning the the cover must be taken out, which I would hate! Ant suggestions - or comments? All would be very much appreciated. Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Just found photos on http://www.buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/Gearbox/GearboxCover/GearboxCover.htm It is a little confusing to compare the photo on page 1 with that on page 2. Are the switches readily accessable on the top of the cover or does the cover have to come off? Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Manfred Of as you need set them right Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Federau Posted November 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hi all! Thanks for your help. I write this to finish this thread by telling you how it went. I succeeded in finding the right places to make the holes and I succeeded in making some nice (Ithink) lids for them. However, for some reason I wasn't allowed to attach any photos, despite the fact that non of the four were bigger that 150 KB. I' love to show you the photos, so if needed, could anyone help? And yes, it was tha gearbox contacts that caused the error. Best regards Manfred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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