RobH
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Posts posted by RobH
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These belts are standard parts. If you cant find the VW alternative you could measure what you want and order it from a site like this:
http://www.acbelting.co.uk/belts.asp
Rob
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Sounds more electrical than fuel to me Paul. The backfiring could be because you have unburnt fuel mixture being pumped into the exhaust, which ignites when the engine fires up again. I had a similar thing some time ago which turned out to be an intermittent connection on the LT side of the ignition.
Rob
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Ashley - there are (or were) millions of road cars running around with open-frame type HT coils (i.e not in metal cans) all of which are epoxy sealed. Even my old Nova from 1984 had one. Nothing special about it - it works and its cheap.
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Yes that is right Richard - it is oil filled to provide insulation and cooling. Most modern coils are sealed in epoxy but all standard period coils are oil-filled.
Rob
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Its worth wiring the lights through relays anyway Andrew, rather than leaving the switch to carry all the current, irrespective of whether you use the original foot switch or one on the dash. Its pretty simple to do with two 'make' types (SPST) relays. The advantage of using two relays instead of a single change-over type is that the main light feed does not have to come from the lighting switch - you can leave most of the existing wiring alone and have a single new heavy feed wire which will minimise voltage drop and means less stress on the switches which only have to handle a low current. I tried to paste a circuit but the system doesn't seem to like it - hope this link works. Suitable relays are available in Halfords.
Rob
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There is plenty of information out there as to what the acronyms mean if you are really interested. For example:
http://www.fastenerdata.co.uk/pdf/unified%20tpi.pdf
The basic measurements for fasteners is the outside diameter of the thread and the number of threads (per inch for imperial). i.e. 1/4 UNF has an outside diameter of 0.25 inches and 28 threads per inch.
Rob
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Glad you got the indicators bit fixed Phil. It difficult doing diagnostics at a distance without actually seeing the setup, plus I'm not familiar with TR250 wiring (3As don't have hazard flashers).
Conventionally the hazard light dashboard lamp should go from 49a of the hazard relay to earth. If the relay is working with the bulb on 31 its probably because the bulb resistance is low enough to operate the relay but the relay current isn't high enough to light the bulb. Try with an direct earth on 31 and the bulb piggy-backed on 49a.
Rob
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Not sure I understand correctly from your description Phil, but you should have a fluctuating voltage at the indicator switch with the flashers working because it is fed from the flasher unit , so will be switching on and off. I doubt its anything to do with the voltage stabilizer as that is to feed the dash instruments, not the indicator lights.
If you have the rears flashing together when indicating, that has to be a wrong connection or a short - could the rear light feeds be connected together somewhere (perhaps at the hazard relay) ? If so that might explain the fast flash with all the lights connected, as the flasher would be trying to power three indicator lamps instead of two.
Rob
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Yes an electronic flasher unit doesn't mind about the load so it must be wrong connection.
It should be connected:
31 - earth
49 - supply
49a - to indicator switch.
The dash tell-tale should go to 49a for a three-terminal unit.
I'm in Newbury Phil, so if a hear a bang I'll know what it is. Good luck.
Rob
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Indicator flasher units based on a bi-metallic strip need the correct load to work. Without the front lamps there probably isn't enough current being drawn.
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If you get a copy of the MOSS catalogue for the 3A (free) it will give you most of the fastener sizes. As Pete and Alan say its mainly UNF.
You may find, though that previous owners have used whatever is to hand. Its not uncommon to find the odd BSF, Whitworth and Metric fasteners all on the same car which can make life interesting if you don't have the appropriate spanner.
Some of the larger fasteners such as those on the suspension need to be the right grade so its safest to re-use the old one if in good condition, or buy them specifically as required from suppliers like this http://www.namrick.co.uk/. where you can be sure of getting the right thing.
Bear in mind that if the old fastener is a bolt (with an un-threaded portion of shank) as opposed to a machine screw ( threaded all the way up to the head) then you really should replace like-for-like as it will have been used for a reason. Zinc coated is fine but the original bolts probably won't be.
Unless you are intending to win concours competitions its worth using nylock nuts to replace plain nuts and spring washers.
Beware of using stainless bolts with stainless nuts - they can self-weld together (thread galling).
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Oh dear this is beginning to get a wee bit emotional in places isn't it. I think we have to recognise that people have different requirements from their old cars. Personally the reason I run a 3a is precisely because of its limitations and foibles. If I wanted a car which handles and responds like a modern one, I would go out and buy an MX5 or something. I do understand, however, that there are others who wish to modify and improve their vehicles, who maybe use them in competition and who therefore have a different point of view. That doesn't make either camp wrong - its just that their needs are different.
Yes, modern telescopic dampers are better, no-one can deny that but as for making a HUGE difference - not in my experience under normal road driving conditions (though to be fair that was not on a TR). Perhaps that is because I prefer to adapt my driving to the existing limits of the car rather than adapt the car to enable higher limits. My choice entirely and its understandable that someone else may feel differently.
I think the club is large enough to encompass both.
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I'm with Pfenion on this to some degree - in essence there is no difference in damping effect between the two types as they both rely on squirting oil through an orifice, its just that one does it directly and the other does it via a lever. Unless you are indulging in competition where you may need to adjust the damper up hard, I doubt you could tell the difference if they are working properly. I certainly couldn't on the car I converted some years back. The main advantage of teles for road use is that being simpler, they keep working properly for longer as there is no need for link arms and joints which do suffer wear. That is not so much of a consideration for cars which are only used occasionally.
(If you want dampers which are really iffy try Andre Hartford friction ones......)
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There are similar ramps to Roger's available commercially:
http://www.restorationramps.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/ramps?opendocument&part=3
Probably expensive though.
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That flexible hose has to withstand engine vibration all the time Gabriele, so it probably just failed due to old age as the rubber deteriorated. I don't think losing oil would make the engine run hotter but if the oil pressure had fallen to a seriously low level you would have heard the bearings rattling - its an unmistakeable noise. If you did not hear anything odd then there was still enough oil pressure and the engine is probably not harmed.
Rob
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Peter - a word of warning - there was yet another recent thread on the subject
http://www.tr-register.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/47771-trailing-arm-again/
where you will find some concern regarding the quality of the studs from the usual suppliers. Perhaps that is why you are being offered the 'gold plated' option?
Rob
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Two obvious possibilities:
a) a hole in the sump
a loose oil filterAs for checking for damage once the leak is fixed, if the oil pressure looks normal and there are no nasty noises (e.g. big end rattle) then all might still be well. Did the oil pressure look OK during the drive?
Rob
Don't know where that emoticon came from - it was supposed to be option letter B
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Its down to personal choice of course Tom but for normal road use I wouldn't go as far as calling a top plate 'essential' , given that an awful lot of cars (mine included) have been running with the standard set-up for years without any cooling problems. Its certainly worth including if you are going the aluminium route but the standard shroud arrangement works perfectly well.
Rob
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No that is fine Graeme - if I recall correctly the shroud goes in last and is fixed to the apron by screws along the bottom and clamped each side by the bumper over-rider support. The cardboard shroud on my '59 3A has been there for 30 odd years and has been in-and-out at least twice, so they do last if painted. Mine is just body-colour cellulosed.
Rob
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John - a simple check. The starter solenoid obviously pulls in OK, but does it let go again while the ignition is on ? Measure the volts on the main cable to the starter motor downstream of the solenoid - should be nothing once the button or key has been released and the engine has started.
Rob
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OK John - understood.
You shouldn't get any spurious readings directly on the battery terminals as it should be effectively fractions of an ohm, though the coil feed terminal is downstream of numerous switch, fuse and other connections which could be putting resistance in the circuit so you might get something odd happening there. If you do get odd readings directly across the battery it might indeed be failing in some way.
I guess trying another battery can't hurt, though the fact that the battery starts the engine OK seems to indicate there might be nothing wrong with it - even a geared starter needs a fair bit of current.
Is there an ammeter which confirms a large charging current (which there would have to be) or have you tried a clip-on ammeter ?
Paul - you beat me to it suggesting the starter - exactly what I was going to say. Its a very long shot though and would need multiple failures. However if the AVO popped with a bare engine it might point to something like that.
Final thought on the coil failures - is the points capacitor OK - if it shorts there might be current on the coil all the time.....
Rob
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The symptoms as described make no sense at all. A good battery will have a pretty low impedance so you would need a fearsome charging source to really get that sort of voltage - and you would destroy the battery no time or at the very least blow a fuse. I assume the battery turns the starter over normally which would indicate that it is OK ?
Can you tell us please:
1/ where and how are you measuring the voltage ? Is it straight across the battery ? (I would trust your AVO measuring there but not the digital things which have ridiculously high impedance for this kind of work.)
2/ how many batteries does the car have ? I don't know much about SPs but is it possible it has two in parallel ?
3/ I think an SP has a plastic body - how are the earths connected - through the chassis?
I guess it is possible this is all a red herring caused by odd effects on the meters, while the car is really frying coils because it should have a ballast resistor fitted in the coil feed ?
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Yes AWG (American) and SWG (British) are slightly different. 20AWG is 0.032 inch.
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Have a look at this chart :
http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/bolts/US-Recommended-Torque.aspx
Looks like you do need the better grade, details here: http://www.americanfastener.com/astm-sae-and-iso-grade-markings-for-steel-fasteners/
Namrick might be a good starting place:
http://www.namrick.co.uk/acatalog/Home_Manifold_Studs_42.html
K&N Cone Filters with H6 and TR4a Manifold
in TR2/3/3A/3B Forum
Posted
Richard - the HS6 is a more modern version of the H6 and has a shorter section between the dashpot and the manifold (hence the S), so they don't stick out so far from the engine. As Bob says, the jet arrangement and the float chambers are completely different and use more modern sealing methods. There are good illustrations of both types in the Moss catalogue for the Tr2-4.
Rob