John McCormack
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Posts posted by John McCormack
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On 1/4/2024 at 8:21 PM, Z320 said:
Best with this trunnions is to use anything regularly
I agree. Modern greases don't dry out and go hard like they did in the 50s.
Although not a TR6 my experience with my daily driver TR2 front suspension is relevant.
I rebuilt this car between 1980 and 83. It has done well over 200,000 miles (320,000 kms) since.
The trunnions, top ball joints, idler and tie rod ends are what I fitted back in the early 80s. They are still in fine condition. I apply a grease gun to everything at least a couple of times a year, whenever the front wheels are off.
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I have the fortunate experience to have all three head/carbie combinations in my three sidescreens.
My daily driver TR2 has a high port and head and 1 3/4" SUs. The concours TR2 a low port head and 1 1/2" SUs. The TR3 its original low port head with 1 3/4" SUs.
The concours TR2 performs as well as the other two. It provides excellent torque and for general around town and freeway driving gives nothing away to the other two. Economy is better too.
The concours TR2 is for sale. I never intended to nor can I justify having three sidescreen TRs. I struggle to keep the maintenance up to them plus a TR6 let alone use them as much as I should.
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This morning I gave her full choke, didn't touch the accelerator pedal and let the pump run for 30-40 seconds before cranking. Started immediately.
It is only once but maybe it was my starting technique that was the problem.
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2 minutes ago, TR NIALL said:
I’ve never have to use full enrichment mine will start by just slightly cracking open the Choke with a bit of enrichment from the MU,I turn the Ignition on for between 30/45 seconds pull the Choke slightly and flick the Starter it normally fires and I push back in Choke back in immediately and then control tickover with the loud pedal.
That is what mine was doing. More choke but essentially the same.
Even now when it fires I push the choke back in and within a few seconds she will idle OK, a bit slow around 500-550 until warm when it idles at 750-800.
It just needs a good few cranks now, between 3 and 5 of 3 or so seconds each, before starting.
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1 hour ago, TR NIALL said:
Have you also got the Choke connected and is it set up right?
Yep, as far as I can make out. I had to put a new cable in some years ago and set it up to operate the enrichment lever and throttle.
The issue with the slower starting is quite recent, the last few months. The choke cable has been there for 4-5 years.
I get full enrichment at full extension of the knob.
Is there anything I should be checking with the choke setup?
PS. This made me think about the choke a bit more deeply. I've just been out to the garage (a beautiful balmy summer evening here, not too hot or cold, just nice) and checked the choke operation. On full choke I'm getting full enrichment and about 1/8" to 3/16" lift on the throttle.
However, I did find that there is a resistance in the choke operation before it gets to full choke and I I may not have been getting full choke when I've been starting her. I found previously that if I didn't have full choke the engine would kick but not start and then flood.
I will give it a go over the next few days making sure I actually get full choke, it might solve the starting problem.
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2 hours ago, Mike C said:
I use NGK BUR 6ET's they will fire when wet or carboned up -which is a pretty common operating condition with a TR.
Check the enrichment lever on the side of the MU is releasing fully.
Thanks for that advice. Yes the enrichment lever returns fully. I got caught with that early in my TR6 ownership.
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My two bob's worth.
The majority of carbie problems are ignition or engine breathing. About 90% in my experience. The engine must be in tune before the carbies can be tuned.
Do the tappets to ensure the engine is breathing properly.
Do the plugs, points (if fitted) and timing. Make sure that all the ignition components like leads, distributor cap, plugs etc are in good working order. Set the ignition timing, I start it about 10 degrees advanced at idle and fine tune it on the road.
Having done all that you can now tune the carbies. Make sure the piston drops with a nice clunk and that there is a suitable oil in the chambers.
Balance the carbies with a meter. I did it by ear for years and then found my hearing was not as good as I thought.
Then, and only then, can you set the mixture. Do it as per the manual by lifting the piston and checking for rpm changes.
Take the car for a good drive and set the timing to just avoid pinging, and then retard a couple of degrees to make sure.
After a high-speed run check one front and back plug and adjust the mixture accordingly.
You should be all set.
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Thank you for the advice.
I haven't checked the voltage to the fuel pump while cranking yet. The engine cranks very well so while this is a possibility I don't feel it is likely. I didn't install the Bosch pump but it was done by a very competent TR6 PI person and I can see it has newer thicker wiring.
What I have done is set my plugs and tappets.
The plug gaps were well over 25 thou, I may have set them to 32 thou which is the sidescreen setting. It is habit after 48 years of TR2 ownership.
The plugs are BP5HS and have now done 9,000kms. I might benefit from putting new ones in.
I read up on the metering unit and how critical vacuum is to its performance. I checked the tappets and the gap on three was very loose, maybe three or more thou out, and one was a bit too tight, about a thou.
I expect that this would adversely affect valve timing, engine breathing and vacuum.
After this enjoyable bit of fiddling the engine performs noticeably better, it idles smoother, accelerates harder and spins more freely. It feels like it cruises with a lighter throttle than before. I'm really very pleased with its performance. The brakes also appear to be better, maybe the booster is getter better vacuum.
However, starting the car when it has been sitting for a few days is unchanged. It needs a bit of cranking and I have to be careful with the enrichment setting. Too much and it doesn't like it. Once the engine has been warmed up it starts immediately, within a second of cranking.
I will put up with the slower starting for now as the performance is truly wonderful.
As suggested above, new plugs might be in order. What plugs are preferred? The car has Lumenition ignition with a stock coil.
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Thank you all.
I have filled the tank as it was a bit low and it immediately seems to be starter better. Back to a couple of short cranks.
I thought it might be possible that the fuel level in the injection pipes dropped a bit with a low tank level. I am not sure how this might happen but in my mind it was a possibility. I am chasing an old metering unit to dismantle and see exactly how they work.
I will check the plugs, haven't done it for a long while. I should do a tappet check as well. I believe in 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. But they might need a bit of a clean and adjustment.
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My 1970 TR6 has a Bosch fuel pump and changed filtering done professionally.
Until recently it would start after one or two cranks of a few seconds.
It now needs 2-3 cranks of a few more seconds than previously. The car idles and drives superbly after start.
Reading the manual it appears possible that slower starting could be due to the fuel filter becoming clogged.
Any other ideas please?
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On 12/18/2023 at 9:46 AM, Richardtr3a said:
Thanks for all the technical advice on the Forum. I have checked my records and the overdrive was rebuilt by Od Spares and has only covered 20k miles in ten years
I have just watched the weather forecast on BBC and it looks like wet and colder until Christmas. Unless it changes I will leave the TR3 in the garage until we have a dry couple of days. Then I will give it a proper run.
Thanks Richard & B
PS I must fit the Antifreeze
In normal times we would be having 35degC+ days about now. Yesterday was about 20 degC and bucketing down, for our Christmas lunch run. First time ever I've not taken a TR on a club run.
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On 12/13/2023 at 12:01 AM, Keith Wigglesworth said:
Early 4 slot bonnets are wider as the do not have to clear wing beading. The rear is also single skin. I am sure if you put out a request that someone would have a reasonable late one in the shed for a small fee. You would get more for a good condition early bonnet.
You are right. I just measured my long door TR2 4slot bonnet against the later TR2 and TR3 which have 2 slot bonnets. 4 slot is 180cm, 2 slot is 173cm.
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On 12/15/2023 at 11:21 PM, rcreweread said:
Hi - I'm sorry, but in my experience, this is not totally true - if the oil level in the gearbox and OD has fallen to the extent that the OD is "dry"and stopped operating, it can sometimes need a run of up to 20-30 mins to get it going and purge any air out of the hydraulics within the OD - once it starts operating, then it should engage/disengage almost instantly on being operated .
Cheers Rich
The overdrive will work after only a few seconds of driving the TR or running it on axle stands. If you top it up to the fill line from empty and go for a drive by the time the overdrive is engaged it will engage if all is correct. In 48 years and probably 30 gearbox oil changes over three Trs I've never had an overdrive not engage within a few seconds at the most.
If it doesn't I suggest it will be because not enough oil was put in or the overdrive oil pump isn't up to the task.
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On 11/27/2023 at 5:53 PM, Ralph Whitaker said:
What is that famous saying?, "If you can remember the sixties you weren`t there man."
Ralph
Beat me to it. I remember the 60s, I must have had a boring adolescence! Born in 53.
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15 hours ago, RobH said:
Classic sign of a worn distributor, with the electronic system masking the effects. There should be no discernable difference in performance if the standard system was in good order.
Yep. Maybe a better idle if there is slight wear in the shaft bushes which affects the points gap at idle but will be hidden by the electronic ignition.
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Why do people use 25 thou plug gap? The manual says 32 thou, which I've used for 48 years.
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Put the box back in today and all is good. A short drive without the tunnel to test it. Then reassembled the car fully and took a 30 km drive. Box is nice and quiet, changes nicely and the overdrive works nicely on 2nd, 3rd and top.
I'm back to having a choice of cars to drive.
Couldn't have done it without the help of Brian and other TR Register Australia members. And the people on this forum.
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6 minutes ago, Trumpy3 said:
Peter
I seemed to remember I had read somewhere that the early ODs were all the same length, as these were. Have not been able to verify that but reading the Buckeye Triumph write up on the A type OD, it gave me a thought and possible cause of our problem.
When John removed the OD he did not disassemble it except a couple of clutch release springs fell out and he refitted them. When we fitted the OD we had removed all of the springs during the preparations and refitted them. As I thought they were all the same, and looked it, I did not take a close look. They all looked the same. When Buckeye did their rebuild the first time they had the same problem as we do. Turns out they had spring bind that prevented the clutch from activating.
Looks like OD of and some spring examining. Thanks for the note on springs Peter.
Brian
I didn't think we removed the springs from the overdrive. I hadn't taken them off the overdrive before so if we did remove them at your place that might explain it.
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19 minutes ago, Drewmotty said:
Maybe a stuck clutch. It might free with a bit of load on it.
I’d strip the front end of the overdrive while it’s on the bench.Very much a possibility thanks. The tap on the casing with a copper hammer was intended to release it but this one may require a more direct approach.
The next question is why it is stuck. It isn't uncommon on overdrives that have been left in storage for a long time, but this box was being used only 6 or so weeks ago. I didn't do anything to the overdrive while it was off the box, didn't even clean it as the oil I drained out was clean.
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5 minutes ago, John Morrison said:
Hi John
clean the operating valve replace and then reseat the ball bearing
Finally have more than one attempt at setting the operating lever
John
Thank you. Unfortunately done a number of times already.
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I fitted an Accuspark to my daily driver TR2. It failed shortly after fitting. They sent me a new one free of charge. It failed to.
My car runs a generator and the Accuspark distributor said that is probably the problem. The Accuspark will fail if it receives more than 14.2volts. A generator can put out a lot more than that when the battery is a bit down.
I now have Lumenition and Pertronix in the cars.
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Reverse gear on my TR3 packed up (broken layshaft tooth) so I pulled the gearbox and removed the overdrive. I put the od away in the garage while I repaired and overhauled the gearbox.
Yesterday a mate and I reattached the overdrive to the repaired gearbox. No issues, it went on with the normal adjustments of the mainshaft and overdrive.
Now it was all together we tested the gearbox and overdrive on his test bed. Gearbox works nicely but the overdrive doesn't engage. It worked perfectly before it was removed from the box and it was not touched during the gearbox work.
We have 20 thou lift on the ball valve, 400 psi oil pressure. The 8 springs are all the same length and weren't removed from the overdrive anyway.
Pushing the od lever manually there is a small change in noise a bit like the overdrive engaging, but it isn't engaging. This morning he tested it with an rpm gauge and the output flange is not changing speed.
The output and input rpm is the same so the od is not stuck on.
A member who is a gearbox and od professional suggested the clutch might be stuck so give the box a decent tap on the joint where the clutch is with a copper hammer. We tried this with no success.
It is looking like we will have to remove the overdrive but as it was working fine before it was removed for the gearbox repairs we have no idea what we might be looking for.
Any pointers before we remove the od or inside the od if we have to get it off.
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On 11/7/2023 at 3:36 AM, stuart said:
Interior, tonneau studs on the capping not further forward by the screen, door pulls wrong and wrong forward location, grab handle chrome should be black. Rear tank board completely wrong should be plain vinyl with no visible fixings. Later dash capping with hole for vent pull just covered over by vinyl, post 60K back end by the looks of it with as noted by Peter the later type boot rubber position, Chrome rocker cover not black, re-stamped chassis plate only fixed by three rivets and incorrectly placed, Body plates riveted on not screwed, incorrect hood and obviously large tenax used instead of miniature. The catalogue listing clearly states the restorer was trying to restore to as original spec as possible.
Stuart.
I largely agree but this is a later long door TR2 and some of the features you refer to only apply to the earlier cars.
Large tenax were used from Commission number TS3514 but I believe the tonneau studs had moved back to the capping quite early in the TR2 build. I received a long tonneau from John Skinner for my long door car (TS3732O) which has the studs on the capping not under the windscreen. This car is a genuine 3 owner car, I'm the 3rd owner, and the 2nd owner knew the car when the 1st owner owned it.
John believed the studs moved to the capping at about TS5200. My other TR2 (TS5038O), also original, has the studs on the capping. This was confirmed by the original owner who I met last year.
I researched the matter and sent John numerous photos of TR2s post about TS1250 with the studs on the capping. He sent me material for a new tonneau as it was too difficult to return the wrong one from Australia.
The subject car is clearly a cut and shut of two cars. The rear is a late 3A, it has poor panel alignment, and the front apron has a protruding jaw indicating it has been repaired incorrectly. The car has had a major crash.
Many of the other details are easily fixed, these ones aren't.
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I understand that running the engine with very worn thrust washers can lead to the engine being totally destroyed. Or is this only when the thrust washers fall out into the sump?
I replaced my washers when it had about 12 thou play. That is about .3mm. I understand that is near the point where they can fall out.
Radiator cap TR3
in TR2/3/3A/3B Forum
Posted · Edited by John McCormack
You can't tell which cap is suitable for your TR3 without checking the neck on the radiator. Your car may have been fitted with a recovery system as described above.
I put a recovery neck on my daily driver TR2 radiator to avoid having coolant go everywhere when I over filled it. It isn't now a stock TR2 radiator and needs a recovery cap.
Check which radiator neck you have and get the cap to go with it.