[CV AXLES VIBRATION]

I installed new CV axles and hubs a few months ago. The mechanic who supplied the axles also repaired the diff mounts and replaced the diff pinion seal.

Since fitting the axles the car has developed a vibration whenever the drivers side axle is under load at speed on the freeway i.e. on left hand bends, when the rear end compresses on undulations in the road and when accelerating hard say in 4th at 100km/h.

I have thoroughly checked for tyre rubbing, exhaust contact and anything loose. There are no signs of anything untoward.

In the absence of any problems believe it is the new CV axle.

I understand that CV joints can have one or more sticky bearings and this will cause vibration when the axle is under load.

The new pinion seal has failed, probably a defective seal, and the mechanic has agreed to fit a new drivers axle when he replaces the pinion seal.

Has anyone had a problem with a CV axle causing a vibration in the above circumstances?

[No Pulse on fuel line No. 2]

You just need to bleed the injector. Crank the engine over while gently tapping the injector nozzle with a light wooden item like a small screwdriver handle. It might take a minute or two but eventually the air will clear and you will get a fine cone spray.

These cars tend to have an injector air block when they haven't been used for awhile. i had quite a few when I bought mine as it hadn't been used for many years. A local Triumph specialist showed me how to bleed them which I had to do a few times. It hasn't done it now for some time as it is getting run and driven much more often.

[Restoration advice]

Looking at the TR6s for sale here in Australia good PIs are few and far between. Most are ex US, carbied PIs or not in very good or original condition. I think a rust free good road going original PI (with some mods like Bosch pump and upgraded rear end) will fetch more than $40K, and prices of all classics have been going up quite a bit.

I am also doing a restoration, of a long door TR2, just because I want to restore this example as a Concours standard car. My original budget for the resto including purchase cost was $45K. The estimate is now at $55K, which should cover it but might not. They always cost more than planned.

[UNUSUAL VIBRATION]

Have you checked the distance between the body tub and the bump stop mount on the trailing arm? if you fit adjustable shocks with the type as above the shock will bottom out before the bump stop meets the tub therefore stressing the lever arm and ultimately failure of the trailing arm where the shock absorber is fixed to it. I fit a nominal 30mm spacer to stop this happening. As the shocks are set to soft this could be happening as the car turns that way the bump stop meets the tub before there is no travel left in the shock absorber. as it was designed to do. Clem

Thank you all for the advice. Just to clarify, the new telescopic shock mounts are bolted to the original lever arm mounts and the new shocks have internal bump stops. The axles included new upgraded hubs.

I removed the wheels and the rear end looks to be all in order, no tyre rubbing, no contact with shock mounts or exhaust, shock travel is right, no diff bearing issues.

After talking with a couple of mechanics including the one who provided the CV axles,and in the absence of any other cause, we have deduced it is the drivers side CV axle.

The axle was fitted a couple of months ago and I noticed a slight vibration on its only other very short run above 80km/h. This was its first longer run and at above 100Km/H.

When the axle isn't under load with the car running in a straight line on smooth roads the axle is fine with no noticeable vibration. Once the axle is loaded up on left hand curves, when the rear end compresses on undulations or under acceleration at speed one or more of the bearings in the CV mechanism is probably binding a bit causing the vibration. It is only noticeable at speeds above about 80 km/h and really a problem above 100 km/h.

I bought the shocks and CV axles from the same mechanic who did the diff mounts and pinion seal. The car is going back to him in two weeks and he will redo the pinion seal and put another axle on the drivers side.

Hopefully that will cure it. In the meantime the TR2 is in great working order and remains my daily driver.

The weather is cooling down down under but life could be worse.

[UNUSUAL VIBRATION]

My 1970 Pi has developed a vibration through the body from the back end. It only occurs on left hand bends, when the suspension compresses on undulations in the road and when accelerating hard at speed.

 

Background

 

About 2 months ago I fitted CV axles. There might have been a vibration then but I didn't get it out enough to really know. The front right diff mount was broken away and I probably assumed any problems were associated with that.

 

Last week I had the diff mounts repaired and strengthened by a Triumph specialist garage, He also put a new pinion seal in as the old one had a slight weep.

 

The car had rear telescopic shocks twhich were attached to the body on the wheel arch. I bought new mounts and shocks from the Triumph man and when I got it home I fitted them. I drove the car on a few 10 km local runs and was happy with it in suburban driving.

 

Yesterday I took her on a weekend TR Register run to test out the changes.

 

On the freeway at 110-120 km/h the vibrations from the rear end were concerning. Again, they only occur on left hand bends, when the suspension compressed on undulations in the road and when accelerating hard at speed. In a straight line and on right hand bends the car was vibration free at all speeds. There are no noises associated with the vibrations.

 

At a meeting with other cars 100kms from home I noticed a pool of oil under the car. A quick look and it was from the new pinion seal. While we were stopped I gave the rear end a bounce and it was obvious the new adjustable shocks were set too soft. As we were heading to a remote spot I decided to take the car home and join the others at our destination in another car.

 

On the run home I took it easy due to the oil leak, 70-90km/h. The vibration was no worse or better than before. Again, in a straight line or on right hand bends it was vibration free. Near home I gave her a burst in 2nd and there wasn't a noticeable problem.

 

I am assuming the leak and vibration were unrelated, there is no sign the pinion bearing has a problem and I am confident the garage would have picked any problem up when replacing the seal. I could be wrong.

 

My suspicions were that the vibration was caused by:

• The body flexing enough on bends and when the suspension compressed to touch the new shock mounts. The new mounts are only a few mm clear of one now superfluous bolt that held the old body mount on. If the body flexed on corners, under acceleration or on undulations in the road the body might touch the shock mount transmitting road wheel vibration through the body. Only really noticeable at speed due to the increased vibration from the wheels.
• The soft rear shocks were exacerbating the problem.
• A bad diff pinion or axle bearing. I doubt this as a bearing problem would be there all the time, make a noise and get worse as time went on.
• A defective CV axle. I don't know enough how these axles work to know whether a CV axle would induce vibration only in the situations they were occurring.

Any ideas thank you all? I will remove the offending bolts that are close to the new mounts but others may have experienced similar vibrations and it would be great to have other possibilities to look at while it is apart.

 

John

[RADIATOR CRANK HOLE LOCATION]

Thank you all, especially Conrad with the measurements for the hole location.

I have obtained two quotes today for a straight hole and for a wet box hole.

The straight hole I am looking at up to 8 hours labour or $1,200 plus tax, a wet box could be as much as 30 hours labour or $4,500 plus tax. Both specialists said it would be better to start with another core that the manufacturer put the hole in.

If it had been cheap I could have maybe justified it but paying that sort of money to achieve a minor originality feature (and lose 15% cooling capacity when I live in a hot country) doesn't make sense.

It is more important to me that the engine bay is as per factory with an original fan.

I'll scout around for a reasonable one with a hole in it already that I might use for show situations.

[Wire wheel/hub extension]

With mine the knock off was fully tightened and the wheel could move on the spline. I recall the knock on was actually touching the spokes.

That was with very old wheels, the more modern wheels are a different shape and they grip the knock on much better.

Tighten the wheel up and see how much clearance there is between the knock on and the spokes. It should be about 5mm or 1/4".

[Long door TR2 upholstery]

Hi John,

 

i havent heard of this before and havent read it in any of the known books. perhaps the back replaced at a later moment which could be in the 60, this would give it the right patina.

You could be right.

The fellow I bought the car from bought it in 1966 and didn't do the interior, so it would have had to be done very early on.

The carpet on the seats is the same as the samples I have from the floor and the seat leather is definitely the original. The 1st owner could have renewed the carpets and done the seat backs at the same time but it does seem to be an unusual thing to do, replace the seat backs with carpet keeping the original leather.

I'll keep searching for the answer..

[Long door TR2 upholstery]

John take a look at My Google photo album. I used a skinner set which i was happy with But needed Some detailing to have it original

A bit of a delay but I have been through your photos. Lovely car and restoration.

I like the quality of the Skinners kit and they have sent me colour samples which very closely match the original items I have. Decision made.

I have a original crank handle but no other tools. Any advice on where I could get a set?

[Long door TR2 upholstery]

My seats still have the original covering on them and the seat backs are carpet, not vinyl. The carpet is sewn on professionally and appears to be an original factory fit. It is on both seats and the carpet is the same as the bits of original floor carpet I have with the car.

I suspect it was a factory option.

Has anybody seen or heard of long door TR2 seats having carpet on the seat backs?

[AMMETER FLICKING]

If it's any comfort John, I have the locally sourced tractor voltage regulator (and generator) and despite cleaning the points as part of annual servicing, the ammeter still fluctuates as you describe.

 

To preserve contact points surfaces, I use Contact Cleaner then run thin cardboard though to remove any debris.

 

Speaking of Fergie tractor parts, it's amazing that a new crankshaft prefectly good for a road use TR, sells for just A$253.18 inc tax - less than a blue TR3A apron badge !.

Had a great turn up today Viv for a regular monthly run to a cafe in Picton. 5 TRs and a couple of members in other vehicles. The Common Ground cafe is just on the southern side of the old Hume Hwy Razorback road. Although it is now an 80km/h limit judicious use of power can get a bit of a drift.

I cleaned the points last night with a light wipe with 1200 grade piece of wet and dry and then a clean with clean printer paper. As I said above it did make a difference because the flicker disappeared at a couple of hundred lower rpm.

[New car - rough running]

I copied the (unhighlighted) www address and later pasted it into the Google 'search' box and the video played OK.

About to have a look. Suspect it will drain a bit of urine out of the Aussies.

We are use to it. They are like little brothers trying to get one up on big brother, who they love really. :-).

When it has come to the crunch, the ANZACs come together.

I just wish they had decided to join the Australian Federation so we could field a decent rugby team.

[RADIATOR CRANK HOLE LOCATION]

Hi,

 

The absence of the hole helps the cooling by allowing more radiator area. You will never need the starting handle after you have up rated the coil, the starter, the condenser, the plugs and a new battery.

 

Even when my car was worn out I never used the handle.

 

Good luck, Richard

Thanks Richard. I want the hole just for originality.

I aim to build this car as close as I can to how it was when it left the factory, although built to the standards the factory probably wished they had been able to build it.

I have another TR2 I have owned for 42 years as a daily driver, covering about 10,000 miles a year. It is also very original but with an electric fan, no crank hole, high port head and a hi-torque starter motor.

[AMMETER FLICKING]

I assume - though you did not say- that this flicking is something new that you have not seen before?

Yes the dynamo output is limited at low revs but the output should still be steady once the ignition light has gone out when the dynamo output exceeds the battery voltage. If its working properly the regulator does not have any problem with setting the 'right voltage' - it is continually adjusting the dynamo field current at high speed and should not visibly 'hunt' as the chap implied.

 

I suppose one thing that could cause needle-waggle is variation in the battery current while charging, possibly due to bubbles in the electrolyte, but would that be limited to only part of the revs band?.

 

Just a thought - you say the ammeter is perfectly steady at cruising speed - what is it indicating at that point ? It should be zero once the battery has regained charge. If it isn't then you probably have some load connected to the 'wrong' end of the meter as is sometimes the case where additional kit has been installed.

Thanks Rob. I think the flicking has been noticeable since this regulator went in which is probably now about 20,000+ miles. The car has done a lot of long high speed trips with it like this, I have just taken an interest in it after doing some Googling, probably shouldn't have done that.

My view is the regulators are all now reproductions and are not maybe as good as they were/should be. These regulators are provided through our TR Register parts supplies and these ones are the ones used worldwide in the tractor trade. The member in question sells hundreds of them every year worldwide so has a thorough history of their foibles.

To be clear the ammeter isn't 'hunting' as such, the charge seems to be steady with the need flicking around a +ve charge.

When steady with the battery well charged it shows a very slight amp or two of charge, exactly as expected.

[RADIATOR CRANK HOLE LOCATION]

I am building my long door TR2 to original specs, as best as I can.

The new radiator that came with the car doesn't have the crank hole, nor does my driver car.

Does anyone know how to correctly locate the crank hole in a new radiator?

[Wire wheel/hub extension]

A photo?

One broken spoke shouldn't be a problem. I have driven my car with its previous 48 spoke wheels with up to 3 broken spokes. Only around town mind you and not at speed.

Groaning from the wheel might just be the wheel wasn't tight enough. It could also be that the spokes are indeed loose or the knock on is old and stretched and doesn't tighten the wheel properly. I had this problem in years past

[AMMETER FLICKING]

I took the car for a TR Register coffee run this morning and had the chance to talk with the TR Register parts distributor on this subject. In my words, the generators are poor chargers below about 2000rpm and it will be the regulator trying to get the right voltage at lower and mid range revs. This is particularly the case when the battery is full charged.

He said it is unlikely to be the generator which will last many 10s of thousands of miles provided you don't over tighten the belt and you don't have extractors that go close to the generator.

After start or after a period at the lights with the electric fan running the ammeter is quite steady. Once at cruise speed, above 2100rpm, the ammeter settled down and at normal cruise of 2300-2800rpm it was perfectly steady.

Cleaning the points last night did improve the charging, the ammeter flicker disappears a couple of hundred rpm lower than previously.

[AMMETER FLICKING]

Thanks for the advice.

 

I went out to the garage, it is late here, and checked and cleaned the generator terminals, regulator terminals, solenoid terminals and ran some 1200 grade paper through the regulator points. No appreciable change.

 

The dash lights flicker lightly with the ammeter, the charge light stays off and below 1500 it is usually a steady charge and once it gets to about 2400-2500 it charges steadily.

 

The generator was new about 15-20,000 miles ago. Brushes have normally lasted longer than that for me, but brushes are the suspect!

[AMMETER FLICKING]

My ammeter often flicks around rather than showing a steady charge, usually between about 1800 and 2400 rpm. The charge is usually steady at 2500 rpm and above and often steady at around 1500.

Would this be dirty regulator points?

[Its pinking!]

It is unlikely although possible it is a hot spot.

 

It is far more likely the ignition is too far advanced for the fuel octane rating being used.

 

I had a pinking problem at higher revs under load. Even with the ignition retarded a fair way it would still pink. Talking to some mates they asked what fuel I was using to which I answered Shell 98. They said it is the worse 98 in Australia.

 

I switched to BP Ultimate 98 and the problem was solved and even allowed a bit more advance and power. Just because the manufacturer says it is 98, or whatever octane, doesn't mean it is.

[H6 adjustment]

If you disconnect it you will need to keep your right foot on the throttle until it is warm enough to idle. This can be a real pain in traffic, especially on hill starts.

[TR6 TR SHOP REAR TELESCOPIC CONVERSION]

Hi,

I have just received TRaction and see that the TR Shop has a TR6 rear telescopic conversion kit for TTR6s for 174 pds. That seems a very good price for a full kit.

Has anybody used them and what do you think?

[Differentail Issue]

I have recently noticed a bit of backlash in the diff evidenced by a light click when taking off and changing gears. It isn't too noticeable and can e easily missed.

 

I was under the car on Friday to check it and it has similar, maybe slightly more, movement as yours.

 

The backlash may have been there for awhile but it became noticeable when I fitted CV half shafts that removed all the other clunks and noises from the rear end.

 

My Triumph mechanic, an excellent tradesman who was Triumph trained and been a Triumph mechanic since the 60s, took it for a drive for the annual registration check and said it wasn't an issue. I rang my diff/gearbox people and they said not to worry about it unless the light click annoys me.

 

The mechanic is going to weld up a cracked diff mount later this month so while the diff is out I probably will get it attended to. A few hours job I am told.

[Ammeter (daft question?)]

It is probably just parallax error. The needle is a small distance from the face so it will 'move' depending on the angle you are looking from. I always get a bit of a surprise looking at the gauges from the passenger seat as they all read differently than from the drivers seat.

[Ignition light on]

Agree, let it rest for awhile. The Prince of Darkness sometimes lets you off with a scare.

 

If it persists check all the battery, generator, earth and regulator wires are clean and tight. Do this anyway.

 

Then put a multimeter on your battery with the engine at 2000 revs, it should show above 14.5-15 volts. If it reads 12-12.5 volts it isn't charging at all and if above 12.5 and less than 14.5 it isn't charging properly.

 

If it isn't charging or not properly, put one lead of the multimeter lead to earth somewhere on the engine (e.g. head stud or bellhousing bolt) and the other on the big cable from the generator. If it is reading 14.5 or higher the generator is charging so it is probably the regulator.