TR4 Rebuild

[peejay4A]

Roger - I don't know whether you received an answer about the ammeter, so here goes!

The ammeter is actually a voltmeter with a low resistance shunt in parallel, so that the vast majority of the current passes through the shunt winding. Without crawling under my dashboard, I can't recall whether the shunt is external (i.e. mounted on the back of the case) or internal. It will be wire of large diameter and few turns!

Therefore, you could remove the shunt elsewhere and just have the ammeter measure the voltage across the remotely located shunt. And because the current flowing to the gauge itself would be miniscule (milliamps), you could use cable of low capacity between the shunt and the gauge.

Ian Cornish

Ian,

The last time I dismantled an ammeter it contained a single coil of heavy gauge copper wire inside which a very light armature moves which is attached to the needle. So, not a voltmeter with a shunt but a very cheap way of measuring current.

Edited October 7, 2013 by peejay4A

[ianc]

Pete - I stand corrected, I had assumed it was like a laboratory instrument. As you say, an inexpensive way of making the meter.

Ian Cornish

[peejay4A]

...and it follows that it's not particularly accurate either

[RogerH]

Having had success driving the car up the ramp yesterday - without landing on the garage roof - I had a look at the underside of the car and took note on what needed doing.

The propshaft UJ's - were the first on the list but last to be done today. I have had a pair of UJ's in my spares box for about 5 years now. Whenever I go on a longish tour they are part fo the spares kit. Anyway after five years or so they are needed - where the bl@@dy hell are they, nowhere, gone, vanished. Tomorrow we shall buy some more.

 

The petrol pipe run was not laid out as best as could have been. So out with the old (actually it was new) and in with the new (technically it's even newerer not new).

When I removed the pipe it had a fairly straight run but went through a rather small hole behind a tube holding a floor bolt. However my new run went on the open side of this tube and then through a much bigger chassis hole - much nicerer.

I made up some natty pipe clips out of stainless with shrink sleeve over the top.

Where the pipe runs on the exposed side of this floor bolt tube I made a thick steel angle plate to protect from stones/debris etc.

 

Tomorrow I shall fit the new UJ's in the propshaft and refit.

The exhaust boxes are still making my brain cells tingle. The down pipe needs moving slightly to get it off the chassis. I'm hoping that undoing the three nuts at the manifold will allow some movement - please!!!!! if not I can see it will be hammer time

The forward pipe of the front box appears to be too short. I may pop around to Kwikfit and see if I can scrounge a 6" piece of pipe to weld on.

 

Hopefully the weather will hold for a couple more days to get all the bits done.

 

Roger

 

PS - in my excitement to tell you of todays toils and labour I forgot one incredible moment.

The angle bracket that I made to protect the fuel pipe needed painting. So I got my litre tin of 'Bond a Rust' primer and was holding the angle with

my long nose pliers. I was about to dip the brush into the paint when - kazam - the angle shot out of the pliers did a pirouette and half pike and belly flopped into the tin of paint and sank to the bottom.

I'm now looking at this thinking how do I get it out. Eventually my grey cell mentioned magnetic telescopic findy thing.

 

Well that's one way of painting.

[AlanT]

I had to get the shape of my exhaust alterered to get it through the chassis.

 

Local outfit here most helpful in doing this.

[TorontoTim]

Roger, I continue to (secretly) hope that you never finish this car. What the F*** will we read once this thread is done?

[RogerH]

The Prop UJ's tried to make life difficult but armed with a big hammer and a cup of coffee they stood no chance.

Actually that isn't quite true.

The cups went in easy into both free yokes but the propshaft yokes themselves both were very difficult to squish down.

However in the end my brilliant BEA apprenticeship won through - I know which end of the hammer to hold.

 

So, with a nice new coat of black paint and UJ's that work properly the shaft was installed - I even used new nyloc nuts - sod the expense.

 

The natty llittle angle plate that I knocked up yesterday was fitted to protect a section of fuel pipe.

 

My grey cell is still pondering the exhaust boxes. I'll probably fit a new system once the car is MOT'd and mobile but in the mean time I need to assemble what I have.

I need a 12" length of 1.875" diameter mild steel pipe to position the front box where I want it - where to get it!!! I'll try Kwikfit tomorrow.

 

Roger

[AlanT]

If you fail locally:

 

http://www.topgearperformance.co.uk/

[RogerH]

Hi Al,

thanks for that but I am really after some mild steel pipe.

 

Roger

[stuart]

Most good local Auto factors keep lengths of mild steel pipe in stock.

Stuart..

[RogerH]

Hi Stuart/Alan,

the reason for not wanting stainless was I wanted to weld the pipe extension to the existing box. However the plan has changed.

I bought a 14" length of SS pipe from Moss today and got my local exhaust shop to open one end up to slip over the the box pipe.

I can now clamp this together - If there is enought room!!!

 

Roger

Edited October 10, 2013 by RogerH

[RogerH]

Bu99er, there wasn't enough room for the 'u' clamp on the new extension piece of tube. So in the end I welded it to the front box.

 

I knocked up a bracket to hold the down pipe away from the chassis - only just. This bracket is attached to the OD unit using one of the lower rear studs

The front end is now quite solid and the back end has a degree of mobility.

 

Tomorrow I'll have a fiddle with the carbs - I think they are running very rich - and then get the car off the ramps.

Monday, Tuesday of next week could be MOT time - how often have your heard that.

 

Roger

Edited October 10, 2013 by RogerH

[RogerH]

Whilst I was at the exhaust shop this morning I spotted on their ramps a car.

The back end was sort of rounded and had some fancy mini raised wings.

It was paint stripped and noticed it was made of ali.

It was a Bristol.

Owned by the London Car Museum located in Hayes.

It was having an exhaust system fitted. However it wasn't a normal system.

The two banks of exhaust pipes were to exit the engine bay, pass through the inner wings and disappear into the compartment rear of the front wheels,

These compartments have neat doors to access the area.

Within this area the exhaust pipe (each side) will have a loop that fills the compartment and then exit out of the wing instead of going to the back of the car.

The Ali body will be polished and lacquered.

It all looked rather tatty in the flesh.

The intereior - I could only see the roof lining - had a nice looking radio speaker just above the rear view mirror.

 

Roger

[RogerH]

Out on the car early today. I was looking at the carb linkage (again).

I fitted rose joints in the summer to replace the worn springy joints hoping this would cure a slightly sticking linkage system.

Sadly it did not really sort the problem - but they do look good.

 

This morning I was trying to isolate the area causing the problem and came to the decision that it was the foot pedal bent bit steel that goes through the side wall of the bulkhead.

Toying with the idea to fit more, bigger springs I had a revalation (not a revolution - that is for the members forum).

Rather than try to get the pedal to move up that last 0.1" I could extend the lever to carb horizontal motion rod. Two turns on the rod has done the trick.

The carbs now close fully before the icky bit on the pedal.

 

Later today I shall start the engine for the first time (as explained in previous threads, this is not the actual/official first time but todays first time in order to do something) and

do some adjustments.

The official first start will be sometime in the future.

 

Roger

Edited October 12, 2013 by RogerH

[peejay4A]

Interesting Roger. I was thinking of going the opposite way and shortening my horizontal rod a bit because I find the off-idle springing a bit too heavy. Mustn't take it too far so that the pedal remains in a good position.

[RogerH]

Bit of a concern going on . I have had the engine running a few times for perhaps 10 minutes a go and each time there is significant smoke out the back .

 

The plugs do get quite black very quickly.

The smoke is not steam (not wet), possibly bluey/grey - this suggests oil perhaps.

Engine runs smoothly and speeds up quickly/easily when blipped.

If I rev the engine there is a smoke screen out the back.

No oil leaks.

I have the rad cap off at present so coolant not under pressure.

 

What are peoples thoughts and possible action to take

 

Roger

Edited October 12, 2013 by RogerH

[TR NIALL]

Sell the Car to the Pope,he'll then have a Renault 4 and a Smokie TR4.

[RogerH]

regarding the smoke -

I shut the main jets right down and the engine stopped.

I opened them just enough to start the engine and the smoke was still there - maybe a bit less but still there.

The jets were then reset to normal (2.5turns).

 

I then checked the head nut torque - I managed to get a small amount of movement on all nuts, but not much - still smoked afterwards.

 

Roger

[Guest ntc]

Roger

It's sucking oil in from somewhere

[RogerH]

Hi Neil,

I think you are right. The problem at the moment is where.

 

The breather pipe on the crank case it in place but nothing nasty is coming out.

The open filter cover is in place - when removed there is pulsing coming from the crank case pressurisation.

I have not fitted the rocker to inlet manifold pipe - not sure if it should be there. I'll try and fit that this afternoon and see what happens.

 

Roger

[RogerH]

I've fitted the rocker cover/manifold breather pipe but can't run the enigne yet as I drained the oil from the gearbox and took the filter out of the OD.

 

The oil was a rather ghastly yellowy brown colour and had quite a wiff to it.

The filters must be very old as they have whiskers - quite a lot of whiskers.

 

On Monday I'll put it all together and have words with the MOT man. If it passes (sometime next week) then I'll be able to take the enigne and gearbox out.

GB&OD will go away for sorting and I'll strip the engine down (again yawn).

 

At least the engine sounded good if not a bit smokey.

 

Roger

[RogerH]

Hi Folks,

Monday was wet so very little happened.

However today is dry and almost sunny.

 

Regarding the exhaust smoke - I was concerned that it was oil (and it may still be) but today I considered a very rich mixture.

The plugs were jet black except #3 which was a little sooty - don't yah just love consistency.

 

I noticed that I had BPR6HS plugs in; I also have NGK suppressed plug caps. Perhaps the two supressed items together was weakening the spark.

So I have fitted BP6HS plugs now and will give them a blast. I have weakened the mixture 3 flats from my basic setting.

When I go back out I'll check what needles are fitted.

With the few tweaks I have done the smoke appears less - but not gone.

 

I removed the O/D filter the other day to see what was going on - and there was plenty.

Inside the filter was lots of whiskers, nothing too substantial. Also the magnet was in there but in four pieces.

I bought new ones yesterday and they look totally different. My old magnet was should have been a single item apprx 3mm square.

The new one is made up of three seperate flatish toroids the inside diameter of which is significantly smaller than th original.

 

I was under the inpression that the magnet fitted on the top face of the filter as there is a depression there of exactly the same outside diameter of the magnet.

When the magnet broke (why!!!) it fell into the filter.

The new magnet would definately not fit here.

Looking at the Moss Cat' I then realised that the magnet sits in the bottom of the big brass nut trapped by the filter.

It would appear that the previous owner assembled it incorrectly and the magnet broke because it was sitting on the heads a two screws.

 

I shall now wander out and adjust the tappets and look at the needles.

 

Roger

[RogerH]

I wandered out and now I've wandered back in.

 

The tappets were about OK but I've still got a noisy one - hmm.

 

The main jet needles are 'SM' which I think is the standard one.

The jets have been turned 8 flats down and with a warm engine they run OK.

There is no/very little smoke on tickover. However @ 2000rpm a fair amount of smoke is produced.

 

My quandry is - if it's oil where is it coming from (new pistons/liners/rings)

If it is too rich mixture how do I weaken it and keep the engine running.

 

Head scratching time.

 

Roger

 

PS - the engine runs quite smooth but have found that #3 spark plug does not make much difference to running when the plug cap is removed !!

The other three make a noticable difference.

Edited October 15, 2013 by RogerH

[peejay4A]

Time for a compression or leak down test?

[mike3md]

Roger,

 

I think SM are richer than standard, depending on liner size - TW may be better? Moss cat page 08 has a table which may help. Check also #3 plug lead.

 

Mike