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Just because we’ve got a new sofa!?…

Without going further into any thread drift….Don’t buy a new sofa that your wife has not 100% organised and sanctioned… you might get it in the door, you might even (think you are!) comfortable sat on it…. However, the dog suddenly being allowed on - while you are away, in your place, earning an honest crust is only one aspect of the ongoing gorilla warfare….!

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A lightweight drain plug remover which lives in the travelling tool kit. 

Well, the "special" tool, even with a torch attached, failed to locate the lamp. It was excellent at recovering various small logs, and large stones though. Luckily I had taken along a Plan B - a

Hi, this was one of the first tools I made for my TR4A about 10 years ago, very durable and still in use... Shure someone else has one like this in use and posted it already.

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Back to Petes tool....TWELVE is a lovely number!

6 (=hex head) x 2 = 12 and 12 /  3 = 4 (= square head)

This is why a set of "multi gear sockets" in steps of 1 mm fits really ALL hex and squared heads.

In the case of the brake adjustor it is a 7 mm multi gear socket that fits like a glove on the 1/4“ square head

13 mm should fit in 1/2“ head oil plugs? Don't know anymore, I swaped to hex heads years ago.

1740-15625.jpg

Edited by Z320
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15 hours ago, Z320 said:

Back to Petes tool....TWELVE is a lovely number!

6 (=hex head) x 2 = 12 and 12 /  3 = 4 (= square head)

This is why a set of "multi gear sockets" in steps of 1 mm fits really ALL hex and squared heads.

In the case of the brake adjustor it is a 7 mm multi gear socket that fits like a glove on the 1/4“ square head

13 mm should fit in 1/2“ head oil plugs? Don't know anymore, I swaped to hex heads years ago.

1740-15625.jpg

Apart from the wire wheel adaptor nuts that definitely need a 6 sided socket to prevent slippage as theyre a very shallow nut.

Stuart.

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17 hours ago, Z320 said:

Back to Petes tool....TWELVE is a lovely number!

6 (=hex head) x 2 = 12 and 12 /  3 = 4 (= square head)

This is why a set of "multi gear sockets" in steps of 1 mm fits really ALL hex and squared heads.

In the case of the brake adjustor it is a 7 mm multi gear socket that fits like a glove on the 1/4“ square head

13 mm should fit in 1/2“ head oil plugs? Don't know anymore, I swaped to hex heads years ago.

1740-15625.jpg

Fist time I encountered spline drive was on a DC10-10 

Pain in the neck as I had to go out and get an assortment of suitably sized sockets and and ring spanners to do my job.  Still have a couple that I bought somewhere.

When I went to work at BCAL I found that the unions had 'encouraged' the company to provide a 'DC10 Toolkit' containing all the non standard stuff like spline drive and TriWing drivers, for those working on the modern machines.  My tool kit was returned to the company stores when I left them in 1979.

I have a 5/16" square opening 1/4" drive socket I use on the rear adjuster of the TR3 with 10" brakes.  Later cars with smaller 9" diameter brakes use 1/4" square adjuster as described above.

 

 

image.png.4c260f6f64d94dc7b0ab260862c41058.png

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I came across spline head bolts when I had to remove the (4) cylinder heads from my Jeep Cherokee. Purchased a set of (male) spline 1/2" drive tools to do the job.

The next time was last week when a neighbour was trying to remove the seats from his VW Polo. I was able to lend him the right tool !

Bob

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This is a simple but somewhat reassuring mod, for when working on a car on ramps. . .

 

P1400072s.JPG.670acf3bd3b2e6a08c7a8b712c71c431.JPG

^ I know it's unlikely but I'm always a little anxious that the car will roll off the ramps, they appear to be a little short to me.  This won't happen when everything is static, but when jacking up one corner to work on it..  another wheel on another ramp is prone to move around.

For peace of mind, perhaps as much as anything because I usually work alone (should anything horrid happen), I use a block of three 5" x 1-1/2" timbers screwed together. It is 335mm long and wedged against the ramp's bottom cross rail. And then another block 8" wide by 1-1/2" is dropped in to fit between the treble block and the tyre. This makes positioning them easier than one long block and keeps the angles perpendicular. 

I have four such treble-blocks so when all four wheels are lifted up onto the ramps (I use a high lift trolley jack to do the lifting), then each of the four wheels can be locked in place.  In practice the use of these ramps, and these sizes of block are particularly useful for when a corner is jacked up and its wheel is removed. Then the same ramp and blocks are readily at hand for packing under the chassis . . .

P1400099s.JPG.8f839d07039dad039bf4ef43b9d01a70.JPG 

^ While checking out my car's steering this is how I had the car choked up.  The three other wheels were also up on the ramps and locked in place with the wooden blocks. The ramp & blocks from under this wheel were moved to be under the chassis rail.  An axle-stand (red, but only just seen behind the trolley jack in this photo) is under the chassis' front cross member.  And the trolley jack itself has a wide footprint so is very stable.  With the car secure on the ramps, the trolley jack was freed up to adjust the height of the hub / suspension / track rod end as I work on it.

There is a short length of 4" x 2" on the jack's pad, both to better protect the underside of the suspension's lower wishbone ..and to help protect the trolley jack / kept it in nice condition (bolt threads with lock-nut are poking down which would chew the trolley     

To most young men I guess my times-five under-car supports must seem way-over-the-top, but aside from the immediate pain of an injury I'm also trying to not loose weeks of working on the car while an injury heals.  I lost a thumb nail on my right hand, when working with another mechanic to change this car's clutch. The injury might easily have been more serious, I realised then that it such cavalier working conditions simply wasn't worth the risk.  In itself it was not a big deal but it was a right flipping nuisance for month, even when just trying to wash my hands.  

With old age comes experience, and (hopefully) from that comes a little wisdom.    

Btw., the office chair on castors has no back but of course is height adjustable, and that's great for sitting down to work. Otherwise I have a 4ft x 2ft rug which I lay down on.

And the eagle eyed might spot a shiny kidney shaped magnet (which came from a motorcycle tank bag) on the trolley jack. There's two on there but the other is out-of sight under the pot of grease.  These are really useful for keeping removed nuts, bolts and washer together and close to hand where they won't get kicked over.    

Hope that's not all-too-basic for you gents of great experience.

Pete.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Bfg said:

I know it's unlikely but I'm always a little anxious that the car will roll off the ramps, they appear to be a little short to me. 

 

Not only do they seem a little short Pete, but the top seems to slope down rather than being horizontal.

Pete

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2 hours ago, Bfg said:

This is a simple but somewhat reassuring mod, for when working on a car on ramps. . .

 

P1400072s.JPG.670acf3bd3b2e6a08c7a8b712c71c431.JPG

^ I know it's unlikely but I'm always a little anxious that the car will roll off the ramps, they appear to be a little short to me.  This won't happen when everything is static, but when jacking up one corner to work on it..  another wheel on another ramp is prone to move around.

For peace of mind, perhaps as much as anything because I usually work alone (should anything horrid happen), I use a block of three 5" x 1-1/2" timbers screwed together. It is 335mm long and wedged against the ramp's bottom cross rail. And then another block 8" wide by 1-1/2" is dropped in to fit between the treble block and the tyre. This makes positioning them easier than one long block and keeps the angles perpendicular. 

I have four such treble-blocks so when all four wheels are lifted up onto the ramps (I use a high lift trolley jack to do the lifting), then each of the four wheels can be locked in place.  In practice the use of these ramps, and these sizes of block are particularly useful for when a corner is jacked up and its wheel is removed. Then the same ramp and blocks are readily at hand for packing under the chassis . . .

P1400099s.JPG.8f839d07039dad039bf4ef43b9d01a70.JPG 

^ While checking out my car's steering this is how I had the car choked up.  The three other wheels were also up on the ramps and locked in place with the wooden blocks. The ramp & blocks from under this wheel were moved to be under the chassis rail.  An axle-stand (red, but only just seen behind the trolley jack in this photo) is under the chassis' front cross member.  And the trolley jack itself has a wide footprint so is very stable.  With the car secure on the ramps, the trolley jack was freed up to adjust the height of the hub / suspension / track rod end as I work on it.

There is a short length of 4" x 2" on the jack's pad, both to better protect the underside of the suspension's lower wishbone ..and to help protect the trolley jack / kept it in nice condition (bolt threads with lock-nut are poking down which would chew the trolley     

To most young men I guess my times-five under-car supports must seem way-over-the-top, but aside from the immediate pain of an injury I'm also trying to not loose weeks of working on the car while an injury heals.  I lost a thumb nail on my right hand, when working with another mechanic to change this car's clutch. The injury might easily have been more serious, I realised then that it such cavalier working conditions simply wasn't worth the risk.  In itself it was not a big deal but it was a right flipping nuisance for month, even when just trying to wash my hands.  

With old age comes experience, and (hopefully) from that comes a little wisdom.    

Btw., the office chair on castors has no back but of course is height adjustable, and that's great for sitting down to work. Otherwise I have a 4ft x 2ft rug which I lay down on.

And the eagle eyed might spot a shiny kidney shaped magnet (which came from a motorcycle tank bag) on the trolley jack. There's two on there but the other is out-of sight under the pot of grease.  These are really useful for keeping removed nuts, bolts and washer together and close to hand where they won't get kicked over.    

Hope that's not all-too-basic for you gents of great experience.

Pete.

 

 

See where you are coming from Pete,

when I used car ramps, I always jacked up a corner and turned the ramp through 180*

safe as houses then.

John.

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If I want all of the car in the air, I back it up onto ramps, then with handbrake on (& in gear) trolley jack the front up,

& slip two more ramps under the front wheels.

Bob.

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When using my ramps at the front of the car, I always have one pointing forwards and the other backwards - that way the car cannot move in either direction.  From what John says, I think this is what he does, too.

Pete's ramp appears to have a landing which is not horizontal - mine, which I have had for 60 years, are horizontal, which is safer.

Ian Cornish

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Today was engine and gearbox service day. New oils filter etc

As always the tedious job of removing and refitting the oil filter housing.

Hence the short spanner that fits the 9/16” af hexagon bolt head that retains the filter bowl. 

 

 

 

A1DDA5BF-9CDA-4DF9-A2E9-A96D4F1BC1EA.jpeg

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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Axle stands to hold the car up when fitting or removing the front shocks on a TR.  
I have a pair.  Just bolt them to the wheel studs to take the weight of the car, rather than risking the jack under the wishbones slipping 

5A679C90-8CBD-444B-B73C-11C4D78636EC.jpeg

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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