Tim D. Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Hi Chaps.. The TR6 completed the 2000 miles of the Round Britain Reliability Run over the weekend.. Fantastic event, but pretty tired now! Had three mechanical issues: 1) rear diff bushes failed 2) gearbox synchros on 2nd and 3rd began to fail 3) accelerator cable snapped The first one is definitely the fault of the awful parts quality we have now. These are the second set I have fitted in the last 6 months and were new for the rally.. In the end they survived precisely 1400 miles.. Not at all fit for purpose. I suspect that the second might also be related to this. The gearbox was rebuilt by ORS around 8000 miles ago. Their reputation is excellent so wonder whether it is the synchro quality out there.. Anyone know if this is the case, and if it is how I can get around it in the next rebuild? The final one was just "one of those things" I guess. Broke right by the nipple where it goes into the pedal.. It was really the only thing that could have stopped us in the run and it happened <60 mins from the end.. but luckily I had a spare inner cable and we were going again in 20 mins.. I did check this part of the cable a few months before the run.. seemed fine.. Overall none of these stopped us an the car behaved admirably. Was swift when we needed it to be.. appart from the diff bushes it dealt with some rough roads in scotland, wales and Dartmoor and returned around 28 mpg on motorways and 32-34 on A roads.. Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Good effort .... and sorry to hear about the parts problems! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Tim, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip and completed the run. Odd about the synchros I can't imagine you used second gear much or you would still be driving. Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted October 8, 2018 Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Congratulations Tim. Regarding the accelerator cable: is your pedal stop bolt installed and at the right height? If not, this puts a lot of strain on the cable when the throttle is floored. regards, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2018 Waldo, With the supercharger setup it is actually hard to get full throttle opening even with the stop off. Failure seems to be the waggling of the cable at the nipple where it is inserted into the pedal Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Tim, my cable end nipple is a round ball, which fits nicely in the pedal. It is a lhd car, so not sure about rhd pedal design. Was yours similar? Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 No, mine was more cylindrical Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Freer Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Tim Ref. Gearbox, we had a similar problem with gear selection in 2016 which became more aparrent from Bude onwards I.e. it had done many continuous miles and was then asked to change up and down across Dartmoor. By Pimperne it was getting really tricky and I was beginning to worry about it. We soldiered on and with less gear changes need on the last leg we finished. This time we had no issues at all. The only thing I've changed in the gearbox oil. So try that first before you take the gbox out (unless of course you're a masochist!!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Hi Ben, Would be lovely if it was only gearbox oil. It started being notchy before the event (on the way back from Goodwood). So I changed over to redline MT90 which has worked well for me in other similar gearboxes. But not sure it made much difference to be honest. If I was to change the oil what would I change it to? Out of interest, am.i correct in thinking that the added torque of the supercharger should affect synchros but only bearings? Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Hi Tim, is the clutch fully disengaging during gear change. Where is the pedal during gear change. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Yes the pedal travel is pretty good (middle of travel as far as I could tell.) it also doesn't crunch in any of the other gears Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Cobbold Posted October 9, 2018 Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Tim, A good test of the supercharger ! If you raise the boost to 8 psi and you wont need 3rd, just go 2nd to top . I think I recall folks scavenging synchros from old boxes as the repro stuff gives problems. PQI for those diff bushes. Peter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2018 Hi Peter, yes definitely a good test of the supercharger.. ran faultlessly (although I still think I could dial it in better at low throttle opening/low revs).. The MPG was a real surprise, consistently 28mpg on motorways and 32mpg on A-roads.. so good in fact that I thought the fuel guage was mis-behaving.. I suspect the motorway MPG could be improved by running leaner with more advance using the vacuum signal into the Aldon Amethyst, but don't want to tweak too much.. It was also interesting to watch my sister drive the car. She normally runs an Audi S6 and was used to rapid acceleration.. she was well impressed with the acceleration of the TR! Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boxofbits Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 On 10/8/2018 at 5:02 PM, Tim D. said: Hi Chaps.. The TR6 completed the 2000 miles of the Round Britain Reliability Run over the weekend.. Fantastic event, but pretty tired now! Had three mechanical issues: 1) rear diff bushes failed 2) gearbox synchros on 2nd and 3rd began to fail 3) accelerator cable snapped The first one is definitely the fault of the awful parts quality we have now. These are the second set I have fitted in the last 6 months and were new for the rally.. In the end they survived precisely 1400 miles.. Not at all fit for purpose. I suspect that the second might also be related to this. The gearbox was rebuilt by ORS around 8000 miles ago. Their reputation is excellent so wonder whether it is the synchro quality out there.. Anyone know if this is the case, and if it is how I can get around it in the next rebuild? The final one was just "one of those things" I guess. Broke right by the nipple where it goes into the pedal.. It was really the only thing that could have stopped us in the run and it happened <60 mins from the end.. but luckily I had a spare inner cable and we were going again in 20 mins.. I did check this part of the cable a few months before the run.. seemed fine.. Overall none of these stopped us an the car behaved admirably. Was swift when we needed it to be.. appart from the diff bushes it dealt with some rough roads in scotland, wales and Dartmoor and returned around 28 mpg on motorways and 32-34 on A roads.. Cheers Tim Hi Tim I’m glad you completed the RBRR but not without a gearbox issue which I hope you’ll get resolved. From the CT Sectetary’s notes It seems there were 24 retirees from 131 starters..higher than usual apparently but some due to illness. It translated to an 18.3% attrition rate, but not that bad. We had three mechanical issues on the 4a, one when travelling south on the M6 when the coil failed, bumped up on centre of a roundabout in the dark and fixed, soon with a local police officer in attendance who seemed curious as to the nature of our visit to the roundabout and where we might be proceeding to! (He was actually a nice guy and helped divert the traffic so we could reverse off - luckily had a spare coil on board). Apart from that carbs flooding ( rear needle valve assembly actually unscrewed and laying on top of the float) and misfiring later due to some rust sediment in float chambers. New tank was fitted but probably residue..Stripped and cleaned at Morrison Services Wales, and fine thereafter. My gearbox issue was new to me and oddly enough only appeared with my co-driver in control! He made it jump out of 3rd gear repeatedly by resting his hand with slight pressure prior to de-clutching. Each time I was thinking there goes another tooth! So, is there a weakness in this area with the 4a box ? I felt I could make it happen if pulling on the gear lever slightly but then you could do that on a any gearbox. Tbh I was thinking ‘ car breaker’ when he was driving as he’d be on and off the throttle heavily in say 3rd gear giving the drive train a hard time and pulling away from rest in 2nd on a brand new clutch! So any known issues with coming out of gear known to others ??! If he’s my co driver next time I think I’ll take a Triumph badged dumper truck ! Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 Had a dud coil on a trip to Goodwood a few years back. Now running my oldest coil which seems to work well. Interesting your observation regarding 3rd gear and co drivers. It is only when other people drive my car that I realise how much I have modified my driving style to suit the car. My co driver is excellent but she is used to modern gearboxes that are happy with racing changes down through the gearbox. So we talk a lot about giving the gearbox time (albeit fractions of a second) 5o allow the synchro to work. Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 Sounds a hopeless case Kevin, suggest you change your co-driver for 2020!! Whilst safety, observation, anticipation and a systematic approach to hazards are key I also look for smoothness and mechanical sympathy in a driver, hence why I have been happy to sit beside Mike Hockaday fifteen times on the RBRR since the 80s. Glad to report no issues with NGP 86D this time round, I should have left all the tools and spares at home and benefitted from the weight saving!! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PodOne Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 Hi Tim Sorry hear of your issues. Part quaility for a lot of classic cars seems to be a common issue now. I'm just in the process of getting some TR6 diff bushes, given your issues what would you or others recommend? I'm in the fit and forget camp where ever possible as lumping a diff in and out on your back is not my idea of a fun day! Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 I am going down the polyurethane route. They look much better made. However I need to revise my first post. After inspection the bushes actually look ok. The issue was that one had loosened slightly from its mount on the diff. Popping the gearbox to Mike Papworth for rebuilding tomorrow. Cheers Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boxofbits Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, tim hunt said: Sounds a hopeless case Kevin, suggest you change your co-driver for 2020!! Whilst safety, observation, anticipation and a systematic approach to hazards are key I also look for smoothness and mechanical sympathy in a driver, hence why I have been happy to sit beside Mike Hockaday fifteen times on the RBRR since the 80s. Glad to report no issues with NGP 86D this time round, I should have left all the tools and spares at home and benefitted from the weight saving!! Tim Hi Tim Agree, and hats off to you for completing so many. Yes weight saving/condensing is an important issue and prepping the car in the right way of course. Regarding the coil failure I did wonder if the coil oil overheats at high prolonged speeds, especially the quality of what you get these days as second coil in about 2000 miles..- and along with being bolted to a very hot cylinder block for prolonged periods? Joking aside, my co-driver Dave is a good lad, great to be with, and made a big difference to the charity donations so I suppose I’ll have to put up with him next time! At least the car is part TRactor I suppose! Kevin Edited October 16, 2018 by boxofbits Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boxofbits Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Tim D. said: Had a dud coil on a trip to Goodwood a few years back. Now running my oldest coil which seems to work well. Interesting your observation regarding 3rd gear and co drivers. It is only when other people drive my car that I realise how much I have modified my driving style to suit the car. My co driver is excellent but she is used to modern gearboxes that are happy with racing changes down through the gearbox. So we talk a lot about giving the gearbox time (albeit fractions of a second) 5o allow the synchro to work. Cheers Tim Think you’re right there is an art to driving these cars properly. Everything is so much more tolerant on modern stuff, and as Tim H points out you have to be ready to tour with it and not thrash it on big runs like the RBRR. Any pics Tim(s) on the run? I think this one might be on the way to Gledrid. Kevin Edited October 16, 2018 by boxofbits Altered text Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 I agree about the coil environment Kevin, I had one fitted in the original position fail on me in the early days and fitted the new one to the bulkhead, near the washer reservoir. I've never had a failure since but just in case I have a second, as you can see, fitted on the n/s wheel arch to which the LT leads and king lead could be switched in seconds if ever needed. Few pictures from RBRR also attached. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boxofbits Posted October 16, 2018 Report Share Posted October 16, 2018 Good idea to reposition the coil Tim at least where some cooler air can get to it without the possibility of it getting wet too low down...some great pics too thanks for posting. Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 All good readings on the dash Tim. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tim hunt Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 Yes Hamish, that's what I thought. Although on the RBRR with a 91deg C thermostat and no radiator duct I still had to run with more than half the rad blanked off to get the temperature gauge half way (corresponding to ~92degs according to some checks I did a while ago). I console myself by thinking this means the internal waterways are super clean with efficient heat transfer. ideally I would like one of those radiator blinds that can be adjusted from the driver's seat as required. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted October 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 Since overhauling the TR6 engine I run a reasonable amount below half on the temp gauge. Probably the thermostat I am running. But apart from the cooler heater I suspect running slightly cooler is better for the supercharger, keeping the charge that little bit cooler. Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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