Howdy all,
I'd like to welcome myself back to the list from a bout with
strep throat (103 temp for four days! Yuck!) When I got back to
work, I had over 175 messages awaiting me! It took two entire
lunch periods and some after work time just to get through them
all!
Before I got sick, I took a few days off and took a bunch of the
parts from the dismantled '72 GT6mk3 down to my parents house
where they would have a garage in which to sit rather than a
porch on which to sit. I think they liked the change of venue.
While they sat there, I worked on a few of them. I also learned
alot through the process of skinning knuckles and straining
breaker bars. Details and questions follow.
The Gearbox: I took off the shift assembly and the top cover.
I sloshed clean solvent inside to clean out all the old goo, I
wiped clean what I could, and then blew it dry with the
compressor. I replaced the front and rear seals, the
distributor 0-ring and all gaskets. I then buttoned the mess
back together and filled with Sta-lube 85W-90 weight hypoid gear
oil. Comments -- the old seals liked where they were more than
the trash can. I lost one of the three little springs between
the bellhousing and the gearbox case -- the ones around the
lower shaft. Can anyone explain exactly what they do and how
important they are? I found a different spring to replace it
with, but the spring constant is much smaller. I plan on
replacing eventually. Question: how difficult is it to replace
the bearings, synchros, etc with new ones from that TRF kit? I
didn't feel like spending the $$$ until I had a chance to drive
the tranny for a while. I am a little afraid of transmissions,
probably a result of the tranny in the Porsche 914 which is
rugged, large and hard to tinker on in the garage. By contrast,
the Triumph gearbox looked absolutely tiny! Perhaps whimpy
would be better? How well will this tranny hold up to the
horsepower from a GT6 engine rebuilt as a TR6 engine? Do I have
options for a tranny swap?
The Front Suspension: I took all the front pieces apart and
cleaned them well. I sprayed them with a good coat of metallic
grey catalyzed urethane acrylic enamel -- all except the hubs
and the A-arms (I left the A-arms at Edwards AFB). Any advice
on replacing the bearings in the front hubs? Perhaps "DON'T!"
I am leaning toward "DO" because I have a set on back order and
my goal is to replace all bearings and bushings if possible. I
can't wait to get the pieces together because I think that the
silver pieces, the gold trunnions, the black seals and A-arms,
the silver coil springs and the red shocks should look
neato-cool! Should I paint the calipers? I know that the TRF
guy paints his red....
propeller shaft: painted it silver too. I squeezed out the old
U-joints and I used solvent to swish out the grease in the
expansion joint. The cork gasket in the expansion joint was
shot to hell -- does this have a part number or do I have to
just cut one by hand? Speaking of U-joints, I got the Q-H ones
w/o the grease fitting. So, how do I grease them? Should I
just fill up the bearings with grease so that it squishes out as
I squeeze them on the spider? What grease is recommended? I
plan on using regular Quaker State bearing grease. Let me know
if any of this is wrong or if you have any tips on U-joints. I
have never fixed U-joints -- the 914 has CV joints.
Differential: I split this, sloshed out the inside with
solvent, dried it and put the case halves together with a new
gasket and Gasgacinch gasket dressing. I pulled the half axles
(or whatever) out and attempted to install new oil seals. No
matter how hard I "sworked" (am I using that right?) nothing
worked! I tapped.... I pounded.... I even brought out the gear
puller. All I succeeded in doing was to bend the square plates
that mount the axles to the case (overzealous gear puller
tension). OOOps! Well, I just gave up and put the old
assemblies back on with a shoot load of Permatex 3H to hopefully
fill in for the bend of the mounting plate. Anyone have any
advice on how to do this correctly? Anyone have a spare
mounting flange/plate sitting around in the garage?
I also tried to install new rear mounting bushes in the tranny
case. Impossible! Too tight of a fit. I guess I am going to
have to file down the OD of the bushes.
Last but not least, the rear suspension, drive assembly: I
think that this assembly was formed under heat and pressure deep
within the mantle of the Earth -- I simply cant get anything to
separate from anything else! I've singlehandedly cornered the
market on liquid wrench; I've used the ice one side/torch the
other side method; I've clamped and poked and sawed and prodded
and.... I even begged! I guess I am going to have to break down
and use the base hydraulic press. But until I do, does anyone
have any advice on neato techniques that will keep my busy while
I keep fooling myself that I can do it alone? In particular, I
am trying to remove the Rotoflex joints, the long through bolt
at the bottom of the wheel assembly, stuff like that! I'd
appreciate either advice or commiseration!
Well, that is about it for now. Time to go home and throw a
promotion party! (I just pinned on First Lieutenant! I get a
moderate raise in pay and a tiny raise in respect....)
-Tim "still-a-butterbar-at-heart" Radsick
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