Consider the possibility of an out of balance propeller shaft.
Michael O'Higgins '60 AN5 "Raj"
Rotehed@msn.com
"Good judgement is the product of experience."
"Experience is the product of bad judgement."
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-spridgets@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of shk
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 1998 8:16 AM
To: spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Perplexing sprite problems
I have had 2 annoying problems with my '63 Sprite that I have decided to
try and tackle with the assistance of the list.
#1 (difficult) The drivetrain has a very noticeable vibration at
around 3000-3200 RPM. You can feel it strongest in the shift lever.
If you hold these revs then usually it increases in intensity. It is
most noticeable in third and fourth gears. I have not been able to
isolate whether the car needs to be in gear or the clutch needs to
be engaged for the vibration to occur. I have tried but I keep getting
mixed results. I have rebuilt the bottom of the engine at least 2
times (not to try and solve this problem, but because I had the engine
out) since I first noticed this vibration and this seems to have had no
impact on the vibration. I have also tried replacing the U-joints which
didn't help. I am inlined to believe it is related to the input
shaft of the transmission (ribcase) could it possibly be bent or have
bearing problems? I have never been inside the transmission so I really
don't know anything about its condition other than it shifts fine and
the synchros work without problem. Any ideas or past experiences would
be appreciated!
#2 (easy but annoying) The joint where the exhaust pipe meets the
exhaust manifold has given me no end of problems. The pipe has that
trumpet shaped flare that is supposed to mate with the manifold. I
replaced the pipe several years ago and the trumpet is in decent
condition but it just doesn't mate with the manifold very well. I
rarely get more than 300 or 400 miles worth of driving before the thing
falls off and I have to limp home to reattach the stupid thing only
to have it happen again. Fortunately I finally put all of the brackets
on the pipe that attach it to the bottom of the car so I don't have to
drive home in a shower of sparks anymore! I have considered putting a
header on the car just to get around this problem but I would prefer to
avoid that much expense. Does anyone have any tricks for making this
connection more reliable or should I just spring for the header and be
done with it?
Thanks in advance,
Shawn
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