Adventures In Wrenching:
Replacing A Gearbox In A Triumph GT6+
By Larry E. Snyder
As we left our obviously warped protagonist, the new gearbox was in, the
clutch appeared to work, and only a "bit" of finishing up was required. Here,
as they say, is the rest of the story...
I took Friday off to try to wrap this gearbox thing up once and for all!
This time I had some help, so putting all the bellhousing bolts and nuts back
wasn't too bad. I decided I had better retorque my head nuts and adjust the
valves, too, before driving. I had undertorqued the head nuts before,
following Vitesse specs instead of GT6 specs. This time I got it right. The
new valves/seats had settled in a bit, and most of the valve clearances were a
bit tight.
I double checked the manual - it definitely called for Castrol Hypoy gear oil
in the gearbox. So I put in just about a quart of oil. Just to feel better, I
checked the capacity of the box as listed in the book - 0.9 quarts! So far so
good. I decided to drive it a bit before I buttoned it all up, just in case...
The clutch really didn't want to disengage. I took it as a combination of not
the best bleeding, silicone fluid, and new clutch/housing. After starting it
in gear, I found it worked fine after a few pumps. Everything is OK now,
although I still need to bleed the clutch hydraulics properly.
What a feeling! The gearbox just clicked from one gear to the other - snick,
snick! I could slam the lever to the stop on the left then shove it into
first, instead of fishing for where first was, like I used to. Great stuff!
Saturday I spent the whole day putting the inside of the car back together.
The new fibreglass cover did not want to fit. I forced it to. I bought heavy
duty weatherstripping to seal it. It took me all day Saturday to get it all
back together. Well, I also installed the new American Racing alloy wheels I
got in my Spitfire goody bag. I put 175/70R13s on them and the car looks
really MEAN that way. Pretty cool wheels, especially after having driven it on
plain steel wheels for so long.
I still think the differential isn't long for this world. Looks like another
fax to Mr. Kipping...
Larry
lesnyd@monsanto.com
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