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Re: Best Bodge Stories

To: POCHE@MUSIC.LOYNO.EDU
Subject: Re: Best Bodge Stories
From: jerry@tr2.com (Jerome Kaidor)
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 1994 09:38:02 -0700 (PDT)
POCHE@music.loyno.edu wrote:
> 
> Reminds me of the time, many years ago, when my TR-3 battery gave up the
> ghost in front of a lunch counter. I got the crank out of the boot and...

*** Old-time SOLs will remember how the hand crank saved my bacon when I
was trying to troubleshoot the Clankster, my TR2.  The car was making a
nasty clank,Clank,CLANK when starting from a stop.  I couldn't figure what
what the heck it was.  I replaced the U-joints ( they needed it anyway ).
I did a whole bunch of other stuff I forget ( it needed it anyway ).
I rebuilt the engine ( it needed it anyway :-)).  But it still made the
noise.  I was beside myself!  Then when I had the starter out, I said,
``Gee, what if I start it without the starter?  Out came the crank.  The
engine was still warm, so it started right up.  I drove out into the
street.  No clank!  I drove it around the neighborhood.  No clank!  I
burned rubber at stops.... NO CLANK!  

   Turned out that there was a little washer in the starter drive that
was missing.  This washer takes the forward load when the starter engages.
Without it, the position of the pinion gear at rest was..., how can I say it?
...undefined.  And after every stop, the ring gear would hit the pinion and
knock it back into the starter.  Clank-clank-CLANK!  Without that starter
handle, I might have never found the problem.

                                        - Jerry


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