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Re: noises and oil pressure light

To: Spitfires mailing list <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: noises and oil pressure light
From: John Hobson <goalie_john@yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 03:28:05 -0800 (PST)
Thanks Bill,

You have put my mind at rest at little now.  I think I was getting a case
of Triumph Hyperchondria!  I drove to work this morning and didn't take
as much notice of the noises (put the radio on) and she seemed fine!  I
think I have got so paranoid of late that I automatically assume that any
little noise is very serious!  It may take a while till I trust Saskia to
be reliable.  I just keep thinking that all the pain and aggravation will
seem so worthwhile in summer, cruising the beautiful English countryside
with the top down, the wind in my hair and a beautiful girl by my side...

The jets have thin red ends to them and not discs so that sounds like I
have the non-waxstat type.  Probably wear elsewhere in the carbs then.

I think I'll get a carb overhaul kit and may do them myself, and a new
steering rack, tie rod ends and knuckle joint to sort the steering out if
their is nothing badly wrong with the engine that can't wait till next
month's pay check

cheers all,
John
http://www.spit1500.co.uk/

--- William Davies <bill@rarebits4classics.co.uk> wrote:
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: John Hobson <goalie_john@yahoo.co.uk>
> 
> > Problem 2 worries me slightly more as I have heard of 'Triumph Death
> > Rattle', now I am not sure what this is but my engine rattles for a
> > second or two when started up from cold.  Is this 
> > a) fine, don't worry
> > b) bad
> > c) very bad
> > d) buy a new engine (again) and burn larger hole in pocket?
> > 
> > What could the rattle be and what is the infamous 'Triumph death
> rattle'?
> 
> Hi John,
>     This is usually caused by oil filters with dodgy (or non-existant)
> non-return valves. The filter on the Spitfire/Herald/Dolomite engine
> sits upside down, so the natural tendancy is for the oil  to drain from
> it when the engine isn't running. Good quality filters have a synthetic
> rubber one way valve to stop the oil draining - you can see this by
> looking into the bottom of the filter where the ring of holes around
> the outside edge are backed by this rubber disc. Unfortunately, the
> fact that a valve is present does not necessarily mean that it's fit
> for purpose - I still have the remains of an entire crate of Champion
> D102 filters (my previously preferred brand) with non-working valves! I
> am currently using up some old stock filters picked up at various
> autojumbles, so I'm afraid I can't recommend a currently available
> filter. Anyone else?
> 
> > Problem 3.  Not sure if this is a problem or a quirk, but on over-run
> > (when I have taken my foot off the accelerator and coasting, or
> engine
> > breaking) the valves get a lot noisier.  It is possible that the
> valves
> > are are out of adjustment as the garage had the cylinder head off and
> > would have had to re-set these.
> 
> Sounds feasible, or possibly wear in the rocker shaft - that's unlikely
> to have suddenly happened though.
> 
> > Problem 4 is the most mysterious of the three.  Previously I had
> reported
> > the exhaust roaring a lot more at 2800rpm and above.  I am not sure
> if
> > the noise, or my perception of the noise has changed but now I would
> say
> > that it was more of a regular vibration.  The vibration cannot be
> heard
> > at below 2800rpm, always starts at the same place regardless of
> roadspeed
> > or gear.  It sounds like it is coming from the left side of the car
> (UK
> > car, rhd).  I can't think how the vibration could be the engine.  The
> > only bit I would imagine could vibrate noisily would be the camshaft
> and
> > I don't think that I would be driving round for too long if was.  I
> > thought it could be an out of balance fly wheel, but I am not sure if
> > this is possible?  The flywheel and clutch from my old engine were
> put
> > onto the new.  The third possiblility would be that the propshaft has
> > gone out of balance.  This is a possibility as I suspect that it is a
> > little worn, but why would this start happening when I put a new
> engine
> > in?  It could be coincidence, but that is unlikely also coupled with
> the
> > fact it is rpm and not roadspeed linked.
> 
> Propshaft imbalance usually shows up at roadspeeds around 45-50 mph.
> The flywheel/clutch assembly might well be out of balance - I've never
> experienced this myself but a friend had a hell of a job tracking down
> such a fault on his Herald. 
>  
> > The third possibility is that
> > the waxstat jets need replacing.  
> 
> If you have waxstat jets they most certainly will need replacing! They
> are the single best item to remove from any Triu ph so equipped. From
> memory (it's a long time since I got rid of ours!) they have a sort of
> fattened disc at the bottom where the conventional type have a simple
> rounded end,
>     Hope that helps a little,
>         Cheers,
>             Bill.
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