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RE: R&P TR3b

To: <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Subject: RE: R&P TR3b
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 21:02:11 -0700
> I'm using new Green Stuff pads

Where did you get Green Stuff pads to fit a TR3A ?  EBC doesn't offer them
... and the ones TSi sells are not Green Stuff.

> The brake fluid in the reservoir looks kind of muddy
> or milky which seems strange - but it does not compress I guess.

I would be changing it post haste !  What kind is it ?  A dark muddy
appearance usually indicates deteriorating DOT 3/4, or seals being eaten by
non-British fluif.  Milky I have no idea ... unless there's something in
there besides brake fluid !

I'm perhaps a little overly paranoid about brakes and brake fluif ... then
again, maybe not.  Having them fail is a REAL unpleasant experience, and
cost me my previous TR3A.  No harm to me, fortunately, but it could easily
have been different.

> The inside
> edge of the rotors is a bit grooved, the outer is smooth. When I
> put the new
> pads in I did not get the rotors turned - should I have done?

Doesn't sound like it to me.  I just break the glaze with crocus cloth and
reinstall them, unless I've been having a problem with pedal pulsation.  Got
some new Roloc abrasive pads from 3M designed for glaze breaking, but
haven't tried them yet.

> Is so - what is the maximum spec.

If memory serves, original thickness is .500" and the books says the wear
limit is .060", so .440" is the minimum thickness.

> The clutch pedal seems to engage real low and sometimes I have to
> pump it a
> few times to get it to engage - I wonder why - it's quite erratic.

Is the return spring on the slave cylinder in good shape ?  Does it reliably
return the piston home in the slave cylinder ?  This is no place for
substitutes, the original spring is much stiffer than a screen door spring.
Are both the slave and the master properly adjusted ?  The slave has to be
periodically adjusted, but normally the pedal gets higher as it wears (until
the clutch starts slipping) rather than lower.

> Let me know if any of this stuff seems strange!

Sure doesn't sound like a TR3A to me !

> It seems as though the brakes are on a little bit

The factory installed a valve that actually holds the front brakes on
slightly.  I dislike it, so I removed the guts from mine a long time ago.

The reason for the valve appears to be that, under very spirited driving (eg
race track), the front spindles can flex enough to push the caliper pistons
back and cause a low pedal after a hard turn.  I have noticed the effect,
but it doesn't bug me as much as having the brakes drag slightly all the
time.

There is a kit out to modify the front spindles so they don't flex, but I
don't recall offhand who makes it.  Southwick, perhaps ?  TSi and BFE
probably have them, or know how to get them.  Not cheap however, and
probably not worth it for street use.  Somewhere I've got instructions for a
DIY mod to reduce flex, but I don't recall where offhand.  And it's only DIY
if you have access to a machine shop <g>

Randall





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