Hi Graham :
> I do appreciate the necessity for the bolts to be a good fit for the
> location of the gearbox input shaft and have been known to both, preach the
> necessity to always use the dowel bolts, and to rant and rave about rank
> amateurs who have charged others huge sums of money to change a clutch and
> then ruined a gearbox by not using the dowels.
I guess that would include the "professional" mechanic that I had to the job on
my Stag a couple years ago. I intend to tell the shop owner about it next time
I see him, as he's a "friend of a friend".
> If you have some ground stock 3/8 dia you could die the ends and fit a nut
> each end, I would use silver steel stock if that was my route, comes ready
> ground and can be oil or water hardened and tempered if required, very
> stable during hardening / tempering, probably would loose <0.0005 inch
> during hardening in water.
Thanks, that's exactly what I was planning to do. I'm fortunate to have a shop
nearby that sells "drill rod" (as it's colloquially known here in the colonies)
and I just picked up a length. I don't think this application requires
hardening though, it's already pretty hard and after all it's only locating
aluminum.
> I think you will find that the other 2 standard hardware 3/8 bolts are quite
> a bit longer as they are for the starter motor.
The Stag is an odd beast, the starter motor bolts do not go through the gearbox
flange. Thus on a Stag, the other two 3/8 bolts are only slightly longer than
the dowel bolts, only because the flywheel housing casting is a bit thicker
there. But they do go through the holes that would be starter bolts on a TR6.
> Apologies for any confusion caused.
No problem, my apologies for misunderstanding you. My bolt bin is unfortunately
lacking in snug-fitting bolts, and I did actually spend quite a bit of time at
two different hardware stores, measuring 3/8" bolt shanks. I'm guessing your
bin has several examples of dowel bolt from previous projects, but since this is
my first Triumph that uses them, mine is sadly lacking.
Hmmm, come to think of it, wasn't there a bucket of bolts included with the pile
of Stag engine parts I bought ? I'll have to go rummage in the shed !
Thanks
Randall
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