----- 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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