Discussion
I am not sure if there is already a thread with this as a theme - if so I apologise and somebody out there will put me to sleep humanely.
It simply occurred to me that those of us who are keen mechanics will have seen and photographed many examples of components which are so badly lunched that they are a talking point in themselves. The Top Gear V8 coffee table is a case in point.
As an enthusiastic amateur with the spanners myself I recall several exhibits including a Mini idler gear which was so badly worn that one end of the spindle had virtually disappeared, an MG Midget rear brake backplate with the adjuster firmly corroded in place to the degree that a welding torch would not move it, a set of Ford cam followers which had worn concave at the cam end, and a Triumph 2500 PI rocker shaft which had been manufactured without the oil hole (Imagine the resulting mess after 2000 miles).
It strikes me that for each exhibit there is a lesson learned and this is worth sharing!
If this resonates with any of you I will kick the show off in a modest way with two items from my 2000 model year Chimarea:
1. The rusting remains of the banjo union supposed to carry fuel from the base of the fuel tank to the pump (no wonder I could smell petrol!):
This underlines importance of stopping water getting into the boot through the hole in the bodywork which carries the fuel line! A gob of mastic and some newspaper can hide a multitude of evils.
2. The sad remains of a rear brake pad which looked 100% fit for service visually - that is, before I dismantled the caliper to give it a good clean and lubrication:
The friction material has sheared from the pad backing and was held in place by the carrier alone. For me this simply goes to show that on a car like a TVR a proper caliper inspection / service needs to be undertaken at regular intervals.
More exhibits anyone?
It simply occurred to me that those of us who are keen mechanics will have seen and photographed many examples of components which are so badly lunched that they are a talking point in themselves. The Top Gear V8 coffee table is a case in point.
As an enthusiastic amateur with the spanners myself I recall several exhibits including a Mini idler gear which was so badly worn that one end of the spindle had virtually disappeared, an MG Midget rear brake backplate with the adjuster firmly corroded in place to the degree that a welding torch would not move it, a set of Ford cam followers which had worn concave at the cam end, and a Triumph 2500 PI rocker shaft which had been manufactured without the oil hole (Imagine the resulting mess after 2000 miles).
It strikes me that for each exhibit there is a lesson learned and this is worth sharing!
If this resonates with any of you I will kick the show off in a modest way with two items from my 2000 model year Chimarea:
1. The rusting remains of the banjo union supposed to carry fuel from the base of the fuel tank to the pump (no wonder I could smell petrol!):
This underlines importance of stopping water getting into the boot through the hole in the bodywork which carries the fuel line! A gob of mastic and some newspaper can hide a multitude of evils.
2. The sad remains of a rear brake pad which looked 100% fit for service visually - that is, before I dismantled the caliper to give it a good clean and lubrication:
The friction material has sheared from the pad backing and was held in place by the carrier alone. For me this simply goes to show that on a car like a TVR a proper caliper inspection / service needs to be undertaken at regular intervals.
More exhibits anyone?
Edited by fenderbender on Tuesday 5th April 17:16
I havent got pics but the heads on my red rose Cerbera had been dropped whilst in the casting process and so were malformed yet fitted to the car (from new). So a lot of work went into fixing these (ie to reduce the resultant OTT cr). thanks TVR!
The same heads had been taken off by a previous owner/garage and they must have used a large scredriver to prise them off or must have dropped them on gravel. Again plenty of work went into fixing these.
The same heads had been taken off by a previous owner/garage and they must have used a large scredriver to prise them off or must have dropped them on gravel. Again plenty of work went into fixing these.
fenderbender said:
As an enthusiastic amateur with the spanners myself I recall several exhibits including a Mini idler gear which was so badly worn that one end of the spindle had virtually disappeared
My Austin 1100 lost drive between engine and gearbox when this idler finally chewed it's way through the idler housing...
One of two conrods from my Triumph Vitesse 2ltr MkII - as a result of driving through a ford which was deeper than I thought...
The 1st/2nd gear synchro from my Triumph GT6 MkII - gearchanging from 1st to 2nd was getting very stiff in spirited launches until finally the splines wore through...
[quote=DarkMatter]
My Austin 1100 lost drive between engine and gearbox when this idler finally chewed it's way through the idler housing...
Just like mine was - now imagine one end of the shaft being half as wide and rounded off.
And we both know you need a new housing casing too (the really expensive part) as the pathetic phosphor bronze bush it sits in gradually gnaws away at the alu casting before falling out in bits - and helps create that blood curdling Mini / 1100 death scream.
Happy days: life can be boring with reliable cars that neither rust or need decokes!
My Austin 1100 lost drive between engine and gearbox when this idler finally chewed it's way through the idler housing...
Just like mine was - now imagine one end of the shaft being half as wide and rounded off.
And we both know you need a new housing casing too (the really expensive part) as the pathetic phosphor bronze bush it sits in gradually gnaws away at the alu casting before falling out in bits - and helps create that blood curdling Mini / 1100 death scream.
Happy days: life can be boring with reliable cars that neither rust or need decokes!
I used to have a Renault 19 (I know) that had a clutch pedal specifically designed to break clutch cables. I also had the pad material start to break away from the backing plate on the brakes on my old Focus, which was not as much fun as the look on my mates face when the pad material did break off his front disc brake on his MTB. Shat himself but came to no harm otherwise
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