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Post by Penguin45 on Dec 24, 2018 17:03:53 GMT
Funny noise? Stop and check! Here's why..... Thursday was Barn Day over in Preston, where a few of us gather to play old cars. As I drove to Skipton, there was a "Ping!" and a little rattle, fiollowed by a very slight vibration. Went round the roundabout, pulled away and there was a loud thump, followed by a noise not unlike all my spanners and sockets thrown into the tumble dryer. And probably a few power tools as well. Drive lost, coasted to side of road, looked under bonnet and could see that the nearside driveshaft had come apart. That all happened in the space of 150 yards - silence to destruction. So, after the nice man from Keighley with the recovery truck (And, it turned out, 2 Mokes, a TVR and a Hustler) got me back to Yeadon, I had to fix it.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Culprit. I have no idea where the two missing cups went. It looks to me that one of the U bolts has failed and it's disintegrated as a consequence. Anyway, popped the bottom ball joint and jemmied a new rubber joint into place. One and a half hours filthy work later it was done. Started engine. Sounded like a sports car. Manifold joint sprung. Tried to line it up again, no joy. Back under the car poking about revealed that the down pipe was stoved in and the bracket on the side of the gearbox was twisted way out of shape. Enter Mick the Mustang with the keys for Yeadon Tyre Centre. Up on the lift we go, new front pipe fitted, bracket battered back into shape and the car sounded very nice indeed. With a better view underneath, I could see a big dent in the displacer cross tube and some scores on the gearbox casing. The flailing end of the drive shaft had completely run amok. Went out on Friday and realised after half a mile that the speedo wasn't working. Further poking about revealed the cable broken at the gearbox. Should have been paying more attention really.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Slightly damaged cable. Note absence of end ferrule. That'll still be screwed to the drive output then. Speedo cable is GSD111 and fits various Triumph sports car. £10.80 off the shelf at Moss Europe. Went to fit it this afternoon. Spent a while trying to unscrew the ferrule and in the end removed the entire drive block.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Wrecked. No ferrule. Obviously clobbered by the claw on the driveshaft - the threaded section is actually bent. I had another, so on it went. Cable routed through behind the engine and fed into bulkhead. It goes in tight under the regulator box, so I dropped it off to improve the access. Cable connected to speedo in a few minutes, regulator re-mounted and off round the block. Yup, speed showing as is the charging light. It can wait 'til Boxing Day - I've had enough.
And all that happened in less than 1 minute and 150 yards.
Chris. |
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Post by dave1800 on Dec 25, 2018 0:43:17 GMT
Are you laying down a challenge to see who could create the most damage in a short time? I was reading about a crab being taken very fast around the army testing ground, with Rauno Altonen driving and he was less successful than you!
I've now found it:
Here is an extract from the LOCA mags from Pat Farrell
"A day in the Life of an 1800". Basically it involved a test to destruction held at the Army Tank Testing Ground at Bagshot in Surrey UK; the course consisted of loose rocks, rubble, ruts and
potholes. The car was piloted by the then rally-ace Rauno Altonen and a film cameraman did
his best to take pictures from the back seat. Hour after hour Rauno hurled the landcrab around the course, the exhaust noise drowned out by the constant crashing of rocks on the underside. Whether flying off humps to land with fearful crashes or crawling out of mudholes, the 1800 came up smiling - even deep water splashes failed to stop the engine. Needless to say, the 1800 survived the ordeal, an ordeal a few armoured fighting vehicles did not survive.
The moral of the story: You need not go to the next war in a landcrab and to give you something to think about when you next feel a bit despondent toward your landcrab. They don't make them like they used to!
(sorry about the formatting something to do with the cut and paste - looks fine under preview)
Sorry to hear your tale of woe, Happy Christmas, have a day away from crabs!
David
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Post by Penguin45 on Dec 28, 2018 0:38:35 GMT
Which probaby fits in with my thoughts about the Red Dog - it's got a mind of its own and the one that it's got is particularly bloody minded.
Anyway, control box replaced and volts restored. Quite why undoing three screws and removing two wires would cause the Lucas RB340 to die is quite beyond me.
Ah, I said Lucas, didn't I......
P45.
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Post by dave1800 on Dec 28, 2018 5:38:02 GMT
Perhaps you should re-name it to something calmer.  There was a common problem with the earth lead to the RB 340 that would lead to failure. I got around this by wiring the earth connection to the bulkhead behind the unit. A tip from the Lucas main agent from the dark pages after a replacement unit failed within the warranty period. David |
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Post by Penguin45 on Dec 31, 2018 15:45:38 GMT
Extra earth wire added to regulator box. Good tip from David.
Fan belt replaced as odd squealings had started and temperature was creeping up from time to time. New belt is a 10mm section; the one removed had worn down to 8.5mm. This was enough to let the belt sink and bottom in the pulleys. As we know, the belt should drive on its flanks, not the bottom edge.
Chris.
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Post by Penguin45 on Jan 9, 2019 0:37:04 GMT
Took the car out for the first time this year due to some down time from the driver. Windscreen a bit grubby, so operated the screen wash - no pressure. Tried again and realised that water was dripping onto my feet. Got home and worked out the feed hose was off the sprayer. Some vetinarian type contortions ensued in order to refit it. No doubt knocked off when the speedo cable was replaced. Hopefully that's an end of things for a while.
Chris.
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Post by dave1800 on Jan 9, 2019 6:28:05 GMT
It never rains but it pours (sorry) Hope that's the end of your troubles. It reminds me of the early seventies when the screen wash water partially froze overnight and pumping the washer resulted in a build up of pressure that forced the pipe off the pump and freezing water everywhere. Strange the silly things you remember! David |
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Post by Penguin45 on Feb 10, 2019 19:36:28 GMT
As it transires, that was very far from the end of things. The new belt seemed given to squealing at high revs and then the charging light came on on a trip over to Preston. Dynamo goosed. The solder melted out of the commutator, suggesting that extreme temperature was involved. Friend David has a pile of C40s, so a mix and match took place and a new dynamo assembled. Fitted it, flashed it and ran it. Hmm, 18vDV and 40 amps weren't quite what we expected and the dynamo started getting hot pretty quickly. Control box..... Much fettling of points and contacts ensued and order seemed to be restored. One curious thing found was a short in the loom from the dynamo field coils. This was resolved by simply running in a new pair of leads to the dynamo. A little while later, I went through the wiring loom properly and arrived at a decision.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Wiring loom, anybody? Plenty of old rotten wiring, dodgy splices and general grot. This is the contents of the engine bay.  IMG_6761 by Penguin 45, on Flickr  IMG_6763 by Penguin 45, on Flickr Headlights are now switched via relays. Couple of little busbars on there to minimise the wiring.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Loom re-made. All correct colours and gauges. Most terminals shrink wrapped or have terminal covers. Most of it is wrapped, but this corner can wait until I'm convinced everything is working properly. Relays mounted on inner wing.  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Headlight relays draw power from the solenoid. Fired it up and it all worked. Damn I'm good some times.....  VOF707J by Penguin 45, on Flickr Voltmeter added under the dash for my own peace of mind. With the engine running and no circuits in use it shows 16v. B@gg@r. Chris. |
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 11, 2019 2:12:07 GMT
Worth checking the analogue voltmeter with a decent digital one to ensure it really is 16 volts. That is on the upper end of being acceptable for any ignition electronics as well as the electrics. At a wild guess I suggest the voltage regulator (maybe points) has been damaged by the excessive current to the dynamo field winding, not what you want to hear, sorry.
I'm currently helping with sorting the electrics on a late 1970's Merc, it's not just a Prince of Darkness problem and Lucas parts seem much easier and cheaper to fix and the wiring diagram fits on one page, not several!
David
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Post by Penguin45 on Feb 11, 2019 18:32:47 GMT
Bound to be the regulator. Used the digital work multimeter and got 12vDC with a warm engine on idle, rising to 16.2vDC at around 1500rpm. It stabilises at that, so the regulator is obviously up to something! Presumably the volyage cut-out needs re-setting. Could be interesting.
Chris.
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 12, 2019 0:00:54 GMT
Have a very close look at the contacts, if they've been damaged by the short there may be some small spikes that are best seen with a magnifying glass. I never had much long term success cleaning them up, but that was when the regulators were cheap to replace. Worth trying to re-adjust the cut out though. Good luck, David
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Post by dave1800 on Feb 18, 2019 10:42:40 GMT
Feeling bored so I looked at the Moss Youtube videos on mechanical voltage regulators. Although they demonstrated a 2 bobbin version for a MGB I believe, the principles are very similar. I learned that when you buy them new they are not "plug and play" but have to be set up. Maybe I should have read the instruction manual in the past! David Bound to be the regulator. Used the digital work multimeter and got 12vDC with a warm engine on idle, rising to 16.2vDC at around 1500rpm. It stabilises at that, so the regulator is obviously up to something! Presumably the volyage cut-out needs re-setting. Could be interesting. Chris. |
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Post by Penguin45 on Mar 7, 2019 20:01:25 GMT
Final bit of damage repaired after the driveshaft debacle. The driveshaft output seal has now been replaced, as the leak was reaching Torrey Canyon proportions.
Not got to the bottom of the electrical business yet. Running with lights and fan on pegs the voltage at 14.5vDC though...
And apart from that, she's running very nicely.
Chris.
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Post by rosieuk on Mar 11, 2019 18:45:55 GMT
I have had a few Humber Sceptres and a couple of fun experiences.
First we changed the oil, and the drain plug decided to go south for the winter on a pitch black A12 at 70mph. Limped off the hard shoulder for 100 yards in OD top to get it safe and thought I'd probably killed it. Filled up with oil - turned the key and ran perfectly.
The other one could have been very unpleasant. Was going to the naming ceremony for my gfs daughter acacia at Rollright and coming onto a roundabout the engine note slightly changed, turned out to follow the road and it suddenly sounded like a Merlin with open pipes had been installed where the H107 used to be. Stopped and with the bonnet open and engine idling could see tiny blue rhythmic flashing (it of course being pitch black). It spat out number one plug!
Shut it down and screwed it back in - started up and off we went. Went to tighten it up in the morning and noticed something that scared me silly. The plug had popped out of the engine and been helpfully collected by the fuel line. The plastic fuel line. The plastic fuel line with the pretty pattern of parallel lines where the nice hot plug had been busily melting its way through to the nice neat petrol... Note to self - be sure you do up plugs properly.
Incidentally I've noticed that the mark 1 cars use a *5 plug & the 2 & 3 use a *9 - it seems that might have been a lot of what was behind the misfire. Plugs were changed for 5s not 9s about when the air filter debacle began.
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Post by Penguin45 on Mar 14, 2019 0:22:47 GMT
Electronic ignition. Stop sniggering at the back - I can see you. Let's be polite and say that I have "history" with ignition in general. But I'm much better now. Sorry, better at it now. After some fantastical efforts on Eugenie over the years I thought a more sensible approach was called for. To that end, some philosophical reflection was called upon. It's a 1970 positive earth car, so what it really ought to have is a 1970 positive earth electronic ignition set up. I mean, state of the art (at the time.....). What can possibly go wrong this time? So, after a long, time consuming hunt, a brand new Mobelec C40 was tracked down and acquired for an extremely modest sum. Well, I've lived in Yorkshire for a long time now, some of it rubs off on you.  IMG_6821 by Penguin 45, on Flickr  IMG_6822 by Penguin 45, on Flickr Lovely. You should see the tech bumph and graphs inside. Can't get a decent pic of them though. One stumbling block - no instructions. It's a terrible vice. I'm the bloke who does read instructions. I mean, I'm not going to take a punt and blow up an ultra rare period electronic board that I spent a whole £8 on, am I? So, time passed - seven months in fact - until finally another Mobelec C40 appeared for sale, with instructions! And..... a very hefty price tag. To be fair, it probably reflects what the thing's really worth. Anyway, after enlisting MrsP's assistance, I managed to blow up one of the sales pictures to a sufficient size that I could decipher the wiring, and the cross wiring for positive earth and a couple of other useful bits of information, thus giving me a comprehensive set of instructions.  IMG_6823 by Penguin 45, on Flickr Like so. So, I've fitted it. Wrapped up the wiring to look period authentic, did the little tweaks at the bottom of the instructions and disconnected the condenser. I actually opened the points to .010" as they'd closed up in just three weeks running. One thing I hadn't quite considered was that it's a fairly big old lump. Move the relay board under the fuse box and put it there? Nope, relays won't clear fuse box. Engine cross mounting? Nope, in the way of just about everything. Front cross member? Bit exposed and perilously close to the starter motor.  IMG_6819 by Penguin 45, on Flickr It's down there. Ventilated and out of the way of road spray. It's actually quite disceet - you have to be looking for it to see it, which is nice. Turned the key and... it started. First shot. Went round the block - OK. Went up to the shops and back - OK. Going to Preston tomorrow...... Then we'll see if it passes the Uncle Ron test. Oh, and I've got the volts down to 14.5vDC, so I won't have to go everywhere with the lights and fan on. P45. |
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