Winter Projects

Winter Projects

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Discussion

phillpot

17,105 posts

182 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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v8s4me said:
Does anyone know what sort of current this earth needs to be? The wire I've used here has an OD of 3mm, so I suppose that makes the cable diameter around 2.5mm.
Ample ... imho, how thick is the live wire feeding it?


Guess that on a Landy It would automatically be earthed when bolted to the bodywork.





Edited by phillpot on Sunday 14th February 19:37

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
quotequote all
phillpot said:
... how thick is the live wire feeding it?...
To be honest, I don't know what 'it' is. As we know from other posts, the coil doesn't need an earth so it is either the amplifier of the condenser (or suppressor) attached to right side of the coil in the picture.

There is a heavy black wire attached to the left terminal, but if that was the supply to earthed then that would mean that the coil does need an earth.

Confused scratchchin

Any way, it works biggrin

Top Gear TVR

2,244 posts

153 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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You say 'jury rigging' Joe. I always thought it was Gerry Rigging?

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Monday 15th February 2016
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Jury rigging

Jerry-built

Similar, but different thumbup

Shame there isn't a Wikipedia page for, "why doesn't this censoreding thing work?" laugh

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Tuesday 16th February 2016
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The re-located coil and ignition amplifier, with the wiring tidied up...



which also tidies up the front of the engine block quite nicely...



Next job on the list is replacing the speedo sender; any one got a ramp I can borrow? laugh

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Friday 4th March 2016
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Today's entertainment consisted of crawling under the car, dropping the exhaust and replacing the speedo sender. Under floor heating would have been nice! laugh

As always, other little jobs crop up. The bushes for the gear remote support bracket are in poor state, and one is missing completely....





Replacements are now on order from Rimmers. Believe is or not, these cost £2.25 each plus VAT plus postage! So when they arrive there will be another day of lying on a stone-cold floor. Can't wait laugh

phillpot

17,105 posts

182 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
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v8s4me said:
another day of lying on a stone-cold floor. Can't wait laugh
Never really got on with any sort of crawler board with wheels or castors etc. but one of these is an essential (imho).... clicky

greymrj

3,316 posts

203 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
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phillpot said:
Never really got on with any sort of crawler board with wheels or castors etc. but one of these is an essential (imho).... clicky
Having spent some time yesterday lying on a bit of old carpet, in the snow working on an MGB GT, I saw your post Philpott and thought; at my age I deserve better! So I have ordered one of those mats!!! My back may owe you a pint!

glenrobbo

35,077 posts

149 months

Saturday 5th March 2016
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I prefer a large flattened cardboard container, as it's easier to slide about on it. ( Oo - err missus! ) and it's good insulation as well. Keeps the chill off the bones.

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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I've received lots of helpful tips about gearbox oil for my LT 77 on the Wedge Forum. In particular this flushing process which sounds like a very good idea, has anyone on here tried it, and if so what were the results?

honestjohntoo said:
Don't forget the radical flushing process:

• With the car on axle stands and the back wheels off the ground drain the box and re-fill it with a flushing mixture of 2:1 White Spirit and ATF.
• With the engine running at idle speed only, put the car through all the gears and let the drive train run off-load for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Upon draining the flushing mixture, be amazed at the filthy color and state of the drained fluid.
• Black as ebony with lots of sediment!
• Repeat the above with a clean batch of mixture to flush out the residues.
• Imagine the washing machine action inside the gearbox allowing the solvent component to reach into every recess.
• Refill with "Fully Synthetic Mobil 1 0W40" (My personal choice).
• Add recommended dose of Molyslip Gearbox Treatment, comes in a tube-like applicator available from Halfords, etc.

My LT77 has "Drain and Flush" as described every 4 years, and has run for 20 years without any of the (gross) original symptoms. Transformation was miraculous. A total pleasure to use.

Taken from my web page: HERE
I'm assuming the white spirit doesn't affect the seals? There are no leaks at the moment so I'd like it to stay that way.

I'll be re-filling with Difflock Evolution 1. A bit pricey but feedback suggests it does what it says on the tin.

Oldred_V8S

3,714 posts

237 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
quotequote all
v8s4me said:
I've received lots of helpful tips about gearbox oil for my LT 77 on the Wedge Forum. In particular this flushing process which sounds like a very good idea, has anyone on here tried it, and if so what were the results?

honestjohntoo said:
Don't forget the radical flushing process:

• With the car on axle stands and the back wheels off the ground drain the box and re-fill it with a flushing mixture of 2:1 White Spirit and ATF.
• With the engine running at idle speed only, put the car through all the gears and let the drive train run off-load for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Upon draining the flushing mixture, be amazed at the filthy color and state of the drained fluid.
• Black as ebony with lots of sediment!
• Repeat the above with a clean batch of mixture to flush out the residues.
• Imagine the washing machine action inside the gearbox allowing the solvent component to reach into every recess.
• Refill with "Fully Synthetic Mobil 1 0W40" (My personal choice).
• Add recommended dose of Molyslip Gearbox Treatment, comes in a tube-like applicator available from Halfords, etc.

My LT77 has "Drain and Flush" as described every 4 years, and has run for 20 years without any of the (gross) original symptoms. Transformation was miraculous. A total pleasure to use.

Taken from my web page: HERE
I'm assuming the white spirit doesn't affect the seals? There are no leaks at the moment so I'd like it to stay that way.

I'll be re-filling with Difflock Evolution 1. A bit pricey but feedback suggests it does what it says on the tin.
My thoughts on the process is how can you be sure of getting every last drop of flushing solution out of the gearbox? Not sure I would want white spirit and ATF residue sloshing around in the gearbox.

phillpot

17,105 posts

182 months

Sunday 6th March 2016
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Wot he said!


I'd settle for draining once hot, so oil is thin and runny as possible.

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Tuesday 8th March 2016
quotequote all
So, having spent all of Friday on my back changing the speedo sender, because TVR put the chassis bracing tube in precisely the right place to make getting the old one out and the new on in as difficult as possible, I found out this evening that the speedo still wasn't working. Some more hours crawling around on the garage floor and stripping out the centre console and what do we find? Good old TVR wiring issues. They ran the wires, wrapped in black tape, over the top of the gearbox and so over the years the vibration rubbed through the cable. This is probably what was causing the flickering needle and when it finally rubbed right through, the total failure.



So did I need to change the sender? It was a bit temperamental anyway in that it would only work when warm, so maybe it did need replacing. On the upside, I'll now run the wiring up through the gear lever hole and connect it back into the loom with a neat little connector.



The bloke who wired my car was a total tcensoreder.

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Wednesday 9th March 2016
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So put it all back together again tonight and guess what? No speedo movement until the gearbox is good and hot. So that a new sender, re-routed and repaired wiring and still the old "slow-cold-start" issue. Any ideas? It will be interesting to see if the problem persists with the new oil tomorrow. The Difflock is much thinner than the 75W90.

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Wednesday 27th April 2016
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To conclude this thread:

1. The brake upgrade has delivered a noticeable improvement to the braking, with more stopping power and a lot more "feel". And of course I'm now in the "mine's bigger than yours league", which is what brake upgrades are really all about in most cases, if we're being honest laughlaugh

2. The Difflock oil in the gearbox has made a huge difference and I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone running the LT77 'box.

3. Re-positioning the coil and ignition amplifier was straightforward enough using the Lucas kit. The cutting out problem has disappeared. This might be down to the new amplifier, but it could equally be down to the new speedo sender. Anyway, problem solved.

3. The trailing arm repair was a bit unexpected and very hard work. But it is done now.

4. I know it's no substitute for a full chassis re-furb, but all the parts around the rear suspension are now clean and sound under several coats of Hammerite and new Waxoyl. I'm very impressed with Waxoyl! Under a thick coating of the stuff, most of the original powder coat was flaking off but the steel underneath was still mostly shiny, and only the odd spot of surface rust in places. Having spent much of February under the car doing other jobs, and getting up close and personal with the rest of the chassis, I know the rest of it is sound as well.

4. Changing the speedo sender was the most tricky job of the lot. TVR "designed" the chassis so that one of the diagonal bracing pieces is in exactly the right place to stop the sender coming out easily. It did come out, eventually, and I got the new on in, so "up yours" TVR, but it took many hours work lying on the garage floor. It would have been a bit easier with a ramp, but not much. The really annoying thing about this job was that there was probably nothing wrong with the old sender. The issue was simply a broken wire, and the other issue, ie no reading on the speedo until the gearbox oil is hot, is still there. Although with the Difflock being thinner than the old 75W/80, the oil warms up quicker and so the speedo starts working sooner than it did before. The history shows that this issue has been with the car for a very long time so after replacing everything again I really can't see any point in pursuing this any further.

So, all in all, some bloody hard work in a very cold garage, but all delivering noticeable improvements.

Oldred_V8S

3,714 posts

237 months

Wednesday 27th April 2016
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Excellent Joe. You can now enjoy the fruits of your labours. I was talking to Richard Kitchen on Saturday (he replaced the speed sensor when the refurb was done) he said he could not see how it was possible to change the sensor with the gearbox in the car. I explained that I had tried every way possible of swapping it but gave up. Fortunately my old one still worked, it was just that I wanted the brand new one fitted. I am glad I had it changed now. My Roverguage software always claimed the car was not in idle mode. Mark Blitzracing suggested the speed sensor may be the cause, I shall have to check the new one with RG.

Just taken my recored rad back to the repairer. I had it done about 13 months ago and Richard noticed a slight weep from the bottom corner, radiator guy did it for free, he is a top man! I need to fit that tonight. I have once again decided to do away with the induction pipe and have the filter directly on the AFM. This must be the third time I have modified this. laugh But the engine bay looks far less cluttered with the pipe removed.

Tried my motor factor for the king lead; he said he is due to place an order in about 4 weeks. If he orders them piecemeal the postage is about £8 for a £3-4 item.

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Wednesday 27th April 2016
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So next winter its a conversion to Megasquirt 2 then Joe?

v8s4me

Original Poster:

7,234 posts

218 months

Wednesday 27th April 2016
quotequote all
Oldred_V8S said:
...... I was talking to Richard Kitchen on Saturday (he replaced the speed sensor when the refurb was done) he said he could not see how it was possible to change the sensor with the gearbox in the car. I explained that I had tried every way possible of swapping it but gave up. ...
Maybe I got lucky.

Oldred_V8S said:
....... My Roverguage software always claimed the car was not in idle mode. Mark Blitzracing suggested the speed sensor may be the cause, I shall have to check the new one with RG....
I used to get that error code as well but I haven't re-checked it since fitting the new unit. Don't forget to clear the historic error codes before looking for new ones. I suspect my error code was being thrown up by the dodgy wiring. If I still get the error code I'm going to ignore it! If you're still getting the error code it might be worth looking at the wiring next time you have it up on a ramp. You have to peel off miles of filthy black insulation tape to check the full length of the two wires, so good luck with that one laugh

Oldred_V8S said:
.....Just taken my recored rad back to the repairer. .he is a top man! ...
When you see him, can you ask if he has the bottom plate for our rads, thats the bit with the spigots in which locate the rad onto the chassis? My old rad doesn't have that plate, so if your man stocks the part I'll take my rad to him to repair.

Oldred_V8S said:
.....Tried my motor factor for the king lead; he said he is due to place an order in about 4 weeks...
Perfect. Just in time for the EuroTour thumbup BTW - does he sell hypodermic needles as well laugh Many thanks.


Did you opt to use Difflock? If so, what do you think?

mk1fan said:
So next winter its a conversion to Megasquirt 2 then Joe?
No chance!!! laugh







Edited by v8s4me on Wednesday 27th April 12:29