Tyre question, and an up-date
Hi all
The manual says 22psi on standard tyre. I have new Michelin XWX fitted all round, and at that pressure the steering is way too heavy even when moving. 30 psi seems better, but the rear does "skip" over larger ruts. What is the collective view of the right pressures with "modern" tyres?
Aside from that my TR3a odyssey continues. Fitted the OD gearbox which works a treat, did full engine setup from scratch - points gap, valve gaps, plug gaps, timing, carb balance and mixture (with colourtune) and it is running like a sewing machine. All of the hesitancy has gone and it runs sweetly. I also gave in to my wife and fitted seatbelts.
Of course, it isn't that simple. The the car has been spitting brown water from the radiator overflow, and then the temperature started rising and wouldn't stop, and the filler cap was coated on a brown sludge - I was concerned about a head gasket failure, but there isn't any oil in the coolant, or water in the oil and the compression tests are all consistent at about 130. I've emptied what was left of the coolant, used a pressure hose on light setting to blow out as much as I can from the block, heater and radiator, and plenty of sludge came out. The two parts of the thermostat housing were siezed together (PO has used sealing compound with no gasket) so I lost two hours of my life geting them apart without damaging them. The result was the area behind the stat was full of sludge and I think it was stopping the stat (bellows type) from opening.
Looks like the car hasn't been used much and there was no antifreeze/inhibitor and the coolant, creating a rusty sludge. So having blown everything out, I have had two goes with radiator cleaner which shifted some more, but was pretty clean. Still a bit nervous about the temperatires but with antifreeze and distilled water in it it seems to be behaving itself.
We set off for Le Mans next week which is 1000 mile round trip, so I want to limit the problems on the journey.
Hi all
The manual says 22psi on standard tyre. I have new Michelin XWX fitted all round, and at that pressure the steering is way too heavy even when moving. 30 psi seems better, but the rear does "skip" over larger ruts. What is the collective view of the right pressures with "modern" tyres?
Aside from that my TR3a odyssey continues. Fitted the OD gearbox which works a treat, did full engine setup from scratch - points gap, valve gaps, plug gaps, timing, carb balance and mixture (with colourtune) and it is running like a sewing machine. All of the hesitancy has gone and it runs sweetly. I also gave in to my wife and fitted seatbelts.
Of course, it isn't that simple. The the car has been spitting brown water from the radiator overflow, and then the temperature started rising and wouldn't stop, and the filler cap was coated on a brown sludge - I was concerned about a head gasket failure, but there isn't any oil in the coolant, or water in the oil and the compression tests are all consistent at about 130. I've emptied what was left of the coolant, used a pressure hose on light setting to blow out as much as I can from the block, heater and radiator, and plenty of sludge came out. The two parts of the thermostat housing were siezed together (PO has used sealing compound with no gasket) so I lost two hours of my life geting them apart without damaging them. The result was the area behind the stat was full of sludge and I think it was stopping the stat (bellows type) from opening.
Looks like the car hasn't been used much and there was no antifreeze/inhibitor and the coolant, creating a rusty sludge. So having blown everything out, I have had two goes with radiator cleaner which shifted some more, but was pretty clean. Still a bit nervous about the temperatires but with antifreeze and distilled water in it it seems to be behaving itself.
We set off for Le Mans next week which is 1000 mile round trip, so I want to limit the problems on the journey.