TR2/3/3A Lockheed Axle

[CJD]

Well, after 4 years I finally have some warranty work. Both carbs need seals...no surprise there. The big one is the right rear axle is leaking. I know I'm going to get crickets on this one, but is anyone else out there running a Lockheed? There are no less than 10 factory notices on this axle leaking, and that was when the car was new. Just wondering if anyone has experience and any ideas?

I guess I should look at the bright side...I did manage to get 4 years out of the assembly, but it is a design doomed to leak. Another issue I have is the "taper collar" pn 108608 that is no longer available. I will likely have to machine one from scratch, as I have 4 collars, and all were cracked. I think they are another source of leakage, as they bypass the seal.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

Yes, crickets :wink-new:

Cheers,
Tush

 

[DavidApp]

Taking it back to the Dealer for Warrantee work?

Were those the collars you had issues on the build?

David

 

[CJD]

Well, no, but I did have trouble with both. The ones you are thinking about are the collars for the wire wheels on the early cars. I had to get those from a gentleman in Australia...although I am now in a position I could fab them myself. These latest problem collars hold the hubs to the early style axles. Rather than the taper on your Girling axles, the Lockheed uses splined axles. The hub is then locked onto the axle splines with a small splined collar with a taper...so as you tighten the big axle nut down, the collar collapses tightly onto the axle splines.

It's actually MUCH easier to remove and replace hubs and axles on the Lockheed. Once I get the parts I can do the seal job in about 30 minutes. But the splined taper collar has enough slight motion when running that sealing it is a lost cause. I'll just try it with a different sealant this time. I'm a firm believer in letting old cars leak, but I'm afraid it takes out the brake shoes...which are also nearly impossible to find these days.

Let's see, some other highlights of my annual mx...

I finally had to swap out the O-ring I have been using on the overdrive plug. It lasted 4 years and 5 fluid changes, so not bad!?!

I used Joe Oterro's seal kits on the carbs. The rear carb sealed right up. Joe's kit uses 3/16" long cork jet seals instead of the usual tiny square seals. The large gland nut cork is also extra large. My front carb is fighting me. The brass sleeve the jets slides inside just won't seal to the gland nut. I may have to lap the copper washer to get it to seat. The larger jet seals are working great so far.

I changed the coolant for the first time in 4 years. I was surprised at how grungy the old coolant looked! I will have to plan on changing it every year in the future. Not sure why these cars build up so much grunge in the cooling system.

Good bit of rust in the carb bowls. I do not think the steel fuel lines like our modern gasohol. Both the filter bowl and the carb bowls get a bright red oxide looking powder. The tank was brand new and still shiny inside, so the lines are rusting slowly. I don't know what we could do about the fuel lines except go with a different material than steel.

I've been getting a rattle when the car is warmed up and I am engaging the clutch to get rolling...and it continues well after the clutch is fully engaged. I was so convinced it was the starter pinion gear again that I removed the starter. Not it. I feel dumb going to all that trouble for nothing. Still don't know what the rattle is...might have to look closer at the exhaust. https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?113857-TR2-3-Guru-Final-Exam

 

[sp53]

Over-all not bad John--- you made that car out of thin air for the most part. I did have a new gas tank in a tr3, and I found the same red gunk along with very small bits that would stick to a magnet in the bowls. I concluded the crap was welding debris(iron oxide and carbon) left over from building the gas tank. I figure the gunk was working its way out of the folds of the tank. It did get better. I think it is cool you are fixing the tr2 differential.
steve

 

[Frank Canale]

John, I am sure your machined parts will be superior to the originals, and you may get lucky and find a better seal for the rebuild. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle this problem. Frank

 

[CJD]

Thanks, Steve, Frank. I'll take pics once I dig into it.

I feel dumb about the front carb leak. The Joe Otero seals were so thick I feared over-tightening the large gland nut. After cussing and cursing most of the day, I realized that the nut must be seated fully tight to both lock the jet and seal the assembly. It also prevents the sleeve from spinning while you adjust the mixture nut. I guess that's what I get for not having to fix anything for so many years. I really like Joe's seal kit. If you do it right it dries the carbs right up.

 

[sp53]

I did the same thing with carbs. The washer/seal Joe sells I found to be quality also after making a similar under tightening problem. IMHO the front carb assemble is more problematic because of the choke. The choke ideally would pull straight down, but usually pulls from a slight angle and can create drag against the needle and assembly seals and jet; this can cause the front assembly to shift forward when the choke is pulled and richen in the front carb only until the needle goes up and down a few times while driving and hopefully re-centers. We need a lot of choking in Washington because of the cool damp climate.

I often figured the SU carb was poorly designed with a choke that in richens carb rather than shutting out the air. Plus it did have an accelerator pump. However, after working on my old Ford 6cyl with a manual choke, I can see where the Brits were coming from with their design. To start a vehicle with a typical manual choke the cars needs to have more than just the air shut off to start and yes Ford has a cam to rise the idle, but it is a balance of air also with fuel. in the truck and on a cold day, I need to shut the air off and kinda flood the engine with 3 to 4 pumps of the accelerator pump and does not start as good as a Brit with SUs.

So the SU by flooding when choking and not shutting off the air and not using an accelerator pump IMHO is better. In addition, with no accelerator pump the gas pedal can be pressed to the floor on a SUs on hot summer start for air without allowing gas squirting in from pushing the pedal down and flooding on the hot day.

steve

 

[CJD]

You hit the nail on the head, Steve. I could get the jet completely dry. but the first time I pulled the choke it would start to run like a faucet! That fat cork seal had me confused, but all is great now that I torqued it fully. I really like the SU method of operating, but I think they could have done better with the design. The moving jet on the bottom of the carb is eventually going to leak, no matter what. Harley Davidson has the exact same operation, but they reversed the assembly so the jet can never cause an external leak.

It's a less elegant design, but you really gotta love watching a Holley double pumper pour a half gallon of fuel in the top of a carb when you gun it!