Missing zerks

[Member 10617]

I've reached the 6000 mile maintenance mark on my 59 TR3 and have been doing all the required lubrications. When I got to the clutch shaft bearing, however, I did not find the grease nipples (zerks) pictured in PH or in all the other drawings. Where the two zerks should be I found only a solid caps, with no indication that there had ever been grease fittings there. Can anyone explain this to me?

 

[mallard]

You may have a TR6 shaft in the car, I believe they will work in both transmissions. The TR6 does not have the fittings.

 

[Member 10617]

Keith,

Thanks. It's possible. When I bourght the car, I had the engine and transmission rebuilt, and OD added. there were many changes, and adding a TR6 shaft may have been one of them.

Two less zerks to grease!

 

[TR3driver]

ISTR you mentioned having synchromesh in first gear, so that would indicate a later gearbox without the zerks.

I'll add that it is my preference to add the zerks (I also have a TR6 gearbox in my TR3); but probably not worth pulling things apart to do so. Left dry, those joints seem to wear pretty badly. On the Stag, there wasn't room to put the zerks on the shaft, so I put them on the gearbox housing instead.

 

[Member 10617]

Randall,

I don't have synchromesh in first gear. Only 2, 3, and 4 are synchromeshed in my car. I don't have a photo of the clutch shaft area, but it doesn't look at all like the one in your photo. It looks exactly like the one in the drawings, except for no zerks.

A mystery... for me.

UPDATE: Here is a photo taken quickly...

 

[TR3driver]

Sorry, Ed, my mistake on the 4-synchro. But I still agree with Keith, that is the later shaft which does not come with grease zerks.

The reason my Stag looks different is because the clutch slave is on the other side, the shaft gets installed backwards. But the parts manual shows the lever on the left, which has caused several mechanics a lot of grief. Removing the gearbox is an adventure in pain on the Stag (I literally wind up bleeding every time) and there is no other way to turn the shaft around.

 

[Member 10617]

Randall,

My thanks to you and Keith for explaining what I have. I'm going to leave it as it is, i.e., without zerks. At the very least, should I occasionally lubricate (oil/grease) the joint on the the lever? .... although the oil that drips around down there seems to be doing that "automatically." I don't know if there is any rubber involved in the joint that might be damaged by my oiling itl...

 

[mallard]

On my TR6 transmission there was enough sidewall thickness to install two bronze bushings on each side instead of one. I figured two bushings are better than one. Never had any binding problems, and the parts don't wear as fast.

 

[Member 10617]

Keith,

I'm not clear on where you installed the bronze bushings to prevent possible binding.

I haven't yet experienced any binding problems with the lever/shaft component, if that is what you mean. On my car, one end of the shaft is attached to the lever.... and the other is attached to the sidewall. There doesn't seem to be any way to lubricate this shaft from the exterior, and I assume it was designed that way.

 

[sail]

The bushings are number 52 in this TR6 illustration. 6's are wider than the 3&4's.
I drip a little oil on the shaft with hope it works in.

 

[Member 10617]

Richard,

Thanks. I think I'll drip a little on on the shaft, where it connects with the lever, and hope for the best.