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The control head is assembled ,wired and mounted to the stator tube I made sure the car wheels were straight and pushed the assembly into its tube on the car. I believe the control head part with the dimpled extension piece is correctly locked into the stator slot. I tightened the grub screws and then inserted the brass olive and it's lock nut at the other end. (The front wheels are off the ground.) To see if the turn signal lever was working I turned the steering wheel all the way to the right...it seems there is still some movement in the control head,maybe a couple inches either way. When I turned the wheel back to center the lever did return to the center as it should. However when I swung the steering wheel to the left the lever did not return to center? I think I may have over tightened the grub screws or maybe stripped the threads that the screws go into? and that is why the control head does not stay still. Would a worn brass olive at the other end be causing movement? I did tighten the brass lock nut to the max so I don't think there is movement at that end......but the olive did look rather worn? If I did damage the threads on the metal where the grub screws go, I do have a spare assembly I could use if necessary. Anybody know the size of the grub screws or a source as i believe I damaged the slots on the ones I installed. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed. Karl
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TR2/3/3A Traficator control head and stator update....
- Thread starter karls59tr
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CJD
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The grub screws should not affect the centering of the head. The centering is entirely done by the stator tube you fabricated. If there is an eighth inch of play where the tube slot grabs the indentions on the trafficator head tube, then that becomes over an inch at the outside of the trafficator.
You could also have movement at the olive. You would have to get someone to turn the steering wheel while you look at the end of the tube at the steering gear.
You could also have movement at the olive. You would have to get someone to turn the steering wheel while you look at the end of the tube at the steering gear.
In other words the slot I cut may be too large. It just seemed to me at the time I made the cut that it was way too narrow at 1/16" which others said it was supposed to be. To me it looked like the slot indentations were way wider than the 1/16th slot and I did not see how they were going to fit into the slot so I went wider than 1/16th. Guess I went too wide. Perhaps I can try cutting a narrower slot on the opposite end of the tube to rectify the situation by flipping the stator around. Then carefully patch the original slot I cut with JB weld....after I first check movement at the olive.
CJD
Yoda
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I would worry about adding a second slot. The top of the stator is the weak point to begin with. When you turn the ring that takes the grub screws while holding the trafficator still, is there a good bit of force? If the grease gets hard it can add a lot of force, which is transferred to the stator tube and makes more motion. The ring should turn almost effortlessly. If it doesn't, clean it with brake cleaner and re-oil it.
As far as the stator...install the trafficator on the tube and see how much movement you get between the tube and the head tube. If there is a lot, I might actually try gently crimping the stator to it grabs the head tube tighter. Before modifying anything, I might even be inclined to try a small dab of JB Weld or other good epoxy. Not too much! You want to be able to separate them later if you have to work on them again.
As far as the stator...install the trafficator on the tube and see how much movement you get between the tube and the head tube. If there is a lot, I might actually try gently crimping the stator to it grabs the head tube tighter. Before modifying anything, I might even be inclined to try a small dab of JB Weld or other good epoxy. Not too much! You want to be able to separate them later if you have to work on them again.
Those are good suggestions.but before I do that I have discovered that turning the steering wheel moves the stator tube so I am pretty sure the issue is that the worn out brass olive is not compressing enough to hold the stator still. When I inserted the stator I did spray it with silicone spray so that it may be making the compression area slippery as well ?? Also I did notice when I inserted the stator and pulled back a bit for some reason I noticed that one of the "lantern spacers" had come loose from my improvised repair . Would that affect the issue? Anyway I am going to contact the members of the BCCM here in Winnipeg to see if anyone has a spare brass olive. It seems to me that i recently read that the olive type compression fitting has to have a slot in it and similar ones that you get at a hardware store don't have the slot so they don't work. Thanks for your help John. I'll keep you posted. Karl
CJD
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The lanterns just keep the stator from rattling inside the steering column, so they should not affect the head turning.
One thing on the olive...I believe I once tried an olive from Ace hardware, and it did not work. The Triumph olives are longer. The newer hardware olives are too short to compress properly. You may need to source it from one of the big 3 suppliers??
One thing on the olive...I believe I once tried an olive from Ace hardware, and it did not work. The Triumph olives are longer. The newer hardware olives are too short to compress properly. You may need to source it from one of the big 3 suppliers??
So it turns out I actually had a new olive in a collection of stuff I searched thru that I had left over from when I rebuilt the steering box a few years ago. I installed it and tightened up the lock nut and now the control head stays stationary when I turn the steering wheel. Prior to that I removed the grub screws and pulled the control back to have a look to see if the the dimples in the head tube lined up with the slot and they were and located solidly where it should be so it was old worn olive all along that was the problem and maybe the silicone spray. Unfortunately the turn signal lever still does not return to center as it should? Bit of a mystery as to why? One of the reasons I took the control head out and took it apart was the last time I installed it,I forgot to put the horn button spring in so I thought I would do that while I was in there,rewire the eyelets inside and install some small bits and pieces that I was missing and that i got from the control head that Madog was kind enough to send me. So at least that got done and I don't have to use the dash toggle switch I had rigged up for the horn. I still have to connect the wiring at the bottom of the stator for the turn signals. I can always just flick the turn signal back by hand. Driving season is coming up here soon so I might wait till next winter to play with the control head again and just enjoy the summer driving. Thx for your help. Karl
Yes I suspect the 2 little fiddly toggles as well. There is a small brass block with a tiny sideways wheel that is pushed forward by a little spring. The spring that Madog sent was excellent in that it had a real strong push to it. Unfortunately on assembly it blasted into the ozone layer never to be seen again! I had to use the old anemic spring that I had instead. It's my theory that the anemic spring is not forceful enough to press those little toggles forward and return them properly. The saga will continue next winter.
