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Repair Bottom Line Shock

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Ok, picked the car up from the shop last night... found that the valve cover appears to be leaking oil near the battery compartment tray. There was a bead of oil in several areas around where the cover and the head meet. There seems to be oil around the engine in that area as well. Is this normal for the first few miles the car is driven after the valve cover is put back on, or is this sloppy work?

Also, where the heater valve goes into the head, I can see where quite a bit of antifreeze is leaking.

That I know is sloppy work.

Amazing...
 
Yeah, Aldwyn, that all sounds like sloppy work. The valve cover gaskets are tricky, but not impossible to do right.

Regards,
 
Aldwyn:

Because I know almost nothing about auto mechanics,
I screwed up something and had to pull off the valve
cover for damage control.

TR6Bill instructed me to order two new valve cover
gaskets and a can of Permatex gasket sealant. I was
also instructed how to install the gasket.

A whole of things are still wrong with the Crypt Car
but not a single drop of oil excapes from under the
valve cover.

So, since my work is certainly not paid professional,
I am thinking your leaking valve cover must be sloppy
work. I'm like REAL sure it is NOT normal to leak.

regards,

dale
 
PS Aldwyn:

I'll swap you a coupla photos on how to install
the valve cover gasket properly yourself if YOU
foward me a coupla photos during your rear brake
rebuild!!

Such a deal!!

d
 
Aldwyn,

It sounds to me that the shop that did your inspection was looking to hit a "home run" at your expense. Many shops scare the heck out of people with their inspections...telling owners things need to be redone when there, in fact, is nothing wrong... be skeptical and cautious!

Do the essential things first...get a second opinion on ANYTHING that you don't understand. Tackling most jobs is fairly simple on these cars...far less complicated than modern iron.

Use your manual, buy quality parts, ask questions and take things at a comfortable pace.
 
Agreed, YankeeTR. The best thing about these cars is that the majority of owners don't depend on them for daily transportation. You can take your time and get it right--even if it makes you a little crazy sometimes.

I drive my TR every chance I get, even to commute, but if there's a problem or a question about the car I can always leave it at home. This is not always the case with the Buick, GMC, Nissan, or Saab that is your daily driver. If you need your vehicle so that you can get to work in the morning, you have to get things done. And many professional mechanics know that!

Regards,
 
Thanks guys.

The previous owner of this car also warned me about this shop with sloppy work (and other complaints)... but it's the closer of the LBC shops so I gave them a chance.

Don't think I will go back there.

Dale, I will be shopping ebay for a cheap digital camera. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

I happen to have purchased two valve cover gaskets a month ago in anticipation of cleaning it, and painting it. I suppose I will need to do that soon since I am now leaking oil.

And... I'll be avoiding Mountjoy's Auto in the future.
 
Aldwyn:

Get Sherman to take you to the Mason-Dixon TRA meeting tonight, if he's going. It's at O'Lourdan's Irish Pub in Westminster at 7:00. We'll straighten this thing out!

I can e-mail directions. Or Sherman can.
 
Dr John, yer breakin' my heart with that one!
I'd even brave your nasty cold winter temps to
attend a TR meeting AND at O'Lourdans no less!

Aldwyn: I'm guessing you have the Bently Blue
bible. When you remove the valve cover to properly
install the new gasket----that would be a perfect
opportunity for to learn the fine art of

"Valve Adjusting your TR6."

My friend Aldwyn, I see many fun days of
learning do-it-yourself TR6 auto mechanics
in your future!!

regards,

dale
 
To address your first question about brake job cost, FWIW I just spent about $950 in parts to replace everything brake-wise on my TR3. Granted, my job was a little more because I had to have the rear hubs rebuilt due to grease leakage ($300, not a project I could do myself) and the TR3 10" brake shoes are darned expensive. But by the time you replace all the hydraulics (I bought rebuilt front calipers) the part cost adds up. Good news is that you can totally do the labor yourself if you have the book and work carefully and methodically. Check and doublecheck everything and don't get in a hurry.
 
John: Afraid I cant make a meeting tonight! I didnt know that Mason-Dixon Triumphs existed. I belong to TRAC and CTR though!

Dale: They just adjusted my valves when they did the inspection (they said they needed it, so I told them to go ahead and do it). But I can certainly take a look see!

Red: Lucky for me, it appears my hydrolics are ok! Just need to replace rotors, pads, hoses and front bearings.

Thanks guys!
 
There's a blast from the past! I took my wife to Clyde's in Columbia in my '78 Spitfire on our first date in 1984. She later told me that when she went to work that night (she's a nurse), she told everybody about what a great time she had and how cool my little convertible was.
 
Totally Awesome, small world!!

My mentor at the Rouse Co, Peter W.,
negotiated the deal that brought Clydes
to Columbia.

A coupla career moves for me.............

Fifteen years later, I met a nice woman
who turned out to be Peter's young widow.

Two years later, Wendy and I got married.

awesome!

dale
 
One of the neat things about a TR6 is the relative simplicity. Take your time, read the books and ask for advice. You'll be more than satisfied when you complete your repairs. Not only will you save money, but you did the work.
Another neat thing is that you can feel the improvement after you're done. Whether it's brakes, a tune up or some other adjustment. These cars respond to proper care.
It's part of the fun of ownership.
 
Aldwyn, since you will be doing the brakes, why not go for the good pads, (green stuff), it will double the cost of the pads and shoes, but will still be an improvement over anything else you can do to the brake system using the normal set up.

Wayne
 
trrdster2000 said:
Aldwyn, since you will be doing the brakes, why not go for the good pads, (green stuff), it will double the cost of the pads and shoes, but will still be an improvement over anything else you can do to the brake system using the normal set up.

Wayne
Click to expand...

I have the "green stuff" pads on the front. Braking is straight and true. And very, very dirty. After any run, my front Panasports are gray instead of silver. I was not aware that the rear shoes were available in the "green stuff". I would like that better, then all my wheels will color match.

One thing I noticed after installing the Kevlar front pads. My rotors were new and had the standard pads on them for about 10K miles. The face of the rotors were relatively smooth, with some micro grooves apparent. Not enough, in my minds eye, to have the rotors turned before replacing the pads with the Kevlar units. After a few hundred miles with the Kevlar pads, I noticed that my rotors are now smooth as glass, with no apparent grooving visible anywhere. I have about 5K miles on the Kevlar pads and they still stop well, or as well as any TR6 with stock brakes will stop. I always cringe when I have to make a panic stop. The brakes come through but my underwear seldom does. A Porsche 911 it ain't.
 
I thought about the green pads, but I hesitate as I dont want to have to keep cleaning my wheels!

That's one of the things I hate about having them on my Acura... the darned wheels are always black in the front, gray in the back!

They are supposed to be silver! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Do the green pads REALLY make that much of a difference in pleasure driving to deal with the double cost and the mess?
 
Aldwyn, she was living in Columbia when we met and I was up in Bel Air. I married her and stole her away from Howard County up to Harford and we're still in Bel Air. I've worked at three different places in Columbia since then, but now my job's in beautiful East Baltimore by Hopkins Hospital (not exactly as scenic as Columbia), so I don't make it down there very often. I don't think I'll ever be taking my TR6 to work in that neighborhood, but when I get it going good this summer, maybe I should take her back to Clyde's. Good idea! And we won't be going to Mountjoy's Auto!

and Tinster - if only Mr. Rouse could come back and see what his town grew up to be. And it's not done yet.
 
Andy,

That's pretty interesting. I moved back to Columbia
in 1985 and lived there until my semi-retirement and
move to PR in 1995. Last trip back to Columbia was 1999.

It is possible our paths may have crossed but we were not aware.

best regards,

dale
 
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