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TR2/3/3A Suspension bushings

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J

John_Progess

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My rolling chasis was put together sometime in 07 by one of our club members who passed away so I don't know what was replaced. A restoration manual mentions to use urethane bushings in the pivot arms as opposed to rubber. There are rubber bushings in the pivot arms now and I can see one of them is cracking. I am going to disassemble the the suspension to check everything out and wanted to know if it would be a good to replace the rubber with urethane. Also is there any other things I should be looking for while I have everything apart? Thanks and have a good day!
 
I'd do it. I actually put Nylatron in mine (poly bushings weren't available then) and I've never been sorry I did. Got to be a royal PITA replacing the rubber ones every couple of years.

Look for cracks or signs of distortion in the upper arms, and give the "Silentbloc" joints the hairy eyeball. I didn't have very good luck with rubber there either. TRF sells Delrin replacements that should be much better. (Again, they weren't available then, so I went with brass/SS replacements.) The sealing rings at the trunnions will probably be shot as well, but I don't know of anyone making improved versions of those yet. So just replace them while they are apart, and hope that the original rubber formula has finally been rediscovered.

Note that some of the books give the wrong instructions for setting the front wheel bearing clearance. The clearance should only be .003-.005", which is about 1/2 flat on the nut. There are two holes in the spindle (for the cotter pin), so you should be able to hit that. But if not, it is permissible to file just a bit from the back of the nut.

PS, when removing the Silentblocs, you need a puller that bears on the end of the stud. Using a "pickle fork" type separator will only tear the joint apart and not remove the pin. I use this style https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Jfgz4l7JL._SL1500_.jpg but the other styles might work as well.
 
Randall

Is the bearing clearance error in the TR2/3 factory workshop manual? I am trying to annotate my workshop manual to identify where mistakes are. Any others you can point out would be appreciated.

Dan
 
Well, more accurately I believe, the clearance was updated later. So not really a mistake, just a specification change. But yes, the TR2/3 workshop manual calls for 1.5 to 2.0 flats, which is too much.

There were several other changes over the years, most of which can be found in the later editions of "Practical Hints". Unfortunately I'm not very good at remembering them that way, but here's what I can think of offhand:

1) The later clutch slave mounting arrangement is not shown, and the Girling slave cylinder illustration (in the back) shows a spring that should not be there. The spec was 0.1" for freeplay at the Girling clutch slave (the workshop manual only gives the Lockheed spec of .075"). (However, I like to set mine even tighter, around 1/16", for a higher clutch pedal. Downside is the need for more frequent adjustment.)

2) The amount of grease for the rear wheel bearings in the "Girling" axle was revised downwards several times, I use the TR4 specification (which has the same bearings) of 5 strokes every 12,000 miles. Too much will force grease out past the dust seal and contaminate the brakes.

3) One of the dimensions for the rear main seal mandrel is wrong.

4) The wiring diagram is wrong for all but the earliest TR3.

5) I believe the starter "light running" current should be 45 amps, not 4.5

6) No mention of the later distributor, starter, generator, bolt-on ring gear, etc.

7) I don't recall offhand if the workshop manual proper talks about fuses at all, but the owner's manual in front of the Bentley reprint does. The horn fuse was later revised to 35 amps instead of the earlier 50 amps; and all of the fuse ratings are given in an obsolete British system that is roughly twice the rating of modern fuses. In other words, if you are going to use AGC fuses, use an AGC 20 in place of the "35 amp" Lucas fuse.

8) No mention of the fiber washer on the support post for the timing cover (which is also not in most gasket sets).

9) Conventional brake fluid needs to be changed every 2 or 3 years.

10) The recommended lubricants were changed in several cases. For example, starting around 1959 or so, they said to use GL4 in the gearbox & overdrive instead of motor oil.

11) Fuel tank capacity changed twice.

There is probably more, but that's all I can think of offhand. Oh, one more thing, when replacing the felt dust seal for the front wheel bearings, I think the procedure given in the TR4 workshop manual is much better. Basically you find the proper position for the nut before installing the felt or greasing the bearings, then mark the position and pull things back apart to pack the bearings and install the felt. That way there is no chance of getting a false reading from the felt (or grease) filling up the clearance. But you still have to be careful that the races are properly seated in the hub (if you replaced them).
 
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