Well, it turned out to be a pretty easy and cheap job. A complaint about
clunks and noises in the back end of a TR-250 usually brings the most
horrendous -- and expensive -- thoughts to mind. My friend was actually
quite afraid to drive the car any distance, apparently it was that bad.
Anyway, he brought it over yesterday and left it in my yard. Just for
kicks, before he left, he bounced the rear of the car whilst I listened
and looked. A hesitantly reassuring smile came to my face as I saw the RR
lever shock move quite noticeably!
As I said, the repair turned out to be quite simple. If you're not
familiar with the setup, two bolts hold the shock to its mount on the
frame. Those bolts thread into a rather thick tapped plate on the mount.
Well, some DPO (demented, disoriented, ??? previous owner) had apparently
once removed the shock and then lost the bolts (7/16" fine thread shaft,
5/8" hex head). To retain the shock, he then obtained two
almost-long-enough 3/8" fine thread shaft, 9/16" hex head bolts and nyloc
nuts. Sure it worked for awhile, sort of, but I suspect that someone
removed and replaced those bolts several times, as the nylon inserts in
the nuts were VERY tired.
Despite the loosening and subsequent movement of the shock, I discovered
that there had been no damage whatsoever (there IS a god) to the threaded
plate, so a well-spent $1.32 at the local hardware store got me proper
replacement bolts. They snugged down beautifully, the shock no longer
moves, and all is again well with the world.
Questions remaining in my mind: why would someone have done this? The
incorrect replacement bolts were a matched pair, not it's not as if
someone had just rummaged through the old Folger's can and grabbed the
first two bolts they could find. Did they not bother to go back to the
hardware store a second time and purchase the right bolts when they found
out the first pair was too small? Why didn't they do what I did -- steal a
bolt from the LR shock to take along as a sample? Has this musing gone on
long enough? :-)
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
p.s. The spin-on filter conversion installed two weeks ago has been
wonderful; "death rattle" is almost completely gone even on cold startup
and IS completely gone on a warm start; overall oil pressure seems higher
across the board and more consistent than before. Finally, a deviation
from "original" that I, Mr. Occasional Purist, would be willing to make on
any Triumph Six!
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