On Tue, 12 May 1998, fred thomas wrote:
> I think the big difference in mileage/rebuilds in the U.S. vs UK is the
> roads, we have had for so many years the freeways, open highways etc.
> etc. our cars rack up more easy miles than they do over there, but yes
> some of us do a lot of unneeded work and dollars wasted.
Hi Fred.
Well, there are "motorways" in Britain where they get to "stretch thier
legs" that are very much like highways or freeways in the 'States. So. I
wouldn't presume that the recommended repair intervals for these cars is
solely due to folks driving around "lugging along". In fact, my
experience at driving in Britain was quite the opposite - they drive
rather fast over there - not insane fast like a kid in a Camaro, but
controlled fast. I was quite impressed (and I like the big "L" sticker on
the learners - we should do that here!!!)
On the other hand, with the exception of the later Triumphs like the TR7
and Honda badged cars, the circumstances of why maintenance is required
has changed dramatically. I just re-read an article by Ken Gillanders of
British Frame and Engine that appeared in the latest The Vintage Triumph
about dirt/oil/detergent and supersaturation... the manuals for our cars
were written when detergent oils were the exception as opposed to the
rule that they are now... try to find straight SAE 30 non-detergent oil
nowadays. In fact in days past, I had mechanics do work for me that swore
that detergent oil was "evil"... go figure and we can't all be right.
That having been said, there's a lot less sludge in any engine that I've
pulled apart on more modern cars than I ever would have believed even 10
years ago. And sludge is a bad thing. Similarly, the de-coking of your
basic TR engine is probably a lot less mandatory nowadays considering
that the fuels have detergents in them and that there are less
non-combustable additives (e.g. tetra-ethyl lead). Again - I've taken
heads apart that are almost devoid of carbon deposits... this must be due
to something.
On the other hand, if you go lugging around in a TR3 at 30 in 4th gear,
then you'll probably encounter _some_ deposits in your motor. But then
even with the service intervals prescribed in the factory manuals, it'll
be a long time before a lot of folks on this list exceed the recommended
intervals for minor or major overhauls.
Oh well. Back to work...
rml
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