Pete
For question 1), I found the same thing. I don't know what others on the
list will say, and I have no idea whether what I did was the best answer
or not. But, what I did was sand/grind down the entire area where I
found the stress cracks until I was sure I had found them all. Then I
filled in the base with new weld metal. Then I ground it all back to get
it somewhat flat with good metal and found the biggest d#@* washer I
could with a center hole big enough for a tight fit where the post comes
through the cross member and welded that to the bolt and crossmember.
Hopefully this will help distribute some of the stresses a little
better. My concern is that I don't want any of the cracks which might
propogate through the new weld material to continue, and if they
do.......hence the washer. I would think that any 1/4 or 3/8 inch thick
plate with a hole in the middle would probably do just as well.
I'm open to what others on the list think about whether this is an
adequate fix or not.
For question 2) I used the cardboard template approach just like you
did. Cut and shaped until I got a perfect fit for my car. Then used that
as the pattern. Cut the pieces and welded them in. Most of the work is
in preparing to weld them in.
As an aside, I have found that investing in a welding machine was a good
idea for me. Lots of fun, keeps my external costs down and the kids love
it. Better than Nintendo. YMMV.
Good Luck.
Mark
TR250s
58 MGA
-----Original Message-----
From: Pete & Aprille Chadwell [mailto:dynamic@transport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 1:13 AM
To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: Revised Diff Mount Template?
Hi, folks.
The TR6 is still on stands... I've been too damned busy with work to
make
much progress on my diff mount repair project. I do, however, have it
all
torn apart, and I have two questions:
1) I notice that there is a stress crack in the top of the cross-member
adjacent to the head of the mounting pin on the right front. Can I just
have the welder weld it up before welding in the reinforcing plates?
Would
that be adequate? (Please say YES!)
2) I'm going to have a local fabricator make up the plates for me. I
downloaded the TRF template and before I turned the local guy loose with
that template, I thought I'd make a cardboard dummy to make sure it fit.
Well, the fit was really sloppy, so I set about making my own template.
After quite a bit of fiddling, I've come up with a shape that fits MUCH
better than the TRF template. At least on my car, anyway. I understand
that the fit may not be consistent from car to car, and that the TRF
plates
may require some grinding to "adjust the fit." Well, in my instance
this
would be a case of the old "I've cut this thing THREE TIMES and it's
STILL
too short!!" syndrome.
Question is, is anyone interested in checking this template out and
maybe
replacing the TRF one on the VTR site? The TRF template literally looks
as
though someone took a "Sharpie" and quickly traced around one of the
plates. Frankly, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in its
accuracy.
Hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, but I've made a very clean
"official" looking drawing that I'd like to offer to all concerned, but
I'm
aware that my template may not fit another TR6 as well as mine given the
varying manufacturing tolerances.
Any input appreciated.
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
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