[TR] Head question & Steering Column rebush

[Alan Myers]

Hi Jim,

Yes, I've done that too... I understand that any metallic rattle can spray
paint with high metallic particle content will do. Silver, copper, gold paints
all will work.

I learned the trick from an old, old Ford truck repair shop that helped me out
with an on-the-road repair of a 6 cylinder motor that broke down on me in S.
Oregon. The engine sucked in a couple screws that came loose from the carb's
air cleaner assembly. We had to remove the head to get them out and inspect
the engine (fortunately no harm was done to pistons, rings, cylinder walls or
valves & seats). This was an interesting 60 or 70 old repair shop in Port
Orford that serviced logging trucks and other heavy equipment. A lot of their
power tools still ran off a complex and ancient belt and pulley system that
was originally steam driven. The owner of the shop showed me the trick of
using plain old spray paint to coat both sides the gasket, we did that when
reassembling my truck's motor and it was still working perfectly when I sold
that van some years later. I should note, though, that it was not a copper
head gasket. It was some sort of composite (stock item).

As a side note, that was one of the most enjoyable break-downs I ever had...
the locals treated us like long-lost friends, I spent some days working
alongside the "old school" mechanics, and they only charged me $275 for a job
that likely would have cost 4 or 5 times that back here in Calif. When I
wasn't working on the van, we explored that friendly little town we might have
just driven through (a single stop light on the freeway, at the time). Turned
out they had a 4 star restaurant, great accommodations, a lovely lighthouse
just north of town and had a small but thriving fishing fleet. In some ways,
the break-down was the luckiest and best part of that vacation road trip!

Regarding re-bushing your steering column... Use WD40 on the new bushings, to
help them slide into place easily. Once in, WD40 evaporates and dries out
completely leaving the bushings pretty much "welded" in place. Worked for me
(and will work on many types of rubber... golf club grips, motorcycle grips,
bicycle handlebar grips, etc.) This is one of those rare times that WD40's
uselessness as a lubricant, only being effective for a very short term, comes
in handy.


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
amfoto1 at aol.com
'62 TR4 CT17602L
www.triumphowners.com/640
Triumphest 2009
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amfoto1/collections/72157626673107235/
2009 Monterey Historic Races
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amfoto1/collections/72157622075403328/




-----Original Message-----


Message: 4
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:02:33 -0500
From: "James Henningsen" <trguy75 at gmail.com>
To: "'Randall'" <tr3driver at ca.rr.com>, <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [TR] Head Question
Message-ID: <010b01cee267$88da7490$9a8f5db0$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

...A friend of mine said he uses an old racer trick.
He sprays the gasket with silver paint top and bottom and installs.  Jim


---- James Henningsen <trguy75 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ok, this is probably a dumb question, but better safe than sorry.  Do
> you use any gasket sealant when installing a new copper head gasket on
> a TR4 motor?


------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:11:43 -0500
From: "James Henningsen" <trguy75 at gmail.com>
To: <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Subject: [TR] Steering Column Rebush follow-up
Message-ID: 010d01cee268$d0e24910$72a6db30$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

...  New bushes
 in soon...
------------------------------