22nd August.2010. A bit of comfort!!!!

Since I've owned the Rally car, it's never had a carpet in it. It's never bothered me to be honest. (mainly because if it hasn't got a carpet, it never needs to be hoovered!)  However, due to the impending 2000 mile run coming up  and the fact that we'll be living in the car for more than 48 hours, I thought that a bit of comfort might be in order!

There was also another reason though. Currently on order is a 'full sport' exhaust system. this system only has one back box at the rear and is significantly louder than a standard one. With this in mind the thought of the new mega-decibel exhaust resonating through the car while one of us is trying to sleep was slightly off putting.

hence the reason for the fitting of the sound proofing and carpet that I now have to hoover! (Occasionally.......Ok rarely then!)

7th August 2010-The Differential's out! Again!!!!!!

Once again the Rally car finds itself with its back end in the air and its vital parts missing! As someone pointed out on the Club Triumph forum recently......'OMG! Its only 60 days to go for the RBRR!'

The RBRR is the 'Round Britain Reliability Run' for Club Triumph being held on the first weekend in October 2010. It's an endurance run where we have to cover 2000 miles in a weekend. We have to average at least 40mph non-stop for 48 hours to cover the mileage required. Sleep deprivation, snacks, high energy drinks and a reliable car is the order of the day!

The fact that there's only '60 days' to go (56 at time of writing) has thrown everyone into sheer panic as 60 days translated into the 1 day every weekend that most people have to work on their cars, is not a lot!

With this in mind, I decided to remove the diff on the rally car to try and cure the leak. Diff removal on any car is never a pleasant task on any car and normally results in lumps of dirt, grease and dust getting in my hair, on on my clothes, and on my nerves! The leak seemed to be coming from where the diff joins the nose cone. This is where the oil seal is situated, so this would be a prime suspect. A new oil seal was purchased from Triumph specialist Chris Witor and fitted with the job of fitting the diff back in the car shortly after. (Never an easy job on your own and it never fails to produce fair amount of grunting and cussing!)

I also need to replace the seal on the oil filter adapter as this has decided to leak as well. (Only my cars make the decision to leak from both ends at the same time!) So as soon as I have cured this issue, I can test drive the beast and make sure I am leak free! 

I've also been trying to cure my ongoing overdrive problems on my brown estate. (Should the Rally car not be ready  for the RBRR or suffer any additional problems, the estate will be the back up vehicle) We've cured the switch problems, but still seem to have the problem of the overdrive not engaging fully. I now suspect we have a pressure fault, which means removal of the overdrive unit. To be continued.......