pulling hair out over indexing '72 T120V with camplate leafspring

Yep, using mineral oil for engine. No, gearbox not sorted yet - new 3rd. gear mainshaft pinion is here, as are new gaskets. Helicoil kit on order to repair stripped out outer cover bolt thread. That pdf manual is fantastic, btw, but no doubt I'll still arse it up somehow! Yup, got proper gear oil on standby too. Now, if only the bloody depression (in my head, not in the inlet tract) would pee off (not my Triumph's fault - I put it down to being a school bus driver for 14 years!!!) then we could do very well I'm sure!! p.s. how many depressives does it take to change a lightbulb? None - I'd rather sit and mope in the dark (who mentioned Lucas?)

 

I feel so very green compared to you all! Graham - I anticipate that it'll slip together more like Swiss cheese! Everything is here now that I need to make a start on her - gear pinion, two gaskets, gasket squidgey, gear oil and my very first helicoil kit to sort out that outer cover bolt thread. I've even been to the dox to get some more Prozac Schmozac! Also need to replace rear wheel bearings, which I also have sitting ready - will I need to grind out one of the races or will it tap out through the wheel inner spacer tube thingie?

 

Story of my smeggin' life, Mr. Half ton sir! A million different jobs on the go at once, and not one of them finished! If I lived in the Arctic then I would probably be a bipolar bear..

 

Ok, folks, here's the latest - pulled the box completely out today, apart from the mainshaft (which I can slide in and out a good half inch or so) and its fourth and fifth gears, and the back wheel still won't turn. it feels like it's in gear and will only rock back and forth until it's stopped with a clonk. I hate it and I wish it would die in a freak yachting accident...

 

But I still don't understand how drive gets from back wheel to crank without any bloody gears in the box....

 

Do cor

Do correct me if I am wrong, but surely the drivetrain is thus- crank turns clutch input, clutch output turns input to gearbox, gearbox output turns final drive chain, back wheel goes round. So how the smeggeddy smeg can the back wheel turn the crank when the gearbox has no gears in it? Am I just being stupid or what? Genuinely confused

 

Ah, Mr. Halfton. Greetings. No, Tina has been put on hold while I sort out a few other things. What I do know is that the primary side has locked up (finally figured out how the gearbox input and output can be on the same shaft). Looks very much as if the engine will be sent off to a man who knows what he's doing, as I don't have the patience for it!

 

So finally the engine has been taken to the man who knows what he's doing - and he seemed very concerned as I described the faults

 

He said very little, other than that there isn't much to go wrong in the primary drive to cause it to lock. I strongly suspect the mainshaft as I understand that carries power into, and out of, the gearbox - and I suspect that it is this which is locking up. He'll have had the engine for two weeks this wednesday so hope there's some news by then

 

Arse. And chapped nipples too. Just spoken to the man - damaged everything it seems. A box full of historical knackeredness - damaged or broken or missing or split gears, layshaft, splines, thrust washers, dogs, dog caps, bearing, sea lion, etc etc. Even new layshaft third gear has too much play. Already had to fabricate a puller and diamond tools have been mentioned along with many new parts. Should have stuck with my Hornet...

Notice my new avatar - the engine doing what it does best. Old MGB and Bonnie in perfect dischord...

 

Yes, after five weeks' soddin' wages! Whores will have their trinkets, I auppose

 

Mr Half Ton Sir,

The latest news from Jesse's shed - the gearbox was last put together by a gorilla. And a gorilla not particularly au fait with Triumph boxes, it seems. Wrong mainshaft (from a Trident) which has caused loads of endfloat, which in turn has caused wearing of the cases, and float in the gear pinions, causing two to lock and smash the gear up. Also, wrong output sprocket, which explained the pedestrian performance. That bike is a right dog's dinner

 

Ok, more news. Turns out that although it has a Trident mainshaft, the rest of the gearbox is from a 140, and mine's a 120. Wrong ratios. Output sprocket had two teeth two many as well. My engine man is having terrible problems indexing it up, especially with that stupid leaf spring thing

 

raggin' shaggin' fraggin' schmeggin' bloody thing

 

So folks - it's finally fixed and ready to be picked up this saturday. After 15 weeks at the engine repairey place! They'd never seen anything like it in decades of working on old bonnies! Gearbox was full of incorrect parts (now smashed), wrong shafts, wrong gears, missing dogs and tips, wrong sprockets, wrong kickstart, etc etc...however the bill was tiny - £250 parts and a mere £250 labour! For 15 weeks' work/storage! Unbelievable. Much respect to Steve the boss at North Road Engineering Services, Newark, Notts, if anyone needs to know.

Now, whilst I'm here, may I pump you all thoroughly for advice regarding suitable engine oil for the old girl? Which pipe is which going into and out of the oil pump? (Forgot to make a note, doh) And what about gearbox and primary drive oil? I have some unopened 15 yr old silkolene medium gear oil - it may be 15 years old but I didn't think that this would matter as it's spent millions of years under the ground!!

And finally - she keeps cutting out when she gets warm, no sparks, dead. And then it takes a couple of mins to get her started again. I know it's not my main batt feed/switch as everything else continues to work just fine, and voltage is fine - so I'm thinking maybe a coil breaking down. And as I'm running a boyer ignition with both coils in series, if one goes down, it takes the other one with it. Any suggestions?

Cheers folks