The Tiger had had a top end oil leak for some time. Wot’s new you all say, it’s a Triumph...
Silly me thinks I might be able to fix it……
I knew from a previous head overhaul (oversize valve guides fitted and some thread holes helicoiled), that the pushrod tubes had had the top shoulder ground down, for reasons unknown, but presumably because they were the wrong part. I now had some nice, new, shiny, correct pushrod tubes to fit.
Couldn’t find a news photo this time, of a certain politician to put the dirty oily parts on…
Ahaa.. so the ground down shoulder is the same size as the new item shoulder. Looks like the oil leak was due to the poorly fitting seal. Should have saved my muns…
Better chamfer off those nasty burrs on the new tubes
A little de-carbonising to do of course. Best done with a tough plastic scraper , nylon brush and paraffin. Slow job… must resist that tempting steel screwdriver.
crikey…. +60 over pistons. The manual says max is +40..!
The bank manager tells me I can’t have a new barrel and pistons… oh well, the bike was running OK before this….
Judicious use of a file here. Some guesswork going on when the Meriden lads wrote the torque settings in the manual..?
More scrubbing etc….. hey.. what’s that steel screwdriver doing there…?
The flexy "m.mouse corp." valve spring compressor just wasn’t up to the job. Some welding to reinforce the collet pusher end and a locknut on the adjuster rod made it feel less like it was made of bamboo.
Better lap the valves in to while I’m here… remember the stick with the rubber suckers on the ends...?
Nice and shiny… no not painted, that’s the result of vapour blasting. Great for soft metal parts.
All shiny clean and back together.
While I’m doing all this, there’s another niggly issue…...
I really ought to deal with the scoring on the bores while I’m here… off with the barrel then..
Must have been a slight mis-alignment on the last overbore… note the difference in metal thickness on the inside edge of each bore flange. No more overboring….. if that flange gets too thin it may break off.
The cheapo honing tool just about did the job before falling apart….
Right bore done…. now the left
Only slight wear on the pistons, just fit some new rings. Ring gaps in the bores almost in spec… much better than before anyway…
Smooth off the slide and body to a slick fit..? (well.. as good as you get with an Amal..).
May I introduce “Petseal”… a ‘90’s tank sealant. The word “gasohol” was unknown at the time. The bike was much happier without all this crap sloshing about in the tank… trying to dissolve and get through the carb etc.. etc..!
Happiness is a classic that is in one piece and gets out of the workshop…..
However… guess wot.. I still have the oil leak… The manual indicates the pushrod tubes should have an O ring at the top and a square seal at the bottom… but I now know better… so….. Next time……..
Silly me thinks I might be able to fix it……
I knew from a previous head overhaul (oversize valve guides fitted and some thread holes helicoiled), that the pushrod tubes had had the top shoulder ground down, for reasons unknown, but presumably because they were the wrong part. I now had some nice, new, shiny, correct pushrod tubes to fit.
Couldn’t find a news photo this time, of a certain politician to put the dirty oily parts on…
Ahaa.. so the ground down shoulder is the same size as the new item shoulder. Looks like the oil leak was due to the poorly fitting seal. Should have saved my muns…
Better chamfer off those nasty burrs on the new tubes
A little de-carbonising to do of course. Best done with a tough plastic scraper , nylon brush and paraffin. Slow job… must resist that tempting steel screwdriver.
crikey…. +60 over pistons. The manual says max is +40..!
The bank manager tells me I can’t have a new barrel and pistons… oh well, the bike was running OK before this….
Judicious use of a file here. Some guesswork going on when the Meriden lads wrote the torque settings in the manual..?
More scrubbing etc….. hey.. what’s that steel screwdriver doing there…?
The flexy "m.mouse corp." valve spring compressor just wasn’t up to the job. Some welding to reinforce the collet pusher end and a locknut on the adjuster rod made it feel less like it was made of bamboo.
Better lap the valves in to while I’m here… remember the stick with the rubber suckers on the ends...?
Nice and shiny… no not painted, that’s the result of vapour blasting. Great for soft metal parts.
All shiny clean and back together.
While I’m doing all this, there’s another niggly issue…...
I really ought to deal with the scoring on the bores while I’m here… off with the barrel then..
Must have been a slight mis-alignment on the last overbore… note the difference in metal thickness on the inside edge of each bore flange. No more overboring….. if that flange gets too thin it may break off.
The cheapo honing tool just about did the job before falling apart….
Right bore done…. now the left
Only slight wear on the pistons, just fit some new rings. Ring gaps in the bores almost in spec… much better than before anyway…
Smooth off the slide and body to a slick fit..? (well.. as good as you get with an Amal..).
May I introduce “Petseal”… a ‘90’s tank sealant. The word “gasohol” was unknown at the time. The bike was much happier without all this crap sloshing about in the tank… trying to dissolve and get through the carb etc.. etc..!
Happiness is a classic that is in one piece and gets out of the workshop…..
However… guess wot.. I still have the oil leak… The manual indicates the pushrod tubes should have an O ring at the top and a square seal at the bottom… but I now know better… so….. Next time……..
