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Triumph TR6 - Help !!

I am a new TR6 owner of a old moderate condition TR6. I have recently been told the previous owner abused the car and I need to address the frame. My diff. mounts are failing and making my body mounts sag. Can anyone advise> Or point me to a shop who should be approached for this.
Regards
Marcello

Marcello
Welcome to the club of insanity...just kiddin. You did not buy the car if you knew it would not be fun. The Dif mounts are the weakest part of a TR6 frame. It is usually the front right one that goes first. I suggest you do not drive the car.
I presume Brampton is the Ontario one. In Brampton is British Auto Sport, Fred McEachern, 1-888-486-2277 or 905-678-6479. Fred is a good source of MOSS parts and whould know of many shops that could help you out. I suggest calling him for a recommendation.
I also link you to the TTC http://www.torontotriumph.com/
Toronto Triumph Club. Go to the WEB site and under EVENTS you will see info for the Ancaster flea market...all LBC event. All suppliers for LBC will be there....Join the Club? A good start to the driving season and Fred brings a lot of stuff and usually it is a "no taxes" day.
See you this summer Marcello
Rick C
Rick Crawford

Hi Marcello

Did they say Diff mounts or trailing arm mounts?

Don't see how diff mounts would cause sag in body mounts?

Currently rebuilding frame on my 72.

Bill
Bill Brayford

Thanks for the response,
I find out in the morn what exactly the problem is. I feel it might be the trail arms. Is it advised not attempt this sort of repair? Or replace the frame all together? Also, would a bad trail arm result in rear end noise that might be mis diagnosed as "U" joints or bearings?
MV Vena

Marcello,
chances are the trailings arms are fine and the problem is the steel frame the trailing arms attached
to. A rusted out frame at that spot could very well make the the entire frame sag. If that is the case
then you are looking at the proverbial "frame off"
restoration to correct the problem properly.
There are some quick fixes that could buy you up to ten years on the road but eventually the body will have to come off if you want to save the car.
Chris
Christopher Trace

Marcello

If the noise was a clunking moving from foreward to reverse it would be differental mounts rear drivers side and front passengers as Rick mentions. Easy to repair 2 to 3 hours if they know what there doing?

Who is checking out the car and are they familiar with Triumphs?

For the safety of your wallet please let me know what they want to charge. And what they propose to do before you go ahead. Way too many people getting ripped off by this common problem lately.

One fellow in Hamilton paid $1500 for 2 hours of work? Sloppy at best and no support plates put in. Broke again in a year.

Bill
Bill Brayford

Bill / Christopher,
I find out Monday morn what the ticket is. As for where it is presently, believe it or not I took it in to simply get it certified and it remains there for this reason (local Good Year service) I dont know where else to turn to. It seems I may need to shop around for a frame and I wont be driving this dream I had for a long time this summer if ever. I feel the person who sold to me obviously knew about it and should have at least mentioned it, (buyer be ware)I got stung.
Any advice now folks..??
MV Vena

Hi Marcello

See what happens. Some of those places are worse than CT for having agressive service writers pumping up the price.

Do not sign up for anything if you want my advice. Get all the info you can written down even a note so you can tell us.

Don't panic frame probably not required just some welding.

Bill
Bill Brayford

I had my frame diff mounts repaired last year. I requried dropping the diff and welding in support plates. A little too much work for me, but I found a local LBC machanic who did it in about three hours along with a few other housekeeping items.

Don't panic - it's likely repairable.

Live the dream!!
D Hasara

Hi eveyone,
I want to thank everyone for there advice. I was underneath the car today. It seemed it was welded in the past (trail arms) and all bushings are new. From what it looks and sounds like it might be in-proper "U" joints clanging during shifting. And bearings too. I still want to take it to a Triumph person. I am re-excited again. I have accepted that it will never be a show car. I want to thank Rick, Bill, Christopher, D Hasara and Matti Holland ( I will call you) STAY TUNED ALL... :)
Marcello

Did it pass marcello?
Bill Brayford

Bill,
No, this garage didnt want to touch it cuz of the welded trail arms and the fear of the loose U joints and futher rear end noise( he seemed confused)
Marcello

Welding or capping of trailing arm mounts is common. Depends on how well it was done as to safety?

What does the so called "U joint" noise sound like? If you are hearing a clunk grating noise going from reverse to first and back its the diff mounts. They will also make noise when shifting gears. Clunk and quick grating sound? Mostly heard rear passenger side?

Confused is most likely probably never seen a TR rear end except on the road.

I almost guarantee its the diff mounts do not waste your time on the u-joints!

This is a common problem in all the TR6s.
I'm in Guelph and do all my own work so I don't know garages. Chris is north of you but he may know someone he can recommend in that area.

If its OK with you I will email you pictures of what the problem is?

Let me know
Bill





Bill Brayford

I just had a similiar experience. After getting my TR6 going after ten years of DPO neglect (interrupted by an all-expense paid trip to Afghanistan), I heard/felt the dreaded clunking sounds from the rear in first/reverse gear, so I ordered one of the diff mount reinforcement kits and new mounts. This weekend I dropped the diff and found the front right mount pin support strap was cracked completely across and the pin was barely hanging by the rear half, free to move at will. It provided no support and the rubber mounts were soft as pencil erasers. The steel sleeve in the middle of the left rear mount practically fell away from the surrounding rubber.
Fortunately I was at the base auto hobby shop and after consulting with the shop welder, the steel reinforcement plates were welded in. It's not pretty, but the pins are boxed in and the diff is ROCK SOLID. I can't drive it (in public) yet since the exhaust pipes had turned to crystalized rust and came apart on removal.
An expensive-sounding clunk that came from the right rear everytime I hit a bump turned out to be a loose inside right shock mounting bolt...I hope!
With the differential effectively hanging by only two mounts, I'm surprised the car was drivable. So Marcello, I can testify that a broken diff pin and soft diff mounts make driving a horror, but they are straightforward to repair. I can't wait to hit the road - Come on 2-day air freight...
Jeff F

Marcello,
What ever the problem diff mounts or u-joints it is all
fixable. Glad to hear you've got your excitement back.
That alone will get the car fixed alot faster.
Personaly I've replaced everything you can, u-joints,
shocks,springs,hubs,I've welded in over twenty pounds
of reinforcements to diff hangers and both arches
plus poly bushes and I STILL get a clunk in first and reverse. All I can think is that it is the Diff. itself
that makes the sound. These cars do have a personality
of their own.
Chris.
Christopher Trace

Hi folks,
My TR goes in for inspection Sat April 17 (or at least thats when it gets to his garage) I am so anxious for a clean safety bill so I can start driving. If I need some welding well, so be it. I have accepted that it will never be a show car, that doesnt make me lesser of a TR fan...I still love the cars. Even enough to drive one in not so show room condition, aint I the rebel for Triumph owners.
Stay Tuned
Marcello

And Jeff gives us the true meaning of " government job"

Chris, I notice you forgot to mention why u put that extra 20 pounds of support in there:)

Marcello, You have not mention where it is going to to get the safety and/or work done. Is he recommended for TR work? Bill makes a good point about getting ripped off.
Like Bill said, find out what they say needs to be done and tell us....there is a LOT of TR experience here. This is truly the "bin there..don that" place.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

The TR is going to a place Fred and Matti have recomended also the Toronto Triumph club. JD Auto is the place. I went to visit Joe at JD Auto and I noticed he had about 10 bays and all 10 had Brit cars on lifts. That day he had 4 TR6's. I was satisfied to hear him talk of them and witness his staff work on Triumphs, Healey and Jags.
Do any of you know of Joe at JD Auto? Also I need to express to him as I already did, that I just want to drive the car not restore it. It might be difficult for him to understand because every car he had in there was in awsome condition.
Cheers
Marcello

Marcello
Since I did all the work on my restore, I really have no opinion on JD. If Fred, Matti, and TTC recommend then you are in good hands. I will say this; if all you see is LBC in his shop then you are further ahead than a place that has a large maple leaf over the front door where the kids only know modern cars and are NOT confused by what they see.
Marcello, you say u want it as a "driver". You have to keep in mind that JD is going to approach it from a safety stand point. He will not cut corners, I am sure especialy if he does the safety. You will get the exact same job done everyone else gets.
A TR6 does not have to look like it just got off the production line but it does have to be safe especially when it is know there are weak areas in the rear of a TR. What JD recommends to be done will be what is necessary to make the car safe.
Let us know your results.
Rick C
Rick Crawford

Rick,
No doubt about the safety issue, that is a given I would go near it if the rear would buckle or fall out. Plus I need to keep the Mrs happy as a passenger too. The reason I mentioened a driver is because the first thing everyone notices is the body, and that it needs TLC, and most people would judge a book by its cover. As I learned quickly about these cars is that "ITS ALL ABOUT THE FRAME"... I want to become comfortable with them first. Then in a year or 2 I will be on the hunt for a restored one. Why learn it all from a mint one.
Cheers
Marcello

This thread was discussed between 04/04/2004 and 10/04/2004

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