When the manual doesn't cover it...

I'm trying to replace the rear wheel bearings while I have the access to them, but unfortunately, the Haynes manual only covers front wheel bearing replacement. Looking at the rear assembly unit, I was not sure what needed to be pulled/screwed off and where. Googling on this topic returned many results, below are the 2 resources I found most helpful.

1. http://www.mikeross-dds.com/rrbrng.html - only site I found with step-by-step pictures and instructions
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCd8kYI3HyY (video below) - good guide on how to remove and install the drive fland and stud assembly

Now that I understand what needs to be removed, I tried using the rear drum as a solid plate to pull the drive flange off - loosening the center nut and putting the wheel nuts back on. (The video warns against using a jaw puller directly on the flange since the plate could bend.) After many many attempts and methods, the flange still will not come off. I even built a wooden mount for the rear assembly unit so it does not roll around and I can apply full torque, but now the threads of the jaw puller have started breaking off.

Wooden mount for rear assembly

Damaged threads on the jaw puller

Not sure what I'll do next but I think it'll involve buying or making a hub puller.

A Few Good Whacks...

I stopped by Harbor Freight on my way home recently to see what kind of tools I could use to remove the brake drum. On Harbor Freight's website, I had seen a bolt puller on sale so I thought I'd check that out. The store had numerous tools on sale, so I picked up the bolt puller and also picked up a 4 piece, 3-jaw puller set for $24.99. The jaw puller set came with 4 sizes of pullers: 8", 6", 4", and 2" and cheaper than anything I had seen online.

After arriving home, I realized I had no idea how to use the bolt puller and the 8" 3-jaw puller looked like it could work so gave that a shot. The 8" puller fit right over the brake drum but after a few rotations on the center bolt to force the pulling action, I could not turn it anymore. Frustrated with being stuck on a task the Haynes manual passed over quickly as a trivial task, I whacked the outer edge of the drum with a hammer a few times. I went back to turning the center bolt and found it to be super easy to turn and had figured that the jaws had probably slipped out of place, but upon closer inspection, I saw that the drum had popped off!

Under the drum:

I'm still in the process of disassembling and cleaning, but as I'm doing so, I'm using soap stone to mark on the new parts where springs and screws go (not all holes are used) so that I can avoid some confusion during reassembly.

P.S. - The nitrile gloves were great for this task - brake drums are filthy.

Random post about staying clean

While I'm on a blogging roll, this is a random post about disposable gloves that I had recently purchased...

After sessions of working on the car, I could never clean my hands completely to get rid of the grease that found it's way around my finger nails and would always find later in a more public setting, an area of grease that I had missed while washing up. I always sort of dealt with this as something that happens when working on cars until I started watching this British show available on youtube.com called "Wheeler Dealers". (The premise of the show is that they flip/restore old cars for a profit.) On the show the mechanic, Edd, used orange disposable gloves when working on the car and thereby keeps his hands clean.

Doing a google search for mechanic disposable gloves, there are nitrile gloves that rip less easily than latex that can be used to keep your hands clean during tougher jobs. I ended up buying a box to try them out and so far, I'm really satisfied with these gloves. I re-used my first pair 3 times while scrubbing and cleaning parts and only threw them out after the thumb got snagged and the hole eventually grew too big to keep the grease out. In the closeup below, the fingertips are textured, so you can still get good grip to pick up small things like screws.

In summary:

• Disposable gloves - worth the cost to keep hands clean.
• "Wheeler Dealers" - worth watching if you ever need some motivation to go work on your car.

Triumph Pictures

Below are pictures showing the latest progress.

Front brakes complete with new calipers painted red.
Frame with the engine and transmission removed. The original red paint was in good shape in some areas thanks to the thick layer of engine grease that had covered and protected it.

This is where I'm currently stuck. I cannot remove the retaining screws holding the rear drum in place. In this picture, you can see the hole where a screw is missing.

Long time no blog

Sorry, it's been a while since I last blogged, but things at work have been hectic and I've only had a few weekends to work on the Triumph. In one post, I'm going to try and list everything that I've been up to with the Triumph.

In my last post, I had ended with having to buy new brake calipers due to problems removing a bleeder screw. The new calipers arrived (with new pistons and seals which I had previously purchased to refurbish the old calipers..oh well) and I decided to brighten them up with some red caliper paint. Everything connected smoothly with the new calipers and I can check the front assembly unit as complete.

The front engine and transmission have been removed and I am only one part away from having a bare frame. The differential is the last that remains on the frame. I was hoping to finish restoring the frame this year before winter, but it looks like I'll have to wait until next year.

For this winter, my goal is to clean, sand, and restore the rear assembly unit (including rear drum brakes). I'm currently stuck on how to remove the brake drum screws that are being quite stubborn. A forum online mentioned using a centerpunch to tap the screw counter clockwise, but I do not have one in my tool kit. On the plus side, instead of having 4 screws that need to be removed, 1 screw was already missing, so there's only 3 to tackle.

I'll try to update with pictures when I get the chance.