RUK - Project Recommission 1972 'Dolomite' Auto

[yorkshire_spam]

She's home! I got a call around 11am this morning asking if they could deliver to our home address this evening. Not much notice, not the 6 to 8 weeks I was advised, but happy she's back.

[dollyman]

Thats good news Sam Have you decided what you are going to do with her?

Tony.

[yorkshire_spam]

Thats good news Sam Have you decided what you are going to do with her?
Tony.

Our next major Triumph event will be in the Spitfire, so getting that MOT'd and sorted have to be the short term priority.
Once that's done I'll pull the engine and gearbox out of the Dolomite and investigate.
If it's an obvious (simple) mechanical failure I'll consider repairing the box, if not I might have to resort to a recon box.
Staying auto though as that's original and allows Andie to drive her.

[dollyman]

Thats great Sam as i thought you had got fed up with her. Nice to keep another on the road. Not many of our early autos left now.

Tony.

[yorkshire_spam]

Thats great Sam as i thought you had got fed up with her. Nice to keep another on the road. Not many of our early autos left now.

Tony.

Hi Tony, I think in the direct aftermath of our breakdown I was pretty dispirited, but not really with the car. It's a lovely car to drive on long journeys it just eats up the miles. I want to get her back on the road and enjoy many more miles!

[dollyman]

https://www.gwautos.com/ These people are one of the best with Borg Warner Sam. If you tell them the fault they might be able to help.

Tony.

[matt of the vivas]

Not a hard box to strip and DIY able with care.
I did an article for the club mag a couple of years ago covering rebuilding one.

[yorkshire_spam]

Not a hard box to strip and DIY able with care.
I did an article for the club mag a couple of years ago covering rebuilding one.

Thanks Matt, I'll see if I can find it. I semi-stripped the box before to replace seals, but didn't go too far into the internals.

[DoloWIGHTY]

If Matt knows which issue his article is in it could well be in the downloadable pdf section of the members section (save you hunting out the actual copy).

[matt of the vivas]

He doesn't.
It was within the last two years but older than a year.

[yorkshire_spam]

Issue 201 page 7 looks like the right one.

[yorkshire_spam]

It begins!
Up to now the Spitfire has been my priority (it's booked on the Club Triumph RBRR for this year) but now it's MOT'd and tuned and getting some shake-down miles on the clock I can turn my attention back to the Dolomite.
Last night... a small start, bonnet off and started disconnecting/draining the coolant system - first steps towards lifting the engine+box out.

[yorkshire_spam]

Crawling around under the car last night the first signs that all is not well emerge -

• The rear gearbox mount looks like it's taken some hammer since I re-installed the engine and gearbox early last year.
• As I undid the exhaust bracket (UKC3409) the top corner of the bracket has broken off completely
• The underside of the box is covered in ATF even though I renewed the gaskets and seals before re-fitting the box.

[Carledo]

Different box I know, but I took the Dolomega out for a quick spin last week to keep the discs rust free and keep the fuel circulating. The trans has been playing up quite a lot since last October when I temporarily lost 4th gear but I hadn't investigated WHY, just waiting for better weather or an undercover spot to open up.

Anyways, about 10 miles into the run and 3 miles from home, I lost drive suddenly and completely and had to bum a lift home and go back out and drag it in (I know, you shouldn't flat tow an auto, at that point, I no longer CARED)

Turned out i'd lost ALL the trans oil through a pinhole in the trans cooler pipe where it meets the rad. On the upside, i'll never have to worry about underbody rust again, it's plastered in oil from rad to rear axle! Some even got onto the rear bumper!

I'm now wondering if the leak started months ago and that caused the problem in October. I bought another second hand trans months ago so if it's dead, it's no biggie, but I feel I need to fix the pipe and refill it and test it properly before I condemn it and swap it out.

I've had problems with 65s leaking from the fill/dipstick pipe coming loose and throwing the oil out, could that be your problem too?

Steve

[yorkshire_spam]

I've had problems with 65s leaking from the fill/dipstick pipe coming loose and throwing the oil out, could that be your problem too?

Steve

We dipped it at the roadside during the breakdown, plenty of oil. Yesterday I dropped the oil out of the box and it looked ok and plenty of it.
Engine and gearbox out on the garage floor now ready to split and investigate further.