The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Giving my sprint the once over before its mot i noticed the exhaust rubbers were perished. I had some in the garage but how the hell do you fit them ? I spent ages but its really difficult to get them on the body hanger,any tips on this. Also whilst checking my valve clearences and re torque the head three bearing cap bolts have stripped so question is can i safely re tap in situ ?. Also on my last thread about my clutch judder when the car is fully warmed up any thoughts on the clutch slave cylinder? I will bleed it just to eliminate.

To refit the exhaust rubbers you to bend over the tabs on the exhaust with some long handled water pump style pliers.
I use a bit of rubber grease to help them on too....but copaslip or similar is ok. Bend the tabs back once the rubber is
on. I dont bend the tabs on the hooks on the car, just fit the rubber to these first, you can wiggle them over the bent tab.

Clutch judder - bleeding the slave will only cause trouble. If the clutch hydraulics feel right then leave them alone. Clutches NEVER
judder because of air in the system.

Clutch judder has a few possible causes, in order of likelihood and ease of fixing....rear top tie bar rubbers at rear axle. These
go soft and cause axle tramp which feels like clutch judder. Prop centre bearing carrier can disintegrate. Gearbox mounting
can go soft with oil leaks. Clutch plates are distorted and need replacing.

Shame about the head. You need to helicoil the failed threads and this will need cam bearing caps removed and lots of care.

Personally I would have the head off to do this to be sure its done properly.

Jonners

I've found that new rubbers are rock solid and a total pain to fit. I ended up getting the garage to replace them for me during the MoT and he struggled!