Grandad's Car: Big Healey

Well, I got the bearings all cleaned out, all seemed good and I then gave them a bath in some fresh gear oil. 

While they were soaking I got the new seals pressed in. I also had to figure out a way to get them pressed in. 

Yesterday afternoon I went to put the right side hub on and it was a big struggle. I got it far enough onto the shaft that I could thread the nut on but the bearing was now sticking. I pulled it all apart and this morning I pressed the bearing out. Every so often it seems to get caught. I'm not sure if I have a piece of something stuck in there or what but I can't seem to get it to consistently move freely. 

The bearing felt smooth before pressing it in so I either got a piece of something between the ball bearings or I this piece of whatever just happened to not be in the way before. In either case, I think I need to just order a new bearing and if I'm ordering one new, I should probably just treat the car to two. 

Good thing it's Thursday and there's no way I can get the right thing by the weekend...

I figure since I'm again waiting on parts for the rear end, why not pivot to the engine and toss the correct Pertronix unit in... this one doesn't fit either!

Just got off the phone with Pertronix who said they have encountered this with this distributor before. Apparently some of the DM6's rotate clockwise (most) and others rotate counter-clockwise (very few). 

Guess which one is in our Healey.

They are going to call me back with their solution. The countersunk mounting holes appear to be correct but the hole for the peg is on the wrong side. I'm very tempted to just drill another hole on the other side for the peg. 

Be glad your Healey has no tapers of the sort Joe deals with on a TR6. Pulling and pressing pieces hard enough to bend them is normal, I never got a rear hub off of a TR6 that was reusable, I never bent one on an Austin, because everything is slip and slide together. Different engineering philosophy present in the entire car.

I tried to rebuild a TR6 rear hub once.  I made a 1/2" steel plate to fit the hub face (should have used 1" as I learned later) and welded 3" angle iron to every corner, then had the stub axle pressed out.  By the time the axle popped, the threads were boogered and the hub flange bent.  Now I just send Richard Good money for a new, better engineered hub.

If the bearings aren't too expensive, better to replace them.  But I'm curious if the old ones are really locking up.  You could clean them in kerosene,  blow them dry, re-oil, and see what happens.  Maybe a piece of wood broke loose and fell in there.

And this reminds me that I need to order a new differential side seal.

Yep, I hear you guys. It's not particularly difficult, I just want it back on the road!

And Joe, my assumption is actually a piece of wood, like you said. I spent probably 20 minutes or so yesterday spraying them out with brake clean and trying to locate the piece and wash it out but got nothing aside from tiny metal shavings and a couple that had been turned into balls with a diameter of like 1/2mm.

The new ones are already on order. 

Waiting on the new bearings but we figured out the issue with the Pertronix. 

Ready?

You sure?

I was attempting to install it wrong.

We have a running Healey again! I had a bit of a worry when it wouldn't start and was losing all power when attempting to crank. Turns out the trigger wire for the starter solenoid was flopping around! Goodness. Have I mentioned that we should all nut and bolt our vehicles?

Once everything was secure, it started after like 1/4 revolution. Awesome. 

So this whole deal with the bearing spacer needing to be between 0.001 - 0.004 proud of the paper gasket on the hub surface...

What do I do if it's not? Press the bearing off it's seat so it protrudes more? That doesn't seem to be a good idea.

I have a feeling that even if I press it out a bit, it'll just get shoved back in there when I pound the hub back onto the axle. Are shims the answer?

To be totally honest, it turns out my caliper is out of battery so I can't actually measure but I ran a straight edge across it as best I could and depending on the angle it doesn't catch.

I would think a shim behind the bearing would take care of it.  That's a pretty thin shim unless the bearing is inset a few thousandths or more.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

Yeah. First of all, where do I even find a shim that fits in the area? Second, is it made of foil? 

You can buy sheets of brass or steel shim material.  When it's that thin, scribe it with a sharp tool and flex it to break it and use shears to cut the outside part.  I've used a compass with the pointy bits on both sides to scribe a circle.  Just make several passes.

In reply to AxeHealey :

There were factory shims in these. they had.002 shims the same shape as the outer race. the purpose is to grip the outer race between the axle and the hub to prevent the outer race from rotating in the hub. This is necessary because of the loose fit that makes assembly so easy. Yes it is important, and the dealer always had plenty of shims when I was doing newish cars. Weather Moss or someone stocks them now I know not. In loo of shims if you need them I would red loctite the outerrace into the hub. Or, as Joe says, make them. The originals were steel, and surprisingly soft, they compressed out close to 50% before they split, and boy could they cut you! I am guessing you have never seen them. Or you have, but didn't recognize them, remember those sparkles in the old bearings.... 

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Thanks to both of you as always. I spoke to a Healey friend who has assembled who knows how many rear ends and assured me it'll be just fine(?). For future reference, it does appear that Moss sells two shims, one 0.010" ($13) and the other 0.030" ($10). 

He's never lead me astray before but I do like the idea of Loctite on the outer race... To be honest though, the fit really didn't seem any more loose than other bearings or bushings I've had to smush into place. Hopefully I will have time to pick up a new battery for my caliper today so I can know exactly what's going on.

Ok. I put a fresh battery in the caliper and the spacer was proud of the surface on both sides. Good to go. Put it all together on Thursday, got gear oil in there today and, BAM back on the road!

I'll check in the morning for leaks. 

It was idling at like 1,200 rpm even with the choke off and fully warm today. I did have to adjust the idle up once or twice in the last couple of years. I'm not sure it totally makes sense but maybe the stronger, more consistent spark of the Pertronix unit is letting it run more efficiently?

I'm going to try to put a timing light on it tomorrow as I've, um, never timed this engine. It's always been nice and snappy and has sounded right so I've never seen the need.

Congrats.  Nice job.

Me, on the other hand, pulled the leaky stub axle and wrecked the outer diff bearing.  It was me being stupid, but it also has something to do with me being in a hurry and not being able to get the drive flange loose, even with the press.  Getting desperate, I tried to pull the bearing off towards the inside with a three-jaw puller, then realized there's a small step in the shaft towards the inside.  Something wizzed past my head (cage pieces?).  Good thing I have two spare diffs.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

E36 M3 Joe. Your rear end luck will turn around one of these days. Glad the pieces didn't catch you in the eye.  

No leaks so far. Fingers, toes, eyes and all other things crossed. The brake and clutch feel has always been lackluster so on my work breaks today I bled them both. A few small bubbles came out of all four corners and since I didn't feel like taking the trans tunnel out, I couldn't tell whatsoever what happened when I bled the clutch. The clutch fluid that came out was super dark though so at least there's fresh fluid now. 

Although nylocked, one of the ball joints on the passenger side tie rod was less than tight. That probably means I never got it tight to begin with. It did make me realize that there is a ton of play in both the idler and steering box shafts. There's always been a dead spot on center but those bushes must be total trash. Not a project for this year. 

Also. Both front wheel bearings were a bit loose. I think the cotter pins I used were just a little undersized and allowed the castle nut to back off some. I tightened them down and threw in some beefier pins. 

Phew. 

My goal is to enjoy driving it for a week or so and then put it back under the knife for the spin on oil filter conversion. 

Oh and I should just verify timing to be sure but I turned down the idle last night and it seems like a happy, healthy Healey. 

I've driven it a lot in the last week, it's running great. The idle is inconsistent though. By that I don't mean it's wandering but sometimes it's at the prescribed 750-800 range while others it's closer to about 650. I have come to the conclusion that it's likely the slop in the throttle linkage. Meaning, sometimes the butterflies are likely closed more than others. I've been dreaming up a cable conversion. 

Still planning to drive it another week or so and then do the spin on oil conversion. 

Oh! The turn signals stopped working on Friday. The parking lights still work, just no signals. I *think* I put a new relay in there but I haven't done any troubleshooting. 

Check for looseness/play in the throttle shafts. The bores wear and need re-bushing - that will cause the idle to vary......Joe Curto can fix them up for you.

In reply to MiniDave :

Could be although I don't remember much play the last time I rebuilt them. I'll check.

Bad news. The pinion seal is leaking again. Bets on whether I'll get around to looking at it again in the next 3 years? 

I've been troubleshooting why the O/D only works a small portion of the time. The switch that reads throttle position been bypassed and you can hear the solenoid firing in third and fourth gear. In doing some internet research, I found that lots of people have encountered the same issue when using the wrong fluid in the trans. As I understand it, normal 20w50 engine oil is the preferred fluid. My notes from when  put it back together include all fluids...except what I put in the trans. It certainly smells like gear oil so I drained it out and fresh 20w50 will be going back in. Nothing alarming in the O/D filter. 

I also have a gauge on order that will be able to check the pressure of the O/D pump. It seems that pressure is being made just fine but I figure it's a good tool to have on the shelf. 

Last night I also got the spin on conversion done. Really, really hoping it doesn't leak. 

And, yes, the kit is designed  in a way that has the paper gasket sticking out the side when installed correctly...

The Laycock A-type overdrives are really sensitive to the actuating lever adjustment.  They can go from barely working to feeling like you got rear ended pretty fast.

As for oils, each manufacturer had their own recommendations.  I've also heard straight 30 wt. and 80w-90 gear oil.  Some regular engine oils may have too much detergent and cause issues with frothing.  Hopefully it's not the pressure accumulator.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

Assuming the oil doesn't drastically change the situation, the lever adjustment is my next step.

Change it a second time before you try anything else. You only get about 2/3s of it out . I have used various motor oil with little issue. Hypoid gear oil hurts them long term. my customers mostly ran them dry before I got there though 

I'll go check for leaks here in a bit but it seems the spin on conversion was a success. I put about 7.5 qts in and it's still just below full. It surprises me that it has gained capacity but it appears so.

As of this one short 10 min drive, there is no change in the O/D. With a race next weekend and my goal of getting it put away by Halloween to be safe, I'm not sure I'll have time to play with the adjustment this driving season but we'll see.

I shoot to get the cool cars put away by Halloween. I wasn't able to get everything to storage last weekend aaannnddd we got 2+ inches Halloween night. Believe it or not, the powers that be decided salt was necessary. So when I was dragging the Healey to storage using Elmore and it rained yesterday morning (nothing in the forecast), the Healey and Elmore got a nice little salt spray.

My wife and kids came to bring me home and brought some quick detailer with them so I at least got everything off the paint. I store one of the cars (this year it's the Healey) on the trailer because then the trailer doesn't have to sit in the woods all winter.

Till next spring. So sad.

In reply to AxeHealey :

I am pushing to get this one out of my shop by the end of next week. Pushing my luck with the snow but damn it, every single task on a Healey fights you tooth and nail. Carl was not kidding when he said they are difficult to restore.