Trailing Arms...

[ianh1968]

Two questions:

1) Is there any reason why I should not install the pivot shafts
"the-wrong-way-round" so that the grease-nipple is on the inside?

In the standard setup, the outer "bearing" is the bush and the grease
is supposed to travel through the tube across to the needle roller
bearing on the inside.

Hands up who's ever forgotten to put the tube in?


OK, so the grease-nipple would not be as accessible, but it would
also not be in the firing line of all the crap that comes off the wheel...
... and as far as accessibility is concerned, I have dispensed with
the rear subframe, so I have a lot more space to play with.

2) The 30 year old sealing-rubbers for the trailing arms that I have
taken off don't actually look too bad...

I am wondering whether to re-use these instead of the brand-new
ones that came with my rebuild kit?

3) OK, I'll punt an extra question in here...
The original type brake valve that screws to the rear subframe:
As far as I am aware, this is a purely hydraulic system. Gravity
plays no part and therefore, orientation is not relevant.

Is this assumption true or false?

Ian

[Andrew1967]

Ian,

In answer

1, Its normally the bush that wears rather than the bearing so it's best to get the grease to that first. I can understand your way of thinking though and its an idea maybe.

2, I'd use the old ones every time if they are sound. The new ones will more than likely be made from Chinese rubber and will split in two weeks !!

3, Not given it any thought, but you are probably correct.

[Spider]

1. Yes, but just check the thread lengths on the shaft, the outboard end that has the nipple is longer, it may not be an issue, but best check before you get to that point. Maybe another approach might be to drill the shaft from the other end. The core of all shafts is soft (and with some new ones the outside too!), just establish where the hardening finishes on the skin so you can drill the exit hole. There was a Factory TB on this very mod before they went to fitting the needle roller on the outboard end.

2. Some of the new ones are rubbish and can perish in your hands! If the new ones you bought are more than 12 months old and don't show signs of cracking, they should be OK. If recycling the old ones, just be sure they are still soft-ish. Put them back where they came from as the inboard ones get stretched a tad bigger in dia and so may not want to shrink back.

3. If it was the one that mounted to the front rail of the rear subframe, it's only a pressure valve, gravity plays no part in it's operation (well, only when you drop it on your toes). If it's the type that mounted to the side of the rear subframe, then orientation is fairly important.

[dklawson]

You can buy caps for the grease nipples to keep the debris on them to a minimum. I bought a bag of these years ago and still have most of it... somewhere.

http://www.mscdirect.com/product/detail ... m=31990435

[dgear1984]

I would use the old seals if they still look ok, I used new repro ones and yes they have failed rather quickly, now looking for some nos ones.

Be careful how you search for the caps on eBay, searching for nipple covers can lead to some intersting purchases

[ianh1968]

Thanks for the replies...

1) I have decided to fit the spindles round the right way.
I reckon that as grease is "fluid", it will find the easiest path to escape from.
The bearing is fairly open, and the bush isn't. My guess is that the grease will
not force its way through to the outside when it could more easily escape from
the closest/bearing end. (If fitted reversed).

When fitted the correct way, the first end, ie, the bush, is more restrictive,
but there is also the extra resistance in forcing the grease down the tube which
will ensure that some will come through the bush.

2) I will have a good look at the old rubbers and will probably use them if they
are OK.

3) The brake bias valve will be fitted in the normal orientation, but

Question 4...

I want to use Goodridge-type hoses and have only a single pipe with no joins
going from each side of the valve direct to the cylinder, with a banjo being on
the cylinder end.

With my Mini, it was a later car and did not have the valve - It was easy to get
swivelling straight female connectors to do the job with a plain male/male/male
stainless tee.

The Marcos has the valve and accordingly, I need to connect a standard tube-nut
type fitting at the valve end... I don't want a banjo at both ends as I'll probably
end up with the ends on with the wrong orientation and the pipes will be twisted.

So - What I am trying to find is a pair of Dash-3 straight connectors, in stainless
steel... They must swivel, as the other end will be anchored by the banjos.

The closest thing is this 445-45, but it's metric and at 45 degrees - I want a
straight 3/8"UNF version of the same thing.

http://www.giefferacing.com/eng/models/ ... ngs_1.html

I am not overly fussed if the pipes are Goodridge or not, as long as I can get
the pipes I want. An option would be to put a male/male adapter in each exit
hole on the valve and then use exactly what I used before...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

TOP TIP:
If making a box-beam to hinge your trailing arms from, use 80x40mm section...
My previous effort was based on a MiniSpares offering which I bought and
shamelessly got some ideas from. Their tube was 2"x3", or 50x75mm.

When I put my MKI version together on the Mini, the wheels were set further
back in the arches and it was and still is, visibly wrong.

I have just dropped the Marcos on the floor again with a 80x40mm beam and
am pleased to advise that the wheels are still in the "correct" position...
This MkII version uses the brackets from the MS kit, so any variation is purely
down to the difference in box section thickness.

I noticed recently on the MS website that there was a reference to this wrong
alignment "feature" and I am wondering why they don't just do what I did and
use a more suitable section?

Ian

[ianh1968]

PS:

You can also get "nipple-covers" which are also sold as
brake bleed screw caps...

I have an idea to put a bit if shrink wrap over the whole lot
to protect the threads from going rusty as well.

Ian

[surf-blue-850]

Might be worth trying Merlin Motorsport at Castle Combe. They can make up brake pipes etc.

[ianh1968]

Might be worth trying Merlin Motorsport at Castle Combe. They can make up brake pipes etc.

Thanks, I've used them before and they were very helpful...
Check this post in the "Recommended" section of the forum:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6888

What I was trying to do was find the part numbers of the bits needed
to do the job. I can then contact them and ask for a pipe with a banjo
on one end and an "xxx" fitting on the other.

My problem is that I don't know what "xxx" is at the moment, or if it
even exists.

Ian

[InimiaD]

Torques UK has a good selection of flexi tube and fittings including some UNF fittings. Banjo bolts are available in UNF as well.
I'll have to check what union I fitted to my pressure valve, but I don't think it was a swivel union though.

[GraemeC]

I'm probably being thick, only helped by a beer or two, but why do they need to be swivel? As long as you fit that end first then the banjo, you'll only need to put a slight twist in the pipe (90deg max) which over that length shouldn't be an issue.

[InimiaD]

This is what I used on the valve. This fitting doesn't have a stainless pin despite what the description says and the valve may need fettling to make sure the fitting doesn't bottom out on the valve before sealing the flare.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AN-3-3AN-JIC- ... 589ccee830

[Spider]

Maybe something like this;-

http://www.barnettclutches.com/universa ... tings.html

for the Banjo fitting with a normal straight Male on the end for the valve.

[ianh1968]

This is what I am using...

BrakePipes01.jpg

BrakePipes02.jpg

The end screwed into the valve is the same as the visible end.
There is plenty of depth down the holes and sealing is by copper washer.

Note that the thread does not go right back to the hex, it is cut back to
somewhere about the minor diameter. This causes the sealing washers
to be able to "float" and not end up central when being tightened.

Part of the solution is to make sure that 3/8" washers are used, not 10mm
which are about 0.5mm larger. The really anal part of my solution was to cut
off a 1&1/16" inch length of solder and coil this round the reduced diameter
section up against the hex. I also scraped a very slight chamfer on the
inside edge of the washers to enable them to capture the solder. Carefully
winding this together has ensured that it does clamp up central, so at least
it looks OK. It's not been assembled yet, but I am sure that it will not leak.

The pipes were done by Merlin at Castle Combe - Fantastic friendly service,
as usual, I can't recommend them highly enough!

The valve has had the 1/4" UNF thread drilled out to take a through-bolt
and this is going into a hole in the top of my box section which has
successfully taken a 1/4" UNF thread.

Ian

[InimiaD]

Neat solution Ian. Saves a lot of faffing about trying to get the banjos at the other end of the hose to line up as you want them to.