Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 ok, so here's the deal. i got trunnions. i need to oil da' trunnions. i have da' oil gun, from ma' main man jimmy whiting. but the oil, it don't go in ! so i unscrewed the nipples, and checked that they work fine. they do ! i squirted the oil gun to check it works fine. it does ! well, kinda, it does seem a bit haphazard. i think that might be my problem. so what is going wrong ? the last guy to own the car was religious about his maintenance, so i'm sure the trunnions aren't greased up. please help !?!? anyone in/ near south london with a trunnion gun and a little expertise ? or is there a pearl of wisdom that'll help my get my trunnions oiled ? yours frustrated, teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 Stating the obvious, make sure the gun is square onto the nipple, filled with the correct grade of oil, and push with all your might! Unlike an ordinary grease gun, Jimmy's item does not generate very much pressure so you have to do it by brute force. If the gun isn't perfectly seated on the nipple, it will just take the line of least resistance and do a fine job of rust-proofing the wheels. Cheers, Graham Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arnold Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 If you have one of those little plastic oilers, I suggest you try a decent metal grease gun. I got one from James Whiting so I could keep the grease gun for grease. I found it useless. It shouldn't take a few minutes, so I suggest to pop around to a friend with a proper grease gun. I'm in Surrey if you are local. James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Author Share Posted June 11, 2002 would i be right in saying that the best way to check it is to put a bit in, and then unscrew the nipple and see if any of it comes out ? or does it get absorbed or something ? where in surrey are you ? i could perhaps fly by on saturday's larks mission. actually that's another question.. am i doing damage by continuing to drive the car until i can sort the problem out ? i'm not really sure of the mechanics of the trunnion.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Rich_Bernie Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 James After a good few squirts the oil starts to spew out of the joint (there is a rubber dust cover) at the top of visible bit of the trunnion. You'll see the black old oil spew out, then the new as it washes through. I lift the front of the car up, turn the wheel to full lock (which makes it easy to get the grease gun on), pump in oil until clean oil drips out, then operate the steering side to side, and pump a bit more in. Makes lots of mess and the 90 grade oil I have smells horrible. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 James - I think that just cleaning the nipple and depressing the ball-bearing in with a fine pointy thingy would be enough to indicate the presence of oil (by oozing out) once they're full - that's to say, I think the top of the cavity is above the nipple. Do you have a paricular reason to think the trunnions don't have (enough) oil in? I have the same oiler thing as you - in my 'trunnion period' I was never entirely convinced that oil was going in, but there was scarely ever evidence of it leaking out (which means one of two things... either they didn't leak - or they were empty!). You have mail BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashaughnessy Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 You can tell if the oil is going into the trunnion because fairly soon it starts coming out of the joints, i.e. where the upright screws into the trunnion. It's quite satisfying really. As Graham said, the only thing making an oil tight seal between the gun and the nipple is the force with which you press. Get your weight behind the gun, square to the nipple, and press hard. I'm assuming the oil gun you have is like mine (which I didn't get from JW) - nicely engineered job, very solid feel. I don't know what the "plastic oiler" that James Arnold refers to is. Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 Ah yes - I remember that bit now Jonathan. That's a much more convincing indication. But I could only get the oil to flush out of the joint if I eased the seal away a little. On mine the rubber boots must have been uncommonly well fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Author Share Posted June 11, 2002 sounds like i just need to persevere and use more brute force then... there definitely isn't any oil in them at the moment though, 'cos at one point i thought it was working so i unscrewed the nipple to see if a bit would come out. it didn't. it also is really hard to get the gun square with the nipple because the size of the gun means that the bodywork and steering rubber gasket thing get in the way. it's never easy is it !!! smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 Taking the nipple out and injecting a bit in with a syringe or small oil can would be better than nothing, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 I have a flexible grease gun tube/nozzle - but the gun itself leaks if you fill it with diff oil and pull the trigger (I thought is was good quality when I bought it (!) but then it only claims to be 'grease' gun). Not sure why I'm telling you this 'cos it won't work with the pump thingy - so what we need is a decent grease gun with a standard threaded outlet. Hard to imagine the trunnions are completely dry - sure we can sort something out for p.o.m. before your Brands adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Author Share Posted June 11, 2002 and from whence might i get a syringe ?!?!?! a motor factors i guess.... i might take one of the nipples to latchmere and see what they say.... j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 I thought you could pick them up in the street round your way... If we're just talking about getting ''some'' in for now, you could try the nozzle off a cycle-oil type tin maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 As someone else mentioned, to get the gun square to the nipple put the steering on full lock. Then apply brute force smile.gif Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 If the car was 2nd hand when you got it it has most probably had ordinary grease fired into the nipple. Well that was grease nipples are usually for. Over time this cakes and forms a barrier that the oil can't displace. Only cure dismantle and clean... then only use oil. You can get nice Trunion restoration kits for this. Steve My racing pics hereid=red> Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site hereid=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ade Ray Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 It is very tricky to get the oil to go into the nipple because the connection formed between the two is usually too loose. I found that by placing a small piece of j-cloth over the nipple and then pushing the gun on I achieved a much better connection and the oil whent into the trunnion rather than just spurting out the gap between gun and nipple. Hope this helps Ade teeth.gif Make the world a better place, hug an estate agent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Den Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 Hi Steve - As you know, my car has had the trunnions greased. You mentioned 'Trunion restoration kits' - are these available from a motor factors place, Halfords or just Caterham? Den teeth.gif - Self portrait - still unable to remove the smile! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted June 11, 2002 Share Posted June 11, 2002 and from whence might i get a syringe ?!?!?! Chemist, doctor or vet... even a farmer! Send me your address and I'll mail you a "used" farmyard syringe. JH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Author Share Posted June 11, 2002 really ! the generosity from fellow blatchatters never fails to amaze me. pls mail it to me at my home address under my 'nom de plume' stephen byers 125 st fitzjohn's hill chalkstead london the fresher the better please john. cheers, j tongue.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 11, 2002 Author Share Posted June 11, 2002 d'OH ! double posting... Edited by - jam mad on 11 Jun 2002 14:37:20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Septimus Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 You can get nipples which are at 45 degrees to the axis of the thread. Tightened so that they face forward, these make the application of the grease/oil gun much easier. My side lever gun (Halfords 1975ish) seems to rely on the pressure of the oil to lock on, not being pushed hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 12, 2002 Author Share Posted June 12, 2002 wow, thanks ol' septimus dude... any idea please from where these nipples come ? wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Septimus Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Local factor - Pages in Cranleigh. They had a big box of odd nipples (sounds a bit Benny Hillish) and I picked these out. A decent factor who sells more than bubble packs should be able to supply. Take your existing one along as thread sizes can vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 I have just purchased another grease gun and had the same experience of leaking all over the place so I dug out one of my dads old ones, this is a cylinder shape with a tube out of the top and no handle, you just have to push the cylinder and the tube sinks inside it and pushes out the oil, just the right length to avoid body work and does not leak, the oil came out the rubber seal easily indicating it was full, top tip use plenty of paper towel or you oil everything below it. Thanks for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted June 13, 2002 Author Share Posted June 13, 2002 popped into good motor factors last night, and they had a big selection of nipples. he also suggested that the oil gun used to get passed the ball bearing seal has to be quite high pressure to work. if problems persist he suggested taking the valve off one of his nipples that had unscrewably valves, filling the trunnions, and then screwing the valves back on. phil, the gun you describe is just like the one james whiting supplied me with, that i have been having problems with up 'till now. round 3 scheduled for this weekend. thanks for all the help folks. j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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