Ralph Morgan

Thanks again, Nigel. There's been a noticeable "ticking" from the 'box at low steady speed in 1st (e.g. driving along our lane to the main road at the end) for some while that makes me think that a needle bearing is on the way out somewhere inside. This could be the mainshaft bearing you refer to in you last post, perhaps? Might that explain the slack in the input shaft? I think I need to get the front carrier tube off, and perhaps remove the top cover as well, to investigate. Could then be a job for a specialist such as Steve Perks at SPC, who rebuilt the gearbox some 12 years ago while I was installing the Zetec to replace the old Crossflow. Cheers, Ralph

Thanks Nigel, you've confirmed my thoughts and given me some good advice on the job. Doesn't look too bad as long as I can get the thrust bearing off! I'm OK on engines, but a bit of a "numpty" when it comes to gearboxes - my only experience of taking one apart is a off Morris 1100 about 35 years ago! As well as the obvious oil leak, I notice that I can "waggle" the input shaft by a few mm either way, which doesn't seem right, and suggests that the input bearing is shot too. Am I correct or is it normal for there to be some slack at the splined end? It is of course supported in the flywheel bush when assembled, but I'm surprised that it's not completely rigid when off the engine. If I do need to replace the bearing, is that held by the same release bearing carrier that contains the oil seal, or is it fitted/removed from inside the 'box? If so, that would be a different scale of job altogether and something I probably wouldn't tackle myself. Again, advice appreciated. Thanks, Ralph

I've searched the Forum but can only find reference to changing the rear (propshaft) seal on this gearbox so does anyone have any advice on how to change the front seal? The 'box is out of the car, of course, but I can't even work out how to get the thrust bearing off the fork to have a look! There seems to be a cover plate behind that, held in place by 4 small hex head bolts, so it may be as simple as removing this (once the thrust bearing is out of the way of course) replacing the seal then refitting the cover plate but experience suggests that it's not going to be so simple*curse* All advice greatfully received!

There's an oil leak from the front of my Zetec that I'm pretty sure is from the crankshaft oil seal rather than the sump gasket. It looks like the engine will have to come out to replace it, given the position of the steering rack, but I may be wrong. Does anyone have experience of doing this job that could confirm if I'm correct? Any general tips for doing the job?

Thanks for all the suggestions! I must be able to find a solution now

This hose has split on my car (it is 10 years old after all) and I'm struggling to find a replacement. James doesn't have any left in stock and can't remember exactly what it came from, and a suggested part from Burton's that another Zetec owner gave me via BC won't fit - he seems to have a slightly different installation from mine. It's the one from the water pump to the front aluminium cross tube that goes down to the bottom of the radiator, and is a "J" shape, with larger diameter one end than the other. Trying motor factors just gets the usual "what's the car/year/reg number" response of course so I'm wondering if anyone else on BC with the same JW installation has found a source. Other options are to make something up with silicone hoses or even to convert to a Raceline rail installation I suppose, but it would be easiest just to replace like for like if I can track one down. Can anyone help? The car's OTR of course until I fix it which is a shame now that the weather's picking up.

Thanks for all the tips. I wondered about the radius arm bush but can't feel any movement. Perhaps I need to disconnect it one end to investigate further. It's a single clonk, and only on right hand bends. I only notice it at low speeds (say, 10mph or so). I did wonder about the halfshaft bearing, but would have thought I'd find some end play in the hub, which I can't, a and the MOT tester didn't either.. I'll dig back through the archives. Thanks for the link Dave. Edited by - Ralph Morgan on 11 Apr 2014 16:45:21

Thanks Elie, Forgot to mention in my OP that I changed the A frame bush as a first stage in the investigation but it didn't get rid of the clonk. Can't help thinking it's in the diff. It probably happens at higher speeds too but gets drowned out by other noise. My fear is that something will "let go" suddenly with unpredictable results

On low speed, tight right hand bends, such as mini roundabouts, turning into side roads and the like, I can hear and feel a "clonk" from behind the driving seat in my Ital axled car. I've jacked it up and can't feel any slack in the suspension or hub, and nothing was picked up at the recent MOT, so I think it must be something within the axle itself. Does anyone else have similar experience and/or suggestions as to the cause or solution?

There are some small bubbles of corrosion appearing through the side skins below the front bulkhead on my 1991 car, so I think I need to plan for a reskin. However, due to an unfortunate incident with a lamp post I had the rear of the car reskinned by Arch about 5 years ago so that can presumably stay in place. Therefore I'm wondering if I can avoid fully stripping down the car to get the front side panels replaced, and may be able to get away with just removing the wings and front suspension/lights, saving a lot of work. Has anyone had any experience of such a partial reskin? Am I perhaps kidding myself that there won't be significant corrosion on the chassis tubes which will require a complete strip down before it can be properly fixed?

My Zetec, which also has the original Ford t/stat housing (Dunnell) not the water rail (Raceline) setup, seems to run quite hot in normal driving as indicated on the dash temp gauge (95-100), so I think you may be OK. I also use the standard fan switch. Leave it running and see what happens, would be my advice. Don't shut down until it's gone past 100C.

Michael, Our off-line email exchanges don't seem to be getting through to eachother! If you're still interested, drop a message here and we can sort something out. Cheers, Ralph

Michael, No problem to split them as they are effectively a split lot anyway with the gap between 94 and 96, and again from 98 to 03. I'll email you separately regarding pickup or delivery. Cheers, Ralph PS You're welcome to any of the others! I need the space...

Duplicated post from "For sale in aid of NTL": After a long overdue sort-out of my hoard of old car mags, I have the following for disposal: Motorsport: every year 1998 to date, all complete except for Nov 2002. Low Flying: 1989-1994, 1996-1998, 2003 to date (I must have the missing years somewhere I suppose!) F1 Racing: about 30 copies over the period 2002-2011 Grand Prix International 1981-1984 (complete, I think, but hard to tell as they're not dated!) Probably 100 various Classic & Sportscar, Supercar Classics, Car, Autosport, Octane, etc over the same period. I'd rather someone in the Club took them for a donation to NTL than chuck them in the recycling, or have the hassle of finding a buyer on eBay. Obviously collection only (Swindon area) or I could possibly deliver locally or to Milton Keynes where our son lives. Edited by - Ralph Morgan on 7 Feb 2012 21:19:51

After a long overdue sort-out of my hordes of old car mags, I have the following for disposal: Motorsport: every year 1998 to date, all complete except for Nov 2002. Low Flying: 1989-1994, 1996-1998, 2003 to date (I must have the missing years somewhere I suppose!) F1 Racing: about 30 copies over the period 2002-2011 Grand Prix International 1981-1984 (complete, I think, but hard to tell as they're not dated!) Probably 100 various Classic & Sportscar, Supercar Classics, Car, Autosport, Octane, etc over the same period. I'd rather someone in the Club took them for a donation to NTL than chuck them in the recycling, or have the hassle of finding a buyer on eBay. Obviously collection only (Swindon area) or I could possibly deliver locally or to Milton Keynes where our son lives. Edited by - Ralph Morgan on 7 Feb 2012 21:20:45

That's probably a good approach, although the tricky one would be the right angled, tapered connection between the block and the transverse ally tube across the front, I think. Also the U-bend from the t/stat housing to the ally rail at the back has a taper, which might be difficult to replicate. I'll try JW again next week and see how I get on, and let you know the outcome.

Good to hear that he's OK. I'll try to contact him again next week. There's no particular rush as I plan to SORN the car at the end of this month and do a number of jobs on it over the next few months, including replacing all the coolant hoses.

I've tried several times by phone and email to contact James Whiting over the past few weeks to buy a set of his Zetec conversion coolant hoses (as fitted to my Dunnell engine) but can't get any response. So, does anyone know what the original source of the hoses is so that I can get some elsewhere? The current ones are over 8 years old now and several are starting to show their age so I'm keen to replace them as a bit of preventative maintenance before the winter sets in. Linked with this of course, does anyone know if James is OK, and still in business? I know he can be tricky to contact sometimes but I've been trying for at least 4 weeks now and can't get any response, which even by those standards is unusual. I hope all's well with him as he's such a good bloke, and has always been so helpful over the 20+ years I've had my car.

As the title says, with "Super Seven" cast into the top surface. Painted yellow but could probably do with a sand blast and repaint. Includes fixing screws. Free in return for a donation to NTL. Prefer collection from Swindon area, or could post.

Tyrone, I had the same issue with an old car, and made up a bracket (from a part left over from an MFI unit, IIRC...) and bolted it to the master cylinder mounting bracket. Used a small microswitch from the electrical odds and sods box. Works fine - been there for a few years now. I can send pictures if you're interested

That did cross my mind when I saw the tread pattern! Call me old fashioned but I like to see some grooves going all the way round on tyres

Thanks to all of you for the advice. As it's an Ital axle, and the engine is a 165bhp Zetec I'm already worried about the extra load on the axle so I'll stick with the A021's in 70 profile. I must admit I've been very happy with them, both on road and track, so there's no real incentive to change but it's always worth exploring these things! Polley's have got them in stock so I now need to find somewhere local who will fit them at a fair price (they were delivered from Polley's last time already fitted to a set of new wheels so i didn't have that problem). Cheers, Ralph

I need to replace the worn set of 185/70 x 13 Yoko A021s on my live axle car. I've been very pleased with them, but there's been a lot of commentary on here about how good Toyo 888s are. However, as far as I know they're only available in 185/60 size. I've always felt that 70 profile was more appropriate for live axle chassis, and they also give a touch more ground clearance. This was the recommendation from Polley's when I bought the Yokos a few years ago too. Has anyone got any positive experience one way of another in this area, especially with 60 profile 888s on a live axle car? Mostly road use, by the way, with perhaps once a year on track.

Phil, I've removed the heater from my 1990 car over the winter, as it was leaking and the car got too hot inside most of the time anyway. I was thinking of taking the old unit to the dump this afternoon but held back pending a post on here, since I thought it might be useful to someone. You're welcome to the complete unit if you want to collect it (I'm in Swindon), or I could remove the motor (which was still working when installed) and post it to you for a donation to NTL. Blatmail me and we can sort something out. Edited by - Ralph Morgan on 8 Mar 2009 19:20:12

My live axle (Ital) has started to leak from the input shaft (it started after a track day last year - probably not a coincidence!). Does anyone know if the axle has to be removed from the car to replace the seal or can it be done in situ? It looks like I could disconnect the propsahft and the A frame and tilt the nose down to give access, but it may not be so straightforward