P3 tales

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P3Steve
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:05 am

P3 tales

Post by P3Steve » Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:27 pm

Hello every one. Ive not been around for a while (about three years actually) after a bit of a accident put me in hospital for five months and after loosing the bottom of the left leg a lot longer recuperating. Which brings me to the point of this post.

Just before I had my little incident I'd done a decoke on my P3 putting a new set of valves in at the same time, that all went fine and the car was literally just back on the road the week before I took my tumble. I did have a couple of weddings I promised to do for friends and my son stood in at the last moment and did these while I was pretty much out of it for a while, I think I was still in the induced coma when he did the first and still groggy when the second came up. My son also did a summer season of rallies with it and as he hasn't got the mechanical back ground I have didn't realise it needed nipping down so by time I was back in the land of the living the damage had been done and its blowing between No. 1 cylinder and the oil way in that area meaning the oil pressure is down by about 15psi and it smokes like an old steam engine also running very lumpy. I cant blame my son he didn't know and thought he was doing me a favour keeping it on the road and running.

Still not back to full health (and never will be, to much damage was done all over I'm afraid) the car has been laid up dry stored and I have now found a local mechanic who would like to help me get the head gasket done and start getting the old girl back on the the road but the question is where could I get a head gasket from I have two top end gasket sets all pretty complete except for the head Gaskets so don't really need the rest unless I can help it but being out the loop for so long don't know who's still going who might supply one. Any help please chaps. Steve
Last edited by P3Steve on Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dhbuchanan
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:01 pm

Re: Head gasket

Post by dhbuchanan » Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:41 pm

Get your head gasket from Mike Couldry at Meteor Spares Service Ltd.-tel. 0115 9811222- or Mike Evans at Viking Engineering Developments Ltd.- tel. 07879 630511. Both have large display ads. in the back of "Freewheel" and can also be contacted via the email addresses given there.
1939 20 H.P. Salmons Tickford D.H.C.

djm16
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 2:28 am

Re: Head gasket

Post by djm16 » Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:23 am

In case anyone else refers to this post regarding head gaskets, the head bolts may need re-torquing several times after fitting a new head gasket. Exactly how many depends on the type of gasket. I think I re-torqued mine at least twice.

P3Steve
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 7:05 am

Re: P3 tales

Post by P3Steve » Wed Sep 27, 2017 2:08 pm

Well the head gasket went back on fine and the car runs a treat with only a slight tweak to the timing needed to set everything up. Its now running with a good steady oil pressure of 20lbs on tick over rising to about 35lb on mid revs and the water peaks at 90 then settles to a steady 85 so all looking good.

While still test running it I hit a bloody great pot hole in the road which brought on a very loud crack from the back end which has turned out to be a broken OSR leaf spring so now its laid up again while I sort a spring out.

Other jobs to note are what looks like a leaking half shaft oil seal on the NSR and the chap who helps me look after it says the rear gear box mounting is about shot so plenty to keep me busy over the next few months

The front end seems all good with the king pins and all joints in fine shape with just the anti roll bar rubbers starting to look a little tired so a new set of them will go on the list.

So the first job will be the spring so if any one has any advice on changing one I'd appreciate any help. Has anyone made / got a tool for keeping the spring straight that I might borrow to save me having to make one or if they have made one how you went about it. With thanks Steve

PS will update when I've made some progress

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47p2
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Re: P3 tales

Post by 47p2 » Thu Sep 28, 2017 7:44 am

P3Steve wrote:...
So the first job will be the spring so if any one has any advice on changing one I'd appreciate any help. Has anyone made / got a tool for keeping the spring straight that I might borrow to save me having to make one or if they have made one how you went about it...
Brute force and ignorance was my method for fitting rear springs using blocks of wood and trolley jacks.



P3Steve wrote:
Other jobs to note are what looks like a leaking half shaft oil seal on the NSR and the chap who helps me look after it says the rear gear box mounting is about shot so plenty to keep me busy over the next few months
Make sure the breather on the differential housing isn't blocked. If it is blocked it can cause the oil to pressurise enough to blow past the seals. Also make sure you don't overfill with oil when topping up

djm16
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat May 07, 2016 2:28 am

Re: P3 tales

Post by djm16 » Sat Sep 30, 2017 10:35 am

I have done springs twice now, on a morris minor and on a P4. I do not remember it being particularly difficult. In both cases the rear shackle could swing forwards enough that the shackle bolt could go through the spring eye with the spring under no tension. Otherwise, a long piece of 2x4 may be the specialised tensioning tool you need. :)

TonyG
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2015 4:38 pm

Re: P3 tales - rear spring

Post by TonyG » Sat Oct 07, 2017 3:55 pm

Steve, I've no experience of rear springs on a P3 but have changed them on a P1 and P2 and suspect the process will be the similar: It must be remembered just how powerful a leaf spring is under tension so best not to use the vehicle weight to aid removal or replacement in case of accidents. I found it was easy enough to jack up the car and support the chassis on axle stands, allowing the axle and springs to rest hard onto the lower bump stops. This takes the maximum tension out of the spring but there will be more to release. Firstly, place blocks of wood between the axle and upper bump stop on the side that the spring is to be removed so that the axle isn't pulled up by the tension of the spring on the other side when the U bolts are undone. Next undo and remove one of the axle/leaf spring U bolts. The other U bolt is sufficient to hold it all together. Replace the removed U bolt with one made from a piece of bent threaded rod of similar diameter (available from Toolstation and other similar places). This temporary U bolt will be much longer than the original it replaces. Tighten up the nuts on the temporary U bolt and remove the other U bolt, then replace with another temporary one made from threaded rod. If you are worried about the threaded rod or the original U bolt being inadequate when fitted singly then a jack can be put underneath the spring during the above process. However, once you have the two temporary long U bolts in place they will hold it together and the jack can be taken away, allowing the two U bolts to be undone and all the tension released from the spring. The rear shackle can be removed and the spring dropped down and taken off the front. Refitting is the reverse of this whereby the spring is pulled into place using the over-long temporary U bolts, which are then replaced one at a time with the proper ones. Again, a jack can be placed under the spring when the U bolts are changed over if you feel a bit more security is needed.

I've changed the springs on my 12 Tourer several times this way without incident. The springs came from Jones Springs - Kevin was very helpful. Worth checking the bushes when you have the springs off as the Luvax system doesn't always keep wear at bay. If your car was sitting low anyway, you may be better off getting a new pair, although I think Jones can set up your good one to match a new or repaired item.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Tony.
Tony Gilbert

P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport

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