aknight123456 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Hi all, I had the pleasure of a unplanned 3 wheel stop a while back and whilst I know a lot more about the whole set up now and I regularly oil the trunnions I can't say I have complete faith in them not to fail at some point. I was looking at the canley classic trunnionless kits as a upgrade but I can't really find much in the way of reviews online. Has anyone got experience with these kits? Are they worth it? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky_spit Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Hi Andy - yes, I have had similar several years ago and it was not a pleasant experience. I had new trunnions and vertical links on my Spitfire and one of them failed coming off a roundabout at about 40mph, after being on the car for just a few months. The failure mode was a shearing of the VL just above threaded part. It was clear that the oiling hole that runs down from the nipple into the trunnion itself was drilled off-centre in manufacture. I bought new trunnion-less kits from Canleys and have been very pleased with them, as have many others who have them fitted. They are almost fit and forget; just keep an eye out for any sign of corrosion and give them a quick spray of WD40 every now and again. I don't think you will find many, if any in fact, people who do not recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky_spit Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 ...not sure what has happened above with the font size change. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nang Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Yes, definately a fit and forget job. IMO really worthwhile. Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocita Rosso Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 You can put failures to the back of your mind when fitting trunnion less....especially whipping down Italian passes at a speedy rate....or tripping around the Lingotto roof top 4 storeys high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aknight123456 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Excellent, I'll get a set ordered then! Thank you for everyone's review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Yes, I agree with the above, an excellent part to fit to the car. As Mike states, an occasional oiling with WD or similar is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Tim, I noted your comment elsewhere about handling and possible caster issue with your GT6. Did this appear at the same time you converted to trunnion-less? I say this as although I've never seen comment elsewhere, when I converted the Vitesse a couple of years ago, the suspension geometry settings, toe, camber and caster were all messed up and not by a small amount either. Toe I was expecting, the others not so much. I've got it most of the way back to where it was now though the previously excellent turn-in is still not as good as it was. Bit upsetting as it had taken much tweaking to get it as good as it was. Also seemed to change the damper setting - can only imagine this is because the trunnion-less set-up has lower friction than the previous nylon bushes. Not intended as a negative on the trunnion-less route, just a heads-up to make sure that the geometry is fully checked afterwards and adjusted as necessary. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 No, my castor issues came about when I fitted a set of re-furbished wishbones. The trunnionless VLs were fitted about 10 years ago and as I have said have been faultless. My only concern has been as many have said that a rubber boot does not enclose the joint, but then again, with the poor rubber we have to contend with these days, the boot would have failed by now...a wash over with a light oil does the trick though. I have entered a autosolo for March and will be giving the front suspension a check over soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocita Rosso Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Quoted from Nick Jones- Tim, I noted your comment elsewhere about handling and possible caster issue with your GT6. Did this appear at the same time you converted to trunnion-less? I say this as although I've never seen comment elsewhere, when I converted the Vitesse a couple of years ago, the suspension geometry settings, toe, camber and caster were all messed up and not by a small amount either. Toe I was expecting, the others not so much. I've got it most of the way back to where it was now though the previously excellent turn-in is still not as good as it was. Bit upsetting as it had taken much tweaking to get it as good as it was. Also seemed to change the damper setting - can only imagine this is because the trunnion-less set-up has lower friction than the previous nylon bushes. Not intended as a negative on the trunnion-less route, just a heads-up to make sure that the geometry is fully checked afterwards and adjusted as necessary. Nick So, was the trunnionless set that was squealing as we went around Lingotto?.....or was that Kate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Mrs Jones was mildly alarmed at one point..... I can't imagine why - I was much better behaved than some...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimW Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 When i first built my GT I used ford Capri vented discs and spaced GT6 calipers on standard uprights. A few years later i changed the VL to trunnionless ones along with the oversize stub axles and alloy hubs. The Capri vented disc and caliper setup, to my surprise, then didn't fit!! In the end i had to fit the 4 pot alloy caliper and vented disc kit that canleys sell which ,other than the poor quality powdercoating on the calipers, I've been very happy with. I can only assume that this issue was caused by the trunnionless VL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Don't think it's the VLs Tim. I have spaced 16Ps on my Vitesse with Capri discs that were fitted at the same time as the trunnionless VLs. Can't comment on the big stub axles and alloy hubs as I've not played with them Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy916 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 advice please I have just had my n/s trunnion fail on my mot, it's only done 400 miles and has been oiled regularly , I have read on here that they can fail if the caster is way out, so after a lot of searching on here and other sites, I checked that from the centre line through the top ball joint centre of the stub axle and middle of the trunnion, this was WAY out to get all three in line I have had to shim out the front bottom fixing Five shims with none in the rear, can this be right it looks wrong. I am trying to get it as close as possible before it is taken into Micheldever Tyres for a laser set up, I think i have about 2 deg neg camber on the front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteStupps Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Evening Guppy, Can you just clarify that slightly, I'm confused! Did your Spit fail its MOT because of some fault with the trunnion, or did the trunnion fail during test?! If it is the former, did you not get any specific info from the garage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy916 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Morning Pete, it was being tested the guy put his leaver in and you could see the play in the trunnion, it just goes to show the benefits of having a mot test as I wouldnt have thought that a new joint would have failed so early, did it fail because I had the caster angle wrong ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 What condition are your vertical links in? If the thread is rusty and pitted (as they often are) then new trunnions are going to have a very short life. In fact, if they're as eroded as some that I've seen you'll have play in the trunnions even when brand new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy916 Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I shall pop them apart over the week-end I think they were in quite good condition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velocita Rosso Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 At this point ,trunnion less kits would be more beneficial ,if considering changing the V/L I`ve seen some of the new V/L`s and would never fit them. Some have the lub hole (drilled down the centre of the threaded portion of the link, and they were off centre, making one side of the diameter weaker than the others....thus making prone to snapping ..even when new Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy916 Posted October 23, 2020 Share Posted October 23, 2020 A quick up date my VL's are ok, new trunnions fitted, and caster angle checked and reset to 2 - 3 deg pos both sides, I was amazed auto how many shims I had to use, the camber is 1 deg pos off side and 0 deg near side, and the tracking 1/8", I think this is close enough until I book it into Micheldever Tyres for a set up, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bancroft Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 HI George, what front springs are fitted to the car? Jon Wolfe sells modified wishbone brackets including the bolt through the wishbone, may be worth purchasing if too many shims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I am most interested in this kit as I have to do a ground up restoration. I have to confirm though that the German MOT (TÜV) would allow it as they get grumpy with things that are not standard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glang Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Hi, would the MOT guys know the trunnionless set up wasnt standard? It looks very well engineered so unless they investigate they probably wouldnt realise. However if they did perhaps you could get a letter from the manufacturer of the kit confirming that its been properly engineered and is far safer than the original design.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVD3500 Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Most of them have no clue. For example the kunifer brake line kits have teh documentation to prove that they have passed all the tests but one engineer said "It says here it is for a British Leyland Spitfire and this is a Triumph!" You can't make this stuff up... I know Canley offer the set and I think others. so I will see what I can find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glang Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 I take it this is the import inspection not the routine annual MOT? Its ridiculous when you look at how many accidents happen to classic cars (or any cars for that matter) where the use of incorrect parts is a contributing factor.... Surprisingly here in the UK theres now NO requirement for a routine MOT inspection for cars 40 years or older and this is because of the accident statistics👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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