Benjamin Swatton

These did not use to be available new but now they are so has anybody bought the new type 12 ones from suppliers and have they found them to be as reliable/good quality as OEM girlings? I'm suprised there is enough of a market for these to be new manf. So keen to know if they have not shorted cutted the quality/design

5yr ago full engine rebuild late mk2 £860 spent on parts almost every think was replaced no short cutting . some paddocks and alot Rimmer , I returned some valves from paddocks as they visually looked poor quality not shiny but dull and several were different lengths ! They didn't have any more in stock -does not instill confidence and I decided they were not really serious about stocking much early engine stuff so I went Rimmer. Pistons were a problem at the time and we had to buy direct from county I think . County parts were used including cam. Engine has now done 20k oil usage is as per book, I'm very pleased . We used tri metal bearings as per OEM think we had to buy direct Only thing of note was County cam lobes bigger so needed to shim the pedestals for sufficient clearance compared original cam

The conundrum from hell, have now inspected both sides, both verticals are OEM and both trunnions are same manf with steel bottom disc seal - I think may have been newly fitted about 10 yrs /20,000 miles ago. Visually both VL threads look great condition zero corrosion as do the trunnion threads I can see however.. Left VL in trunnion has virtually no play however where rubber VL seal mates VL shank above thread there is a narrow line of corrosion running 1/3rd way round - potential stress corrosion cracking scenario? - I have read on other forums some saying they can break here but others say snapping only ever occurs on the threaded portion and I've only seen pictures of failure at the threaded - I don't want to scrap a part unless necessary -anybody confirm this? Right VL in trunnion has about 2mm of rattle, measurement of OD of VL thread with vernier gauge suggests a reduction diameter / wear at top there is also slight undercut of shank above thread, no corrosion to worry about really. I will be buying a new trunnion to see if it takes out the play but I suspect not I don't want to go trunnion less If I buy from one of the main suppliers are all the dodgy VL of the past now gone ? I presume all the VL come from same manf. can anybody confirm where these come from i presume not manf. UK! are these forged as OEM or cast? Are the threads rolled or cut ? I don't want to go new unless I have to as there is then the knock on problem with new stub axle accuracy problems - arghhhh Thanks

The solder technique seems the best my only worry is heating up the part and weakening it. I've now inspected my trunnion and links ,both trunnions are manf type with steel disc on bottom stamped L or R they don't leak , I dont think they are OEM parts

Did you epoxy the outside bottom of the trunnion or carefully inside ?

Yes I did wonder about that and will check as you say

Ok , It appears there may have been a misunderstanding on a telecom - I thought i was told mk2 verticals were no longer available however rimmer parts catalogue clearly shows them to be identical part to later cars through to mk5. Again rimmer bros cat also suggests the hubs are the same for all cars but again I thought I was told they are different and I needed to change out along with discs if going from type 12 to 14 calipers. I think I need to double check with the supplier just goes to show need to check parts catalogue to be sure

I wonder how this sort off substandard part occurs, is it because : 1)part manf renegades on spec for part to maximise profit 2) part suppliers don't want to stump up full cost of original spec part to minimise cost of part inventory stock and design/request redesign to cheapen up 3) Supplier thinks customers won't pay for original spec part so redesigns a cheaper solution personally I suspect no. 2 - As I wonder how many of these parts for small triumphs are being shifted these days and I don't think MOTS would pick up on worn trunnions (mine wasn't! ) so there's probably lots of blissfully unaware owners out there ..and lots of trunnions sitting on the shelves gathering dust which the supplier wants to tie the minimum amount of money up in.

Ah thanks Dave , yes the brass item, Most photos of new brass trunnions conveniently don't show the offending alteration but according to American forum the new ones are bored all way through and a thin steel blanking disc factory pressed in at bottom of trunnion to seal the bore hole. I presume you mean you epoxied the blanking disc in as per the American forums. So have you lubed the trunnion with oil via the grease port and your blanking disc did not blow out so it was a success? I was toying with soft soldering in the disc as you mention but wanna be super careful with stressing such a critical component. so people here too are epoxy in and soldering. I presume your epoxy workied

Disc brake max permissible runout is .004 according to P.Olysager motor manual 85, there was no mention of this limit in the Haynes manual I can see. I measure outside face runout total but of course the inside face theoretically should be taken into account however there is no definition on how to measure The disc I have that is on scrubbing side is 0.006 runout total measured on outside face with dial guage over 1 revolution . so it's 0.002 over limit . It's not a big deal as slight brake scrub is only when U turning and new discs are cheap as chip's, I was just wondering whether anybody checks their disc runout!

Thanks for info, I don't see how the trunnion can affect brake scrub but yes the bearings could however they are as tight as permissible whereas the wheel on the opposite side has more bearing play but no scrub and the disc is truer hence I suspect the disc on the other side that is scrubbing to be just a little too far out of true to cause a scrub maybe exacerbated by a both pistons not retracting evenly/sufficiently. when I rebuilt calipers years ago I regrettably replaced only the damaged pistons which means that half are the new pistons made from machined (not very smooth) stainless and the other half are the good original ones which are polished chrome and I think I noted back then they don't retract at same rate because of stiction.

My spit mk2 has a trunnion with 2mm vertical/lateral wobble -I suspect this is to much can anybody confirm? However the American triumph forum mentions the new trunnions (that have been cheapened up with a 2 part assembly differing from original ) leak oil out the disc seal on the bottom and or they blow out when oiling up and need epoxy sealing before first use -this is a disgrace on a highly critical component So anybody here in UK finding same problem? I presume all UK suppliers have the same sub standard trunnions for sale?

First post after a few years presume the model specific forum has gone so several questions that lead to need for brake replacement: 1 How much trunnion play wobble is acceptable - My mk2 spit has one side with no play but the other wheel has a fair bit of trunnion play - approx 2mm wobble at the seal end Not disassembled yet but fearing worst the vertical link thread is worn - if so i understand replacement mk1-mk2 vertical links are extinct - if so i'm into a type 12 to type 14 conversion. This coincides with me needing to investigate a possible sticking caliper piston and replace a disc 2 I have persistent disc brake scrub one side only for last 20k miles its only a problem if I turn tight but no where near full lock and disc is 0.006 lateral out of true on outside face I think this is beyond limit of 0.005 I read in a maintenance guide -can anybody confirm limits of trueness ? 3)Can somebody explain why they went from type 12 to 14 system as there is a lot of change - I don't want to change unless necessary but the lack of vertical link availability could force the issue, and I'm just wondering whether the 12 system has other problems that maybe affecting brakes and I should ditch it all -e.g. as spitfire graveyard mentioned the caliper mounts can bend and I'm wondering whether another noise I'm getting is not a sticking piston but other issue that will all go away if I blitz the lot and go type 14 This is a car that has done 20k in last 5 years after a lot of rebuilding it's no box of rot and I want it right as it's on motorways regularly the vertical link snapping scares the hell Thanks