Swivel balls (not a personal problem)

[lumpydog]

That's where an overdrive comes in. Third over is your friend. It is a gear about midway between third and fourth and is really handy when the engine cannot push fourth but has plenty of power for third.

Hadn't thought about using OD this way… Will try it out. I mainly use OD as a 5th gear so was shifting out of it as I approached the hill, and went down to fourth. Then downshifted again, to third if I ran out of steam. I'll try OD 3rd next time I'm climbing and 3rd is too low. Thanks for the tip.

[o2batsea]

An OD does not make your Series go faster.

[TeriAnn]

An OD does not make your Series go faster.

Well it does if and only if your engine has the power to push 4 over. Back in the days of yore when I had a 2.25L four and an overdrive my engine could push it OK down hill and with a tail wind but otherwise I had to drive with the throttle all the way open to do 65 in 4 over. Hard on fuel economy. And of course the slightest uphill grade and it was 4 under. But I learned to really love 3 over in the hills and into strong headwinds.

If I'd had a healthy 2.5L for over would have been more useful.

On the other hand 4 over in the TR3 really gives the roadster long highway wings. The TR3 has the power to weight ratio to take advantage of its overdrive top gear.

[o2batsea]

TAW, you should upgrade to this engine in the 109.

[slowmo]

Good news for me. The swivel balls are quite smooth with no pitting. Since everything seems tight and it tracks straight I think I am in for just the seals. Of course the Forrest Gump in me will clean everything up so it looks like new. This little preventative maintenance project will happen sometime this summer.

Next up right now, is rechecking the fuel and ignition system. I checked the plugs (they were installed in December) and they tell me we are running rich. Cleaned them up and checked the gaps. Cleaned the points, reset and checked dwell angle. Good to go. Timing was a few degrees off. Now it's not. Vac advance checks OK. Adjusted the single barrel Weber carb (the carb and the intake manifold design is an area of weakness for these trucks-very poor fuel/air distribution). Set idle and mixture. Results: better acceleration but no better in hill climbing. If my tach is accurate I am pulling 3800-4000 RPM in third gear going 35 mph uphill (climbs 1500' in six miles to elevation of 6200'). Does this performance match others experience or should I keep looking for more power?

Also I will begin chasing electrons. None of the gauges or indicators are accurate.

[slowmo]

Old post resurrection. Did the first swivel ball (seals only) and I can certainly see TeriAnn's simplified fix will work perfectly. That's not what I did because I needed to see how the swivel is put together, but in the future I will use the simple method. Thanks.

[jcoleman]

Old post resurrection. Did the first swivel ball (seals only) and I can certainly see TeriAnn's simplified fix will work perfectly. That's not what I did because I needed to see how the swivel is put together, but in the future I will use the simple method. Thanks.

I'm getting ready to do mine--how much time should I budget for the full job?

[slowmo]

The first one took me about three hours. I work slowly and clean each part to look like new. The second one took a little less.

That said I had already removed (and cleaned) the brake backing plates, replaced the bearings, brakes etc. last December. If you haven't done any of that you'll be in for a bit more time. I would then budget one day to do the first one if you haven't been in there at all yet. Note how the top brake springs are connected (even take a pic). Everyone puts them on the wrong way the first time.

Usually the biggest delays are caused by forgetting to get one or more of the parts. Good luck!

[jcoleman]

The first one took me about three hours. I work slowly and clean each part to look like new. The second one took a little less.

That said I had already removed (and cleaned) the brake backing plates, replaced the bearings, brakes etc. last December. If you haven't done any of that you'll be in for a bit more time. I would then budget one day to do the first one if you haven't been in there at all yet. Note how the top brake springs are connected (even take a pic). Everyone puts them on the wrong way the first time.

Usually the biggest delays are caused by forgetting to get one or more of the parts. Good luck!

Great--Thanks for the feedback! Looking forward to one less puddle on the garage floor.