Re my 1962 A50
Now sorting out the oil leak from the speedo cable
I removed the exhaust and removed the speedo cable. Found the plastic covering had worn through where it rested on the exhaust mount and leaking through there. Also there was no washer between the cable and the gearbox mount.
Should there be a washer there? Fibre or rubber O ring?
I also took the cover off from that side to reveal the clutch cable end etc. I noticed there was some oil at the bottom of the cover and a previous owner had tried to put some instant gasket at the bottom of the cover to seal. There was only a tiny amount of oil there. Where does this come from? Is it down the gear change shaft?
Any cause for concern.
Finally noted that there was no steady bar between the exhaust down pipes. Can I leave it like that ? Is it worth sourcing a bar?
Cheers for any advice
Adrian
There is a rubber seal between the outer of the speedo drive bush and inner timing cover.
More likely is a leak between the bush and speedo driven gear. Oil gets into the cable and drips out and can eventually get to the speedo head if you are unlucky. This is sealed with an O ring on the speedo driven gear shaft though the early ones may not have had one. This O ring is quite a flimsy item.
I dont think there was a tie bar on the early pipes.
Thanks Julian
Can the speedo inner drive shaft be removed easily?
I assume if the locking screw is removed the whole assembly can be removed. If there is no O ring present, can one be fitted? If not, is it worth ( after fitting a new cable ) remove a bit of the outer plastic just below the headlight to act as a drain of oil gets up there?
Not that easy.
Inner cover needs to come off. The bush is a bit tight to get out and back in.
Same setup as an A10. Having removed the cover screw an old length of speedo cable to the bush clamp cable in a vice, then tap the cover off using a hide mallet.
But honestly I would not bother unless you are loosing a lot of oil. Not uncommon to have a drip here, usually because the cable has a hex crimp and the original Smiths had a circular crimp which kept the oil in. You can seal the cable join with the ferrule using a bit of heat shrink wiring sleeve and if concerned about oil getting to the speedo you can always wipe the cable inner occasionally.
The early O ring is flimsy and easily damaged, you can see one on the A10 driven gear in the photo.
Thanks again Julian. I had noticed that oil was leaking through the end of the ferrule where there is a hexagonal crimp. Also the outer cable was damaged by it rubbing on the exhaust mounting bracket so oil was leaking there too.
I will take your advice and not try and remove the drive parts. I have ordered a new cable and will seal the ferrule before fitting and route the cable below the exhaust bracket to prevent it rubbing, and occasionally wipe the inner cable!
Smiths cable top.
Pattern made in UK cable bottom.
Hi,
There is a oil seal which also fits (bush and groove shown in the top of Julians first image) BSA pt no. 63-3395, same as Triumph pt no. 57-0948. It is square section:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/57-0948-TRIUMPH-GEARBOX-SPEEDO-DRIVE-SQUARE-SECTION-SHAFT-SEAL-UK-MADE/273894765264?hash=item3fc56672d0:g:7g0AAOSw1S9dCS9K
Best wishes...