Jam Mad Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 so, i set off last night in the light drizzle on the short walk to my garage singing, " hey-ho, hey-ho, it's off to oil ma' trunnions i go, " to the tune of that well known disney film... but my joy was short lived, 'cos the oil safely squirted everywhere, but into my trunnions. sad.gif having searched the archives, am i right in saying that step one is to try again with the nipples removed, before step two, crying " help! " and finding a pal who can help me take the things to bits ? i assume the nipples just come off like a nut from a bolt. ? all the while sniggering at the task at hand of course.. oiling nipples tongue.gif cheers, j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 James, What did you use to oil the trunnions with? Was it an oil gun? If so, try putting a single "sheet" of cotton cloth between the nipple and the gun. Then be fairly forcefull as you sharply pump the gun. The oil will force its way through the cloth, the cloth will also provide a seal. Stop when the oil escapes from the top of the trunnion (by the rubber seal) If all else fails you can simply unscrew the nipple and use a syringe to fill to the top, before replacing the nipple. Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=limegreen> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 cool, thanks. i was using ep90 in a james whiting gun. i was putting so much pressure to try and force it into the nipple, that the oil was coming out of the wrong end of the gun !!! and the end of the gun was screwed up tightly too. also, i did check that the gun was working fine. so i didn't have a problem with it not sealing on the nipple, annoyingly. i think i'll have to remove the nipples and try again. but you say with a syringe ? will i get this from the local housing estate, or do you mean a little plastic one ? j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 James, The oil out of the wrong end of the JW gun is a design feature! Try the cloth method with rapid, short, stabbing type presses. It will work, though it took me a number of tries to perfect the tecnique. Also you shouldn't have to remove or loosen the nipples to do the above. Before I got an oil gun I used to remove the nipples and use a syringe to top up the EP90. Best source for these was the vets or if all else fails try stairwellswink.gif (PS My vet is a classic car nutter! - who was familiar with trunnions - result!) Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=limegreen> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 marvellous !! i'll give it a try... sounds even messier than i expected... j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Turner Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 I seem to remember (back to the late 80's) having to change the nipples on the front uprights as the ones fitted were incompatible with my grease gun and that fitted all the nipples on the propshaft perfectly, try your gun on the prop but don't grease it with EP. Paul Edited by - Paul Turner on 12 Feb 2002 11:26:38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 oops.. now you're over-reaching my limited ability paul.... if you have a mo', i'd be grateful to know... - which nipples on the propshaft ? - where is the propshaft ? ( i know roughly of course... ) - how would i know that it worked on the propshft nipples without oiling them ? would i be right to say that removing the nipples and running them through with a pin might help ? i assume that they are just little tubes through the metal, and not valves ? j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Turner Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 The nipples on the prop are on the front and rear UJ's (diff and gearbox ends), these should be greased every **** miles, I do mine every spring with ???? grease. The end of the gun should snap onto the nipple and provide a leak proof fit (not). If it snaps on then its the right fitting. It then requires a firm pull to remove (sometimes not easy when you are covered in grease). The nipple has a small ball in the end to make it like a one way fitting so you cannot poke it out with a pin. With all this talk of nipples and poking i'm off to lunch. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 They normally have tiny ball valves that you can see from outside. You could always try to check if they move freely with the tip of a biro. Cheers, Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 12, 2002 Author Share Posted February 12, 2002 cool, thanks chaps. i'll give it another try using the cotton'n'pump technique mentioned above, and leave the prop-shaft nipples to be greased when i next take the car in for a "things that i either can't be bovvered to do, or don't know how to" service. j teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony pashley Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 With regard to removing the nipple entirely - is the hole at the top of the oil cavity or part way up? Can anyone confirm either way? It's along time since I oiled a trunnion. Jam - one fairly reasonable explaination for no oil wanting to go in is that your trunnions may be already full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Brother Posted February 12, 2002 Share Posted February 12, 2002 At the top (ish) Steve www.Se7en-Up.co.uk id=limegreen> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreK Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Have a look on www.lumatic.co.uk. This outfit can supply a replacement adaptor to fit the nipples for £2-3. The conical type adapter on the Whiting Oil Gun is u/s. Or if you already have a 'grease' gun, you can probably use the (screw off type) end off that if it is the same thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 13, 2002 Author Share Posted February 13, 2002 sorry... pls explain u/s ? good point tony, but they haven't been oiled for 4000 miles.. so i doubt it ? what do you think ? surely it would come out of the top if they were full ? j Edited by - jam mad on 13 Feb 2002 12:42:48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casbar Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 I use a Whiting gun, and although it is messy, it works ok. When the trunnions are full, the oil does indeed come out of the top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Get a good quality grease gun and put the oil into it and off you go. Yes there may be differnt nipple sizes but the ones on the trunnions are the same as the uj's on the prop shaft and are a standard size so most if not all guns will fit. This also means that you can use the same gun for both jobs. You will have to purge it before use but thats not a problem. I leave mine upside down ofter using oil in order to drain it. If yours are not filling its probably because the nipple is gummed up with grease or a n other. When the trunnion is full the oil will flow out around the seal. I fill mine every couple of months or so and have never had a problem although they were initially filled with grease, by the previous owner. Take out one of the nipples and visit your local motor factor or even Halfords for a fit up job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony isherwood Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Having never thought about trunions (oiling or otherwise) before. Do 1995 Cars have them ? (or am I looking in the wrong place ?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam Mad Posted February 13, 2002 Author Share Posted February 13, 2002 cheers john e... i will try again, and if no joy, i'll see if i can replace 'em. i'm not sure whether they all did tony, but my '95 definitely has them. cheers, j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 They are peculiar (very) to the live axle cars with the single top link on the front suspension. Just in case you don't know what you are looking for, they are brass cylinders about 1" in diameter and 2" tall, and connect the lower wishbone to the front upright. Dedion cars, and those converted (properly) to double wishbone do not have trunnions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Turner Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Early de-dion cars (up to about 1991?) had trunions. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casbar Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Graham, My car has been converted to double wishbone "properly" and does have trunnions. The differnce is, the uprights with trunnions are a standard Triumph part (less expensive) the non trunnion upright, is a Caterham made part (expensive). And early de-dion cars did have trunnions!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 OK so I stand corrected on the early dedions (hybrid) cars as they were developed back to front (if you see what I mean). True there were many double wishbone conversions - but my understanding is that the current offereing doesn't work properly with the the Triumph upright unless you replace the upper ball joint with a non-Caterham one. Hence the Pukka ones have a dedion style upright and both new wishbones - at a hideous price! Dons nomex clothing and runs for cover... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casbar Posted February 13, 2002 Share Posted February 13, 2002 Yep, I'll go along with that one. I replaced the double wishbone track rod end, with a replacement one from the motor factors. As the Triumph upright has a different taper to the de-dion one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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