One for those in the know......

[Denis Sweeney]

Hi folks a question to those in the know.....

I have had a clunk or knock on my Ruby from the drive train ever since she has been on the road which normally appears in reverse gear and again back in first gear when moving off again.

However I have noticed that it also clunks when changing down from 4th to 3rd especially if I do not get the revs of the engine to match the rotation of the prop shaft and similarly 3rd to 2nd.  

I have attached a link to a very short video which shows the play on the train below. This is with the gearbox in neutral.

Is this something I should be concerned about or is this simply what is to be expected on a car nearly 90 years old.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated   

https://youtu.be/DxSk5UQy4P4

Cheers Denis S

[John Cornforth]

Hi

My suspicion would be that you might have some play in a half shaft/hub interface, which re-settles every time the drive torque changes direction. As a first step I suggest you check that the hub nuts are adequately tight.

[stuartu]

Likewise, check the pinion shaft drive flange nut. More annoying to get at I’m afraid. Often these end up having no lock tab after intervention by others.

Regards,

Stuart

[Denis Sweeney]

When I originally put Ruby back on the road the rear axle had been rebuilt using “new” half shafts purchased from A7 Services, Kirby Wiske yonks ago but I could never get the original hubs locked and these were always an issue there was also constant leaking of oil into the hubs, having used original style felt seals soaked in tallow.
And so these were replaced with new half shafts and new rear hubs and modern lip seals from A7C.
The rear axle was stripped and totally rebuilt again.
Since then I have had no issues with the hubs coming loose, despite this the clunk still persists.
I did check all the fixings from gearbox to the diff and all tab washers are in place and I cannot find any movement in these fixtures. I also checked the paintwork that has been applied on these fixings and cannot detect any signs of cracking in the paintwork that would suggest movement, but the clunk is still there.
Cheers