Hello all, just a reminder to our cherished suppliers who I have been asking for some time for a longer version of the drain plug as supplied for 3 spd gear box and sump to date. The reply has been 'when present stocks run out we will look at it'.
As we all know when you fit a fibre washer then the brass cover plate and the second fibre washer, we end up with about two/two and a half threads available to screw into the bottom of the gearbox, when you also take into account some boxes have quite a chamfer on the box thread,it's starting to look a little weak.
I have a couple of gearboxes with the bottom two threads stripped, and have seen others.
If we had the plugs made say 3/16" longer we would have less chance of stripping the thread and could also bring back into circulation the ones that have been stripped usually two or three threads remain for the new longer plugs to reach.
The parts list do call up two different numbers for the gearbox and sump plugs and the illustration for the gearbox one seems to show a longer plug than that for the sump, however I have never seen a longer threaded plug.
Here's hoping one of our suppliers is running low on stock and might just get the next batch made slightly longer, fingers crossed Ian M

Location: Bristol

Ian, thanks for the reminder - I will send off a sample to the machine shop tomorrow and see what they come up with.

I should also mention that some fibre washers are thinner than others which can make a difference. I tend to supply thicker ones with engine gasket sets and thinner ones with gearbox gasket sets.

David

Ian,

Top left was purchased last year, bottom right is original.

Hope this helps your quest.

Thanks Ruairidh, checking a half dozen original plugs this morning, have found a very slight variation but not significant enough to take full advantage of the threads available in the Gbox.Also checking five boxes four had five threads and one only three due to different suppliers maybe.
Thanks David, in order to use two fibre washers at 1/16" thick (which most originals seem to be) plus the brass cover, a length of 7/16" protrusion would insure that we could catch all available threads with certainty, clearance from the gears didn't visually appear to be a problem with the quick check this morning.
Using thinner fibre washers is a help but still falls short in terms of threads used and the increased chance of pulling the bottom threads from the Gbox. Cheers Ian

Location: Bristol

And another Ian - I am almost certain this (steel) one was produced by the Austin Seven Centre many years ago.

This has appeared on eBay;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-7-Seven-brass-plug-/252834335731?&_trksid=p2056016.m2518.l4276

Location: Near M1 Jcn 28

That's interesting Brian, looks like a casting rather than a machined one off, also looks a more reasonable length. Anyone have any idea if someone stocks them? Ian M

Location: Bristol

I am fairly confident that the one in the ebay link is a blanking plug for plumbing or similar.

I thought the proportions looked odd especially the hole in the middle, but put it down to the camera angle.

Location: Bristol

Location: Huncote on the pig

A7 Services makes sense Tony

I have a couple of the steel ones. They certainly came from Chris Dalby a long, long time ago.

Steve

Location: North Yorkshire

Interesting point Ian, all the presumably original gearboxes I have stripped that still have the brass plate have a thin paper washer between the plate and the gearbox and a thin(ish) fibre washer between the plate and the plug. Sorry, at work at present so can't illustrate the point :(
Anyhow, these seem to leave sufficient threads in engagement to prevent problems.

Location: North Wiltshire