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Re: Austin Ruby : Side Water Branch - Broken Bolt

Despite dire warnings I pressed on. Clean oil, clag out of the rad and a spin over without the plugs. Oil pressure appeared, no alarming noises. Freed off the hand throttle. Advance & retard is stuck so disconnected it & moved distributor to retard. took the dust cover(?) off the side-draft carb & checked again that the (old) plugs sparked....they did! A bit of fuel in the tank...no leaks, but the tap is a bit sweaty. A spray of plus gas in the intake and I got a splutter! Opened the throttle a bit , more plus gas & it started & ran pretty smoothly; no clatters, Oil pressure ok, and showing a charge! A fair bit of smoke from 30 years of dust on the exhaust pipe burning off I knew the clutch disengaged, so tried first & drove down the drive. Select reverse & drove back! Only problem is that on a lot of left lock the N/S front wheel tightens up, so braking may be "interesting". I will see if I can lubricate the cross shaft & if that helps.

Re: Austin Ruby : Side Water Branch - Broken Bolt


Re locking front brakes when reversing, have a look at the cotter pins in the brake actuating arms. I think the nuts should be at the front.
If not, fitting new cotters the right way round may make some difference.

Charles. In Split (Croatia) with Opal -- not a girl friend.

Location: Norfolk

Re: Austin Ruby : Side Water Branch - Broken Bolt

Charles Levien

Re locking front brakes when reversing, have a look at the cotter pins in the brake actuating arms. I think the nuts should be at the front.
If not, fitting new cotters the right way round may make some difference.

Charles. In Split (Croatia) with Opal -- not a girl friend.


I agree, nuts front, balls out!

Oxford Jack, in Split with Bertie - not a boyfriend

Location: Split, Croatia

Re: Austin Ruby : Side Water Branch - Broken Bolt

The topic of brake cotter direction has been covered many times recently. The factory
drawings in handbooks and elsewhere show front cotters with nuts to rear. Refer several posts by Bill Sheehan.
If arm too far forward, locking problems increased. The arranegment possibly useful for worn pre Girling brakes.

And I strongly endorse Dennis Nicolas comment above. With Sevens it is very easy to remove head and sump so seems a pity not to.

Location: Auckland, NZ

Re: Austin Ruby : Side Water Branch - Broken Bolt

I suggest removing the oil filler tube by unscrewung it, and plug the hole to avoid dropping bits and muck into the crankcase. Use a right angle drill to drill out the broken bit, trying to ensure that it is properly centred and in line with the bolt axis. Gradually increase the bit size until you can clean out the hole to size with 5/16" taps. Be very care ful not to impinge on the cylinder outside wall. Assuming all this works (it has for me in the past), use a 5/16" stainless steel stud in place of the bolt,loctited in place, make sure it has the right projection through the water joint, and fix the joint using 5/16" brass or stainless dome nuts on fibre washers; this way there should be no need for sealant on the joint face or on the studs. I'm a bit far away to lend you my drill, but a local tool hire company should have one quite cheaply.

Location: Just north of Cambridge