Bought my first Triumph - Stuck Slides

Bought this ‘77 Bonneville Thursday. Not running. That guy is not me.

Figured out the no spark issue and turned to the carbs and found them to be locked up by gas grundge Both slides are stuck solid in the Amal 930 bodies. They appear to be chrome plated Can’t get the carb caps off since the cables are locked in by the slides/springs etc

They now are saturated with PB Blaster to allow whatever weak acid is in PB to work but that’s best for ferrous metals

If that doesn’t work I’ll try a can of carb dip tomorrow.

Any other ideas on how to free stuck sliides?

Looks like a nice bike that’ll clean up well, a nicely sorted T140 is a really nice bike, highly underrated IMHO.

Like storm42 mentioned in another thread, boiling them is a really good idea. In fact you might wanna do it a few times, first to un-seize them then go through a few cycles of clean them up and boil them, and repeat until the water is clean after boiling.

But... those carbs do look very cruddy, you’ll need to take great care, and spend a lot of time to ensure the pilot circuit is properly clean etc otherwise you’ll be chasing carb issues forever, will end up hating the bike, and sell it swearing to all that Triumphs are s**t!

You’ll have to spend quite a bit of $ on those carbs too, with new jets and needles, and perhaps slides and floats, plus gaskets and o rings, etc.

Rather than throw good money after bad, it may be worth stretching the budget to new carbs.

My advice would be to strip the current ones fully and see what you’ve got before spending too much time and / or money on them.

Good advice.

I’ve got a set of 932s on the shelf which I would have already swapped onto it but for a lack of throttle cables. The existing cables are stuck in the slides of the 930s of course.

I also have a set 32mm MK IIs but need cables and a pair of manifolds for them.

Opinions about MK IIs?

Edit - saw FastEddie’s MKII thread

PB Blaster worked

xbacksideslider said:

Good advice.

I’ve got a set of 932s on the shelf which I would have already swapped onto it but for a lack of throttle cables. The existing cables are stuck in the slides of the 930s of course.

I also have a set 32mm MK IIs but need cables and a pair of manifolds for them.

Opinions about MK IIs?

Edit - saw FastEddie’s MKII thread

Click to expand...

A lot of folk do not like the mk11s. Had I given up half way through my trials I’d be one of them too! But now my bikes running so sweet on the mk11s, I really can’t fault them.

But, the easiest for you would be to stick to mk1s as the cables and manifolds will be more work and hassle. You’d also have to sort out cold start cables, junction box and lever for them too.

I’d strip and clean your current ones first though, at least to ensure you ain’t swapping for some that are worse!

Yes, I came to same conclusion after the PB Blaster worked it’s magic, unsticking the slides.

So, i spent the day cleaning, reassembling, reinstalling, and syncing.

Tomorrow will be fluids changed -brake and engine. Flush tank, air tires, and start her up

S’appnin... she running yet...?

Yes. Took her out for a loop and all seems OK.

Shifting was a little dicey but the previous owner must have had huge feet or wore steel toed boots as I had to lift by whole leg to upshift.

Front brake was weak but the throttle housing was fouling the brake leaver when hard braking.

Oh, some pinging on an uphill section under load when engine well warmed, but have not checked timing and the gas I was running was from can not fresh, best for lawn mower

So, just setup and adjustment issues

So she pings badly once warmed up, even with fresh tank of gas. Raised the needles and set about checking timing. Found this, the rotor is gouged and the timing pointer is bent. Guess I’ll pull the primary cover and see if I have a bad rotor or loose crank nut.

Had to make this tool to get the cap off without buggering it

Rotor was loose on its steel center. Ordered anew one

I had to drill out the opposite side of the pilot air screw in order to obtain access to the low speed emulsion chamber to be able to see if my wire was clearing the pilot jet. I was able to do so and tapped for a 10-32 screw to seal up the new drilling in each carb.

The ping is gone and she now idles beautifully but there remain some ominous mechanical sounds - piston slap for sure and maybe worse.

Rode with the SoCal BSA club Sunday only to have four or five engine/frame bolts fall out, causing awful vibration. Now on a quest for proper fasteners.

Have you run it since fitting the new alternator rotor? They can make ominous sounds.

Also, it’s just possible that some of the ominous sounds could have been those loose fixings.

At the end of the day, even if it is piston slap, it’s only an afternoons job to strip the top end off a Triumph and parts are plentiful and cheap.

Just make sure you buy good quality ...

Yes. The BSA club ride was with the new rotor and yes the loose engine/frame fasteners May have been a source of the ominous sounds. Waiting for fasteners now. So we will see. And, yes a set of pistons and rings is quite affordable and doing the top end appears to be not too difficult So, I’m happy

Even blindfolded and with one arm tied behind your back, getting the head off of a Triumph is easier than a Commando !

Walking hand in hand on Mars with Michelle Pfeiffer is easier than getting the head off a Commando !

3/8 BTDC , and as the adv. unit hits the stop , a ' CRACK ' in the ear . When turned on .
( a rod to long to drop in the cylinder , which means ' tank off ' . against a straight edge across fins .
a third hand initially , to hold & mark the rod , at T D C . Then anybody worth his salt knows what 3/8 inch is , for the next mark , UP the rod .)

Id get inside the frame with a inspection light / scope , at oil change . to see its not like the carbs were . AND drop the frame sump plate .
Pre Units even had ENGINE sump plates , Just another of their superiorities ! .
A filter , even on the RETURN is light years ahead of none . Increasing the volume as it was a bit maginal .
If your planing on 100 miles in one hour , Id thow a cooler on too . For the volume .

Usual on a Trumpy to get slight pinking , max tourque . Not on full throttle . Twin carbs anyway .
Actually Non C V carbs on anything were prone to it . So a inteligant operater gets to know and avoid it .

Were a honda boy thinks hes superior , ignores it , and wrecks the whole applecart .

Should be adequate brake pads these days , to get them a bit toeyer . Soft Pads if your not a ton up cowboy .
Rear disc is supurflous , but two up with lugage , starts to earn its worth . Particularly with a 5:00 16 rear tyre .

Hard pads will need temperature to get intrested . Wet & dry ' De Glazing ' the discs wont slow it down . Or will actually . Glazed discs & or pads
theyll be as bad as those horrible japanese stainless steel discs . Tho still not for the limp wristed , unless youve got two on the front ,
then a few fingers'll do it .

p.s. K 81s / TT100s on the rear make it tippy & nervous . ' V ' profile . Great for bend swinging though , and light accurate steering ,
Speaking of which , any rubber in the bar mounts is best ditched . Steel bush replacements .

And Just Look at That Kickstart Rubber !

Shelved the cigars for a pair of these Emgo short 19” long by 1 and 3/4” ID peashooter style mufflers. Went to 230 main jets right off with needles full lean. Wow. What a difference. Much better power.

Now. . . What’s that I heard about cam timing?