Reliant Disc brake conversion

[LEVVIN]

  Firstly, 'LO to you lot.
i normally lurk in the darkest depths of the UK TRIKER forum, but today i'm on day release!

ive been buildin the 'mongrel', an xs1100 derived trike, for a while now, and have run up against the proverbial brick wall while attempting to disc convert my newly aquired reliant axle.

i've fitted new wheel bearings, new oil seals, new pinion bearings and seals, new crownwheel bearings, cleaned and de-rusted and enamelled entire axle.
oh, while i think of it, i cant get a pinion crush spacer anywhere on planet earth- anyone advise if really essential or where i can get one? there wasnt one with my basket case axle.

anyways, i've bought, cleaned stripped and serviced golf mk4 calipers and carriers.
bought new nova 236x12.5 front discs
bought flea-bay axle plates (hey, that was YOUR idea, how come every sod is sellin them?)

fitted plates, ground off hub corners, and......

it dont fit!!!

the mk4 carriers foul the discs, and the slots are too narrow! aarrgh!

is there an answer to this, or must i try and get mk2 carriers, and will my now-shiney mk4 calipers fit 'em?

help please as i'm at wits end!

respect,
LEV

[terry t]

All right levvin.you found us then were a bit tame here as apposed to uk triker but are verry helpfull. any way welcome
you need 236 x 10mm thick disc. 12.5 are to big as you have just found out  
and you need mrk 2 carriers

[LEVVIN]

 

i was dreadin that!

booger!

never mind! i'll have to send discs bsck, and keep lookin for mk 2 carriers!

only ones i can see on fleabay are stupid expensive. matey's just greedy!

SEE YER BACK HOME ON ukt!

respect
LEV!

[hunter]

You can use MK1 or MK2 carriers.

[RODeo]

I seem to remember there was a difference in the pad thickness as well.

[zakboy]

your right rod they come in 15mm and 17.5 he needs to use the 15mm the calipers come in two diffrent bore sizes as well 36mm and 38mm the 38 mm are favoured over the 36mm

[LEVVIN]

 :)Get on, you lot!

i've trawled the cornish scrappies, and lady luck smiled on me!

i've gotten my greasy paws on a pair of golf mk2 gti carriers, my nice shinry (cos i stripped, cleaned ,painted and serviced 'em!) mk4 alloy calipers fit a treat, and after a good clean up with betsy the dewalt grindette, the discs fit in the caliper slots with a couple of mil to spare either side.

phew!

the mk4 handbrake cables and pads turned up today also, but the pads arent gonna fit mk2 slides, so i havnt opened those. Will get more to suit.

Any particular pads to suit mk2 slides with mk4 calipers and 12.5 discs?

married the axle up to the frame and drilled out the 'shoes' that take the axle (simular to lord mankymonkey's green meanie reliant trikes) to accept 12mm cortina suspension 'u'bolts.

looking good at last!

the guys off uk triker will know the hassle ive had getting a reliant axle over past 2 months, being ripped off and that, so i'm well pleased i can at last press on and get frame painted now i know the axle fits and the slight mods i had to make to the frame to change from a suzuki carry axle (5.8-1 ratio!!!) to a reliant have now been welded, so i can get in the sinister blue pearl and finish my bodywork!!!!

respect

LEV
(TRIED TO ADD A PIC, BUT CANT DO IT ON HERE!!)

[Manky Monkey]

Hi Levvin -welcome to our World. 
My missus, Taz, wrote a piece on adding photos in the General Discussion section. Hope it helps.

http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4469.0

Why not start a new thread on your trike build & bung a few pics on so we can what you're up to. 

[LEVVIN]

Sir Monkey!!

experienced advice requested please!!

im disc converting my reliant (850 robin) axle, and keep running up against problems.

ive fitted new bearings throughout, and diff turns freely.(well, a little 'lumpy' but that could be cos its got no oil in it yet)

the wheel bearings are fitted as far in as theyll go, and are flush with the ends of the axle tubes.

the drive shafts are in as far as they will go, oil seals against the raised part of the shaft, wheel bearings butted up against that also.

the woodruff keys are correct, and hubs tighten down to @2mm off the wheel bearing inner race.

the faces of hubs are machined flat, raised ring gone, corners ground down..

the problem i have today, is that when i fit the discs, they are dead flush to the hub face, but when i try to fit the golf mk2 rear carriers, although everything lines up, there is a gap od @ 4-6mm between the conversion plate and the face of the carrier where it should bolt to the plate!

how do i get around this?

there is no mention on 100% biker pdf axle conversion of having to put spacer washers between the carrier and the conversion plate,

but is this the correct way of doing it? am i missing something?

or must i machine 4-6mm off the base of the hub tube? (cant see that would work as hub is down on shaft hard with 2mm bearing clearance)

help please!

oh, and ive asked this on the ukt forum, i cant get a crush spacer for pinion anywhere, obsolete, tried everyone who deals in reliant, Terry t has posted a pic of the spacer and metric dimentions, but can you give me dimentions of spacer tube in metric for my machine shop guy? especially internal tube diameter.

thanks, lev

[LEVVIN]

soz!

terry gave me imperial dimentions!

its past bedtime!

[LEVVIN]

ALSO, SIR MONKEYUS MAXIMUS,

I'm not 100% happy that i've got this axle set up right!

the shafts are an absolute sod to get in and out, jam solid and certainly dont slide into splines easily.

im really hoping i havnt got to try and seperate diff again!

im new to this axle lark, but have a good engineering background, and am an OFTEC engineer by trade, with 15 yrs as a railway signals engineer.
 
when i turn the pinion by hand, considering this axle has been dry for years, the pinion turns, as do shafts, but there is a very signifigant drag.

the unit certainly wouldnt spin freely if pinion spun by hand.

the feeling as you turn the pinion is best described as lumpy, with resistance simular to that you would feel turning a rear car wheel with the brake pads j-u-s-t touching the discs.(the disc conversion isnt fitted yet, by the way!!)

like said, theres no way the pinion will spin freely by hand, but isnt so stiff that its very hard to turn either.

is this normal for a dry axle, or have i got summat binding inside? or shafts not in far enough cos of seizing splines? or am i just getting paranoid???

regards, Lev

[LEVVIN]

me 'gen!!

yeah, i'm an insomniac!!

i've just experimented by slackening the diff side stud nuts, leaving a gap of barely 1/2mm between the diff halves, and now everything spins totally freely and super smooth!!

whats wrong??

theres no gasket between halves, but dont know if theres meant to be,

and as soon as i tighten the diff halves up again,literally enough to just close the spring washers, the axle goes stiff and lumpy again!

the lumpyness feels like the crown wheel teeth.

is one of the crown wheel bearings not down on its seat far enough?

should i be removing a shim or three from crown wheel bearings?
if so, what side?

gets worse when i tighten down the shorter side of axle, with the flat diff casting.

oh bugger!

i've got to try and get the shafyts out again, havnt i??

lev

[spanners]

its sounds like the crown wheel carrier brg,s arnt sitting home.

or the pinionbrgs arnt set up right

you say that you havnt been able to get a,crushable,, spacer for the pinion shaft.?  so what are you using instead ? ?

[RODeo]

My 2p..........Are you trying to fit the shafts with the axle bolted in to the frame?If so,and you are using the cortina U bolts as described,have you a)tightened the ubolts too much causing mis alignment,OR b) are the brackets on the frame out of square,causing the axle to bend as the bolts are tightened to pull the axle 'home'? .Remember the 'Manky' style brackets dont crush the tubes to hold the axle ,they fit tightly round it ,and actually prevent(if set up correct) the axle being crushed. Just my thoughts........
      Rod

[spanners]

fair point rod  thats another possiblity