Why The Face? I was trying to figure out what the bits on the under side of my London Taxi are before attempting to rearrange them into a different order in an attempt to replace the clutch. The natural next step being to call my uncle and dad and ask them to fly over to fix it.
I was a little perplexed when I saw these teeth showing. That doesn’t seem right somehow. From all my guesswork, these things are probably the gnashers on my flywheel, and I doubt they’re supposed to be smiling at the tarmac. I could be wrong on all counts. My mood barometer is now showing fear, uncertainty and doubt again. Every system I look at seems to suck me down an ever constricting rabbit hole, squeezing the dollars from my pocket along the way. Either an expensive education or a journey to enlightenment.
I haven’t identified an active London Taxi forum as yet, so I’m having to carpet bomb friends and family alike with questions and confusion.
Incidentally, my dad is now aware I’m under way and has sent me the following skype message:
“Good tip if you haven’t already removed the prop shaft flange is to mark it before you take out any bolts because it needs to go back as it was when you refit it, otherwise it might be out of balance and set up vibrations.”
I’m taking heart from this, as it tacitly implies that my dad believes I can identify a prop-shaft from a police line-up of assorted vehicle shafts.
With respect to the downward facing smile which sounds more like a side effect of comic McYoga than something you find under your taxi, I’m probably going to cover it up with a piece of a coca cola can bolted in place. I seem to remember something in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which suggested that such packaging fabrics were oft overlooked in basic repairs. While I can’t really recall anything about the subtext of romanticism vs. classical approaches in the box, they are perhaps mirrored in my own vacillations between “get a mechanic and enjoy driving it” and “fix the gubbins and truly know the beast”.
Right now, I’m veering towards “tow it to a few scenic spots, take a few photos and sell it on eBay”.
My dad has confirmed my flywheel suspicions:
“Yup, that’s the flywheel with the starter ring teeth showing ( the thing your starter engages with to turn the engine over).Is that oil or diesel dripping from the bottom of the bell housing? If it is oil you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
From your blurb and picture it seems as though some cunning fellow has removed the inspection cover to let the oil drip out. Now you have a conundrum – is it engine oil or gearbox oil, or both. Whichever it is it will mean an oilseal has gone west. This scenario would soak the clutch plate and make the clutch slip.
The prop shaft comes from the back axle to the back of the gearbox – in your parlance it would be a pipe of about 2 inch diameter that twists!! You have to drop it out of the way to give yourself enough room to pull the gearbox back out of the flywheel after removing the bell housing bolts. The top ones are usually hard to get at and take a heavy toll on your knuckles and patience. you also have to take the starter motor out before you get too far advanced.”
Yay! Validation!