Wayne's Triumph Trident 750 engine overhaul by GrandPaul

[grandpaul]

"Some assembly required"

It's not TOTALLY disassembled, valves are assembled to head, 2 of 3 carbs somewhat assembled, cams in the timing case, rockers in the rockerboxes, clutch pack bolted up, other miscellaneous subassemblies not fully apart, but that's basically what a pushrod triple looks like inside.

All the scraping & scrubbing is done, time to start back together with it...

 

[otherwise]

Hey GP, haven't you noticed that piece that's missing?

 

[CarlS]

My first ever view of the the old triple disassembled.

 

[grandpaul]

Hey GP, haven't you noticed that piece that's missing?

HA! You noticed!

The choke slide spring for the #2 carb.

 

[CarlS]

LOL! You guys are funny.

 

[Silli]

That is a fabulous and very informative photo. Thanks GP.

 

[grandpaul]

One key-click. That's all it takes to wipe out detail photos from 5 hours of work on the bottom end re-assembly.
I thought I knew what I was clicking when transferring photos from my camera chip to my computer, but must've had all the files highlighted when I thought I was selecting only one duplicate, out-of focus photo, and I hit the delete key.
What you would have seen was a photo of the bare cases with new bearings before and after the oven @ 250 for 15 minutes (drop-out, drop-in), then one of the bare center section of the crankcase sitting carefully in the vice, then another with the center rod installed on the crank and the crank in place, then another with the main caps snugged in place, then another with the timing side rod in place, then another with the timing side case installed, then another with the drive side rod in place, then another with the drive side case installed.
Instead, you see this:
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Long day...

 

[grandpaul]

AHA! It turns out I had snapped a couple of shots with my iphone before deciding to use my camera, so at least I got these:

My easy trick for removing drive sprockets - set on a section of chain and clamp it in a vice, then loosen away-

Absolutely bare starting point (drive/left side)-

(timing/right side)-

 

[grandpaul]

Completed bottom end (drive/left side)-

(timing/right side)-

Down the throat-

Comparison of pre / post polishing-

 

[CarlS]

I like your method of removing the drive sprocket.

That polishing came out so very well!

 

[DaveM]

The polishing is great and I am glad you got a few shots with the iPhone

 

[grandpaul]

Yeah, it's $39.95 for the software that would have rescued 6 useable photos, not worth it. (trial version showed thumbnails of the pix, but has the rescue feature disabled)

 

[grandpaul]

What can I say, it was grating on me, then I remembered one of the photos was fairly important, so I took the plunge.

Okay, crank with center rod in place-

Timing side rod in place-

Just by repetition, this was the exact amount of 515 needed-

 

[grandpaul]

Drive side rod in place-

(already posted shots of both cases closed, and top shot)

Oil pump disassembled, replaced main impellers with shaft-

That's it, up to speed; gearbox next

 

[Sea Dog]

Informative pics Carl. I note you use Loctite 515 flange sealant on the cases. With your many rebuilds, have you had 100% sealing success with it?

 

[grandpaul]

Informative pics Carl. I note you use Loctite 515 flange sealant on the cases. With your many rebuilds, have you had 100% sealing success with it?

It's actually the first time I use 515, I used to use gray RTV silicone. I've had great success with it (near 100%, but sometimes you miss an imperfection and that's that), we'll see how the 515 does...

 

[grandpaul]

Typical easy bearing swap (in this case, tranny main bearing, also works for crank mains, etc.): pop the bearing in the ice box in a ziploc and start warming up the case area where the bearing goes with a propane torch, nice and gently.

Once it's too warm to touch, fetch the bearing in a bowl of ice and re-fire the torch, wave it around a while till it's nice and hot, then pull the bearing out of the ziploc and pop it in place. In a worst-case scenario, you might need to give it a few light taps with a hammer handle.

All new rollers and seal-

 

[grandpaul]

Tranny main seal with carrier; so many details about the Trident are much more refined than the Bonnie...

Trident engines are so much easier to fiddle the trany with, just stand 'em up on thier nose! The 5-speed cluster slips right in like a Bonnie 4-speed, due to the deeper inner cover that gives you room to work. You CAN'T do that with a Bonie 5-speed! Piece of cake-

Cover is much easier to slip on while you index it in 1st gear-

 

[grandpaul]

Kickstart gears installed and nipped up, very near zero end float on the mainshaft. Bent over locktab-

New bushings in the tranny cover make a huge difference in precise shifting and easier kickstarting-

Cover installed, almost perfect except the extra long top screw is a slot-head where the rest are pozi-drive (fat phillips)

 

[grandpaul]

Pistons in various stages of cleanup. Not pictured are the undersides that got a fair scrubbing but not polished-

Piston rings installed, light smear of oil and hose-clamped up for slipping into the bores; note solid copper base gasket with a smear of copper-kote-

Cam followers installed and cylinders all set to drop in place; Tridents have a generous chamfer, so it makes it easy-