'64TR4 - Part 26 - Rear Brakes and Lever Shocks

I ordered some parts for the front suspension, the vacuum advance unit etc. and while we are waiting we could do some other jobs that do not require parts or we already have them. So let's take a look at the rear brakes and lever shocks.
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[@alexanderduncan4302]

If you have to remove a brake pipe, remove the master cylinder cap & refit it with a plastic bag so it won’t drain x! Regards, Sandy 🔧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@omphaloskeptic4989]

Elin, thanks for the clear, detailed explanations! Too many YT hosts 'wave a magic wand' and the job is complete. I view your videos as being truly educational.

[@iceman9678]

There are a lot of generous people out there that are willing to help when they see what you're doing. You're an inspiration!

[@bernarddegrasse8753]

Elin.I've got the same shocks (dampers) on my 1967 Morris Minor.I also undid the bottom nut and flushed out the old dirty oil by pushing the lever up and down.From the top hole I put in some new oil and flushed that out until new oil came out.I put the bottom nut back on. I then put new oil in the top till it overflowed out of the top hole.Then I again pushed the lever up and down until I was able to put no more oil in .This gets rid of any air.I did this until I couldn't get any more oil in.I didn't fill it right up to the top.I think its about 5 mm from the hole opening. Bernie

[@pda49184]

Great video again Elin.. Years ago the chap I worked with on Triumph cars always used to say that if we ever uttered the words ' Lever Shocks' in his presence, he would deduct 5% from our pay packets.. 😅.. Such was his hatred of these devices whom he swore were designed by Beelzebub himself and fitted to vehicles to torment and challenge his anger management to breaking point. I was very lucky not to have ever had to deal with them ! As always you found an inspired solution to their removal and reinstallation.

[@russbamsey]

Elin, your method of filling the shock is correct. Armstrong shocks use 20 wt hydraulic oil which has a metric number AW 68. This can be purchased at your favorite auto parts store, Canadian Tire, TSC/Peavey etc.

[@SteveSmith-bq9rk]

The shock absorbor bolts are probably intended for a good 'ol 'box spanner', they have thinner walls than sockets. Still available in the UK. My old Anglebox had Armstrong lever shocks, they always seemed to need topping up and even then didn't seem to do very much.

[@philtucker1224]

Elin: “and surprisingly, there are some items that we haven’t started that we HAVE finished!” 🤣😂

[@donprice9050]

I imagine the owner is just twitching waiting to drive this car. It will be like a different car than he had before, in a good way. Spring is coming!

[@markrobinson8539]

Time to buy a set of Whitworth/BSF spanners I think. I rarely get to use mine but it's a thrill when I do lol.

[@stevesutton1991]

Hi from me in Australia. I have to take you to task on this video Elin, sorry. I think it would have been good to have cleaned the back plate with a wire brush at least and to have wiped the excesd lithium gease off so as not to collect dirt and dust. The filler plug on the shocker is a quarter Whitworth.

[@kge420]

Quarter Whitworth is about 3”! Half Whitworth is 7mm! I had a set of 4 double ended wrenches and they didn’t fit anything on my MGA. Nothing about them made sense to me.

[@alanm.4298]

Ooooohhh! I think that hub puller works on TR4, too. Can I borrow it Elin? 😁 I agree with you, the Italia is the prettiest Triumph ever built. It's basically a TR3A underneath the Italian-made body. There were 400 built, actually. But you can still buy a new one from Revington TR. Neil has all tooling to make the body. For enough $, they'll build up an entire car. Or you can just buy the body shell and fit it to the chassis from a donor TR3A (and send me the TR3A body shell, for my TR3 "Beta" project... I already have a TR4 frame to go under it.) 😋 Those Armstrong lever shocks always amaze me, how well they hold up over the years. I ran into the same problem as you, getting the bolts out. Ultimately I replaced them with hex socket bolts and welded nuts to the back side of the brackets, to make removal much easier. You can "tune" the shocks with different weights of oil (motorcycle fork oil works, too). It's also possible to modify the valves. I seem to recall someone was making adjustable valves for them, too. The racing TR4s used a larger version Armstrong (DA10 vs DA9, if I remember correctly), but that requires replacing the entire bracket on the frame and beefing it up with some gussets.

[@jimshaver898]

Your solution for the shock removal was so excellent

[@dude36]

You go Elan!

[@TR4Ajim]

Back in the day they were called “emergency brakes” as hydraulic drum brakes weren’t very good (easily overheated). As brakes got better, including disk brakes, the term “emergency” was deemed to negative for sales. So they changed the name to “parking brake”, to hold cars in place. This also became less of an issue as automatic transmissions became more popular, and the transmission could hold the car when parked (to the delight of transmission shops everywhere).

[@alanm.4298]

But to rally drivers, they were "hand brakes"! I scared my ex a few times using mine. Today drift cars use them similarly.

[@TR4Ajim]

@@alanm.4298 To rally drivers, they’re the primary steering device!!!!👍

[@chrissummers2689]

Do you have a Whitworth wrench set? That's what you may need for the bolts on the dampers.

[@robertferrell8518]

Elin, thank you so much for mentioning my request for those arch tubes around the wheel large tubes in front, Wayback in your episode 47. I believe it was of the restoration for the 1966 GT six mine is also a Mark one just like the one you’re working on so the tubes are identical if anybody has a set of them I can sure use them. Thanks again for mentioning my request. That was super cool of you.!!

[@robertferrell8518]

If you were to ask me how brake lines around it on an H 1 Hummer, I don’t have a problem with it, i’m just a bit foggy as to the proper routing from the rear brakes all the way forward.

[@cheftush]

If I had 3 extra hours I’d just take longer naps 😉

[@philtucker1224]

Just rest that shoulder Dave! 🙏

[@BruceBoschek]

There is always so much to learn from these videos. Clever solution to getting the shock out. Thanks, Elin!

[@fredericmartin3593]

Cheftush, I don’t know if you know the Guy has a youtube video about renewing the shock oil … 😊 David Russell does it also on a MGB armstrong shock. it is a very easy procedure

[@philtucker1224]

🤣😂🤣😂

[@michaelstoliker971]

You really need to get a set of Whitworth wrenches and/or sockets for when you run into these things. Moss Motors sells them.

[@steveledger270]

Watching this again - I hate those freaking clips on the back of the wheel cylinders.

[@billgoin4004]

replace the bolts that hold the rear shock on with Allen head bolts

[@alanm.4298]

That's what I did. I also welded nuts to the back side of the mounting bracket. Made life much easier.

[@davidberlanny3308]

Well done, you got there in the end with those shocks absorbers, even though it was testing your patience. They certainly weren't designed for easy maintenance. Those leaf springs look like they need a good clean and oiling but where do you stop!! Great video, that book will make a great read. My favourite Triumph is the Vitesse, maybe one day ..... Good luck from Spain!!

[@johnsharonwhitaker9242]

thanks Elin. I needed the education on wheel cylinders and lever shocks in prep for starting on our early TR2 once winter clears out. I note ChefTush uses fork oil in the TR3 lever shocks. I presume it is motorcycle fork oil and it comes in various viscosities. Maybe thicker oil for worn shocks ? John in Manitoba.

[@peteredwards9147]

Fantastic as usual

[@oboeviolin]

I call the clips "keepers"

[@JBroezel]

Hey Elin, gr8 job as always!

[@edwardkendall3905]

Great video.

[@JohnCarey1963Jag]

A screwdriver as a wedge on the head against the shock body would hold it.

[@kirkmiller4584]

The shock body is a soft metal and screwdriver heads tend to just scrape off part of the metal. I just fought mine off this weekend. I think the guys that point out that British spanners have thinner walls have the best solution. Small vise grip helps.

[@railgun2880]

Hey Elin, you mention this at 30:30, and Chef Tush has put 30W fork oil in his levers a while back when rebuilding them. I've also read on some forums that you shouldn't exceed 20W or it might damage the seals / o-rings. I do want a firmer ride (already have 470lb springs from RG), but don't want to overdo it. Have any additional thoughts on this? I'm about to fill mine back up after a rebuild and paint, and already have 30w on hand, but having second thoughts. Thanks!

[@philtucker1224]

Where are your English size spanner’s Elin?

[@robertferrell8518]

Hello, Elin Rob here. I know you have a tremendous amount of experience with a GT6. I have a Mark one and my issue is with the brake line routing from the mass from the brake cylinder around the vertical link and going forward. I just don’t see anything in any publication that I have that shows the proper routing of the brake lines in the rear suspension or the front for that matter could you direct me to some published reference so that I can put my brake lines properly back where they belong…? I can see how some of it will go, but it’s to the initial brake lines going out of the brake cylinders themselves and how they’re routed to get back to where the main trunk is especially when one side I have a single cylinder one side goes from the passenger side over to the driver side then it’s got to hook to a block and then everything collects at the block and then goes forward😳😳😳 I’m truly at odds here I need some direction and help.

[@Patrick-gs3hs]

Hello, is it possible to convert a 1964 Triumph tr4 with rear leaf suspension to 2 shock absorbers? Thanks for the reply.

[@RustyBeauties]

I haven’t heard of a ready kit for that but I am sure it is possible if you are able to fabricate a bracket from the current shock mounts on the frame tot the top of the shock. The bottom of the shock will mount to where the current shock link mounts. There is a kit available for IRS so it needs to be something like that kit.

[@Patrick-gs3hs]

Thanks for the quick reply. Your videos are really good.

[@Canadian_Icecube]

I will preamble this comment by fully, 100%, admitting I know ***nothing***. But if there are 2 pistons and 2 screws, shouldn’t oil be added to both piston cylinders? Perhaps the piston cylinders are connected somehow … but if one is up, the other should be down and vise versa, not allowing oil to go from the top, to the other side? As mentioned, I know nada. So take it for what it is; ignorance in action from my part! Great video and I don’t even own a British car, I just enjoy them…

[@cheftush]

There is a valve in the bottom of the shock that allows the oil to flow back and forth into both cylinders.

[@RichardHeadGaming]

Hand brake is still called Emergency brake due to it being a secondary brake system if the hydraulic system fails. Anyone saying otherwise is just uninformed and thinking they know better.

[@alanm.4298]

"Emergency brake" (or "E-brake"), "parking brake", "hand brake"... It serves all three purposes. Modern cars with dual hydraulic circuits rarely see both fail at the same time... But you never know! The "parking brake" on my Land Rover is just that. It cannot be used as an E-brake. It is a single drum brake that's mounted on the rear drive shaft and if engaged while driving will destroy the gearbox or transfer case or both. Still might use it in a real emergency, but even then I'm not sure if a single drum brake is sufficient to slow and stop two tons of truck plus whatever weight it's loaded with at the time (it's rated for another ton).

[@Patrick-Inc]

I disagree with the owner on the side mirrors

[@alanm.4298]

I noticed the car didn't have them. They were a dealer installed option that cost extra, but you rarely see a car without at least the driver's door mirror. Personally I wouldn't want to be without them (California traffic!)

[@philtucker1224]

I remember back in the 60s most cars had them on the front fenders/wings ..