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[martinrh]

I've been putting off changing the front section of exhaust for a while as I didn't fancy getting a hacksaw blade in the gap by the manifold.
The fumes have been getting a bit much for the more sensitive members of the family though so I tackled it last night.
It was cold and dark but not wet and my 'tactical onesie' boiler suit kept me warm.

Amazingly the nuts came off with hardly any effort, no sawing or grinding needed!
I had to jack the front up to get the old pipe out and the new one in but no real problem.
I was just congratulating myself on my mechanical skills when I dropped the very last shiny new brass nut onto the chassis rail.

Who designs a chassis with a 1" hole in the top!!!
After a hour with mirrors and a bit of wire, I gave up to sit by the fire and sulk.

So I have a brass nut inside my chassis, do I:
    leave it to rattle around for ever, knocking off bits of galvanizing ?
    squirt sealant at it to try and hold it in place at least?
    Try again tonight with wire, or gum on a stick?
    Start removing bits of wing to get better access?

And any idea why the hole is there in the first place???

I'd feel better if I thought it had a purpose other than to frustrate owners!

[nathanglasgow]

Vacuum cleaner with a bit of garden hose bodged onto the end and suck the nut out(oo'err misses). Seriously tho' it'll not do any harm to the galv and would probably just settle somewhere and not rattle.

[w3526602]

Hi,

I think it is for the wiring loom, to feed the back lights. You might find another hole a few inches from the rear cross-member ...  but I can't remember if it is on top of the rail, or on the side.

When I ordered my first new chassis (Marsland S3 to fit my S1) I asked for the hole to be on the top of the left-hand rail, to avoid all the "muck and the blood, and the bullets, that drips out of the steering box, master cylinders, etc. Things always seem dark and sticky in that area. They responded by supplying a chassis with two LH top sections ... twice as many holes.

Doh! Memory is creeping back ... the S1/88" chassis had the wiring holes, at the rear of the chassis, on the side. The S3 had them on the top.... where you can't reach them.

Hmmm! Your brass exhaust nut must have fallen into the left hand chassis rail. I presume you are RHD? Do you have a matching hole on the other chassis rail?

Historical note. BMC, and it's off-spring designed their (our) cars so that one production line could handle both RHD and LHD  cars on one production line. European manufacturers needed a separate track for UK cars. Land Rover?

OT note. The RAF used Morris J2 15cwt mini-buses. (Think short nose Sherpa) In the 1960s, we had to send major components to a Maintenance Unit. On receipt, they would send us a new, or reconditioned item. So we removed and dispatched the Morris forward control steering box. In due course, the new steering box arrived. The mechanic lay on the ground and shoved it vertically up the front of the truck. There seemed no way of making it fit, and we didn't have anything to compare it with.

Several days passed before it dawned on us that the truck was RHD ... and we had an LHD steering box.  At that time we still had a BAOR. Over the years, things changed, so that we could buy our spares from the local (approved ) main dealer. The service from one main dealer was so bad, that the contract was given to a one-man business operating out of a tin shack.

602

PS ... Your hole should have had a grommet ... but no grommet shown in my parts book.

[Wittsend]

Shouldn't worry about it - the brass ain't going to rust, which is why we use them on the exhaust.

If you are really bothered one of the many endoscope devices that plug into your phone should find it. These things are not that expensive and can be quite useful for probing all sorts of things.


 

[martinrh]

Excellent, thanks all.
Good idea about the hose, I could even try the more powerful 'indoor only' hoover :-)

Also good to know it won't affect much, if I can't get it out with a hoover, I'll leave it in.

Suggestions from work including turning it upside down and shaking, and filling the chassis with mercury to 'float it out' were less helpful. :-)

Wiring loom makes sense, my loom runs down the other side.

If/when I get it out, I'll stick a bung in it

[w3526602]

If you are really bothered one of the many endoscope devices that plug into your phone should find it.

Hi Alan,

When I was at RAF Sharjah (think Dubai) we had a Bedford 1-tonner thar kept suffering from absolute fuel starvation. We simply could not find anything wrong.

In desperation, we borrowed an endoscope from the air-frame bods, and had a shufti inside the petrol tank.  That's the last place you'd expect a naked lady to lurk.

Somebody had shoved a complete page from a "gentleman's sporting magazine" into the tank.

602

PS. Anybody ordering a new Richards chassis might consider asking for extra holes in the bottom of both chassis rails? Or how about one hole in the front blanking plates, behind the bumper, and another two in the rear cross-member? That should enable you to "hose thru", or even ... hang on, I've solved your dilemma ... just pour a pint of Waxoyl into your offending hole, preferably pre-heated, and on a warm day.