Weekend Workshop
Banish heat, noise and oily fumes from your interior
Transform your Triumph’s transmission cover.
Many Triumphs have a removable cover over the gearbox. This is a real blessing for clutch changes and other jobs that require gearbox removal, as it can be pulled out through the interior without disturbing the engine.
The downside is that Triumph’s accountants decreed that these covers should be made from cheap fibreboard. This flimsy material lacks durability and starts to fray around the edges where the cover clamps to floor and bulkhead. The factory-fit insulation was a glass-fibre-filled plastic bag inside the tunnel, which does little to reduce the transmission of heat and sound. The cabin becomes noisy, smelly and uncomfortably warm, as hot fumes leak around the cover’s edge.
The good news is that all this can be fixed in a few hours of fiddling – and for a very modest sum of money. All the usual major Triumph parts suppliers can provide new seal kits made from modern rubber (from £12) and fixing kits (from £24). They also stock complete replacement covers made from plastic or glassfibre (from £80), both of which seal better and last longer than the originals. The plastic covers are quite flexible, allowing them to deform and easily match the contours of floor and bulkhead. Glassfibre covers are more rigid and may require a little more adjustment to obtain a perfect fit. It’s not difficult, though.
Whether your cover simply needs new seals or you want to upgrade to a modern version, following this guide will banish oily fumes from inside your Triumph and make your cabin quieter, cooler and more civilised.