Jocko_51_B3B

bkahler, Sorry I didn't fully answer your question. I bought mine from Roberts three or four years ago.

I bought them from Roberts.

Merle, you're correct. I scratched around on the surface of the seal and twisted the rubber a little bit and I was able to spot the flanges of the sleeves embedded just below the surface of the rubber. The sleeve in the second hole at the top end of the seal was embedded the deepest (approx. 1/8 inch) and was the hardest to see. Thanks again. HOLE AT THE TOP END OF THE SEAL SECOND HOLE FROM TOP END OF SEAL WAS EMBEDDED THE DEEPEST HOLE AT BOTTOM END OF SEAL

Fortunately I found (and kept) one brass sleeve when I took the vent windows apart. I forgot how it came out so now I'm wondering about its purpose and location. If someone has a picture showing the exact place to installed them would help clear up the mystery.

I did not know that the fuel gauge needs to be grounded (should have read the service manual). My gauge quit working a while ago and I finally got around to troubleshooting it. I checked the fuel sending unit rheostat but got zero ohms in "F" position and 135 ohms in "E" which are OK. I checked the gauge and got a reading of 26 ohms across the two terminals which is good. Then I saw the comment above about grounding the gauge. When I grounded it the gauge came back to life. I added a separate ground wire for insurance to keep this from happening again. I was not able to find a fuel gage from the Pilothouse vendors I normally use. I wonder if they are still available.

JB, I ordered the Auveco 17264 copper gasket you recommended, the one that seals the T-handle at the top cover of the oil canister. It worked great and fits perfectly. No more leak and I still have nine left! Here's where I found them: https://autobodyclips.com/product/17264/ Jocko

Very interesting thread. My B3B also has the Deluxe canister. Until I took it apart I didn't realize the T-handle has a built in bypass check valve or that it needs a soft copper washer under the T-handle! What brought me to this thread in the first place was a problem that occurred with oil leaking out around the rubber gasket under the lid of the canister and also past the copper gasket on the T-handle. I was running the engine in the garage when the leak happened and and I lost about a quart on the floor before I shut it down. My first thought was that the canister might be over-pressurized by a blocked outlet line. I checked the line and fittings and they were clear. Then I thought that the pressure relief might be stuck closed possibly shutting off return flow to the oil pan, but the spring and plunger are well oiled and move freely. My oil pressure is a steady 40 psi which tells me the relief valve works correctly. I kind of doubt the rubber gasket was pinched but I'll double check that when I put it back together. I used a #0 phillips and some carb cleaner to clean the bypass check valve in the handle. Some black stuff came out but it moves OK and the spring action is good. The copper gasket looks to me like it separated into two parts as seen in the last photo. I'm not sure if the copper "ring" that is still wrapped around the T-handle is a separate part (and meant to be there) or is just a piece of the copper gasket that split off. If anyone knows, please add a comment. Maybe a generic gasket from the hardware store will fix the leak at the handle. Thanks for an interesting thread.

I opted for the original style spark plug wires on my B3B. What makes me question them is how loosely they fit onto the spark plugs. I've tried crimping them this way and that way with a plier but as soon as I push them back onto the plugs they wiggle around just like before. Is this normal? Shouldn't good plug wires snap down and fit tightly? In case I decide to try different wires, has anyone had really good luck with another brand?

I noticed a very small leak from the base of the oil pan dip stick support plate (or whatever it's called). To repair it I thought of melting a bronze brazing rod around the edge of the plate on the outside of the pan. But I also noticed a raised stamped bead on the inside of the pan where the plate is mounted. I'm wondering if that raised bead makes room for a gasket that was put in place before the support plate was spot welded into place. If I braze the outside edge the heat would probably destroy any gasket that might be sandwiched under the bead. Brazing would stop the leak, but the disadvantage of brazing is it would change the stock appearance of the oil pan. Then again, maybe there is a better solution. I just don't know what it might be. I would rather put up with a very small leak than try drilling out the eight spot welds just to replace a gasket that might not even be there. Has anyone ever removed this bracket? What's behind it if you have? Is there a good solution to a leak at this location?

Tom, Out of interest and to further my understanding, how exactly did you connect the RED and BLACK leads to the coil? Jocko

After doing some looking into it, there seems to be some doubt and confusion about how to hook up a dwell meter to a 6V positive ground system. That was true for me too. I had bought a used dwell meter on eBay a long time ago but only last week decided to try it out on my B3B. I searched around for how to hook up the red and black leads to a 6 Volt positive ground electrical system but I kept reading answers like "just reverse the leads" without understanding anything about the connection or why the leads need to be reversed. So I tried to figure it out based on common sense (which isn't always trustworthy I know) and then hoped to find explicit confirmation somewhere as to whether I was right or wrong. After staring at the circuit, drawing pictures, and scratching my head for a while I came up with this: RED lead must go to BATTERY POSITIVE BLACK lead must go to POSITIVE TERMINAL OF THE COIL (the coil terminal that has the wire connected to the distributor.) If I'm wrong can someone please correct me. But earlier today I found a comment by busycoupe in the following p15-d24 thread that backs me up: If you don't care how something works but only care about making something work by following step by step instructions, then the following might not interest you. For me, I like knowing the "why" (if possible) not just the "how to". True understanding goes a long way IMO. Let me know if my understanding below is flawed. That's how we all learn. My logic was that the RED lead must go to the most positive point in the circuit (which is BATTERY POSITIVE) just because RED usually means positive. The BLACK lead must go to the most negative possible point that can provide an ON-OFF signal for the meter to interpret as dwell which must be the POSITIVE terminal of the coil because that is where the coil connects to the points. It seems ironic that the POSITIVE terminal of the coil actually gets hit with a large NEGATIVE spike when the points open but that's what I think happens. As I see it, when the points close electron flow goes out from the (-) terminal of the battery into the (-) terminal of the coil, through the coil, out the (+) terminal of the coil, through the closed points, and finally to positive ground back to battery positive. But when the points open, electron flow through the coil cannot stop immediately because the magnetic field in the coil primary takes time to collapse. So for an instant the electrons must keep flowing out of the (+) coil terminal and continue piling onto the condenser causing it to spike highly negative until the points close again. Somewhere I read that in later 12V systems the condenser voltage can go as high as 600 Volts. Since this is electron flow, the condenser voltage must go hundreds of volts negative.

Does the parts manual specify the thickness somewhere? I can't find a reference to 1/16 or 3/32 in mine.

bkahler, My parts book doesn't say anything about the seal thickness so I'll go with 3/32" thick neoprene as you suggest instead of the 1/16. 1/16 was just a guess on my part. A 3' x3' sheet should be perfect. Also, I don't think it would make sense for it to be proud either so I'll keep it just below the surface. Thanks to all for the replies. Jocko

As far as I can tell these L seals aren't being reproduced. I'm considering buying a 3' x 3' sheet of neoprene 1/16" thick, tracing the seals out, cutting them, and punching out the seven bolt holes. I'm curious about how others have handled this. The cost for the rubber (enough for both fenders) is about $20.

Just ordered the ferrule. https://www.moparpro.com/fuel-tank-ferrules/c202