Speed 25 / Speed 20

Travelling back from the IAD in Cardiff through France my Speed 25 developed some "siffling" driving noise as the French mechanic described it. When the wheels were taken down it was found that the driving plate on the left side had come loose some. It was refitted and the noise disappeared. Only some 50 kms later the noise reappeared to last the rest of the trip home but no apparent impact on the car's performance. When home we took down the rear wheels again and it was obvious that the left drive plate was grinding against the the brake drum due to loosened bolts and drive pins. These were ordered new for both sides from RT and fitted and no noise. Driving the car for about 40 kms after that the "siffling" recommenced but inspecting the wheels we could not find any obvious cause. Does anyone have a clue what might be causing the noise? It primarily appears when free wheeling.  Strangely enough driving my Speed 20 the other night there were similar noises going round curves. The wheels had been taken down when preparing for the local MOT. Could there be a common feature?  Additionally, on my Speed 20, after the Hobson telefuel gauge had been successfully put back to working with the magic red fluid I noted that the temperature gauge was showing  readings in the neighbourhood of 212 F. This drove me to dispair since I had fitted a new fan just to prevent overheating in a hot German summer at 35 C. However, the laser temperature reading showed no sign of overhaeting at all (some 85 C for the radiator) and this repeated several times. I concluded that ultimately the gauge reading was too high after the repair of the fuel gauge while the real water temperature was far from overheating. Is there a possible (mechanical or otherwise) link between the the fuel gauge repair and the temperature reading and how could it be rectified? It just makes me nervous to see the temperature rise and not really know if it is overheating or not. Posted by jofrey 27/10/2012 20:23:01

Ive had the  sifling sound on my Speed 20 twice on the rear left since RT fitted new drive pins and flanges earlier this year. The problem was one or more of the half nuts coming off the back of the pins and sitting on inside of the brake shoes / rolling around the inside of the drum. The first time I assumed that they hadn't been tightened properly but a few hundred miles later it happened again even after being nipped up properly. I refitted and tightened with copious quantities of thread lock in italy a couple of weeks ago and they've stayed tight during the trek home - I suspect vibration from a tired wheel bearing is the culprit as the other 3 wheels (with no perceptible bearing play) have not suffered the same fate - Posted by shaun matthews 28/10/2012 19:19:41

The drive dogs should be peened over once fitted to prevent the nuts coming off. Posted by Angus D'Arcy-Drake 29/10/2012 09:13:39

If the noise persists, check the accuracy of fit of the drive plates on the new studs. I have come across drive plates manufactured from a material too soft with rapid subsequent wear. They should be forged to give sufficient resistance to wear.  If there is no wear, the problem is most likely to be worn wheel corrugated centres due to running (wobbling) for too long on worn drive plates and pins. This wear causes the corrugated wheel centre to eventually 'bottom' against the face of the drive plate instead of being suspended on the 'cone' part of the drive plate clear of the base of the drive plate. Only real cure here are new wheels or wheel centres.  With experience it is possible to 'gauge' the amount of wear of these parts by the amount the hub-nut has to be driven up to secure it!  Nick Simpson Posted by Nickalvis 30/03/2013 20:49:00

Hi All,  there was some silence over whistling noises from the rear wheels for over a year as I did not use the Speed 25 to join the 2013 IAD. But the problem persisted when driving only short hauls at home. In October last year the car had to be MOT (TÃœV) tested and the front wheels bearings were supposed to have excessive play. This was checked upon and it turned out there was no play on the wheel bearings at all but the butterfly nuts on both front wheels allowed the wheels to "float" some resulting into unacceptable play. This was corrected on the spot and the car passed the test without any problem. Also the whistling noises had disappeared. The noises apparently came from the front and not from the rear wheels but driving where echoed back to appear as if they came from the rear wheels. But now driving the car for several outings the noises are coming back. Could there be a continuous issue with the front wheel buttefly nuts coming loose after a while and need to be tightened regularly? Thanks for any comments. Posted by jofrey 26/05/2014 13:54:50

Can anybody advise me concerning a failed temperature gauge.  A company name would be much appreciated. Graham Posted by langford 03/08/2015 11:01:07

Speedy cables maybe able to repair. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.speedycables.com">http://www.speedycables.com</a><!-- m -->  Never used them yet so cannot comment on price/quality etc.  Chris Posted by chhym 06/08/2015 13:41:03