Model 36 Chaincase help

[Rupert-Trigg]

Hello all.

New to AJS ownership following the death of my father I have his Model 36/16.

On the bike there seems to be a lot of oil lost through leakage from the chaincase. My initial thoughts are change the seal but I have some questions first if anyone could help?

Could you confirm: (018652AD) SEAL FOR TIN CHAINCASE. ALTERNATIVE DESIGN is the correct one.
How much oil and what type should be in the chaincase?
There is a bar that the left footrest bolts onto. Should there be any sort of seal around this hole as it looks very open to letting oil out (see attached photo)

Any help much appreciated. I quite happily work my way around Japanese and German bikes, not so sure about 80+ year old British bikes!!

Regards

chaincase-smaller.jpg

[dave16mct]

Yes this is an alternative design which works very well. It isn't in one loop. You will have to trim a little from the length and put the join at the top. You will also have to fit a washer or two on the inside of that through bolt. Doesn't the short brake pedal fit on that? I would put a fibre washer on the outside to seal it. Only put in enough oil to just touch the very bottom of the chain. SAE 30 or similar is OK. Some just use 20/50.
Dave.

[Rob Harknett]

Sorry to hear your father has died, I believe his name was Robert.
The bike is a 1936 model 16 ( 350 OHV coil ignition ) I do not know where you got he pt. no. 018652 AD from. There is no parts list for 1936 AJS.
Use the 1935 & 1937 parts lists. 1935 is illustrated and will give you some clues what parts look like. Just a clue, as parts will differ slightly.
What the correct part is does not necessarily mean is what you need. The tin chain case may not be correct for 1936. If you have the correct tin chain case, the correct pt. no. for the rubber seal is 12302/9 which later changed to a new pt. no. 017200, then changed again to 016294. Remember the prewar tin chain case was a little different to post war. The pre war profile was thinner, so the rubber and metal band that covers it was thinner. So if you have the correct case, the metal band being a thinner profile, will not fit on the larger radius rubber. You may be able to get a post war rubber and band to fit. Both may need altering a bit, it could be too loose or too tight. apart from the cork seal on the inspection cover and the rubber, there are no other seals. Oil you use for the engine will be OK. Fill the case until the oil reaches the bottom level of the inspection cover hole. There are metal washers on the bar you refer to which is not for the footrest, that ( bar ) stud is for the rear foot brake lever. The foot rest fits on the squared stud. It looks like Dad welded a lug on the frame to accept a side stand.

[Rob Harknett]

Ashampoo_Snap_20 April 2020_10h15m08s_001_.jpg

Note 1. above is the short bake pedal Dave refers to. The foot pad is at the front, it is drawn back to front really. The long upright arm reaches up above the dome, so the brake rod clears the dome, the long rear drum lever ( 2 )points upwards, so the rod runs level / horizontal. The arm of the pedal will rest against the dome, this arm has a bit of rubber hose on it to stop it clonking on the dome when you take your foot off the brake. Cut couple of inches off you garden hose for a rubber. Paint it black.

[Stan Palmer]

Just googled 1936 AJS as I hadn't heard of the short brake arm. I was amazed to see that some models of the period had a removable clutch dome AND the small removable centre part to enable adjusting the clutch. Wonder why they reverted to the solid one later. The mechanical advantage of that brake lever is very low, could be negative. Did it work ok ?
Pretty bored at the mo. Did my back in on the gardening, wall building , rubble clearance etc. Already gone through my two issues of Real Classic from the new subscription.
Stan

[Rupert-Trigg]

Yes this is an alternative design which works very well. It isn't in one loop. You will have to trim a little from the length and put the join at the top. You will also have to fit a washer or two on the inside of that through bolt. Doesn't the short brake pedal fit on that? I would put a fibre washer on the outside to seal it. Only put in enough oil to just touch the very bottom of the chain. SAE 30 or similar is OK. Some just use 20/50.
Dave.

Hello Dave
Thanks. Yes, that was a typo, that is for the brake pedal, not the footrest!
Regards

[39speedtwin]

Robert, for the rubber band I would suggest getting one from Mrs Buckingham (see Jampot adds), I have one of these fitted to my 1937 Matchless, it seals well without leaks.
There should be a spacer on the footbrake shaft inside the chaincase

[Peter Morris]

In case you don't know, the manuals/parts lists Rob mentioned are available at http://archives.jampot.dk along with much much more.

You can use the equivalent Matchless parts books on the later bikes, but I am not sure that applies to 1936 bikes.

[Rupert-Trigg]

In case you don't know, the manuals/parts lists Rob mentioned are available at http://archives.jampot.dk along with much much more.

You can use the equivalent Matchless parts books on the later bikes, but I am not sure that applies to 1936 bikes.

Sorry to hear your father has died, I believe his name was Robert.
The bike is a 1936 model 16 ( 350 OHV coil ignition ) I do not know where you got he pt. no. 018652 AD from. There is no parts list for 1936 AJS.
Use the 1935 & 1937 parts lists. 1935 is illustrated and will give you some clues what parts look like. Just a clue, as parts will differ slightly.
What the correct part is does not necessarily mean is what you need. The tin chain case may not be correct for 1936. If you have the correct tin chain case, the correct pt. no. for the rubber seal is 12302/9 which later changed to a new pt. no. 017200, then changed again to 016294. Remember the prewar tin chain case was a little different to post war. The pre war profile was thinner, so the rubber and metal band that covers it was thinner. So if you have the correct case, the metal band being a thinner profile, will not fit on the larger radius rubber. You may be able to get a post war rubber and band to fit. Both may need altering a bit, it could be too loose or too tight. apart from the cork seal on the inspection cover and the rubber, there are no other seals. Oil you use for the engine will be OK. Fill the case until the oil reaches the bottom level of the inspection cover hole. There are metal washers on the bar you refer to which is not for the footrest, that ( bar ) stud is for the rear foot brake lever. The foot rest fits on the squared stud. It looks like Dad welded a lug on the frame to accept a side stand.

Thanks Peter. I was about to post to ask where a parts list was available!
Regards

[Rob Harknett]

In case you don't know, the manuals/parts lists Rob mentioned are available at http://archives.jampot.dk along with much much more.

You can use the equivalent Matchless parts books on the later bikes, but I am not sure that applies to 1936 bikes.

AJS & Matchless prewar bike are totally different There is no parts list instruction book for 1936 AJS know to exist.
This workshop manual published 1937 is best you will find to cover 1936. Do not pay too much attention to old artwork pictures.

http://archives.jampot.dk/book/Workshop ... dition.pdf