Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Hi,
Once again it is oil change time on my 1946 NG and I had to demolish the Sludge Trap to remove it. Has anybody come up with a remedy to this problem. The hex head of the Sludge Trap from Draganfly seems to be very soft, would anybody know of an alternative that is a bit harder.
After that little winge I must say that every time I remove the Sludge Trap there is sludge and debris in it so it certainly works like it should.
The NG is also getting a new Morgo piston pump,hopefully this is the right move.

Happy and Covid free New Year to all of you
Bob White.

Hi,
Club Single Spares sell a sludge trap with a metric head so you can use a hexagonal type socket to remove it.

Thanks mate.

Part of the problem seems to be that many sockets don't go fully onto the sludge trap nut. I use a slim 7/16" six-sided socket with the end ground flat to reduce the internal chamfer. It sits flush to the sludge trap flange and perfectly into the flywheel hole. It has worked successfully for me on several previously user-mangled sludge trap nuts - probably because it engages on the part of the nut not previously reached.

Also, I always use a T-bar to keep the socket square on the nut.

Happy New Year, Pete

Pete,
Thanks for the reply.
I have ordered 3 of the Sludge Traps from Single Spares and will hunt down a metric six sided socket to use with them which will be modified to your specs.
I like your idea of the T Bar as well. Very clever.

Thanking you
Bob White.

You mentioned a morgo pump. They are a well made product but don't increase the oil flowrate too much or you risk being worse off with oil leaks and the motor can actually run hotter and deliver less power, if it has excess oil there. Nev

Nev,
The pump is a Morgo plunger pump which I believe designed for the Ariel Singles. I am hoping it improves the return rate to the oil tank.
Thanking You
Bob White.

HI Bob, the morgo plunger oil pump will give you a lot better return to the oil tank and a good flow to the rockers i have got morgo plunger oil pumps on my ariel singles, and their is gear drive oil pump that morgo do, but wen i spoke to morgo about the two types of pumps they do, and they say you only need the gear drive pump if you are doing flatout racing

I swear by these surface-drive sockets (drive off the flats, possibly originally designed to cope with very rounded-off nuts/bolts).
They also accommodate more 'slop' in the fit than you'd normally expect - so my 7/16 A/F surface-drive socket fits the original Whitworth hex heads just fine, but has also never failed to remove even the most rounded-off and tight sludge traps that I've so far encountered.
SG

A few years ago (ah, maybe 15-20 or so...) I re-made a Triumph plunger Morgo pump into one to fit a Ariel.
At that time the current Morgo-Ariel plunger pumps where not made yet.
Did not use it afterall as I got wind of what Nev remarked on that the flow would be to large for a ball/roller bearing engine.
So I never really used it as I did not trust it. ( I could have sold it a few times but I did not dare)
It does however pee like a twenty year old into your oiltank!

Pictured below my DIY version of the Triumph-Ariel Morgo pump.
return plunger 12.4mm and delivery plunger 10.6mm
Does anyone on here have one of those 'new' Morgo Ariel plunger pumps to measure the diameter of the plunger to compare ?
I would like to know if this 'new' one has the same dimension plungers as the Triumph one I still have.
Brass pump body is shortened and slimmed on the contact flat. ofcourse plungers are shortened as well.
Behind the sliding block sits a small steel plate, that is needed to bring the sliding block nearer to the excenter on the camshaft.
(slimming the brass body can only be done up to a certain point as you dont want to break into the plunger chambers)
Bottom holes in pump body are elongated to match up with the Ariel holes.
The mounting holes need a small bit of clearing as the Triumph ones are a tiny bit closer together.

On the rotary pump :

Right when it was introduced by Morgo (long ago) I bought one of these Rotary pumps from them.
The remark/warning that those are only for racing was not given to me, I suppose a sale is a sale....
I took it off again for probably that very reason, although I cant remember really anymore

Another downside with that rotary pump for singles is that you have to grind off the excenter from the camshaft which is a rather irreversable thing to do.
Anyway, when I decided to take the rotary off again I was ofcourse faced with the problem that the excenter was gone.
Morgo had a solution for that ! (well...not!) they sold me a blind nut with a excenter.
Haha, that turned out to be a LH nut for a MkI SQ4 camshaft.
Thank you Morgo , but of course as everything in life,...my own fault. o.k. small rant over.