- Thread starter mylesdw
- Start date
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
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Tquote="mylesdw, post: 480576, member: 21731"]A good question that because I had never heard that the TK caused Bedford's demise. The TK was simply replaced by the TL the TM and so on.
Engine access is really quite good with the side flaps open and it is only the very front of the engine that is awkward to get at. Removing the cab is not a huge deal, a decent mechanic with the right equipment would do it in 1-2 hours I reckon. Later in the project I'll be swapping the cab so I guess I will find out.[/quote]
Arragh darn fings ...Sheaps of Hip !
I have to disagree that they were anything like reliable , having worked on the dam things for 10 years or so in the military and as a civi in a haulage company .
The original MK .....They ate water pumps , we used to us a taped hack saw blade to cut the cowl over the pump via the gear stick hole and them self tap a plate over the cut after we'd changed the pump and bent the cowl back ( always drill the cowl before you cut it and peel it apart ) , the automatic drain condensing valves on the air tank used to rust up , brake anchor plates were often almost torn right off the axle we had a spate of probs where the holes were almost twice as long as they should be. Propshaft never seemed to last very long as the UJ's were always being replaced .
Doing a cyl head job away from a workshop on the MK was amusing to say the least .
The tilt cab suffered from cab release on bumpy ground if I remember correctly . They didn't like their spring hangers , but did love their king pins ..had to use a 30 ton dry liner cylinder jack , my special welded up hollow box frame my special made up dolly and a sledge to remove most of them after they been bathed with 2 x 150 watt bulbs for 24 hrs to warm things up a bit .
The electrics were not even remotely reliable ..
I'd only just started a driver & mechanic position before Crimbo in 1981 & coming back from Longbridge onein the early evening I pressed the dip switch to put main beam on an instantly all the lights died ....... about 60 yards from the brow of a hill that had a bend directly after the bridge.
I manage the bend but had to stop and throw up a wee bit further on & wait till I stopped shaking . I tapped the floor mounted light switch with a small hammer and the lights came back on so I drove home .
Told the owner about it and his comments were, " Yes it does that quite a lot " . Realizing what he was about I sought employ elsewhere the next day & left a week later at the end of my notice period , to a much better paid job working only one day a week ( Sunday 8 hours ) as a supervisor.
Engine access is really quite good with the side flaps open and it is only the very front of the engine that is awkward to get at. Removing the cab is not a huge deal, a decent mechanic with the right equipment would do it in 1-2 hours I reckon. Later in the project I'll be swapping the cab so I guess I will find out.[/quote]
Arragh darn fings ...Sheaps of Hip !
I have to disagree that they were anything like reliable , having worked on the dam things for 10 years or so in the military and as a civi in a haulage company .
The original MK .....They ate water pumps , we used to us a taped hack saw blade to cut the cowl over the pump via the gear stick hole and them self tap a plate over the cut after we'd changed the pump and bent the cowl back ( always drill the cowl before you cut it and peel it apart ) , the automatic drain condensing valves on the air tank used to rust up , brake anchor plates were often almost torn right off the axle we had a spate of probs where the holes were almost twice as long as they should be. Propshaft never seemed to last very long as the UJ's were always being replaced .
Doing a cyl head job away from a workshop on the MK was amusing to say the least .
The tilt cab suffered from cab release on bumpy ground if I remember correctly . They didn't like their spring hangers , but did love their king pins ..had to use a 30 ton dry liner cylinder jack , my special welded up hollow box frame my special made up dolly and a sledge to remove most of them after they been bathed with 2 x 150 watt bulbs for 24 hrs to warm things up a bit .
The electrics were not even remotely reliable ..
I'd only just started a driver & mechanic position before Crimbo in 1981 & coming back from Longbridge onein the early evening I pressed the dip switch to put main beam on an instantly all the lights died ....... about 60 yards from the brow of a hill that had a bend directly after the bridge.
I manage the bend but had to stop and throw up a wee bit further on & wait till I stopped shaking . I tapped the floor mounted light switch with a small hammer and the lights came back on so I drove home .
Told the owner about it and his comments were, " Yes it does that quite a lot " . Realizing what he was about I sought employ elsewhere the next day & left a week later at the end of my notice period , to a much better paid job working only one day a week ( Sunday 8 hours ) as a supervisor.
mylesdw
Member
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- 794
After being a bit slack for the last month or two (actually putting some extra lights and sockets into my workshop) I finally got the chassis parked up where it won't be too much in the way and took the old cab off. Summer is coming in this part of the world so it does not matter too much if it is all parked out for a few months.
It was a much quicker job than I expected, bring out the imperial spanners -
With no windscreen fitted all you need is some forks on the front-end loader and a plank...
The coolant came out clean as a whistle which is encouraging considering how many years it's been in there!
I marked some pipes with paint and took plenty of photos.
It was a much quicker job than I expected, bring out the imperial spanners -
- Remove pedals (2)
- Unplug wiring loom
- Disconnect steering column
- Disconnect earth strap
- Disconnect engine stop cable
- Disconnect throttle linkage
- Disconnect radiator filler hose
- Disconnect air filter and breathers (2)
- Remove gear lever
- Disconnect handbrake pipes (2)
- Disconnect emergency brake valve pipes (2)
- Disconnect speedo cable
- Disconnect pipes to brake pressure gauges (2)
- Remove alternator regulator
- Remove cab bolts (4)
With no windscreen fitted all you need is some forks on the front-end loader and a plank...
The coolant came out clean as a whistle which is encouraging considering how many years it's been in there!
I marked some pipes with paint and took plenty of photos.
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,181
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Put plenty of a light oil,based nut loosener penetrating fluid on those air threads & any other nut for a day or so before you undo them and be very very careful when you try & put them back a slight misalignment can give you hours of head aches & misery .
I had 23 missile transporter trailers with a three line braking system on them to look after in part of my fleet and boy Oh boy they did my head in some days.
I took to using a bit of angle iron and scribed alignment marks for some six inches back and across the unions on the pipes at junctions & unions as it's not much fun having removed 10 or so pipes to get at things and finding that pipes 9 & 10 on the refit will never ever align , even if everything is hanging slack in nuts , unions & mounting brackets / clips .
I had 23 missile transporter trailers with a three line braking system on them to look after in part of my fleet and boy Oh boy they did my head in some days.
I took to using a bit of angle iron and scribed alignment marks for some six inches back and across the unions on the pipes at junctions & unions as it's not much fun having removed 10 or so pipes to get at things and finding that pipes 9 & 10 on the refit will never ever align , even if everything is hanging slack in nuts , unions & mounting brackets / clips .
mylesdw
Member
- Messages
- 794
Thanks Dapph I'll do that. Can you explain your marking scheme with the angle iron a bit further please; I'm a devil for taking things apart thinking that I will remember how they went and then later when it comes to reassembly...
I have tried several times to draw a diagram for the air system but even on a simple old truck it is bloody complicated! Down the side of the engine along the chassis is just a mass of oily pipes and valves. It's almost impossible to track them through.
The front area of the chassis is a bit rustier than I though so I'm thinking of lifting the engine out and blasting/painting the chassis
I have tried several times to draw a diagram for the air system but even on a simple old truck it is bloody complicated! Down the side of the engine along the chassis is just a mass of oily pipes and valves. It's almost impossible to track them through.
The front area of the chassis is a bit rustier than I though so I'm thinking of lifting the engine out and blasting/painting the chassis
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,181
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Cut a three inch lump out the middle of a 9 inch length of 1" or so angle on both sides of the angle leaving a 1/4 thick web down the middle to make a bridge over the union /joint so the angle iron will lay on the pipe on at least one side . Lay the angle along the pipes , hold it tight to the pipework and scribe the alignment lines along the edge that is in full contact.
With the engine & gear box out everything is a doddle to do .
Putting cable ties on pipes say red blues whites & yellows in singles twos etc and combinations , perhaps even attaching bits of white plastic with the joint number deeply scratched in also helps then making photos from above will also be useful .
In truth there aren't many air pipes on your truck version. Those missile trailers I mentioned with an auxiliary ailtr line independent of the foot brakes operated with a braking hand control air valve were something else I can tell you .
re:- The gungy chassis .
I've worked on 50 yr old plus night soil , sludge gulpers , some had never ever been cleaned under the body since they were made Occasionally someone put a new engine gear box or axle on them but never cleaned anything .
I had to do a deep level inspection of a dozen or more after a fully filled one shed its tank in a busy city center killing a taxi driver when it landed on his taxi .
here's how I went about it :-
Give it a good spray with gunk grease remover or similar using a pump up garden sprayer that you can throwaway if it ruins it . Get dirty and use a 2 inch stiff paint brush to work it in over all areas . Leave over night , re gunk it , work it in again and the next day power wash everything off
( You might just get a little more than damp & dirty wear eye protection as well for you get lots of back splashes .
).
If you know of someone with a proper steam generator or hot water high pressure sprayer with a boiler unit in it or can hire one they are a godsend as the steam & water jet comes out at just under boiling point .
Using one of these will also help in taking off the flaked paint & rust , it will be really clean , the pipes & wiring looms are then easily traced .
With the engine & gear box out everything is a doddle to do .
Putting cable ties on pipes say red blues whites & yellows in singles twos etc and combinations , perhaps even attaching bits of white plastic with the joint number deeply scratched in also helps then making photos from above will also be useful .
In truth there aren't many air pipes on your truck version. Those missile trailers I mentioned with an auxiliary ailtr line independent of the foot brakes operated with a braking hand control air valve were something else I can tell you .
re:- The gungy chassis .
I've worked on 50 yr old plus night soil , sludge gulpers , some had never ever been cleaned under the body since they were made Occasionally someone put a new engine gear box or axle on them but never cleaned anything .
I had to do a deep level inspection of a dozen or more after a fully filled one shed its tank in a busy city center killing a taxi driver when it landed on his taxi .
here's how I went about it :-
Give it a good spray with gunk grease remover or similar using a pump up garden sprayer that you can throwaway if it ruins it . Get dirty and use a 2 inch stiff paint brush to work it in over all areas . Leave over night , re gunk it , work it in again and the next day power wash everything off
( You might just get a little more than damp & dirty wear eye protection as well for you get lots of back splashes .
).If you know of someone with a proper steam generator or hot water high pressure sprayer with a boiler unit in it or can hire one they are a godsend as the steam & water jet comes out at just under boiling point .
Using one of these will also help in taking off the flaked paint & rust , it will be really clean , the pipes & wiring looms are then easily traced .
mylesdw
Member
- Messages
- 794
I lifted the engine and gearbox
Had no idea that it would be so heavy. It is right on the limit of what the front end loader will lift. I will certainly need some help getting it back in again but there is a local chap with a hiab on a small truck so I may ask for his help.
The only casualties were the small unloader plastic hose to the compressor and the two front engine mounts that just fell apart.
Got straight to it and pressure washed all the chassis and pipework that was inaccessible with the engine in place. It is much improved just with a cold water blast but I may try and hire a steam cleaner, as Dapph suggests above, to give it a final clean once it is stripped.
Had no idea that it would be so heavy. It is right on the limit of what the front end loader will lift. I will certainly need some help getting it back in again but there is a local chap with a hiab on a small truck so I may ask for his help.
The only casualties were the small unloader plastic hose to the compressor and the two front engine mounts that just fell apart.
Got straight to it and pressure washed all the chassis and pipework that was inaccessible with the engine in place. It is much improved just with a cold water blast but I may try and hire a steam cleaner, as Dapph suggests above, to give it a final clean once it is stripped.
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,181
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Putting it back , set the forks high to reduce the leverage force them. Prop the forks at just infront of the rams with strapped / roped up timber and use a chain hoist hung via astrong chain from the back bar of the tines not the tines . It is a lot safer than a HIAB that may or may not creep plus you have a lot more control over things .
When it's high enough to clear things roll the chassis forward to insertion point and wedge chock all the wheels then lower the chain hoist .
When it's high enough to clear things roll the chassis forward to insertion point and wedge chock all the wheels then lower the chain hoist .
with a hammer in the direction of the arrow.
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If you can do it use 2 hammers on opposite sides, and leave the nut on by a couple of threads to stop the arm flying off and hitting you.
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,181
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
Taking the solid steel bar track rod off a 1953/4 Bedford RL GS cargo truck ..
For the vast majority of my military life I worked out side and usually alone in some isolated place .
One day I laid under the truck with my feet out the front . Undid the split pins, took them out , slackened of each ball joint nut 1/2 a turn and used a cut down 7 pound sledgehammer to belt the end of the steering arm eye so the shock went up the arm & shook the ball joint free. Clunk the right side came free , rolled to my left wallop ...Clunk! ,that came free too.
Put the sledge to my right out the way ,laid on my back and started to lift the track rod out.
Bugger it , it had stuck in the right side eye , the left side was free and it smacked me on the nose then swung up over my head , because I was laid on cobbles in a strong denim coverall the seam of the left shoulder acted like a fulcrum point . Crunch ! like someone cutting a big hard dutch cabbage with a big knife .
Nine years as a mechanic had made my hands curled , I couldn't straighten my fingers to let the sodding bar go nor bend my wrist enough for it to fall free.
Result ... it tore my left shoulder joint apart, my arm & shoulder blade ended up under my cervical spine, I was still passed out several hours later when someone found me.
It crippled me for the rest of my life I was only 27.
After the military health & safety inquiry, all units in our theatre of war got issued with a real dandy hydraulic ball joint splitter set and a set of four split forked ball joint splitting chisels .
Do take care on undoing any ball joint , if at all possible.... if you have to use the hammer method try and ensure that you are stood up or vertical when doing it . Remove the road wheels if necessary , sometimes even think of slipping a 3 tonne trolly jack close in on the track rod by the ball joint to put a little pressure on a ball joint o the shock loose method has the best chance of working.
When you come to removing the king pins ..
I welded up a four legged a lantern cage in 3 " , 1/2 " thick H section with a top hole for the kingpin to push up out
The bottom plate was 3/4 " so was the top , I put 3/4 2 thick webs in from each top corner to the guide ring that the ping pin would come through .
Then spent the next day carefully welding the thing up on every seam .
I designed it so that when hung over the king pin & aligned from underneath I could slide a 30 tonne cylinder press jack in & simply jack the pin out ..occasionally on TK's & the old WW2 wartime QL's even this was not enough so the oxy..spanner was used to heat the area up before applying the pressure again .
A couple of times I even had to do all this and give it a bit of assistance with a seven pounder to get things moving .. Which usually meant one hell of a bang once the hammer blow had landed , the pin came out like an artillery round .
So if you resort to the cylinder press in any form , cover the top end with plenty of old jackets, or carpet etc to stop anyone getting hurt . If the chassis is lifted with wheels removed use proper strong enough for the job axle stands to support things each & every time ..
For the vast majority of my military life I worked out side and usually alone in some isolated place .
One day I laid under the truck with my feet out the front . Undid the split pins, took them out , slackened of each ball joint nut 1/2 a turn and used a cut down 7 pound sledgehammer to belt the end of the steering arm eye so the shock went up the arm & shook the ball joint free. Clunk the right side came free , rolled to my left wallop ...Clunk! ,that came free too.
Put the sledge to my right out the way ,laid on my back and started to lift the track rod out.
Bugger it , it had stuck in the right side eye , the left side was free and it smacked me on the nose then swung up over my head , because I was laid on cobbles in a strong denim coverall the seam of the left shoulder acted like a fulcrum point . Crunch ! like someone cutting a big hard dutch cabbage with a big knife .
Nine years as a mechanic had made my hands curled , I couldn't straighten my fingers to let the sodding bar go nor bend my wrist enough for it to fall free.
Result ... it tore my left shoulder joint apart, my arm & shoulder blade ended up under my cervical spine, I was still passed out several hours later when someone found me.
It crippled me for the rest of my life I was only 27.
After the military health & safety inquiry, all units in our theatre of war got issued with a real dandy hydraulic ball joint splitter set and a set of four split forked ball joint splitting chisels .
Do take care on undoing any ball joint , if at all possible.... if you have to use the hammer method try and ensure that you are stood up or vertical when doing it . Remove the road wheels if necessary , sometimes even think of slipping a 3 tonne trolly jack close in on the track rod by the ball joint to put a little pressure on a ball joint o the shock loose method has the best chance of working.
When you come to removing the king pins ..
I welded up a four legged a lantern cage in 3 " , 1/2 " thick H section with a top hole for the kingpin to push up out
The bottom plate was 3/4 " so was the top , I put 3/4 2 thick webs in from each top corner to the guide ring that the ping pin would come through .
Then spent the next day carefully welding the thing up on every seam .
I designed it so that when hung over the king pin & aligned from underneath I could slide a 30 tonne cylinder press jack in & simply jack the pin out ..occasionally on TK's & the old WW2 wartime QL's even this was not enough so the oxy..spanner was used to heat the area up before applying the pressure again .
A couple of times I even had to do all this and give it a bit of assistance with a seven pounder to get things moving .. Which usually meant one hell of a bang once the hammer blow had landed , the pin came out like an artillery round .
So if you resort to the cylinder press in any form , cover the top end with plenty of old jackets, or carpet etc to stop anyone getting hurt . If the chassis is lifted with wheels removed use proper strong enough for the job axle stands to support things each & every time ..
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
- Messages
- 7,181
- Location
- Near to Cross Hands Llanelli SouthWales GB
That looks about right are there no condensate auto drains on all the tanks ?
often they are seized or when freed up start leaking
This website may be a source of sound info for some members may well have workshop manuals you can look at on line WWW. truckandbusforum.com
Make sure you have all the info such as cargo /body type & chassis numbers & of course plenty of pictures for them to look at .
often they are seized or when freed up start leaking
This website may be a source of sound info for some members may well have workshop manuals you can look at on line WWW. truckandbusforum.com
Make sure you have all the info such as cargo /body type & chassis numbers & of course plenty of pictures for them to look at .
