Bedford TK

[mylesdw]

Just manual drains on the other three tanks and it turns out that the auto valve on the first tank has not been working for some time - it was half full of water.

I am a member of the truck and bus forum; there is a chap on there who REALLY knows his TKs, he was 17 years as an Experimental Vehicle Design and Test Engineer and a real mine of information.

 

[DAPPH]

Good news about the site & TK tech guy .


May I suggest that you get those tanks pressure tested before you use them as air tanks again ?
All that water is likely to have left you with a paper thin tank wall .. I seem to recall that they were 150 psi so the test should be around 300 psi there may even be test info plate on each tank
Even if you can't get an exact auto drain match there are plenty of other devices available for other trucks.

 

[mylesdw]

With the cab off and engine out the chassis looked increasingly shabby compared with my lovely new cab so I decided to bite the bullet and strip it down for blasting and painting; I was hoping not to bother but there you go.

There are a LOT of bits to remove and in particular a lot of pipework. I drew diagrams and got to point where I think I understand how it all works before starting dismantling it all. I am taking loads of photos of where everything goes and then using Windows Paint to label the photos.

Here is an example of the photos for a single air pipe. It seems very anal I know but I am also sure that I will never remember how to get it back together any other way.














Then there is a list of pipes in a spreadsheet

 

[mylesdw]

In case you ever wondered how many air pipes there are in a TK...

...the answer is 34!

 

[diff01]

Great work on labelling all the pipes, the diagram for the air system is interesting too (the compressor on mine sounds sick, I have considered pulling it down, but for now, it's working).

You will really know your truck after this, if you can get it all back together....!!??

You made a point about seeming a bit pedantic, but if your method works in your head, you have a good chance. An experienced mechanic could tell you how they would do it, but they would leave out 100 things you will need to know they would assume would be common knowledge (I have made an assumption here that you are not an experienced mechanic).

No matter how close you feel you will be to the end of this job, you will need a big push to finish it.

Go hard man!

 

[DAPPH]

Even experienced maniacs do silly things like putting a pipe on back to front and end up wondering why it is out of line when everything is being tightened from loose fit hand tight to spanner tight ...guess how I know ??

Due to the fact of you having to sleep and life's events , those labels & pictures will be worth their weight on gold during the reassembly.

 

[mylesdw]

Turns out that modern practice is to use nylon pipe and brass fittings. No messing about with flaring tools or pipe benders; it just pushes together and you can even get different colours of pipe! Deep joy - I may not have to put any of those metal pipes back in.

 

[Cyberprog]

Sounds like a far better idea!

 

[Robotstar5]

Turns out that modern practice is to use nylon pipe and brass fittings. No messing about with flaring tools or pipe benders; it just pushes together and you can even get different colours of pipe! Deep joy - I may not have to put any of those metal pipes back in.

Depends if you want to keep it original or not?.

 

[mr migwire]

push fit T and elbow fittings are a god send especially when your refitting all the pipes, used them at work a fair bit for air to hydraulic actuators and pto switches,
but as robo says it depends on how origional you want it......

 

[mylesdw]

I'm not too worried about original, especially underneath. The original pipes were pretty messy and I can do a far neater job, more reliable and easier to maintain with nylon. I may replace hard lines where they are very visible like the feeds to the brake servo.

I can't see the point of original just for the sake of it when there is something better to use. If I were doing a classic car I would not dream of leaving points ignition in...

Current plan is to turn the whole thing into a motor home when it's done.

 

[DAPPH]

I'd check out the legality /road safety inspection passes/standards of using plastic pipes on the air brake pressurized system at 120 psi especially if you are going to hot places .

I get the strange feeling that they will only be allowed in certain places less likely to being damaged .

 

[mylesdw]

The chap from the parts shop said that the first 1.5m from the compressor has to be metal for just that reason but the rest just runs in the chassis and is not subject to heat and quite well protected.

 

[mylesdw]

Does anyone know of a clutch master cylinder with a bore 1.25" - 1.5" and a stroke IRO 40mm? Probably a truck part with that bore. I'm looking to fit an air servo to the clutch so the system changes from purely mechanical to air/hydraulic.

I already picked this servo unit up cheap -

 

[mylesdw]

The shear destructive power of a socket set and a Christmas break -

now ready for steam cleaning followed by blasting.

 

[mylesdw]

Slightly out of sequence I'm afraid.

With all the pipes out, some good weather and a decent Christmas break it was time to do the final strip-down.


I built a wooden frame that supports the chassis rails





Then off with the front axle








And finally the bare bones ready for steam cleaning, blasting and painting











The axles I will probably just clean and put them back on after the chassis has been painted. I don't really want to get involved with dismantling them all; I'm not building a 'show' truck







I'm hoping that the new-looking caps and grease nipples means that the king pins have been replaced not too long ago ?

 

[mylesdw]

Unusually for me I decided simply to pay someone to blast the chassis and it turned out to be a good call because the whole thing was blasted and primed in about three hours; it would have taken me weeks! especially since the existing paint turned out to be very tough.
Paul and Chris from Blast Tech NZ did a great job - really thorough. Paul recommended I made up a see-saw on two oil drums so that he could easily tip the chassis to and fro to get at all the angles








The blasting kit is all self-contained on a truck with a seriously large diesel compressor




Blasting nozzle with headlight is a great idea

Paul in action







Chris takes over for a session






As if by magic...










The pink primer is a good idea too. It allows them easily to see where they have been over the grey blasted surface without wasting paint. It's a two pack epoxy.

 

[mylesdw]

With the summer weather holding out I was keen to get the chassis painted. Once that was done the pressure is off and I can do some other jobs around the place too.

I put the chassis back on its spit and gave it two coats of the same paint that I used for the cab - International Interthane 990; its a two pack polyurethane and very easy to work with. The blue is my own mix which I call Sabler.














The spit allows the chassis to tip to and fro to get all the angles but it is bloody hard not to miss bits. I went round and round it from every angle and still noticed two or three bits that need more paint later in the day.

 

[mylesdw]

Does any one know the right way to remove the two springs that retract the brake shoes? I've done it various times (on cars) over the years but never what you might call elegantly and usually involving bad language and minor injury :-)

 

[Windy Miller]

I generally slacken off the adjusters and hook the shoes out of the slots. This takes the tension off the springs and they pop off with a bit of wriggling. Same at the cylinder end if there are springs there too.

Never had too much drama doing it that way!