njjeeper

I looked at these but I don't see any place they offer to sell to the general public. Do you know of a reseller that is available to non-military folks?

Making major modifications like this could open you up to litigation if an accident happens and someone is hurt. Insurance companies love to find ways to avoid paying out a claim and a custom wheel modification is a great place to lay blame. I will watch this thread with great interest hoping someone will find a safe way to do this as I would like to have the run flat capability back as well. In my case it would be for some peace of mind during parades

The insert is only part of the runflat system on the Ferret. The real workhorse of the system is the original tire sidewall that is so thick it can hold up the wheel, even when flat. All the insert does is hold the bead against the rim without air pressure so it doesn't pull of while driving flat. Just keeping the rubber ring in there and using a standard tire does not get you a runflat tire for the Ferret.

Same here Andy. If I give the accelerator a couple pumps it would fire right away. Instead I don't touch the pedal, and I crank it till the oil light goes out. Then I hit the pedal and it starts. I do this mostly with the 2 speed generator in mind since oiling that before a start is indicated in the manuals.

Thanks! Here is an updated one from a few months ago. I redid the messed up stencils a few weeks ago but don't have a pic of that yet

I finally got my MOD request with the Merlin information for my Ferret. I have some evidence on the vehicle that it was in Gulf War 1 but I wanted to see what this group thought about the report. Looks like there was a transfer out of the 4th in the right time frame and then a transfer back in after the war. Not sure where the Scots DG was located at that time. Anyone have any insight or some experience reading these Merlin reports? Here is the link in case the screenshot doesn't come out: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/426150/response/1028523/attach/4/00EA85.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

What caliber bullet does the bren fire? I thought it was .30....

I believe that is the spot for the bracket that holds the .30 cal gun when stowed in the vehicle. There is another area towards your left foot where the other bracket goes.

It sounds like the relay/circuit is getting constant power when the head lights are on. This assumes it works right when the headlights are off, as you said. As I said before, the relay isnt wired right. At least thats where you should start checking for wiring problems. Once you verify that the relay is set up to only get fed from the master cylinder switch I would start looking at the junction block in the back to make sure you dont have a running light wire feeding a brake light.

This sounds to me like your brake light relay isn't wired right. Do you hear it clicking when you step on the brake?

Def no spring down there for the pedal. Mine had a similar problem and it just needed the "pipe on the level" trick as you described

Matt, pics of the new ride!

The Jolley kit is pricey but worth it. The points setup in my Ferret was just never quite right...

If anyone is in thier Ferret over the next few days, it would be great to hear someone else test like I am and see if they hear a difference from 1st to 5th. Just put the fwd/rev level in neutral and engage the gears from 1 to 5. Is 1 more quiet than 5? I took all the tins off and changed the older oil out for fresh which did quiet things down a bit. Knowing what somebody else is hearing may help me me decide if I am hearing a bad bearing or straigh cut gears....

You have to remove the gearbox mounts to drain the oil? There is an access port on the bottom that the manual says is for gearbox drain. Does that not work?

Ok, did some homework last night in the 30 degree weather As for pedal up procedure, yes, been done many many times. Noise is def inside the trans as I removed the tins and such for testing. What I found last night was the noise has to do with, i think, the output shaft speed of the gear box. I didn't hear it in gears 1 or 2 and started to notice it in 3. What I found last night was that the noise is there in 1 and 2. I just had to rev the engine really high to get the trans turning fast enough in that low gear to make the noise. In 5th the output shaft of the trans is turning at engine speed and that's where its the loudest. Also, if I engage 5th and then go to Neutral, the noise persists. The only way to stop the noise is to go into first or second at low RPM and slow the output shaft down. Also, after the trans warmed up the noise changed a bit. Much less of a bolt in a can and just more of a LOUD gear type noise. Kind of like a bad water pump bearing almost. In 5th gear, revving the engine the noise is really obnoxious. Doesn't change in pitch or anything, just gets louder. So, based on these new findings, is it possible that I just don't know what straight cut gears turning at high speed should sound like 2 feet from my head? Is it possible I need to flush and refresh the gear oil? Could I have bearing that crapped on the output side of the trans? Thanks for the assist everyone. I know its a winding road but hopefully the journey is worth it Here is the Ferret at Veterans Day here in the US

Well, for tools and skills I think I am am up to the task but who knows for sure. This Ferret was someone else's stalled project and I built it from an empty hull and about 30 bins of parts using only the manuals and the internet. That being said, the inside of the gearbox, while very well explained in the manuals is quite complex. The Ferret runs and drives normally. Brake bands in the trans are all below the surface of the adjusters. Oil levels look good and it doesnt get hot when run. Just that pesky noise. I think if I had a spare unit to take apart I could figure it out but I'm nervous to tear into the only one I have. Hence, why I am hoping to find some sage advice from folks who have been inside one of these things. That, or find someone with a spare take out they want to sell. From your pics, it looks like you have had one apart. Can you think of any parts that would turn in the higher gears that would not in the lower 2?

Well, with the fwd/rev lever in Neutral that disengages the trans from the road wheels and should isolate the gearbox. I have never had the trans apart and it doesn't look like its been torn into before. With either of the first 2 gears engaged, but the lever in Neutral there is no noise at any rpm. When the noise starts in 3rd/4th/5th gear, the sound doesn't change with RPM either. It's just a consistent rattle that is louder as the gears go up. I was hoping for someone with teardown experience to tell me what could be different about the 1/2 gears vs the 3/4/5 gears inside the transmission. Perhaps they ride on a different shaft, etc. I cant imagine sourcing a transmission in the US is going to be fun

Not sure if anyone has had a gearbox apart enough to assist but I am hopeful! Sitting in the ferret, engine running, forward/reverse lever in Neutral. With the level in neutral, I can select first, and engage and is quiet. Same for second gear. When I engage 3rd gear there is a rattle sound from the transmission. In 4th the rattle is much louder and in 5th its quite loud. Sounds like a metal bolt being shaken in a tin can. Its very repeatable and is never present in 1st or 2nd. Only begins to make noise in 3rd and then gets much worse in 4th and worst of all in 5th. I heard the same noise when in gear going down the road but thought it was normal. Since it makes the noise with the ferret stionary, I am concerned its something in the gearbox. Anyone know what could cause a noise like this that is so gear specific?

I have this one...looks and works awesome. http://www.evike.com/products/50809/

When I installed my Jolly kit I didnt touch the coil or resistors. I left everything as stock and just replaced the points plate. The original wire from the coil went to the jolly plate and a 24 volt hot wire I brought in through the vent tubes to the distributor hooked to the hot side of the plate. Everything I read leading up to the conversion(much of it written by Clive!) led me to believe there was nothing gained by changing coils and resistors. My ferret runs 100x better now than it did with the points. The only down side to the coversion is the crazy price for the ignition kit :shocked:

There is a vent on the top of each bevel box inside the hull. Its there so that as pressure builds within the box from heat, it can vent out rather than push oil past the seals. My guess is your vent is stuck open or is missing on that BB.

Hi Terry. I don't think the outer hub oil feeds the Outer tracta. The outer tracta housing has a fill plug up top and 2 level plugs but no drains. Since that housing doesn't turn, I don't see how you could drain the outer tracta oil. Unless the Hub feeds oil to the outer tracta. But if that's the case, why have the outer tracta fill plug and the level plugs at all? Plus, one of my outer tracta joints was nearly empty and the hub was full. So at least on that wheel station, I am sure the hub oil doesn't feed the outer tracta. Not to mention, the User manual states how to fill and check the outer tracta separate from the hub.

Thanks for the info! I did figure it out eventually. The fill spot in question is the outer tracta housing oil. The filler is on top of the housing, right behind the brake backing plate. Easier to get to with the tire off, large allen key fitting. There are 2 level plugs and you remove one(whichever is easier to get to depending on the wheel station) before filling from the top. They level plugs are each 1/2 way down the outer tracta housing on the front and rear. 15/16th wrench end for those. My issue was I couldn't see how to get an allen tool into the fill plug on top with the wheel on. Even with the wheel off the parking brake cable retainers are directly in the way. Once I made a tool and took off the wheel it was pretty easy. Of the 4 wheel stations on my Ferret, one had the correct oil level, 2 were near full, and one was nearly empty! According to the manual, there is no drain so there is no way to get the gunk out which sucks. My issue finding this in the manual was not knowing which manual to look in. It's all in the User handbook, not the repair manuals. So for me, there are 3 filling spots. Inner bevel box/innter tracta, Outer tracta, and the wheel hub. Since I have now put oil into all 3 at each wheel station I am ready for the puddles to begin!

In reviewing the manuals I have run across a question. Are there 3 fill location on the bevel boxes or 2? I know of the ones closest to the hull(on the outside) that you need an extension tube to fill and the ones on the outter hub( visibe looking at the tire. But if both those locations are filled, do you still need to fill the hard to reach one on top the outter hub thats right near the backing plate? With the wheel on, that one looks like its hard to access. If I do need to top that one up, how can you tell its at level? Looking at a road trip and I want to be 100% sure there is plenty of oil to leak out