oily

Does anyone have a Saracen gearbox setting gauge tool I can purchase?

Thanks, Mr Grasshopper, i know just what you mean!, Anyone else able to 'throw me a rope'..... ?

Any volunteers to come and help me see if any adjustment is possible?

Not overly sure it's actually selecting properly, as when it doesn't work as expected, the GCP just reacts as if neutral has been selected....I'm wondering if the present gearbox had its adjusting toggle mechanism set up correctly when vehicle was overhauled back in 1983, ...-it only had 80 miles on it when I took it on, now it has 1380-odd miles.... Is it possible the bands have only just bedded in, and the adjusters need setting up properly?.... It looks all VERY clean inside, the new oil I put in is still very clean looking too, after 180/200 or so miles I've done since replacing flywheel seal....

I'll have another look at the manual this evening, thanks Clive!

I have recently replace my fluid flywheel in my Saracen, re-installed the engine etc, and got it all running nicely,.... Although, now, it seems, when it all warms up it mis-selects 3rd and sometimes 5th, yet before the flywheel packed up, all gears were fine.... When I refitted everything I changed the transmission oil for fresh SAE30, as per manuals. The oil that came out was, I think incorrect grade as was very thin, -almost like OM13, and smelled like burnt toast/bread. I checked the adjustment left on the various band adjusters inside the top of the box and compared to a new box I have, there appeared to be a fair bit of adjustment still available, but it doesn't seem to want to 'self-adjust' by using the 'toggling-up' procedure. I'm guessing that the possibly incorrect oil may have caused come 'charring' of the brake bands, and this scorched surface may be stopping the automatic adjustment from taking place. i have covered about 180 miles since refitting it all, toggling-up before each drive, but, as I said, when warm, it looses 3rd, and sometimes 5th, but always seems to get 1st and 4th, when they are selected..... I have read the manual and it describes another 'top off the box' method using a gauge, (-which I DON'T have), and adjust something as it goes 'over centre', and winding this nut and that nut, backwards/forwards .... Only the last paragraphs in my books are missing. Can any one with more in-depth knowledge of Saracen gearboxes throw any light on my dilemma, or am I just gonna have to take it all apart AGAIN to fit the new gearbox?,.... I'm seriously hoping it can be adjusted, as I have a wedding to do in it on 10th August! As I have ALL gears til it warms up, I'd like to think it can be adjusted than be replaced..... if it is to be the new box, does it have to be set up in a particular gear/or neutral to install it? Or is it just a straight swap-over.... please, PLEASE help, anyone?,... It was really great to get it back running again after so long, but I feel a little let-down that I'm getting problems that weren't there 1st time round.... :o/ thanks in advance to all who may be able to help! Matt

Apparently a grease-pump bucket will work, but officially a 'Manual Oil injection pump' is what you need, and the fitting on the end of the delivery nozzle needs to fit the 'flat-type' grease/oil nipples. The pumps are FAIRLY easy to come by, and some were made by Tecalmit, if you have difficulty getting one, PM me as I now have a few of them,... But you will need to get the nozzle replaced to suit the nipples on the suspension. You should be using a non-additive SAE 80 or 90 gear oil.

I have now been given what I've been looking for, by a 'transport' friend of mine... What he refers to as a 'bucket' oil pump.... Free of charge, including its 1/2 full contents of unknown grade heavy gear oil.... Which I won't use in the Saracen, I will clean it out and refill it with my non-additive Morris Lubricants 'Golden Film' AG90 Gear Oil....

You can run a diesel WITH LPG, metered to supplement and ensure complete burn of diesel, straight diesels only actually usually burn 70-75% of their fuel, when adding LPG to the air intake, it helps complete the burn and adds a little useful power, too!

Ok, then, If it'll pump OIL.... Like GREASE, but much runnier, then one of those should do the trick, if Clive says it works....

I would've hoped my original description was sufficient!,... An oval-shaped bucket-type construction with a crank handle-operated pump, to which is fitted a hose, on the end of which is a delivery nozzle that slides on in a similar fashion to the flat-type grease nipples found on many AFVs, only instead of injection grease, oil is used.... As specified for FV600 torsion-bar, and I believe Suspension-arm bush/pivot lubrication....

Thanks for that, Marmite, but it is not what I had in mind.... That is a suction pump for starters, what I require is similar to a grease bucket pump, but its body is filled with the lubricant of choice, the nozzle connected to the relevant oil injection nipple on vehicle, then on the turn of a handle, oil is INJECTED at very high pressure into the various oil ways in the parts being lubricated.....

....-as my Saracen is registered as Heavy Bus/Coach, I guess I can use bus lanes!,... Lol, handy on long hill climbs where a bus lane is provided.... That way I don't inconvenience other road users.....

LOTS AND LOTS of pictures closely following the process are to follow! Plus, if I can arrange it, some on-board and roadside footage of it on the move!

My wonderful Saracen is back on the road after a long hibernation, and fluid-flywheel seal replacement!

Hi all, not sure of its official name, but I am looking for the hand-operated lubrication oil injector pump, used for lubricating some of the suspension components on the FV600 series vehicles... I had won one of them on eBay but oddly all contact with the seller has been lost.... My Saracens suspension needs oiling, as its beginning to creak and groan a little when venturing off road. if anyone has one for sale I would be interested! kind regards... Oily

Re: flywheel repair issues, the job is almost at an end.... Finally! There have been some trials and tribulations along the way.... One of which is the particularly sad occurance of my dear Dad's passing away suddenly in August 2011... He was to blame for my enthusiasm and inspiration.... I now have renewed vigour and enthusiasm to see the job completed...-it's what he would have wanted,... and I now have his Trojan bubblecar to finish restoring too..... Gotta keep busy -watch this space for all the the stage by stage photos! As soon as I can find my PC which is currently buried in my office.... Intention is to have Saracen running at 'Overlord 2013', blimey! That's next month! watch this space!

It's the design of the engine, - there are 2 valves per cylinder, overhead inlet valve is in head, side valve exhaust is in the block, at the side of the engine, hence it's name... It also helps explain why the B series are so quiet running when compared to normal overhead valve design engines....

Definitely a Saracen/Ferret turret, fitted to a Saracen roof plate. If you want to fit this to a ferret, it'll fit if you just trim the mounting plate to fit the ferret hull-top. The interior of the turret is the same when fitted to ferrets and Saracens, to my knowledge, as I've worked on several ferrets, and my own Saracen.

Looking fabulous, Jon, I'm back onto putting my Saracen back together, (I bought a flywheel for it off you, a little while back), what day will you be at W&P, as I may pop down this year....

About 2 yrs ago, my poor 'little', Saracen developed a 'loss-of-drive' fault, in all gears. Initially it was intermittent, or only occurred when warm... It turned out to be an incontinent fluid flywheel centre seal.... Oh dear!, anyways last June, with the help of my veteran saracen and ferret driver-Dad, I removed the engine, to access the offending item.... sadly, my dad passed away in August, so my help became non-existent, then I had health issues myself, resulting in six months off work, and a concurrent knee operation 4 weeks ago. The good news is my knee is fixed, I'm back to work, and I've got back onto the Saracen repairs.... The engine bay has been steam-cleaned and repaired in smooth Hammerite silver, gearbox bell housing in gloss red, (as it was this colour when I took it apart), and all the hydraulic pipes have been re-colour coded, as they would've appeared when new. Yesterday, I spent about 4.5 hours getting the hydraulic pump back into place, which was in itself a bit of a puzzle, as during it's spell in storage, the mounting bracket had shifted position, and it didn't seem to want to fit back into place. I'll try and upload the pictures so far, but may have to do them from my PC later....

'Weld' done!,.... Necessity is the mother of invention, etc, etc.... You find yourself making lots of 'special tools'.....- I speak from experience!....

Shouldn't be too difficult.... As others have said though, if the batteries are really no good, then I doubt it'll start... If the batteries are just a bit weak or just flat, it should fire up... As for knackering, try hand-cranking a Saracen!,.... Done it a few times now.... And that IS hard work!

Personally I too go for synthetic, and price-wise you can't beat my local supplier in Lowford, near Burseldon, Southampton, they are called 'Autopaint', and they'll mix up anything from 500mls upward in any colour, THE cheapest I've ever found. I use their paint on my Saracen, see it on 'www.greenbeastorg.com' .....

I'm looking to buy one of these trailers to use as sleeping accompdation at shows, the idea is to tow it behind my saracen, with all my kit in it. Then set up 9x9 behind it for cooking/eating purposes, and sleep in the trailer. What sort of money can I expect to pay for one of them in useable condition? - I don't mind a little bit of work, as long as the canopy is in good condition, and the brakes work....