simonm

here's one. wife just made me sit down to watch "South Pacific", set in the Pacific in WW2, second scene, in drives an M38!

There seems to be a view that I'm going to go to this bother and not take the engine out? Can't see any previous comment on my part where I've said I'm just doing the fan belts. I'm adding these images here as its very appropriate to the fan belts. As with my comment above, its just the start of a long journey in taking the engine out to do the fluid flywheel seal, that is the sole reason for this activity and has been planned over the last couple of years. As to taking the front armour, fan assembly etc off in order to change the fan belts, my experience so far is that to take teh fan assembly off you 1st have to remove the fan belts, if I was just doing the fan belts I think it would be quicker to leave the front assemblies in place.

I'm guessing the deliberate mistake was the engine support bracket? Its there, then its not??

Bolts that hold the the two sides of the pulley (the ones secured by the wire) being removed. The nuts will then be loosened, they seem to lock the pulley half and stop it turning against the lareg thread. Then the pulley half is unscrewed to allow the fan belt to slip down and thus be loose against the main drive pulley. Looking down on both pulleys, fan belts now loose Fan assembly now removed.

Absolutely! This is a long journey that has started with the removal of radiator

Here's some pictures of my radiator coming out, next its the fans. Sheet of hardboard in front of radiator to avoid risk... Also the swing up engine covers are VERY securely roped to the turret One of the lower coolant connections The upper coolant pipes, also the jumble of connecting wires, I've re-labeled them so they should all go back together - recommend get a cheap Dymo maker. The radiator out, its realistically a two man job, as much as anything to be able to do it slow and sure. Plan to have radiator reconditioned, it all looks good but I don't want to take it out again soon. Also, when draining the coolant, its lots, have 3 buckets ready, suggest use the pressure cap to regulate flow and be prepared for a rush!

Very helpful, I'll continue proceeding with caution, radiator off first. (Armour already removed)

Looking at taking the front armour then fan / radiator assembly. Can this assembly be removed in one piece? ie radiator stays in place within the fan assembly and whole unit gets removed? Looking at the fan belts, it looks realistic apart from the belt that is driven from the engine. Assuming radiator comes out 1st, is there anything I should look for? Already drained and exposed (front armour off). I'm going to take the radiator out seperately ultimately as it seems an opportune time to have it renovated ready for another 50 years! Its very gunked up between the vanes and there is an area where it has obviously been dinged, though it doesn't lose fluid (unlike the fluid flywheel!!!!) Alternatively, can anybody point me at some photos of this part of the disassembly? If not I'll anyway document my attempts. Already done the Ferret successfully so done the practice!

Just had a look. Brilliant, maybe revisit that idea, about the same as I had thought to do, seeing it actually done makes it all look sensible. Thanks for sharing.

Answered my question as well. While my hydraulics come up to pressure, it is taking a while so I guess it is the accumulators.

Thanks Jerry but the basic weight is good. Its in the region of 1/2 tonne and I'm aiming for a lifting capacity of 1 tonne at minimum so should be safe. As with when I did my Ferret Engine out I'll post a few pictures - but don't look out for them soon, this is early planning - one small job for REME, one huge task for me!

Agree its a great idea, but on the one hand I doubt that I'm that organised, on the other hand, there will be that last nut or bolt that stays hidden till the end and takes an hour to undo, then that shows up another! Also with a hiab will I miss that element of gentleness that I can get with a manually operated lift ? Then there is the gentle wiggling and adjusting when it comes to reinstalling. I had thought of an RSJ resting on the turret one end and a suitably braced Acroyd at the other and a chain winch on a dolly, but that means having a big long (say 10 foot) heavy lump of metal high up, A) get it there safely, and B) keep it there safely and C) I'm underneath it for a lot of the time. With an engine crane of the right size, I can organise it so I am never underneath the big heavy thing (large lump of metal in the sky or big heavy engine). Also, much as with doing the Ferret, the gearbox only needed to be moved forward 3 foot or so, I expect that will be the same with the Saracen Engine, so teh lifting operation will be largely to allow movement rather than getting it out. The engine starts and runs so well that it is a real frustration that it needs to come out at all!

Thanks Sean I'm aiming for 1 tonne capacity at the correct extension and with lots of leg underneath, I think there was a comment somewhere on this board about the wrong crane simply falling over forward. Seen loads of gantrys on ebay but they are all up north! I know Richard Farrant suggested a fork lift, but I'm not expecting a quick in and out so hire or borrowing wouldn't really be appropriate. Had thought of making a gantry but ... while my welding is certainly good enough, the price of steel now it is almost the same price to buy second hand - if they were available down south! Simon

Thanks croc. I would guess that the B80 is going to be in the order of 400Kg ie B60 6 cylinders = 300 therefore B80 8 cylinders = 400 Looks like allowing for a 1 tonne lift means I'm well within a safety margin. Simon

Hi, Simple question, how heavy is my B80. Its time to move on from a regular top up of fluid that leaks from my fluid flywheel and fix it (a lot of work for the sake of a £10 seal). I've done it twice with the Ferret (1st for the seal, then the gasket) so fairly confident, but Saracen is so much bigger and heavier and won't fit in my garage. Most likely I'll end up with a gantry but am considering a big (not a hobby one) engine crane that is rated up to 1 tonne with a fairly long reach. I'm slow and try to be safe so want to ensure there is a fair bit of leeway. Any hints also appreciated. Thanks Simon

What, after trawling through most of the other posts, nobody has posted pictures of some of the fairer bodies on display, and I don't mean Saracen's!

:mad: Worst Film!??!! Fell asleep??? Try "Team America, World Police!" You won't fall asleep during that one.:cool2: Guess which is my favourite film of all time and its not Team America!

Not quite a worst but a blooper. In "Doctor Strangelove" the crew are in a B52 on the way to bomb the USSR, on various occaissions we are show the plane's shadow as it flys over the Arctic, but why is its shadow that of a b17? Otherwise a fine film!

Ref back on page 19 and the comment about the gas BBQ. My neighbours were very proud to have identified (this was only a couple of years ago) the remains of a WW2 plane shot down in the woods, possibly parts of the wing of a german fighter! Walked up with them to have a look, sadly just a scrap sheep trough. Strangely it did look, to the untutored eye I must admit, just like an old sheep trough!

It is so very helpful people posting pictures like this. Not just as a stimulus to get mine done - it is but slowly (panel out, stripped, painted then re-installed) , but also ideas for kitting out, what goes where and what's missing.

Unlikely anything. I recently asked the police for advice on facebook stalking and aggression including incitrement to murder. The rather aggressive reply was that I shouldn't bother them and take it up with facebook! Looks like the web is cowboy and vigilante country!

Retired military icons - the ultimate boys' toys? see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12453603 When asked, I tell people I've simply grown out of Airfix (actually I'm still an occaisonal modeller)

Thanks Andy. Servo coming out now, hopefully won't need a new one but very helpful to know where to go. And seems to be part of the problem, taking out the Master Cylinder did nothing to free up the wheels, Releasing the pressure on the first of the brake / wheel slave cylinders and all wheels turn easily. Lots of cleaning and work to do, its brakes so very important, but nice to know roughly where the problem is (unless there's a clogged up pressure regulator somewhere that I've missed?).

Thanks for the advice about the Dot4 being used. I've got a bottle of synthetic so will go through and clean and flush with meths throughout and refill from scratch, I see a trip to Northiam coming on.

Thanks for all the comments. I thought I would start at the beginning and disassembed the master cylinder. Wow, It was filthy! The fuid which I'm guessing is OM13 was brown and there were small lumps of gunk, so a good clean up of the system is in order. With the master cylinder disconnected from the system, the brakes didn't relax. I'll next remove the servo and clean that and the lines from MC to Servo, basically work through the system. It might just be that coincidentally all cylinders have got gummed up at the same time? I guess tomorrow when I disconnect the servo then a bit more will be revealed. Even so, the whole system will be renovated considering the state of the master cylinder,the root cause of the problem will be a bit of a moot point. If it is the servo I'll of course report here. As to the comment about brake lights remaining on, no. Also I could hear the brake switch / solenoid making and breaking when I touched the brake. (Once I've got this sorted its back to the Saracen Hydraulics)