Caddy Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 G'day all. Our ARRV has decided to sulk and throw a hissey fit; the steering has gone. She's never had the best steering, but she was being used to move a T72 when the steering went completely. The reservoir was found have been empty so it was filled up and the system bled, but only good enough to get one left turn on her to drive her out of the way. When we had a look on Sunday the reservoir was empty again, with a pool of oil of the right colour in the gearbox compartment. Both tillers had no pressure in them, but after a bit of pumping there was a bit of pressure in the left but nothing in the right. We checked as much of the pipe work and system as we could get to, but no obvious leaks. I think that the master cylinders attached to the tillers may be knackered, but that doesn't explain the loss of fluid from the reservoir. I think that the leak has to be before the tillers as it's has leaked down whilst stood. Any suggestions? Also anyone know if seal kits are still available for the master cylinders? Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffy_massive Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Its been a long time but steering fluid loss was a common issue back in the day. Check the steering calipers for leaks. Quite normal for these to leak and dump the fluid. If she has been bad for a while it is worth looking at the pads also to see if they are either badly worn or contaminated from a leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 The calipers seem dry, and the pads are pretty good. Found a supplier for seal kits for the calipers just as they went into receivership. Thinking about moving the reservoir to behind the drivers position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0644hunt Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Silly question are you using the right oil. Has to be only mineral. I use the green bottle mineral brake oil from halfords. Otherwise your seals can deteriate. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 We are definitely using the right oil type, can't be a 100% sure of the name, but something like OM15? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 We are definitely using the right oil type, can't be a 100% sure of the name, but something like OM15? Hi there. The leak won't be coming from the tiller master cylinders or the fluid would be all over the drivers compartment floor. The pipe work is pretty simple in the hull but you may need to lift the box to investigate. I lost my steering in Shrek and the problem was with a leaking brake calliper. Now this may seem at odd with a lot of Chieftain boffins but: Check to see if you have power assisted steering on your ARRV! This is a system that not many Chieftains ever had fitted and the majority of Chieftain crewmen and REME chaps have never heard off. Check to see how many pipes you have coming from a single brake calliper. If there are two pipes, check to see if the extra pipe is connected to the gearbox and if it is, you have assisted steering. I have this system fitted to my spare gearbox. I'm in Australia at the mo but I'll be back next week and shall give you more info on the assisted steering issue. Markheliops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Hi Markheliops, It did at one time have power assisted steering, but has been converted to standard. We have found a leak between the reservoir and the tillers; it looks like when the engine pack was once changed they damaged the line underneath the fan. Either that or the line has been rubbing on the fan housing and finally given up. I'm not too sure whether that is the only problem though, think at least one of the calipers are leaking, and the master cylinders are pretty worn. Watch this space..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Hi Markheliops, It did at one time have power assisted steering, but has been converted to standard. We have found a leak between the reservoir and the tillers; it looks like when the engine pack was once changed they damaged the line underneath the fan. Either that or the line has been rubbing on the fan housing and finally given up. I'm not too sure whether that is the only problem though, think at least one of the calipers are leaking, and the master cylinders are pretty worn. Watch this space..... Praise The Lord - someone else knows about the assisted steering system. Someone tried to tell me a was talking tosh once in regard to the assisted steering. It's quite easy to wallop the brake pipes when you lift either the T-piece or the pack. Start with the issues you can see first as the steering system isn't too bad on the Chiefy compared to the wiring! Lol I do have some calipers but see what you need first Markheliops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 We've got a few spare calipers, but the seals in them are very much an unknown quantity, and the bellows dust seals are gone. Thinking about moving the reservoir to behind the drivers position and plumb it in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 When we had a problem with the MBT's GUE (generating unit Rngine), not powering the coolant fan we traced it back to a very worn hydraulic pump attached to the GUE. Apart from the fact that no one had any NOS it would have cost a bomb to buy. But being the type of muppet who won't stop thinking about things I wondered where the pump came from - a David Brown tractor! So thinking along these lines again I have found that the master cylinders for the steering brakes are made by Dunlop, are 7/8" diameter and were used on a number of cars such as Jaguars and Alfas, think there may be a MG connection as well. Just thought you'd like to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 The master cylinder assembly may be the same, but make sure the seals are suitable for mineral oil/ hydraulic fluid. If they are for brake fluid they wont work, but if you get a seal rebuild kit you should be able to convert ok... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Yeah, That's the problem innit, still nice to find spares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0644hunt Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Thanks for the info. It's aways good for more info and cheaper ways to fix systems. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Well work was meant to start today on the steering issues, but we had to finish off getting the main brakes working on our Marksman (Mk XI Chieftain hull). This took some time as the main brakes had been left in a really naff state for several year, and the brake pump had buggered itself up as it had been run all that time dry. 1 replacement pump later, a rebuilt power valve, and a hell of a lot of bleeding and we have brakes. that's now all 3 of our Chieftains with main brakes, 2 with steering, and an ARRV steering brakes to sort out. start that on Tuesday - should be fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulob1 Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 wow and all I want is one chieftain....you have four of them, thats plain greedy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 3 of them, and I don't own them. I help to look after them for a charitable group in east anglia. There is: mk 10 Mbt Marksman turret on a Mk11 hull ARRV There are also 3 cents none of which are working at the moment. Mk12 MBT Mk3 MBT Mk5-2 AVRE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 3 of them, and I don't own them. I help to look after them for a charitable group in east anglia.There is: mk 10 Mbt Marksman turret on a Mk11 hull ARRV There are also 3 cents none of which are working at the moment. Mk12 MBT Mk3 MBT Mk5-2 AVRE I believe there's a bridge-layer too that's on loan to another museum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0644hunt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Shame cents are not running. They were all running when I worked there. Any being sold off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddy Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 The Cent ARV has gone, but the rest are staying. Think there will be some movement on the Mk III soon though. The Chieftain ARRV steering issues have been chased down to two of the calipers pouring fluid out of them and the other two are weeping. Also this the master cylinders are not at their best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0644hunt Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Shame we used to use the cent arv for moving stuff around. Used to run really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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