Motleyholt Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 It's not been a productive Foden Christmas as I've been busy installing a decent heater in the workshop. Have managed to clock up a few miles with friends and family. It has been found to be perfect for setting off car alarms. VID-20211231-WA0001.mp4 The brake lights decided to stick on but by the time I got back they were working again. So today I had a look to see what could be wrong. I don't think there is a relay so can only be the switch or the air pressure isn't dropping at the switch. Decided to check/service the brake switch first. This turns out to be three switches, one for each air circuit(each axle). Not sure why three are necessary? Bridged each switch in turn and brake lights operate on all. The brake switches are the ones at the top...behind the pipes....just below the heater pipes....only accessible with finger tips! Can just about get a spanner on the front two. Once they are out you can reach the rear one which doesn't turn as it hits the mounting bracket bolt. it's in the middle at the back. Easier to see on my spare parts. but the spare doesn't foul the bolt. To remove mine I had to undo the pipe from underneath and unscrew the fitting lock nut to tip the switch enough to undo it. The pipe fitting is another random size. so we have a metric cab on an imperial chassis with Whitworth or BS pipe work. Lucky I have a lot of spanners! The fitting and nut are behind yet more pipes. Switches finally out Cleaned the outside with a wire brush and marked the top and bottom for later reassembly. Found a part number label still on one. Stripped. Contacts a little burnt. Cleaned. Rubber grease applied and reassembled. Fiddle the bits back together and reconnect the wires. Job done. Also climbed on the roof to add a bit more sealer around the cupola. It's a temporary job but it will stop the inside getting any wetter before cab rebuild takes place. Also managed to replace the dash captive nut. I thought it was a blind nut to a hollow section but after a closer look at the donor cab I realised it was just a section that over hangs the engine tunnel. There is a tiny gap under it though which I could just fit some angled long nose pliers and grip the old rivet nut. Nut held I unscrewed the bolt. The culprit. New rivinut fitted and dash Refitted. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted January 6, 2022 Share Posted January 6, 2022 24 GN 09 was used driver training in Yorkshire for some of its time in service. I wonder if yours was as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 On 1/6/2022 at 10:05 AM, john1950 said: 24 GN 09 was used driver training in Yorkshire for some of its time in service. I wonder if yours was as well. Mine was 24 GN 61 which I'm assuming was one of the last? I haven't had the chance to research its history yet but with 4011 miles it couldn't have been many places. Does have a nice old tape sticker on the dash saying the crane seat must be lowered before being driven into the depot. So lived in a building only just high enough for the cab. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 At that millage the running surfaces have not hardened up yet. A proper bark is still developing from the engine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) Back again, work is such a nuisance, but have made a few steps forward and a few steps backwards. Been working on freeing the crane leg pins. Some are stiff, others completely seized and turning in the wrong places. Made this little gizmo to inject penetrating oil into the joints. A couple bolts modified to make a heavy duty syringe, fill with oil, insert plunger, attach to crane leg grease nipple and hit it with a hammer. Work the hydraulics and wait for the rusty soup to emerge. Re-injected and left to marinade. Hopefully when the time comes the pins will be a little easier to extract. The leg locks have been seized since I've had the truck and probably a long time before that. So they were removed for overhaul. This one behaved and only needed the top of the piston cleaning. Pushed piston back on the press and then it turned with a spanner and plenty of oil. The other side did not behave. After cleaning the top of the piston and pushing it down it was still stuck. Took several hours or trying heat, cold, oil, big spanners etc. Because its a spring return I couldn't push the piston back and couldn't take the spring out without the piston moving. Eventually pushed the piston right through from the top. Bending the spring plate slightly. But once everything was cleaned and greased the pressing back together straighted the spring plate. Apologies for the absence of pics. To reduce future problems where water can sit around the pistons I made some cups to keep them a bit drier. Cut some discs with a hole saw. Used the press, an old bearing race and a pin to form the cups. instant rain caps. More paint New bolts and all back together. Now just need to swap the grease nipple in the above pic for a 90° type so the leg lock can actually be greased! Now whilst carrying out the annual grease up I was wondering what the grease nipple on the centre of the front hub was for? One side had a grease nipple in when the truck arrived and I assumed the other side had snapped off so fitted a new grease nipple to that side aswell......error.... out of curiosity I was looking through the parts diagrams to see what I was greasing. Part description "pressure relief valve". So I should have taken the grease nipple out as the broken one wasn't a broken at all. found one on the auction site and will be rummaging in the bottom of the scrap bin for the origonal unless anyone has one?? 4820-99-835-0416 Also need to strip the front brakes. Still have a bad judder even after a good few miles driving. Have a suspicion the drums have distorted after standing for years with the hand brake on. So am looking for drums potentially. 2530-99-828-6460. Shared with Bedfords which I assume used Kirkstall axles aswell? Edited February 14, 2022 by Motleyholt Spelling! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 The project continues.... Or rather a sub project. This will be my living quarters . Its one of the gun tractor additions acquired last year. It's the poorest condition of all the parts which is why it's next on the list. Rust... More rust... You guessed it more rust... Hopefully it's mostly in the skins which are all flat sheets riveted on The inside is in good shape and amazingly it's stayed dry It's also become storage for all the parts salvaged from the donor cab. Amazingly all the bolts for the lifting eyes and spare wheel carrier all came out with relative ease. Only needing some impact abuse to loosen. Everything was stuck with old fashioned dum dum type sealer, which never sets. Seems to have worked so I'll order some more for reassembly. Then I went for the more tricky screws that hold the guards for the roof vents. Tools assembled, heated the screws to soften the paint and the sealer. Picked all the paint from the screw head and used the impact driver to break the screw loose. Then worked the screw back and forth until it could be fully removed. one down fifteen to go! That's as far as I got tonight. Hopefully get some more stripped tomorrow. Lastly a pretty lorry and machinery pic... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Hopefully most of the rust repairs will be straight forward sheet metal replacement and it will make a nice living space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 10 hours ago, 67burwood said: Hopefully most of the rust repairs will be straight forward sheet metal replacement and it will make a nice living space. Yes I'm hoping it's largely confined to the outer skin. Although I can see the frame at the base will need some tlc. The plan is to fit a board between the seats to make a full size bed and fit a hob and fridge under the fold up seats. I'm not sure if it originally had a heater but will probably fit one using the gas that runs the hob. A little way off that yet so continued stripping the outside. Got all the screws out of the guards, only one snapped. The whirly spinning vent is still operating perfectly but the extractor fan opposite is not so good. The motor still spins though. Will be fun reproducing the housing, possibly make a wooden former and spin some sheet over it. Not something I've tried so be fun to see how it works. The outer skin is made from about thirty panels fitted like tiles overlapping from top to bottom. So roof off first and then work down. Everything is held on with hundreds of pop rivets and sticky sealer. The rivets simply drill out, but you need to punch the steel pin out of the centre to do a tidy job. I use a modified punch with the end ground down. Once punched drill with a five mm drill. Prise the panel off the sealer. Repeat every evening until your arm aches too much. Now have a growing pile of bits for straightening, cleaning and painting. I'm expecting a serious frame underneath as the Foden's crane could barely lift it at full stretch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 Got some retail therapy at Crouch Military last week and came back with a small hoard of bits and pieces. Nos brake drums, wheel brace, jack, cab bar and Nos clutch cover just incase! Also picked up a fellows snatch block to complete the winch gear. What a monster it is too, very well built. Gave the jack a good clean up and freed up the screw top. Not sure if it's the correct jack yet. I'll see if it fits somewhere tomorrow. If anyone has the CES I would be very interested to see a copy. Also got a couple of pressure relief valves for the front hubs. And finally some hub seals from xmod . So hopefully I'm fully prepared to service the front brakes and should have it all done in a day. And lastly a shovel, no picture as I think you all know what they look like! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 Well the jack fits, Still not convinced it's the correct one as the little clamp has no where to locate. Unless I'm missing a strap? And what goes in these?? Would have expected cab bar/jack handle. I've got the cab bar/wheel brace bar in the clips behind the seats. The clips above would only hold between 10 and 15mm. Made some progress with the brakes, Jacked it up and lugged the wheel off by hand....some fool has blocked access to the wheel removing trolley with a crew box 🙄 Removed the drum securing bolt and found a couple of UNF bolts to fit the extractor bolt holes. Apply some pressure on the bolts without stripping the threads, cast iron isn't that strong, and then rotate and tap the drum with the big hammer. When the note changes you know the drum is on the move and the extractor bolts can be tightened to apply pressure again. After a while the bolts will be all you need. Leave the bolts in as they will give you a handle to lift the drum. Cleaned with brake and clutch cleaner as undoubtedly these shoes will be stuffed with asbestos and even modern brake dust will do you no favours if you blow it about with an air line. Shoes hadn't even fully bedded in as some areas had never touched the drums. Although there is a little oil on the back plate there was nothing on the shoes. so I'm going to pop the new drums on and rough up the shoes to see if the drums were the cause. If not then I'll need to dig a little deeper, maybe shoes too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Good axle stands, nice and safe. I would not be surprised if the correct jack would be a round bottle jack with tubular handles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 8:24 AM, john1950 said: Good axle stands, nice and safe. I would not be surprised if the correct jack would be a round bottle jack with tubular handles That was my thought but the folks a Crouch's, who have had a few of these, thought this was the jack. But a round jack handle that would also be the cab bar would make more sense. Although the clips are too small to hold a jack size handle. One day it will all become clear and either way its a good solid jack that will find plenty of use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 (edited) You cannot have to many Jacks, only ones I was very wary of using were the mechanical ratchet toe jacks used with a 4 in line trailer. I used to have some Tangye hydraulic ones descendants of the ones invented by Tangye to push the Great Eastern into the Thames when it got stuck on launch day. Edited March 19, 2022 by john1950 spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 I'm always a bit wary of the hi lift type ratchet Jack's as they are so unstable but invaluable in the mud with the Land Rover. The only jack I would like is a toe jack for lifting the machines on to skates when things need moving around. My go to jacks are now 20t air/hydraulic jacks, short and tall. And my 4t trolley, only 4t as I need to be able to lift it in and out of the van! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 (edited) Tried the new jack out as I couldn't be bothered to fire up the compressor and drag the air line out. Had already loosened the off side wheel nuts but needed a fraction more altitude to remove the wheel. Pulled the drum and found a good pile of dust in this side. Probably the cause of my judder, will set up the origonal drum on a big rotary table and see if it's still round. The shoes have never fully bedded in. The damp is brake cleaner. Roughed up the shoes and fitted the new drum. Wheel on and that left me with a difficult decision....should I take it for a test drive on a sunny Sunday afternoon?! The cyclist I passed at the beginning of the run probably thought I should have stayed at home as he disappeared in a cloud of smog from a Rolls that's only been idling for an hour or two. Brakes are now lovely, much more pleasant to drive without having to hang on to the steering for dear life when braking hard. On the down side one of the back brake chambers has sprung an air leak from the park brake side. I think these are obsolete now but I suspect Crouch's will have some. Otherwise I'll be making a cage and jig to disassemble it on the press. The spring inside needs to be carefully released to get to the diaphragm. Might be a big o ring at the back too. Something for next weekend. Edited March 20, 2022 by Motleyholt Spelling 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 Well it's been a few weeks and epidemic of work has been reducing the fun quota. But some progress has been made. I have overhauled the leaky brake chamber. After a bit of homework it looked to be a simple job, you already know where this is going..... just build up the air, chock the wheels, release the hand brake, remove the hand brake locking bolt, fit a big washer, apply the hand brake, remove the giant circlip and withdraw the spring and piston.... ...that's as far as it goes. There is an internal circlip on the push rod that the release bolt acts on that stops it all exploding if the casing or giant clip fails. So off with the pipes and clamps for the service brake diaphragm to reveal a bolt that holds it all together. Once removed everthing can be withdrawn. Everything looked fine apart from the housing bore which showed signs of water ingress and light scoring. There wasn't much grease left, what you can see I added when the piston wouldn't come out. In a vain hope that a little lubrication might just fix it. Polished the bore with some fine wet and dry and cleaned everthing. Splash of etch primer. Some green and reassembled. Refitted the locker box doors. Which needed a little fettling as my hinge repair welds fouled and stopped the doors closing. And finally I drilled out another batch of rivits on the crew box. Although it looked horrendous the panel isn't that bad and being 3mm thick I'm going to cut the worst side off and weld a strip on. The thoery being that this will be quicker than drilling the hundreds of holes! I have drilled many more out but not enough to release anything. The doors and windows need to come out first. Next weekend is the fodens first show outing, the Stotfold mill, steam and country fair 7th/8th May. Just off the A1 junction 10. Shame it looks just the same on the outside as when it was purchased! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 You are doing a great job of saving a living breathing Foden. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motleyholt Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) Well it's been an interesting weekend, arose bright and early on Saturday to walk the mutts and give the foden a bath before it's first social engagement at the Stotfold mill show. Started the foden and moved it to the pressure washer, cleaned it and turned it off for a quick cup of tea before leaving. Got in to leave, turn the key and click......nothing. 14 months of faultless starting, first day out and won't play. Dug the jump pack out of the van and the multi meter. Jump started and headed to the show as there was an entry window for exhibitors. Luckily its only a few miles. Lined up with it's descendant. Not far from its great great grandfather. The weather brightened up and it was a pleasant day. When I arrived I tested the voltage at the batteries to discover a meager 22 volts and no charging at all. Realised i had no battery light when the ignition was switched on. As I had to come home overnight the truck was jumped again and I hot footed it back as not to loose all the remaining juice. It does have a electrical stop on the engine so a flat battery could be a disaster. Made it back and had a go at finding the fault. Obvious first start was to check the bulb as without it most old alternators won't charge. Bulb was fine so cab went up to check the alternator and belt. Popped the plug out to check connections and whilst there checked the brushes just incase anything was stuck. I've not delt with this style of alternator before, there is no large power cable on this one just five average size wires in the multi plug. The controller is in the passenger footwell which is where I went next. The plugs were all disconnected and the continuity was tested to the dash bulb. Nothing, problem diagnosed now just have to find the missing link. By this time it was late so the Sunday run to the show was scrubbed in order to sort the fault out. Because the headlight switch can turn off all the dash lights there is a relay to switch the alternator warning power through a resistor behind the dash. The first problem was found here as it was incorrectly connected at the relay. When switched to blackout the resistor wasn't being connected. Possibly been like it since new. But still no circuit. The wiring diagram shows a diode between the controller and the relay. But where does it hide? I went to the donor cab as its all Stripped out apart from the wiring. I found that the wire goes into the dash, out to a diode pack, back to the dash and finally to the relay. Then from the relay back to the dash and the bulb. Testing at the dash multi plug. Diode pack Made a temporary part from a fuse type diode I had on the van. And a circuit was made yippee Plug everything in, turn on the ignition and hey presto still no warning lamp. Test from controller to alternator and have a high resistance. Pull the bulkhead plug and found some green corroded pins. Made a DIY pin cleaner from a bit of brake pipe with a piece of emery cloth rolled up inside. Crimped the pipe to stop the paper disappearing. Cleaned the pins, sprayed it with contact cleaner and Refitted the plug. Success at last. Charging at last. On the down side I now have the rad alarm constantly going off even though the coolant level is fine. A job for another day.... Edited May 9, 2022 by Motleyholt Spelling, missing words! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hummermark Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Nice explanation through the fault finding 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I haven't seen those connectors on a military vehicle before - they look rather like Edacs, or clones thereof. The last time I saw any of those was on an audio mixing desk! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Rad buzzer has probably just got power after the connector plug has been cleaned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Its been a while since we had an update, hope everything is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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