ratty Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 (edited) Hi all, now I’m famous (that’s me and my Spartan in this months CMV mag) thought some of you may be interested in another bit of tracked armour bought to cheer up the neighbours and ensure that I get to use up my fair share of the worlds petrol reserves. Apologies if it doesn’t work I not quite computer literate yet, however I’m sure someone will have a friendly bit of advice to set me straight. Nigel Edited June 27, 2008 by Marmite!! photo link edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn deuce Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Looks great ! just the thing for making your lane on the road or for getting your way at the car park ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Hi all, now I’m famous (that’s me and my Spartan in this months CMV mag) thought some of you may be interested in another bit of tracked armour bought to cheer up the neighbours and ensure that I get to use up my fair share of the worlds petrol reserves. For photos follow this link: -http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm192/ratty_hmvf/NigelsSpartan2.jpg Apologies if it doesn’t work I not quite computer literate yet, however I’m sure someone will have a friendly bit of advice to set me straight. Nigel Don't worry Nigel, we'll get you sorted. When you start or reply to a post you will see the bar of icons above the text pane. If you click on the "paper clip" it will take you to the uploading pain. For each snap you wish to upload, click browse and it will take you to your PC and allow you to navigate to wherever you keep the snaps you wish to share. Find the filename of the snap you want and click open and the filename and link will appear on the browse pane. You can repeat this for a few other snaps, I personally think four maximum look best and you should be sure the file sizes aren't too huge. Once you've made your selection click the upload button (the higher of the two on the pane) and wait for it to do it's magic. When it's done you'll see the filename/links appear in a list on the pane. All you have to do then is write your message and send it and the snaps will be uploaded into your post. I hope this makes sense. If I can do it, anyone can. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Nice picture Nigel. Nice time to get on the forum, now you're famous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 (edited) My pop-up blocker is much smarter than me, foiled at every attempt even sneaking up on it with my eyes shut didn’t fool it :argh: Nigel Edited June 27, 2008 by Marmite!! photo link edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 For an easy relaxing distraction this weekend I decided to change the Oil and Filter in my Spartan. Being clever I thought I would do both the Engine Oil/Filter and the Gearbox Oil/Filter together. Being extra clever I thought I would change the old style Gearbox Filter assembly for one of the more modern ones with a bypass sensor and warning lights wow! Step one drain Engine Oil and remove old filter, that’s when the fun starts. 1. Belly unwilling hulk underneath Spartan to remove inspection/service hatch as per the manual. 2. Laugh uncontrollably at the ridiculously small aperture through which I am supposed to change the filter but continue to remove the bolts anyway. 3. Discover that the inspection/service hatch has been well and truly stuck in place with instant botchit/mastic/glue/elephant snott combo. 4. Give up trying to remove inspection/service hatch from underneath. 5. Remove engine deck plate and dividing wall between driving compartment and engine bay to afford more sensible access to the offending items. 6. Pound crap out of inspection/service hatch from inside Spartan using large hammer and lump of wood. 7. Return to the special damp cold position underneath Spartan to remove Oil drain. 8. Discover Oil drain has been fitted by Godzilla, crawl out from underneath muttering, cursing and trying to remember where my 24” breaker bar is lurking. 9. Pass 40 minuets looking for a breaker bar that is not where I would ever expect to find it, turns out I had actually put it away last time I used it and there it was in the draw where it should have been more rude words followed. 10. apply much force to Oil drain, Oil drain gives way, smack head on floor, curse. 11. Place container under sump to catch waste oil, wind catches stream of oil and foils my attempt to contain the ecological disaster that follows, more cursing. 12. Remove old oil filter and sure enough Godzilla had done that up with enthusiasm what a mechanic that lad is! 13. replace filter and oil drain then set about the task of pouring 11ltrs of oil into the engine, I managed to liberally coat the exhaust manifold with oil and this did prove entertaining when I started the engine to check for leaks. 14. Start engine to check for leaks, reassure passers by that “no it’s not on fire it’s only a drop of oil on the exhaust”. 15. Notice an interesting jet of fuel exiting the right hand accelerator pump curses! Turn engine off before bursting into flame. 16. Add replacing accelerator pump diaphragms to the list of jobs to be completed before the drive down to W&P. The list gets longer the time gets shorter ho hum! That’s enough for now, needless to say the gearbox filter/oil change didn’t go smoothly either may report more following my evening appointment with Dr Scotch Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Nigel, It looks like you've discovered the jacking strut. As for changing the filters, I wouldn't even attempt it without taking the top deck off. The hatch underneath Is just not big enough to do anything with, except maybe drain the water (which always seems to find a way into the engine bay) back out. The gearbox filter is even worse, especially in a Sabre where it is mounted on its side, right where you need it to drip oil over your steering discs and ensure you need to change the pads at the same time. Welcome to tracked armour Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Nigel, welcome to the slippery slope that is CVRT ownership. We did warn you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 For an easy relaxing distraction this weekend I decided to change the Oil and Filter in my Spartan.Being clever I thought I would do both the Engine Oil/Filter and the Gearbox Oil/Filter together. Being extra clever I thought I would change the old style Gearbox Filter assembly for one of the more modern ones with a bypass sensor and warning lights wow! Step one drain Engine Oil and remove old filter, that’s when the fun starts. 1. Belly unwilling hulk underneath Spartan to remove inspection/service hatch as per the manual. 2. Laugh uncontrollably at the ridiculously small aperture through which I am supposed to change the filter but continue to remove the bolts anyway. 3. Discover that the inspection/service hatch has been well and truly stuck in place with instant botchit/mastic/glue/elephant snott combo. 4. Give up trying to remove inspection/service hatch from underneath. 5. Remove engine deck plate and dividing wall between driving compartment and engine bay to afford more sensible access to the offending items. 6. Pound crap out of inspection/service hatch from inside Spartan using large hammer and lump of wood. 7. Return to the special damp cold position underneath Spartan to remove Oil drain. 8. Discover Oil drain has been fitted by Godzilla, crawl out from underneath muttering, cursing and trying to remember where my 24” breaker bar is lurking. 9. Pass 40 minuets looking for a breaker bar that is not where I would ever expect to find it, turns out I had actually put it away last time I used it and there it was in the draw where it should have been more rude words followed. 10. apply much force to Oil drain, Oil drain gives way, smack head on floor, curse. 11. Place container under sump to catch waste oil, wind catches stream of oil and foils my attempt to contain the ecological disaster that follows, more cursing. 12. Remove old oil filter and sure enough Godzilla had done that up with enthusiasm what a mechanic that lad is! 13. replace filter and oil drain then set about the task of pouring 11ltrs of oil into the engine, I managed to liberally coat the exhaust manifold with oil and this did prove entertaining when I started the engine to check for leaks. 14. Start engine to check for leaks, reassure passers by that “no it’s not on fire it’s only a drop of oil on the exhaust”. 15. Notice an interesting jet of fuel exiting the right hand accelerator pump curses! Turn engine off before bursting into flame. 16. Add replacing accelerator pump diaphragms to the list of jobs to be completed before the drive down to W&P. The list gets longer the time gets shorter ho hum! That’s enough for now, needless to say the gearbox filter/oil change didn’t go smoothly either may report more following my evening appointment with Dr Scotch Nigel Sounds like this is a good grounding for powerboating,have fun.:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thanks for the words of encouragement Grasshopper, sanity is not a strong point with me fortunately. However Catweazle I’m not completely barking so I shan’t be getting involved in any form of Boat, powered or otherwise, very happy to watch from the shore but feeding my breakfast to the fish isn’t a hobby I’m too interested in! Sirhc my Spartan came with no dipstick or the top tube that takes the dipstick into the driving compartment, as a result gearbox oil sprayed out of the remaining short bit of tube liberally coating everything in the left hand side of the gearbox compartment. I cleaned that all up, fitted a replacement dipstick and topped the gearbox up – only I didn’t, as the hose linking the filler to the gearbox was missing! Yes you guessed it the right hand steering brake got a good dousing of oil. So new steering pads both sides and an impressive oil stain on the drive that I seem to add to every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 Just been beaten in by the darkness, CVRT’s bite hard enough in daylight let alone at night when you can’t see all the sharp pointy bits! Diaphragm arrived this morning (thanks Andy) is now fitted and has cured the potential flame thrower impersonation. The new gearbox filter assembly has also now been fitted and wired in to the warning lights. Oh boy that was a lot of effort for a simple oil change but Spartan now has fresh oil and new filters for both engine and gearbox I hope she appreciates it! Deck armour is back on (it was nearly dark by this point) a few more fittings to replace and with luck and providing nothing else rears its ugly head I still hope to drive it down to W&P within the next day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Ah, the joys of servicing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 What I want to know is where you get the midget deformed octopus with super strength. You know the one? The one the designers expcet to service such vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Success we made it!!!! 60 miles Southend in Essex to Beltring arriving at 21:10hrs Tuesday, still daylight what a bonus. Many thanks to Grasshopper for being a patient and trusting commander/giant fly swat.:shocked: Spartan behaved very well with only a brief appearance of the Temperature warning light, that was cured by running in a lower gear increasing the engine speed :confused:(yes I know that sounds wrong but stay with me while I explain) the increased engine speed draws more cooling air via the fan through the radiator thus aiding cooling, simple! Quote from Tony B:- What I want to know is where you get the midget deformed octopus with super strength. You know the one? The one the designers expect to service such vehicles. Well tony it’s like this you need to be a special form of mentalist/masochist With an above average pain threshold and a stubborn streak too dumb to know how or when to give up.:banghead: To see if you have the right attitude/aptitude try removing the saddle from your trusty bicycle and proceed to lap the arena at Beltring four times, if you do this then tracked armour is just the hobby for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Well mate you've done half of it, it got there! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 No the mission was to GET TO BELTRING therefore I consider it a COMPLETE SUCCESS.:cool2: The journey home will be another mission.:shake: Just off to collect the Ferret and drive that down, then will stay till Sunday, hope to put some faces to the many names on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 What I want to know is where you get the midget deformed octopus with super strength. You know the one? The one the designers expcet to service such vehicles. Oh it didn't start with the CVR(T)! On patrol along the UN Danish Contingent's Green Line in the Troudos Mountains of western Cyprus just after the war, my Ferret struck a rock that was a larger than I'd thought. I stopped at the next observation post while the troop leader chatted with the Danes. Briefing over, the two-car section started up to move on to the next OP ... except that my Ferret would not start. Our track ran through a minefield so we couldn't get the other Ferret alongside to jump it, so I decided to bump it by rolling it down the hill in gear. It started and I did just about manage to stay inside the mine tape. I kept the engine running through the rest of the patrol and we made it back to our base at Skouriotissa, where we got our attached REME fitter to check it out. He quickly concluded he'd need to change the starter motor , so he phoned the Light Aid Detachment back at out Force Reserve Squadron's main base at Nicosia Airport and they despatched a new starter motor. In the meantime, Screach the fitter set to removing the old starter motor. The FSC guys here will tell you that removing a FSC starter motor without a pack lift is not an easy task. What made it worse was that 01 EC 28 was, IIRC, a Mark 2.4 with applique armour retrofitted to an older model Mark 2 to bring it up to Mark 2.3 factory standard, which was what the bulk of the squadron had. Unfortunately investigation quickly revealed that the base for this particular 2.4 was a very early chassis with unfeasably small access panels in the belly which had been revised and enlarged in subsequent models. I think it was a 9/16" AF spanner he needed to remove the three mounting bolts while lying on jis back underneath the beast. Unfortunately the issued 9/16" AF was far too long to fit through this access panel and locate onto any of the bolts. Screach got back out from under and got back on the blower to Tiffy back in Nicosia. "Take the hacksaw in your toolkit and cut your spanner in half." He did this (it wasn't easy - they were tough spanners) and set back to work undoing the three bolts. I kept him supplied with tea while he worked. There was nothing else to do. After about six hours' work the three bolts were removed and all cabling disconnected and in the dead dark of night between us we managed to manipulate the old starter motor around the engine and out through the top. (The replacement had turned up hours before.) It took another six hours to manipulate the new starter motor back the reverse route into position, bolt it in place and wire it up. I pressed the ignition button and ... it just about coughed but wouldn't light up the engine, exactly as it had been out in the hills. The second day's patrol was carried out by the troop's other section as usual while Screach tried everything he could to sort out my problem. I do believe Tiffy came out to have a look. (Tiffy became a good friend on our return to Tidworth where he told me he had previously been attached to 1RTR and had been stood just off-camera when the legendary "I'm a professional Chieftain gunner, I get £40 a week" advert was filmed, waiting to fix the Chieftain if it broke down.) By late afternoon Tiffy had given up and ordered that the Ferret be driven back to the LAD at Nicosia where they could lift the pack and carry out better diagnostics because they had all the kit. This was quite fortunate for Rommel (the troop leader) because there was a dining-in night in the Officers Mess that he'd normally have missed, but somebody had to command his Ferret back to Nicosia. Of course there was the small matter of getting the Ferret started. I cannot remember why after 32 years, but jump starting was not realistic, but luckily the bungalow had been built above the quarry floor (or maybe the quarry had been dug down below the bungalow?) so the track had an earth ramp down to the ground. I took my place in the driver's seat and about four people took a wheel each and pushed me down hill (pushing the wheels reduced the rolling resistance of trying push start the vehicle from the body). It lit up first time thank goodness and we were off. We did Skouriotissa over the mud track through the mountains to Nicosia in 45 minutes in the gathering darkness, which wasn't bad since the best UN time for that route was 34 minutes in a lightweight Land Rover in daylight, in the dry without having (as it turned out) to rely on 12v of light from the 24v headlights. Yes, after the REEMS had spent another 12 hours working on my FSC we discovered that when I'd hit the bump the previous day, the right-hand battery had moved, touched the side of its box and welded itself thereto. I had been trying to drive a 24v FSC on a 12v system. Drop in a new battery and 01 EC 28 was right as rain. Well, sort of: a month or two later I had 01 EC 28 taken from me and was given a newly-refurbished Mark 2.3 straight out of workshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 :rofl:What happned when you told Screach then? :rofl::rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 :rofl:What happned when you told Screach then? :rofl::rofl: He was still asleep lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I sense a bit of discretion was employed. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 Another successful mission, Spartan home safe and sound. Great few days away, nice to meet some forum members and put faces to names. The journey home was smooth and uneventful, many thanks to Jason for being a trusting fool and commanding for me on the drive back to Southend-on-Sea. The minor temperature problems of the journey down appear to have been cured by the replacement of the missing gearbox inspection plate (small round plate positioned below the gearbox drain plug for maintenance purposes). With this now in place air-flow takes the correct path through the radiator and the engine ran beautifully all the way home. Thanks to Andy of the AFVS for his advice on this matter and for Grasshopper who was bright enough to ask the question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Well,you have gone some way in allying fears about reliability.Just a question,but what sort of recovery,do you have on hand in case of breakdown??. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Well done Nigel....... We'll have to get the Southend HMVF to have a get together at some point - (once I've got my new toy :-D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratty Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 (edited) I have no recovery insurance, I carry an A frame tow bar to get the Spartan to a safe place and will worry about what to do if the situation ever gets that bad! (too many people spend so much of their time worrying about what MIGHT happen that they never actually get out and DO anything for fear that it MAY go wrong). Edited July 22, 2008 by ratty smelling mishtoks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AMVG Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Another successful mission, Spartan home safe and sound.Great few days away, nice to meet some forum members and put faces to names. The journey home was smooth and uneventful, many thanks to Jason for being a trusting fool and commanding for me on the drive back to Southend-on-Sea. The minor temperature problems of the journey down appear to have been cured by the replacement of the missing gearbox inspection plate (small round plate positioned below the gearbox drain plug for maintenance purposes). With this now in place air-flow takes the correct path through the radiator and the engine ran beautifully all the way home. Thanks to Andy of the AFVS for his advice on this matter and for Grasshopper who was bright enough to ask the question! Nigel, thank you for letting me command. i enjoyed every minute and the looking on some people's faces, it was a laugh Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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