Has anyone had a lorry transported? Is it hi - NOW BODGE 50 HORSEBO11OX THREAD (Now with added turtles)

[BeEP]

Bucking the trend as usual but as you've given it a good shove I'd go under it, although I would also do what omegod suggests with spare wheels,  Whether I'd attempt the rear axle & springs without an assistant is a different question, irrespective of how it's supported.

[Tickman]

For getting the axle out can it roll out on its wheels?

Regards the axle stands, when you remove the axle will it change the balance of the whole thing and make it unstable.

I think I would take @cobblers up on the offer of the bigger stands and some wheel chocks on the front so that can't shift at all. 

You're asking the question which makes me think you are not sure, if you're not 100% then the answer is no.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yeah you're absolutely right there Tickman, I guess I wouldn't ask if I had no doubts whatsoever.  I am gonna cadge Cobblers' big axle stands before I start having a go at the springs I reckon.

Not sure taking the axle off will make it unstable though?

[Mally]

I'd put an RSJ acrossways  in front of the front spring mountings with a wheel/blocks underneath each end, and block on that up to the chassis.

I'd also stick Cobblers axle stands under the rear of the chassis, Let the axle dangle, then support with trolley jack under the diff, ie take all weight off the springs.

Removing one spring would then be possible. To remove both springs at once causes the axle to be very unstable.

Ideally it needs a wooden cage built under the diff, in particular where the nose to prop is, and the axle tubes.

The front of the diff will dip dramatically without support when you remove both springs, and is fantastically heavy.

If you can obtain a spare pair  of, better/reset, springs, changing one spring at a time is much preferable.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ah I see what you mean, yes the axle might well get a bit unstable. In my head i was going to undo the rearmost spring eyelet bolts only, then lower the axle/springs with a jack under the diff until the axle was sitting on something solid (probably some wooden blocks) at which point I would undo the U-bolts and forward spring bolts. I hadn't thought about supporting the nose of the diff but that does sound like a wise move.

[Mally]

I've mentioned this before, but I used to work at  Seddon Atkinson, and have the squashed finger to prove it.

I get what you say about dropping the shackles, that's what I used to do with mk2 escorts.

A Bo11ox truck is a different matter.

[Zelandeth]

This is a job I'd not consider on a driveway, at least not without an assistant on hand who has experience working on HGVs and with *way* sturdier supports than those.

The suspension springs on this are going to be an order of magnitude stronger and heavier than those on a car. 

It's one of the jobs I flatly refused to get involved in where working on old buses was concerned because it scared the hell out of me.

[dozeydustman]

I would certainly recommend investing in something like this along with suitable axle stands, particularly if this is a long term keeper.

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/bj20d-20-tonne-low-profile-bottle-jack?gclid=CjwKCAjwyo36BRAXEiwA24CwGV_vkg2m0jcNyu1jxrs0KNcpP9_M7Qm9s3Wsd9NikNYkvdjd0a1qDBoCWpMQAvD_BwE
 

£40 quid is a small price to pay to keep yourself safe.

[sloth]

wheres the breeze blocks and piss weak argos special stands? fuggin' gone right down't 'ill this.

 

serious note, dont get under that. i lost a mate a few years back. his holden commodore bare shell fell off 4 stands whilst he fitted the back axle late one saturday.

 

his wife found him the next morning...

 

also silicone spray int spray cans is gr23 for screen fittinzzz

 

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

I would certainly recommend investing in something like this along with suitable axle stands, particularly if this is a long term keeper.

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/bj20d-20-tonne-low-profile-bottle-jack?gclid=CjwKCAjwyo36BRAXEiwA24CwGV_vkg2m0jcNyu1jxrs0KNcpP9_M7Qm9s3Wsd9NikNYkvdjd0a1qDBoCWpMQAvD_BwE
 

£40 quid is a small price to pay to keep yourself safe.

Cheers for the link.  I will probably grab one of those for jacking my van... it's only 2.8T (loaded) but it's obviously heavy enough compared to a car that it's unnerving enough to jack up!

[DSdriver]

10 hours ago, BeEP said:

Bucking the trend as usual but as you've given it a good shove I'd go under it, although I would also do what omegod suggests with spare wheels,  Whether I'd attempt the rear axle & springs without an assistant is a different question, irrespective of how it's supported.

Make sure, get three assistants

https://www.starnow.co.uk/elisesellen/photos/10983834

[bigfella2]

There is no way I would get under that, it looks like axle stands supported on some jenga blocks.

I don't work with anything heavy like your horse box,  not particularly keen on using axle stands at the best of times, but feel a lot happier going underneath anything heavy if it is supported on concrete blocks (not breeze) and a strip of wood on top to stop any damage to the underneath.

Concrete blocks are only about £1.40 each from b and q. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

OK I have borrowed Cobblers' massive axle stands which are a much better solution, no more fucking about with it till I have got them in place. I'ts blowing a friggin gale today so thats going to have to wait till later. IN the meantime heres an update:

So last time I was putting the interior back together, but I was stymied by a problem - despite welding up the scuttle, it was still getting rain in the drivers side, soaking the carpet. Thats not sustainable so I had to investigate.

On these the rainwater goes into the scuttle, from where it is poured into the A-pillar (nice) via a sort of helter-skelter system that looks like one of those charity coin drop things you used to have at the greengrocers. You can sort of see it here:

Not sure pouring rainwater into the A-pillar is a great idea but I presume they put some drain holes in so it couild get out again. Now that its been welded to hell I am not sure theres still a good route for it to drain out. In fact it was draining out into the drivers footwell through this bit of grot on the right here:

This is a bit of grot left over from the 'Al Bundy days'. I've got no realistic way of fixing that now. But clearly if the rain is pouring through it its gonna get worse and turn into another disaster area eventually. So i decided to make my own scuttle drain:

Made this from a bit of fuel pipe and sheet. Drilled the scuttle and riveted it on with a bit of sealant:

Next I made a drain pipe from some copper tube:

Drilled the bulkhead, put a grommet in the hole, and fitted my drain pipe:

Fits pretty well actually, doesnt flop about or anything and just minds its own business under there.

Next I 'dammed' the end of the scuttle to stop any more rain going down the A-pillar:

Here it is poking through in the engine bay:

Would you beleive, it worlks flippin perfectly. Now the cab is bone dry. I've still got that little bit of grot but I guess I can blast it with some oil or something and it should not get any worse now there is not rainwater flowing through it. Also now i can carry on putting the interior back together!!!

For that I need the seatboxes:

Like everything else they are all rusty:

So out came the mig again:

Not too bad to weld up to a decent standard. Then i decided to bling them up with a trip to the powder coaters!!!!

pretty freaking sweet eh? Only £40 to have them blasted and powder coated, its worth it for the mojo boost.

Have to cut big square holes in the carpet to fit these, but I managed that using chalk to mark up where to cut. Refitted the seat boxes with new bolts:

After a fashion both seats were in!

The interior is more or less back together now, I gave the pass seat base a quick clean up with thinners but they really need going over a few times to brighten them up a bit. Also got to refit the column binnacle but thats nowt. You can actually sit in now making noisy diesel brum brum sounds. Exciting!!! What next?

I took the brake master cylinder apart to inspect it. To my surprise it seemed in pretty excellent condition, so I just cleaned everything up and reassembled it. I took the reservoir off it to clean it out - its fastened to the cylinder with  2 x M8 bolts, but these screw into a brass thread insert thats just pushed into the placca reservoir moulding. So basically although bolts are involved, in reality the reservoir is just pushed on. I knacked one of the threaded inserts while dismantling it. I did order some new ones but then I decided that they were a bollocks solution anyway. So I refitted one with a new bolt, but I got creative with the other one. Cable ties!!!

The reservoir has two pipe stubs off it which push through rubber seals into the cylinder, so these bolts are just stopping it vibrating up and out to be honest, theres rag all load on em. Anyway I refitted it and filled it with fresh juice, but then I was at the point where I had to bleed the brakes. Before doing that I want to get the wheel cylinders rebuilt hence the arsing on at the back with axle stands etc.

Even getting the wheels off this fat bastard is a war. I've got a 3/4 drive breaker bar but I couldnt shift the wheel nuts, just too tight. So I spent £50 on this chinesium 'Torque Multipler'. Its basically got some gears in it that multiply whatever force you're putting on its crank arm, by a factor of 64!!!!

I'm not exggerating when i say it just pissed the wheelnuts off without even a raised eyebrow. Amazing. On the drivers side one or two of the nuts were a bit rounded and my 12-pt socket would nto get em, so i bought a 6-sided socket and that did em no probs. This tool is my key weapon for getting the spring shackle bolts undone.

You can just about see here I've got an axle stand under the axle and the springs are completely flat under the static weight of the truck. They are basically knacked after carrying horses round for 30 years or whatever. If I can get em off without killing myself, I can get them fettled including a couple of new leaves for about £300 so thats the plan, as well as overhauling the back brakes. I may be biting off more than I can chew attempting to do HGV axle wrestling on the drive, but I think I am gonna give it a go anyway. Someone mentioned making a wooden cradle to support the axle while the springs are off, which sounds like a jolly good idea and as you can see I have got plenty of shit old wood and a chop saw to knock something up with.  Whats the worst that can happen?

I am gonna give everything a few days repeated dousing in WD-40 before wading in with the big tools but nowt can happen till I address the axle stand situation which is weather-dependent. Will keep you posted!!!!

 

[barrett]

Excuse my ignrorance, but if the propshaft is connected at both ends, will there really be much in the way of force pushing the 'nose' of the diff downwards? Surely it will be limited by the prop, so it's not gonna spring forward and drag the whole axle away. As long as you have the diff supported by a jack and you keep it raised whilst taking the springs off I don't see how it could be too much of a disaster? (I don't think you should get underneath it as it stands obvs, I just don't see how the whole thing is gonna turn into a massive unwieldy nightmare if the axle is properly supported and the prop is still attached...)

[beko1987]

I bet with enough random wood, axle stands and these better ones you could fashion something up so the whole chassis is sat on loads of sturdy piles of stuff for extra security

If its as windy at yours as it is here I'd not do it today either, I'd be nervous jacking a car up in this let alone that! 

[puddlethumper]

Good progress Mr Bollox. Any news on the Turtles ?

[Mally]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

Excuse my ignrorance, but if the propshaft is connected at both ends, will there really be much in the way of force pushing the 'nose' of the diff downwards? Surely it will be limited by the prop, so it's not gonna spring forward and drag the whole axle away. As long as you have the diff supported by a jack and you keep it raised whilst taking the springs off I don't see how it could be too much of a disaster? (I don't think you should get underneath it as it stands obvs, I just don't see how the whole thing is gonna turn into a massive unwieldy nightmare if the axle is properly supported and the prop is still attached...)

Prop will have a slider and u/j at both ends. It will also be heavy.

Have you ever picked an Escort diff up? Well Bo11ocks diff probably weighs 3x that , and the axle casing plus brakes............

Take 1 spring off is ok. Take both springs off at the same time............ Unwieldly nightmare is probably about right. 

[phil_lihp]

Nice to see it coming back together, must be good for the mojo!

[jonathan_dyane]

I would love a shot of that torque multiplier, I bet it’s great at shearing stuff off. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ok now who would be up for getting under THIS?

I'd have no hesitation. I even planed my chunks of 3x2 so they sat nicely in the saddles of the axle stands. Much better!!!!

So with that I have now stripped the rear brakes.

The point of this was to access the wheel cylinders cos I just assumed like everything else they would be knackered. These are made from 100% finest unobtanium so if goosed they have to be refurbished rather than replaced.

I popped one of the pistons out and to my amazement it looked pretty minty inside. I will wash them in some pez tonight and have a proper look, but with a bit of luck I might get away without sending them off for re-sleeving. If thats the case I will just get some new seals off past parts, order some new stainless bleed nipples, maybe ask Cobblers if he can give the housings a clean up in his blast cabinet, and then refit em. I will have to make up a new brake pipe across the rear axle too as I chopped the old one. Might have to buy some more fittings as I have no idea if the threads are imperial or metric - most of the truck is metric, but there are a few odd imperial bits here and there.

Also bank holiday weekend coming up - if the weather is decent I might see what I can do with removing those springs.

 

 

[wuvvum]

Good news on the brake cylinders - anything brake related is a twat to get hold of for these.

[Mally]

How heavy was the brake drum?

Are the linings OK?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Well, I wouldnt want to drop it on my toe, but not so heavy that an unfit middle-aged man with a bad back could not stash it under his workbench.

[puddlethumper]

Great work Mr Boll. Hope the turtles are not being neglected in this furore of action. Could they sign up , maybe ?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Its been quiet on the turtle front lately (it usually is to be honest) but last weekend I did a mega 'crystal clear' cleanout on their tank including shell inspection, toenail trims and eye drops. Shortly afterward Maude started acting funny again, getting in and out of the water and generally faffing about. So, we reinstated the beach area and she's up and down all day digging holes and that. Seems theres another egg on the way!!!

[cobblers]

You're welcome to wang those cylinders in the media blaster, just fashion something to plug them up first of all so we don't get too much inside them, I dunno how well the seals would sit against a blasted surface. I've got some better media and a much more powerful gun now - the old setup wouldn't touch scaley rust but nowadays it's quite effective, especially with a new bag of glass in there. If you're happy with gray, I've even got some paint you can use.

 

 

[Largactil]

Seen this, which was recently spotted on teh internets , and thought of you Mr Boll

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Wheelarches look a bit wobby but overall that cab looks in pretty good shape!!!!

[DSdriver]

It won't be if a fat bastard climbs into the bunk above it

[Angrydicky]

Great news on the wheel cylinders! They are normally well knackered inside, due to commercial vehicle = neglect.

Re. the blasting, it's fine to use the fine glass media but ideally they'd still need a light hone with 600 grade W&D afterwards before fitting the pistons and new seals.

Watch those bleed nipples too, we often get Dodge cylinders sent in by customers who have snapped them off trying to bleed them. If they're tight, best thing to do, is take the pistons out and heat the bleed nipples up to cherry red before attempting to remove them.

Bore diameter should be 7/8" or 22.2mm but this is worth checking as the same casting was used with about three different castings and some 50s have ended up with different ones on there as it's been impossible to find new ones for years. Those Dodge repair kits are one of our best sellers - in fact sold two clutch slave cylinder kits to different Dodge customers on Friday!