Ram Reseal on Thwaites 6 tonner

[v8druid]

Something a little different and more mundane today guys. The steering ram, on my Thwaites has been peeing oil out the scraper for ages and the small puddle under it reminded me that it was in need of attention, so..........








The pins were an easy proposition, after spending a lot of time last year jacking the damned things out and cleaning 'em up ready, for when I got some seals for it (which've been sat now for quite some time)!!


Ram off and drained out with a bit of help from the trusty air bottle, line and 150PSI of the best free Welsh air available!





I would like to meet the guy who decided that two 5mm pin holes were adequate for removing this end cap!!!!!





He was so wrong!!!!!!

Having snapped two sets of 5mm pins with my usual method of a very large adjustable spanning 'em, one lot after giving it a good 'cooking'......





The box of silver steel came out, I drilled 'em out to 1/4" and measured up the centres with a couple of pins in to get an accurate dimension.





First job the next day was to make a pin spanner and then give it a.n.other cooking, to really nadger any remaining Loctite in there
It's gorra come off, having completely knackered what was left of the original scraper/gland seal.


All for the sake of a decent hex ended gland nut!


Capped the ports and left it clamped to the bench for the night - t'was tea time!!!!!!!

end cap - Nil ...... Druid - one !!!!





Hell there was some Loctite in the threads - 'least what was left of it - had to scrape 'em clean, in the cylinder !! WTF does anyone use it???? Bit of PTFE thread tape or string'd do just as effective a job ........ and shouldn't be any leaks anyway





Would like to meet the over enthusiastic bar steward, who went for gold on this pin too





Countersink and a 6mm bit later ........





Someone's been in here before, looking at the 'stillies' mark on the nut and the ding on the piston!!!

with the pin out...........








the nut was off by hand, after a gentle tap on the side, to rattle it a tad!!





I was expecting a battle!!!
Here's the ding in the piston ...............

[v8druid]

Seal kit eventually found (I've had it a while and had to think very hard as to where I'd put it - it's probably been relocated two or three times since I acquired it).
Opened it up after cleaning off all the various bits and started fitting everything in place, when Mrs D arrives requiring a 'service' on her wheel barra!


Couple of new nuts, bolts and large washers to secure the tub back on and a bit of wind in't wheel and she's away again







Finished off getting all the new bits back together and realised I'd put the bloody wiper seal, in the end cap, in back'ards !!!!!!!! bloody interuptions


Lil' bar steward took some getting back out, being new, FT and in the wrong way round.
You guessed it though!
Picked up a new one the following morning - did not like the look of it afterwards and as it's such an effort, I waited 'til the a.m. for a new one - ships and tar again!


So annoyed with myself for doing it in the first place (and not managing to get it back out without any marks/deformation) !!!

My new seal arrived lunchtime, the following day at my local hyd place, so went and collected it, along with a barrel of red, 'en route', a quick supermarket hit and back to re-assemble the dumper's ram.

It piddled down here on and off all that day and 'fraid I was more concerned with getting it back in one piece and on the Thwaites, so I'm afraid there ain't any pix - yer's just gonna have to view the dis-assembly ones in reverse

It's been fine since and more to the point, oil tight which is a pleasant change from the last 12 months of having a plastic bucket hung under it, if venturing onto anything remotely decent .......... like the tarmac-ed drive

[Muz]

You mean you didn't replace the knackered piston rod while you were in ?

[v8druid]

You mean you didn't replace the knackered piston rod while you were in ?

Know what you mean Muz, but I wanted to use the Thwaites.
It's been ok so far, but agree ......... that rod's seen some lumps dropped on it out the skip over the years, before I acquired it.
I did put it on the other way up to try to give it a fighting chance and made sure there were no scags ........ it's all dimples, so hopefully the scraper'll last a while and it won't take much stripping next time .... believe me, PTFE is all that went back into the gland/end cap threads and the seal is pennies.
A.n.other change wouldn't take me long, a second time, but yeh a new rod would've been ideal.

If it becomes an issue, I'll whip it apart and measure it up for the the boys at Fast fluids to knock out a rod for me and I'll swap the end over!

[Muz]

Know what you mean Muz, but I wanted to use the Thwaites.
It's been ok so far, but agree ......... that rod's seen some lumps dropped on it out the skip over the years, before I acquired it.
I did put it on the other way up to try to give it a fighting chance and made sure there were no scags ........ it's all dimples, so hopefully the scraper'll last a while and it won't take much stripping next time .... believe me, PTFE is all that went back into the gland/end cap threads and the seal is pennies.
A.n.other change wouldn't take me long, a second time, but yeh a new rod would've been ideal.

If it becomes an issue, I'll whip it apart and measure it up for the the boys at Fast fluids to knock out a rod for me and I'll swap the end over!

Well if you've knocked off any rough it will last a good while but still sweat a bit eventually , but .. if theres no heavy use .. it will be fine

I use a hard file on the chrome to knock off any edges .. dunno what your preference is ? maybe start a new thread for treating chrome damage ?

[v8druid]

Well if you've knocked off any rough it will last a good while but still sweat a bit eventually , but .. if theres no heavy use .. it will be fine

I use a hard file on the chrome to knock off any edges .. dunno what your preference is ? maybe start a new thread for treating chrome damage ?

I've got one of those diamond powder files Muz - awsome for dealing with damaged chrome/anything hard and leave a great finish
No real 'scars' in it though, fortunately, so as you say, it should do me for a good while. Least the lil' bar steward aint' dripping any more and don't need the placcy bucket strung under it on the drive

[Mick-the-fitter]

Seal kit eventually found (I've had it a while and had to think very hard as to where I'd put it - it's probably been relocated two or three times since I acquired it).
Opened it up after cleaning off all the various bits and started fitting everything in place, when Mrs D arrives requiring a 'service' on her wheel barra!


Couple of new nuts, bolts and large washers to secure the tub back on and a bit of wind in't wheel and she's away again







Finished off getting all the new bits back together and realised I'd put the bloody wiper seal, in the end cap, in back'ards !!!!!!!! bloody interuptions


Lil' bar steward took some getting back out, being new, FT and in the wrong way round.
You guessed it though!
Picked up a new one the following morning - did not like the look of it afterwards and as it's such an effort, I waited 'til the a.m. for a new one - ships and tar again!


So annoyed with myself for doing it in the first place (and not managing to get it back out without any marks/deformation) !!!

My new seal arrived lunchtime, the following day at my local hyd place, so went and collected it, along with a barrel of red, 'en route', a quick supermarket hit and back to re-assemble the dumper's ram.

It piddled down here on and off all that day and 'fraid I was more concerned with getting it back in one piece and on the Thwaites, so I'm afraid there ain't any pix - yer's just gonna have to view the dis-assembly ones in reverse

It's been fine since and more to the point, oil tight which is a pleasant change from the last 12 months of having a plastic bucket hung under it, if venturing onto anything remotely decent .......... like the tarmac-ed drive

Good job done, good to see there are still other smiths about,

and glad lad to see your punctuation during the Barra story was up to scratch,

Mick

[v8druid]

Good job done, good to see there are still other smiths about,

and glad lad to see your punctuation during the Barra story was up to scratch,

Mick

LOL
Cheers Mick.
Grammar school educated mate and I'm a stickler for punctuation - things don't make sense, without it, a lot of the time and proper punctuation makes it so much easier to read!

Been at it all my life and will have a go at anything ....... my philosophy is ......... someone put it together once, therefore it should be do-able (sometimes, even if it was never intended to be, too)

Gra