hmmmnz

fuck yeah he's an awesome dude,  i have to get him something for all the work,  but he doesnt drink, so i can't even ply him with copious amounts of single malt whisky.

i guess ill give him a resturant voucher and some cash.

roughly in parts, just for the gearbox its cost about £400,  ive seen complete "rebuilt boxes" out of germany for £550.  it makes me wonder how you could viably rebuild gearboxes for £150 labour,  seeing the labour bob put into the job,  there must be atleast 15-25 hours worth in there,  and the germans are selling the boxes, not even a swap,

a second hand box of unknown condition costs roughly £250-£300  soo you only have at best 300 to play with for all the parts and labour!!

any way, 

he did the cluch as well,  it took bob 2 hands to pull in the lever

i'd just assumed was a bmw dry clutch thing,

I had employed my massive forearms to better effect   but this wasnt right, so bob got on the case and fixed that,  along with all the rest of the dodgy bits on the bike that i didnt give a shit about but bob woth his O.C.D. couldn't live with,

i think it was driving him mad that i wouldnt let him paint the tank

ill get some photos up when i grab the bike

ok, well as some of you know, on my way to do my euro trip i blew the gearbox coming into stormin the castle, so i ditched the beemer and bought a bandit12 to do it on,
fast foward to a few weeks ago when i finally got round to picking up thebmw and dropping it off to a local guy who is an expert on air head boxes,  he has dozens of them and they get sent to him from around europe to do, luckily he agreed to do mine as he had nothing on,
and didnt even want to get paid for the job,
just pay for parts,

so here is his write up on the job

I had a quick look at the bike after you had gone. That box sounds as though its got a really serious problem, I've never heard a noise like that before. It will be interesting to see what happened (I'll post pictures).

I was out with horses today and tomorrow I've got to sort out a neighbour's chainsaw before doing anything else but hopefully I'll make a start at getting the box out.

I'll report back on progress.
....



Just to remind you, this is what turned up:








It was very difficult to push about as the box wasn't running free in Neutral, this was accompanied by horrible 'clunking' noises.

Pretty soon it was a sorry little Rat Bike





Taking it apart wasn't difficult. The tank was held on by the single fuel pipe and the airbox only had one bolt - which was very loose. The seat was clinging on with two nuts that were just started on their threads

The air filter is a scrapper :blast.

Anyway, the box was soon on the bench:





The Output Flange nut came off OK, but the taper was very tight (a good sign).








The box was very dirty around the clutch end. The clutch lever was very stiff so I was expecting trouble there.





The magnetic drain plug didn't look too bad - which surprised me as I was expecting more swarf than this:





Soon the box was apart to reveal . . Swarf everywhere














I can't show it in stills, but the rear bearing on the output shaft was the worst I've ever seen - its almost possible to remove the outer track from what's left of the balls and cage. The other bearings are shot as well - but are not as bad.

The output shaft has been pulled back from the front bearing. There shouldn't be any discernible space between the bearing and the fifth gear pinion. This is why we fit circlips to the front of the inner bearing





The swarf has contaminated the oil and has worn the two bearing sleeves that the first and second gear pinions run on - The plain sleeve for First Gear:





The First Gear pinion has a plain thrust washer on each side. The inner one has been pressed into the Third Gear sliding pinion - its supposed to be flat. This has further damaged the bearing sleeve that did the damage to it.





The (expensive) roller Bearing on the front of the Input Shaft is usually OK, however, this one is jammed solid and the rollers won't turn so I guess its full of swarf





I think the box has run low on oil at some point in its life (there was oil in it when I drained it) as the Input and Output shafts have been 'blued' with heat where the bearings have been choked with swarf:








I'm not intending to replace them as the bearing sleeves will be renewed. I can't see them going soft (or brittle) with the heat treatment.


Some of the retaining washers and circlips on the Output Shaft are damaged and will be replaced. One circlip has been reduced to almost half its circumference, yet I didn't find any broken pieces





The 'clunking' noise heard when the bike was being wheeled about came from the Drive shaft. The rear bearing on the Output Shaft was so worn that the Drive Flange was hitting the outer sleeve on the rear gearbox cover - where the 'boot' attaches. This movement allowed the Worm Drive on the Flange to chew-up the Speedometer Drive gear - you can see how the spline teeth are now tapered towards the lower end. I have ordered a 'Good used' one from Motorworks.





Worse, the Drive Flange has cracked the rear cover. Its not critical and I'll put a touch of Epoxy adhesive on it. A 'Good Used' rear cover is £110 from Motorworks








The good news:

There is some. The selector forks are fine with just one tip showing signs of heat. They will go back in OK.





The complete Selector Mechanism is also A-OK. I'll replace the springs and Indexing Roller as a matter of course but this is actually better than some I've seen








The cam faces on the Input Shaft Shock Absorber are also very good.





The Clutch:

The Clutch assembly looked well past its sell-by date and I wasn't very hopeful about saving all of it.





I removed the six 'hold down' bolts and expected the outer retaining ring to fall off and the Friction Plate to fall out . . . not a bit of it, the thing was welded together and nothing would shift it.

I soaked the three locating pegs in Penetrating Oil and left it for a couple of days - still no movement. So with a gas torch and a hammer and cold chisel (to use as a wedge) I eventually got the bits separated.

The Friction Plate is just down to the rivets and the rest is rusty and seized. I'll save what I can but I have ordered three new parts from Moto-Bins today.








The problem then was that all the components were contaminated with very fine metal swarf and I didn't want to put anything back in that state. Washing the Gear Pinions in Kerosene didn't remove the swarf so I dug out my 27 litre Ultrasonic Cleaner








"Hubble-Bubble"





After two 20-minute sessions, the cleaning fluid was a dark brown colour.





When the fluid was drained the bottom was coated in particles - mostly steel swarf. I cleaned the tank out with a large clump of paper towel which came out covered in sparkly bits.





As the gear pinions and so on were now thoroughly de-greased I carefully re-oiled everything and set it aside ready for assembly.

I have a couple of (large) orders outstanding with Moto-Bins and Motorworks so assembly will have to wait until the shiny new bits have arrived.

To be continued....

.....


I fitted the centre track from a 6403 bearing onto the Output Shaft and then stuck it in the lathe.

Using a carbide strip ground down to a shade over 1mm thickness and given a cutting tip, I cut a circlip groove into the forward end.





It doesn't take long and a new circlip fitted OK.





Then a van arrived . . Oooooh, shiny bits





Hmmmm, doesn't look like £432-worth does it








It's not all for this bike as I'm re-stocking some of the small stuff .


New vs. Old.








The second gear bearing sleeve was a nice tight fit on the shaft.





Always ensure that these oil holes are lined up as there isn't an oil groove on the inside of the sleeve.





The new 'High Fifth' gear was fitted, along with fourth & Second gears, front bearing and the all-important circlip. Second gear is a lovely fit on that new sleeve - smooth without any hint of play








I then added the third and first gear pinions. First gear is also a nice smooth fit without shake on its new sleeve - quite unlike the way it was when it came off originally.

The 'Standard Fifth' gear is shown, there is no difference in diameter they just cunningly re-profile it to include fewer teeth





I built up the Input and  Intermediate shafts yesterday, but didn't take pictures (it involves spring compressors, various home-made steel 'dollies' and my floor press) all three shafts are now ready to go back in. The Gear Selector mechanism is also ready with new springs and Indexing Roller.





I may get the box assembled tomorrow but then there will be a short break as I'm off to "The Bristol Classic Bike Show" at Shepton Mallet on Friday/Saturday. I won't be on the 1150GSA this year as I don't fancy the M6 on a Friday with snow and ice - I'll be taking a large 4x4 . I must be getting old and soft

I put the gearbox casing through the Ultrasonic Cleaner yesterday. It is clean but the alloy is now dark and mottled. I'll see if I can clean it up with something before building it up.

To be continued . . . .


.....

More progress to report

Having assembled the three shafts I heated the gearbox case with a Propane torch and fitted them along with the intermediate shaft selector fork that has to go in at the same time. There are two oil baffles in front of the Intermediate & Output shafts and the Input shaft's roller bearing has to go in before the others as all three bearings are an Interference fit. It entails a bit of juggling and one has to be quick.

A quick tap with a rubber mallet ensures that all bearings are seated before the case cools.

Then the Selector mechanism, Output Shaft Selector forks and shaft and main oil baffle are fitted.





When the case has cooled the gear lever if fitted and the gearchange is checked. It isn't great with the rear bearings unsupported but as long as all gears can be selected it will be OK when the rear cover is fitted.

Then the rear cover gasket goes on with a light smear of Blue Hylomar.








And now for the technical bit - Shimming the end-float .

One needs a 'Shimming Plate' for this job:





I have drilled mine so that I can bolt it down on top of the gasket. I think that this gives me the most accurate measurements but people have different approaches and may just rest the plate on the case or put the gasket in after the measuring has been done - each to his own.





I use a 'Outside Micrometer' and a 'Depth Micrometer' for this job.

First measure the thickness of the Shimming Plate:





Then measure the thickness of the oil baffle that goes on the rear of the Intermediate shaft:





Using the Depth Micrometer, measure the height of each bearing above the plate - I take about six measurements around each bearing.





Then measure the depth of the bearing housings in the rear cover - again, I take about six per bearing.





All of this is written down and then the shim thickness is calculated for each bearing:

The formula goes . .

(Depth in cover - 0.05mm clearance) - (height above plate + plate thickness + baffle thickness) = Shim thickness.


One then has to assemble a collection of shims to the right value. These come in four nominal sizes - 0.20mm / 0.28mm / 0.38mm / 0.50mm. However there is quite a variation and I spend time mixing & matching until I get the right result to within 0.02mm.

Here, I am looking for 0.95mm for the Output shaft and the shims measure 0.94 - good enough for me .





The collection of shims are lightly greased and placed centrally on the bearings - you don't want them moving as the cover is fitted





I screw four 6mm studs into the back if the case as a guide for the cover. It will be hot and if fumbled causes mayhem with shims falling about the place .






A final check is made of the rear cover to ensure it is flat. If not it will cause problems.







And then the cover is heated with the Propane torch and carefully lowered onto the bearings. It is then tapped down with a rubber mallet and five of the nine set screws are fitted.






The studs are removed and all set screws fitted and torqued-down to 9 lbs/ft.






When the box has cooled and I am happy that the clearances feel right I fit the three oil seals. First the input shaft splines are masked and the shaft given a light smear of grease.






I use a long socket of appropriate size to seat the oil seal into the case. The seal is given a light coat of Blue Hylomar to ensure its oil tight around the case.






Surplus compound is wiped away and that's one done :thumb.






Now remove the gear lever and repeat the process with the gear lever shaft oil seal. I used an 18mm socket to seat it.










The gear lever shaft is given a light smear of grease and replaced.






The Output Shaft oil seal is given the same treatment. This is a Monolever bike so the oil seal lips face outwards to let the box breath into the leg (which has oil in it). Paralevers have a different oil seal that is faced inwards as the leg is dry. Paralever boxes breath through the hollow bolt that secures the speedometer cable and battery earth strap.

I use a flat steel disk I turned on the lathe with a 50mm 3/4" drive socket to seat the rear oil seal.







The output Shaft drive flange is then given a light greasing and fitted to the taper shaft - the taper is kept dry. The nut is torqued down to 161 lbs/ft which is a bit of a heave. I use a long locking bar and a Certified 50-300 lbs/ft 3/4"-drive torque wrench for this.







Almost finished now. The Neutral Switch is checked with a Multi-Meter and fitted with a new washer. The Drain Plug is also fitted with a new washer. I cleaned the swarf off the magnet with cloth and a high-pressure air line (don't try this at home kids :rob).







The replacement Speedometer Drive, a new collar and the breather bolt are then fitted (it doesn't strictly need a breather bolt as a plain one would do but it has one so it went back in).






And that's it - the box is finished . . . .







Now for the clutch . . . .
......


so thats it, box is done clutch done, bike back together
and a massive parts bill to pay,  almost to the price i paid for the bike a couple of years ago

well thats the boxes done,

new/really old steel mudguard added as well, for extra awesome,

pics.

from the back,  the panniers/ammo boxes are just a touch wider than the heads, so thats good,

i could probably get them the same width with a bit of a design change, but that'll do me

ammo box/crash protection

update, for shits and giggles,
after fitting a new subframe and seat,

i decided to rub off all the paint and am letting it rust a bit before chucking a clear over it, you know because all the kids are doing it,
so it must be cool, i thought about sticker bombing it, but came to the conclusion that im 35, not 17


excuse my niece and nephew.



umm since that pic, not that you can see it, the exhaust has been changed to run lower and closer to the engine and frame so it doesnt burn my fucken leg, and allows the boxes to be mounted as close as possible to the frame





the boxes are 20mm us army ammo boxes and come in at around 30 litres (29l)  so are a fairly decent size without sticking out too far,

i hate to say it but why not go for a 180sx 4 cylinder turbo motor or silvia sr20det motor in it,

plenty of room for not cutting anything, more than enough power to shift the capri body,

and parts are plentiful

leffe brune was on special, so i had a big bottle of that,

its one of my favourite easy to get belguin beers, not too strong (for a belguin beer, only 7.5%)

and very tastey

right its been well over a year, since any real love has been shown to mr merc,

he did famously around europe,  the only trouble we had was the gear linkages came loose and i couldnt shift gear,

that was in montenegro,

turned out it was the rubber bushes, which was a 5 euro fix, and luckily i found the offical merc parts supplier

less than an hour away from where it happened, so that was awesome,

we got stuck once in romania when the road turned from nice tarmac thing into gravel, then mud, then a bog,

any way a few weekends back we decided to take the camper up into the highlands of scotlands and meet up with some mates from the ski season in france for a bit of a bender,

the temp was getting a bit high 90'C which seems fine, but when you have driven 10000miles with it never getting above 84'c even in the hottest 42'C Italian sun

or up super steep mountain roads in Austria  and Switzerland,

  that extra 6'C was a tell tale sign

discovered we had a small leak in the core and topped up a couple of times through out the trip and got to and back home again with out any major problems

when i got back i pulled the radiator,

and sent it off to the only radiator place left in edinburgh!!!

for them to replace the core,

replaced the thermostat and cap, checked out the pump,

thank fully the whole cooling system is super clean, no brown sludge to be seen anywhere, and looks like its always had coolant in it,

rad and gubbins back in, nice new fluid for everything, long life coolant,

shes like new again

although i have to fix this oil leak from the injection pump (its been leaking from their the whole time we've owned it)

its not a major issue, but its annoying that the van thinks its english and that its allowed to leave its mark where ever it goes

well its been a while,

a whole load of hurry up and wait has been happening, i could have had the cab on well over a week ago, but they couldnt get the power car in the shed because other power cars were being worked on,

then when there was a free space, they discovered that there was rust that needed to be repaired,

which fucked me off immensely as it had been sitting there for 3 weeks,

then they wanted to get photos for a fucken rail magazine,

which was ridiculous as they had people who haven't even come near the cab pretending they were fixing something for a photo

so its been a very slack week or 2, with lots of lunch time finishes (paid for a full shift so shouldnt really complain)

any way cabs on so now i can do some wiring and get this piece running again

the team,

me with the ginger beard on the left, the faceless apprentice in the middle, and john the english fitter on the right,

cab being lifted

cab almost in place, with the apprentice and fitter inside trying to get the bolts done up

so thats it, we got all the mounting bolts underneath and inside all lined up and torqued to a spec that we made up on the spot,  i think it was tight with a wee nip more, quite precise us

earth bond done up and thats it,  now its a few days of connecting the wiring to the junction box in the engine room, (very tiny space for a 110kg 6'4" kiwi to be jamming himself for a couple of days) 

then run all the non original wiring from the engine room back into the cab, and then the desk cover and the actual guages and what not can be fitted, 

my money is on they wont have the desk repaired,

but i have 3 weeks before i go on my euro motorbike trip, so they best be pulling finger if they want this fucken train done

right been a few days,

managed to get the floor in, and the earths done,

got the vents for the air con done and cut out underneath,

then got some of the pipe work in before the desk went back in,

fotos bitches

cab lifted to cut the vent holes underneath

floor and some of the vent stuff in

what!! desk back in

all the wiring run back and up the wall ready to go back to the motor room junction box

so yeah, not doing to badly, 

bad news is that some one scribbled out my penis picture

but i do have a kiwi pic that has survived

the only thing i can do with a welder is create holes

round bits need to be made to weld to the floor, but none of it is rocket science,

i just don't have the bits available to me, or good enough skills with a welder to attempt it myself,

should really get myself on a course at some stage

well the last few days have been a big waste of fucken time,

i need the earth lugs welded on before i can chuck the desk back into the new cab,  but every fucker seems to be dragging their feet,

in 3 days i have literally cut 2 holes out of the floor for the aircon, and pulled out the window frames,  paid for 28 hours

worked 2,  yeah no wonder shit in the uk is going to the dogs

a mega squirt, or link is easily had for them,

link have a nice plug and play unit that runs well, on na or turbo'd units,

id keep with the rb30, they are pretty solid engines,

a cam change/grind can be done for quite cheap, and makes quite a bit of difference,

up the compression etc and your at around 250-260 hp, is that enough??

twin cam head will def get you more though

id go for a 12v li-on battery pack and 12 led lights,

the'll last for ever on single charge and on a dynamo you have to be moving to get power, and you can't really use efficient lighting with out having a battery to smooth everything out

Agreed. Why all black wires?. Suck.

Btw- where are planning on biking? Mega jealous as I just cycling in the Alps etc.

dunno why all black, may be a discount on a 1000meter roll of cable, bugger if i know,

by biking, i mean motorbikes, so from scotland down to romania and the black sea and back up,

hopefully hit holland, belgium, france, switzerland, italy, slovenia, croatia, bosnia, serbia, romania, hungary, austria, germany for the beer fest, czech republic, back in to germany and holland and back to the uk, we'll probably get to litchenstein and luxembourg just to tick them off the list,  the main objective is to go to as many mountian roads in as many countries as possible, have a swim in the black sea, drink loads of cheap beer, eat goulash, and hopefully have no crashes or breakdowns

any way photo for thread,

the 2 cabs sitting back to back while i change everything over, 

im aiming for most of the inside to be changed over by this time next week,

all things equal, famous last words

right today the cab came off,

all with out a hitch, (actually i missed chassis to cab earth bonds on the underside of the train, but they were disconnected with in seconds)

they hired a team of guys to lift off the cab, talk about a waste of fucken money, 6 guys to run 2 straps and hook up 4 block and tackles,  meh, its not my money, but ffs, it literally to 2 mins to get it off the chassis, although with the number of managers around you'd think it was the first time start up to a nuclear reactor,  (actually last time i was at a nuclear reactor there were bugger all people about)

any way photos

and when all the monkeys had gone, we moved it over the power carrage, so it could be moved out the way as the space was needed at the end of the shed so another carrage could come in to be serviced

so now the real fun begins, i have to pull out all the old equipment, frames, dash, controllers, etc and shift it along with the wiring ive already disconnected from the main junction accross to the new cab, and fit it all up, ready to go back on to the power car,

bets are 3 months,  but ive only got 7 weeks untill i go on a 6 week bike trip with my bro, uncle and a mate who are flying over at the end of august, ...  i foresee some long days for the lone kiwi spark, 

ok been a while,

finally got my seat and subframe done and fitted

like the copper cable exhaust hanger

the subframe goes inside the shock instead of around the out side

tail light is still original, untill the new one turns up

exhaust needs to be re-done

new gel battery needs to be fitted in a hidden location

33/11 ratio bevel box needs to be found so i can fit the 17" rear spoked rim,

longer rear shock needed

of all the bikes i have, its my commuter weapon of choice   got a 6 week euro trip planned as well, so the beemer will be doing that as well,

yeah its a bit bullshit really considering in the next couple of years all the diesel trains are being replaced with "hybrids"

so if there is electric lines they have to run electric, and only use the diesel engine as a last resort,

they are all being supplied and serviced by hitachi so i dare say alot of the smaller sidings will be closed down, and the boys will have to jump ship.

but there will be a few v16 diesel motors lying about

right as it turns out my other phone doesnt take the same size sim,

so you'll have to put up with the crap pics, sorry

here is te crack on the inside

hmmm i wonder where they all go

looming over the looming

this is the junction box in the engine compartment, all of the original wiring come via here,

its just everything else that doesnt thats being an arse at the moment

and here is our replacement cab, supposidly its new,

but it has some cut cables hanging out of it, so....

at this stage im aiming for tuesday to lift the cab from the chassis, and pace it next to the new cab so the swap over can begin

fun times

fuck knows a 43 something

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_%28HST%29

with a mtu engine, and a big fuck off generator, a massive diode bank and some dc traction motors

shit sorry lads, never realised how shit my phone camera was in low lights,

ill take my other phone tomorrow

any way

front of train, it has the bottom removed,

in this pic you can see the crack running up from the headlight

on the inside near the windscreen its pushed in about 15mm

the last couple of days effort, ripping out (disconecting nicely and taking notes) the inside consuls

so yeah, pretty much every thing in the cab is original except from the gsm-r phone and tracking system, and some solenoid control valve for the power brakes,

im a bit surprised that everything isnt done in a modular fashion,  big plugs,  unclick undo a few bolts and the whole cab comes off, as it stands, every fucken wire is a single core,  not even multi core cables to different equipment,  just fucken hundreds and hundreds of little cables going everywhere,

im going to push for a modular system, but being an out sider, ill probably be shouted down

i think if i did it right, a cab off change over could be done in a week or 2, as it stands im thinking this is probably going to take 3 months

its for east coast trains in scotland,  ill take some pics when i get to work

The renthals make it look like a real wheely machine

they make a huge difference, change the whole riding position,

and i thought easier to handle the knife edge handling that the 7's had.

pretty easy to handle a wheely with them too