All posts by Nigel

21/9/2025

Work continues on the braking system with the refitting of the offside rear brake drum.   I next removed the grease nipples from the brake cam shafts and pumped strong pentrating fluid into the holes, in the hope that this will release the adjusters.  I intend to repeat this several times before final greasing.   After that, all the studs on both rear wheel hubs had a die nut run down them and nuts matched to the thread and lubricated with copper grease.  I have enough (hopefully) new wheel nuts to replace all the rounded-off and missing old ones.   Since my only means of adjustment of the rear brakes is now the operating rods from the crosshaft, I removed the O/S one fairly easily and cleaned up the threads, noting that one end had a left-hand thread.  The nearside is proving more stubborn, as the pin through the cross shaft lever is well stuck.  The nut was removed easily enough, using an angle grinder and hammer and chisel.   Some powerful BDX penetrating oil was then applied and left to soak over night.

14/9/2025

Started the week by trial fitting the cab door window after epoxying the bottom glass channel after the welds broke last week.  The glue used is a particularly strong variety and should hold, especially as the window is a tight fit in the door.  It needs to come out, though as various minor issues raised their heads.  Returned then to the rear brakes, and it is clear that there is something wrong in the assembly of the N/S rear brake as it is unable to return to rest as it should.   I was unable to free up the scissors adjuster, nor could I remove the nut on the end of the brake cam shaft, without resorting to cutting it off, with resultant risk of damage to the shaft, so decided to try and fit the drum then adjust the brake by shortening the operating rod.  In the end the drum slipped on easily over the new linings, so freeing up the djuster can wait for another day when the bus is over a or on a lift.  I noted that the inside face of the drum was in excellent condition, suggesting it had recently (relatively speaking) been skimmed.  I next reasembled the adjuster, leaving some free play in the nut in case the repeated operation of the brakes actually freed it up, then moved on to the other side, preparing for refitting the drum, which included removing the loose rust and degreasing it.  So refitting it will be Monday’s first job.  Not a lot of progress this week!

7/9/2025

started the week by preparing the MW for Berden, then working on the stuck pin by the N/S rear adjuster but twisted my back in the process so that put a halt to that for now.  Work resumed with the cab window, a tricky and time consuming job. A problem occured with the welds on the bottom channel which I think will fix adequately with strong chinese epoxy.  Otherwise the window is ready for tape removal and fitting, assuming the correct screws are available,  MW preparation for Berden Fete then ensued, so all work ceased temporarily.