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In Bulletin
10 I reported on our attempts to get to the bottom of the
heavy steering problem and gave an account of the overhaul
of the steering box. The strip down of the box didn't reveal
much except that a bearing and seal were in need of
replacement and that the sector was not perfectly centred on
the worm. It would have probably lasted another 50 years
like that and nobody would have noticed, but it was good to
know that these items had been attended to. However, this
did not cure the heavy steering problem.
The bus was now on blocks for a brake overhaul so this gave
us the opportunity to investigate the rest of the steering
gear. Even with the bus jacked up, the steering was still
heavy. There was definitely something wrong. So we decided
that we would start at the first joint and work our way back
to the king pins. The first thing we did was to slacken off
the two bolts retaining the ball joint where the drop arm
meets the drag link. The steering was checked and
immediately there was a big improvement. It seemed we had
found the root of the problem. All that was needed was a
shim to be fitted - it was as simple as that! All the other
joints were checked and found to be operating
satisfactorily. We won't know for sure if this has entirely
cured the problem until we do a road test, but everything
appears to be operating the way it should.
Next job on the front axle was to check the Clayton Dewandre
wheel cylinders. These were opened up and found to be in
good condition - just in need of a good clean inside. It would
be good if all jobs were as simple as that!
Another task completed recently was the repair to the fuel
tank. There had been evidence of fuel dripping from some or
all of the four supporting straps. When we removed the tank
for inspection it was found to be peppered with holes, no
doubt caused by the continual movement of the tank within
its supports. The tank was given to Ian Walker Commercials
of Renfrew who arranged for the complete bottom section to
be removed and new metal welded in.
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