A little something to keep me busy

[K Simmonds]

So, Ford Tractor blue is err, well a little too blue. Guess the shed will be getting a new coat soon.


The adjusters for the tie rods cleaned up ok. The centre 17mm part is a bit mangled. I cleaned it up as best as possible. These are M16 and bigger than on the S2. I couldn't find replacements.


I broke my home made tool for tightening the strut cap. I was trying to undo the caps which were rusted on. Maybe using the impact gun wasn't such a good idea?
The new version is much stronger. It's a ground down tractor wheel nut.





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I've made a near identical tool to yours for doing the strut to cap's, did a pretty industrial job of it so I can put an impact gun on it, haven't failed to undo one with minimal effort since.

As above heat gun with care and persistence with that oil pipe.

[Tractor Dave]

Boiling water and some grease did the trick. As usual, I've gone belt and braces. The hose is designed to go without clips but better safe than sorry.




I dropped the oil in the diff out. It was grubby.


I pre filled the oil filter and put some semi synthetic oil in. This will be changed after a 100 miles or so and will be used as my clean out oil.




I always feel nervous when there is no oil in the engine. This is despite a note on the key and the battery being disconnected.

Now onto front brake lines. The front nearside needs replacing and I will make a new piece from the abs pump.


The front off side will just get a short section.


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[Tractor Dave]

The front nearside went really well. I'm pleased how it turned out.




The off side was more difficult. I couldn't get the original pipe to flare. It's just too hard. To replace the whole pipe back to the abs pump is a real pain as access along to bulkhead is difficult.
I've used a stainless joint. I've had problems getting these to seal before. We will see how it goes.




Don't forget the grommet!


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[B5NUT]

I found the hand held flaring tool to be very hit or miss. In the end I got a vice mounted tool and it's been perfect. My stainless joints have been fine, shame they were so expensive.

[Tractor Dave]

I found the hand held flaring tool to be very hit or miss. In the end I got a vice mounted tool and it's been perfect. My stainless joints have been fine, shame they were so expensive.

My little hand flare tool has been brilliant. Never tried it on steel mind. I do have a vice flare tool but it's not going to help here. The stainless fitting seems to need to be extremely tight before anything happens.

[Tractor Dave]

Cv joints and driveshafts day.
They are quite rough.


And split inner side.


Can anyone confirm the outer front cv boot part number? 7Zap seems to think these are the same as S2 but the joint diameter looks bigger to me. The gkn ones I have seem a bit small.


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[Tractor Dave]

I didn't get much done today as we had visitors.
Stripped and treated ready for paint tomorrow.





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[Tractor Dave]

I picked up the wheels from the powder place. They came out like new.



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[K Simmonds]

Those rims look spot on, very nice indeed.

I have the exact same brake pipe flaring tool as that, it's never let me down, even in really tight spots. Though I prefer to use a vice mounted one if possible simply as it's a bit easier, I have a choice of either.

[steve briance]

What brand is the handheld pipe flare tool?

I got one a while back after hearing so many positive reviews...

I expect it was my own fault for not spending more but, the rubbish that turned up got sent straight back again.

It wasn't a case of it not being as durable as known brands, it was just so poorly made it would never work - the flare recess in the fixed half of the dye was machined off centre so every test flare ended up looking like a frenchmans hat sliding off his head!

[Tractor Dave]

It's a British made one. I will check tomorrow

[Nuvo]

Sykes Pickavant maybe?

[K Simmonds]

It's a British made one. I will check tomorrow

Yeah, mines UK manufactured as well. Will check the brand tomorrow, it's a nice tool. Could be Sykes Pickavant as Nuvo suggests but not sure, it's that sort of quality. Probably done over 100 joints with mine over the years, the only time it's made a mess is when I've been rushing and not set it up correctly.

[Tractor Dave]

No makers name on it. Just says made in England and I've lost the instructions

[steve briance]

Sykes seems to get the vote

Thanks all, lesson learnt!