Some EX Kwikasair / Comet 8 wheelers

Continued............................
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.Here is ....... another little bit of nostalgia............

front cab mounts.......... the old front cab mounts used to flog out occasionally ?????
(the old crowbar between the leg and the front plate ,picked up any movement)
so in would come the thing for some new mounts in the front legs (that would tend to come adrift
while the aluminium rivets were being used earlier on)
Out with the old rubber bits.........in with the new using the tapered installer........
but what if the hollow pins were loose in the leg base...........a hacksaw cut horizontally about an inch or so
in from each end allowed you to fit a special tapered collet in the end of the tube to be tightened and drawn
in by the retaining bolt...........this spread the ends of the pin........taking up any wear in the leg base hole..........
Result.............all back to new............
most of the blokes just used the cab pump to lift the front of the cab to replace the mounts...............
So the customer picks up his truck and away he goes..................15 minutes later he is back, the Jacobs isnt working
it was ok when i left it here..............................
This is why i always took a truck for a spin ...............
When the front of the cab was lifted , the clutch pedal went skywards......bending the clutch micro switch lever.
a bending operation cured that,,,,,simple,,,,,,but something that upset the customer to no end........................
Thats it for to nite...........as they say ..........Ripley ........believe it or not..........
.................................................Billy.........................................

In the 80's P.B. Coleman P/L of Corrimal NSW ( near Wollongong) was still working their 75 or 76 T3866C Atkinson on float work. Specs were 350 Cummins small cam, 12515 Roadranger and 2 speed Eaton 44,000 lbs diffs. Ratios 4.11 to 1 and 5.60 to 1. On one job while moving a piece of minimg equipement the Atkinson was coupled to a single row of 8 Brentwood dolly and a 3 rows of 8 Brentwood widening float. I think the float was opened to 10 feet. As the first part of the job was a a steep dirt incline, the driver selected the lowest gear possible and put the diff lock in.
The truck went about 10 feet and bang. The spider hubs on the drive axles had spun on the rims.
One of the diffs had failed to engage the low ratio. The diffs were pulled out before the load was moved again as a precaution and the only internal damage was a shaft from the power divider had cracked, but not shattered.
The air operated 2 speed motors were overhauled and we never experienced that problem again.
On the subject of smaller 2 speed Eaton Diffs , I am sure that Matt Paterson had a bogie drive Commer working for ESSO on tanker work that had 2 speed diffs. Next time I talk with Bob Mitchell who drove this trucl, I will ask him.

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.Yep...............probably has happened more than we realise ...........
Other than incorrect plumbing.......one factor MAY be lack of use......
Even if there are warning lights on the dash...........they will only tell you that air
has been directed to the appropriate area......
.............nothing will tell you whether both range shifts have been successfully completed ........
((((.(from the chair ...that is...unless you are a bit cluey as to
tacho and speedo movements,,,,but at that stage you have to be on the trot))))).
..... until she goes bang..............
(I am to be thinking .........................that was the way it used to be)........................
.......................................Billy.........................................

Just following the posts re the dual range bogie drive diffs, seems to me that they DID have their problems. Are they still being used to any extent? I gather there would still be a few about, but do any of the major manufacturers install them?
Would have thought that with todays hi horsepower/hi torque engines and the widespread use of the 18 speed Fullers etc, that they more or less have had their day.
If you were after a wide range of gearing, an auxilliary would give you the low speeds whilst still maintaining a reasonable top end road speed?
Yes, I do concede that there are space limitations to cabover and/or SWB prime movers when it comes to auxilliary transmissions, but on really heavy stuff and/or road train application, maybe it wouldn't be so much an issue with P/Mover length?
Just wondering...............
Dave

Re the Eaton 2 speed diffs. Merv Greentree who used to subbie for Farley and Lewers in Sydney had a couple of Commers with bogie drive and Eaton 2 speeds. As far as I know,they must have been reasonably reliable as a mate of mine was his mechanic and I don't remember him mentioning any problems. cheers Don

I can't see a problem unless centre diff lock is engaged.
With the centre diff open wheeling, doesn't matter too much if one diff hasn't completed the change and as Billy pointed out, the driver would quickly realise something was amiss, even if both low range warning lights were clear.
Having the option of a lower max top speed could be useful with triples etc where the 80kph speed limit is enforced.
To keep authorities happy, I imagine the range change gear would have to be chassis mounted and not inside the cab?

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Jeffo....... all the duel range eatons sold through Lansvale in the 70s had the diff lock and high / low range diff switches on the dash.............
If you were in high range and engaged the diff lock , there was an automatic change to low range at the same time as the diff lock engaged..............
And yes , the problem only showed up if or when the diff lock was in.....that's why the problem mostly occurred when the truck was out in the
mulga somewhere.................
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Some thing a bit diffrent..............







..................................Billy...................................

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Now that's just showing off

S T A C K E D

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.Maybe .............too much time on me hands.................
.................................Billy.....................................