Permaquip progress
1 November 2006 - thanks to Dave Shell for this article
A couple of trips up to Longhoughton over the last 2 weekends...
21st & 22nd October weekend
The yard was very busy as the gate had been designated the access point to a Network Rail Plain Track Renewals work site.
My father and I removed the two batteries that I had temporarily wired in on Wednesday and cleaned up all the contacts, made some new leads and selected a better earth point. The fuel tank was drained, the fuel lines removed and a temporary fuel header tank rigged up. Once the batteries were reinstalled we went through all the pre-start checks and tried to crank the engine - it fired up no problem but cut out as soon as the accelerator was released. We found this was because the hand throttle idle was set to low - once this was rectified we tried cranking - it fired and then sat idling quite happily. We then tried moving the machine, but with no joy. The engine was stopped and we tried operating the "emergency" hand pump to operate the turntable and the brakes. The turntable seems to operate OK but we have a feeling that the brakes are a little stiff through lack of use.
The window apertures have been temporarily boarded up to try and help keep out the Northumbria weather until we can get them re-glazed. There is the possibility of using Perspex sheet as an interim measure.
28th & 29th October weekend
A nice new pair of batteries have been bought for the machine now. We removed a plate at the back which gave us better access and enabled us to remove two T pieces that were put in when the machine had a hydraulic generator (this having been removed by FE). The hydraulic tanks were topped up but still require more oil once we get rid of air locks in the system. The brakes have been freed off and now seem to operate correctly. We are now able to manhandle the machine along our track. The roller shutter doors were cleaned up and these now work correctly. A Perspex sheet was obtained for use as a temporary window.
The next day.... thanks to Cairnsy we had 45 gallons of (used) hydraulic oil which we used to top up all tanks. We used the emergency hand pumps to push oil round the system and push out any air locks. We also operated the turntable a few times. As we had freed up the callipers the previous day they released quite easily and two of us were able to manhandle the 'quip up and down the test track without difficulty. One of our electricians then isolated the immersion water heater in the rear as this appeared to be on even when the switch was off. This was not only running the batteries down but also getting very hot when almost boiling dry.
With this done we refitted the battery and cranked up the engine - still no drive. At this point we suspected the hydraulic pump wasn't working. We did however manage to operate the turntable under engine power so lifted the machine and rotated it 180 degrees thus proving the pump was infact working.
Once back on the track we chocked the wheels and took the tension off the drive chains and removed the chains to allow us to test the hydraulic motors - even with quite high revs there was no movement - we now suspect a problem with the deadmans handle. Various other nuts and bolts were soaked with WD40 and slackened and retightened to ease removal if necessary.
Measurements were taken for replacement roof and windows.
We now plan to have a look at the electrics again and check the operation of the various relays and solenoid valves to make sure oil is going where it should. The old light box from the roof is to be stripped of the reusable parts, and measurements taken ready for the fabrication of a new box.
With thanks to Tim Moore and the Wirksworth team for their help.
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