Patrick Tipton Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 Appreciate it John @OZM29C! I am excited to test this out on the M29 and see if I can get true fingertip steering....it is a wonder when it actually works. A friend has a very low time "survivor" Weasel and it steers incredibly easily, even on grass.....That is the goal my friend. I am sure it is a combination of linkages, good pads, clean drums, correct oil, proper adjustment and on and on. One other thing....the actually differential assembly was shimmed, although the manual doesn't say anything other than return the shims to the original positions. With new bearings, there was zero backlash on the ring gear so I shimmed it to get about 2 thousandths.... my "generic" tolerance for a differential. I also put a little preload on the bearings themselves, not much, but it all seems to be running well and the tooth pattern looks good, so we should be in good shape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Big day today as we finished up the final drive, adjusted the brake bands and installed it and the trumpets back into the hull. Once upon a time, I installed the rear cover portion of the final drive and trumpets into a hull by myself. Not fun but doable because there isn't that much weight. Then I installed the main unit and bolted everything tight. It worked, wasn't fun, but I got the job done. Today, there were three of us working so we built the entire drive and used a chain hoist to install the complete unit. We still fought it a little, but all in all, it went in pretty easily. Best tip is to get some 3/8 rod - say 3 of them, and insert them from the outside of the hull into three of the bolt holes on the final drive flange. You can then slide the "trumpet" over the "locating pins" you just installed and get it started. Be sure to grease the machined surface of the trumpets (and install your gasket and any needed spacers on the inside of the hull). You are going to need to get bolts on either side of the trumpet and work it flush into the hull. We do one side, then shim and fit the other side. P.S. If you ever have an urge to do a T24/M29 in its original white matte paint scheme, resist it! I look at this damn thing and it gets dirty. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZM29C Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 @Patrick Tipton Well done again Patrick👍 I would consider installing the final drive as a Character Building’ job. The new felt seals that I had installed in my final drive housing proved to be a dog of a job to get the outer tubes (trumpets) in. Did you fit the 1/2” copper gaskets to the trumpet retaining bolts/nuts? I also had to replace the factory shims that took up the excess clearance between the hull and final drive. Did you install post photo the final drive breather canister that sits atop the final drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 3 hours ago, OZM29C said: @Patrick Tipton Well done again Patrick👍 I would consider installing the final drive as a Character Building’ job. The new felt seals that I had installed in my final drive housing proved to be a dog of a job to get the outer tubes (trumpets) in. Did you fit the 1/2” copper gaskets to the trumpet retaining bolts/nuts? I also had to replace the factory shims that took up the excess clearance between the hull and final drive. Did you install post photo the final drive breather canister that sits atop the final drive? Many thanks John. No smashed fingers = WIN! 1. The felt seals in this final drive were in pretty good shape and I went ahead and reused them. Hoping that was not a mistake. Even with older seals, the machined fit of the outer tube/trumpet is very tight. We greased the surface and then used a couple of longer bolts to seat them. We used 2 drift pins as alignment pins. Worked OK. 2. Thanks for the reminder! I did not install the copper gaskets - there were none on this machine when we disassembled. I need to double check the manual for the early machines and make sure they belong....and then order some! 3. I had removed a final drive (or two) from derelict hulls so we had extra shims to mix and match. I spit balled it on the first side (roughly half the space - then we had to fuss a little, but they worked out pretty well to take up the little extra space that was there. 4. The breather canister is super ugly🤣 It needs love (and I may have a better one on a salvage final drive). I may look for a better one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 4 hours ago, OZM29C said: Did you fit the 1/2” copper gaskets to the trumpet retaining bolts/nuts? Just checked the Original SNL G179 parts manual...indeed, the copper washers are there! Not terrible to install at this point, so will get them ordered. Thanks for keeping me on my toes John! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 Started the engine rebuild last week. My machine shop left two broken manifold studs for me to remove...what are friends for? Anyway, it took us a couple of hours to get them freed up, but we ultimately succeeded using lots of heat on the broken stud and the infamous "EZ Out"...which never are. We spent a good bit of time today cleaning the block, oil galleys and the crankshaft before starting assembly. Tappets and camshaft are in, the crankshaft is in as well and turning nicely. I purchased this engine disassembled from another Weasel owner. It is a correct 1943 dated engine that had spun a bearing. I received it in pieces. Everything was in a big box...and when I consolidated it to save space...any semblance of organization went bye bye. I have spent a fair amount of time digging through the bucket of parts to get everything identified so we can assemble it correctly. Nothing too difficult, but it all takes time! Case in point, the crankshaft was missing all of the flywheel bolts. Fortunately, I picked up a stuck Weasel engine for parts and was able to get 3 flywheel bolts from that, find another two in a crank that I had removed from a broken block once upon a time and then find one in my "parts" bin. At this point, I think I have everything identified other than sorting bolts for the pan/front engine plate and a few miscellaneous brackets. Oh the joy of these projects! Will start working on the pistons tomorrow...they are mostly cleaned up but still need a little attention before we get them installed. I managed to take a video but no good pictures. Pics tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tipton Posted April 13 Author Share Posted April 13 I have been steadily cleaning undercarriage parts and building the T24 engine. I will finish installing the oil pan this weekend and then the engine will be ready to install on the test stand, final assembly and first start. No matter how many engines you rebuild, the first start is always a Dr Frankenstein moment - "its alive!" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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