Stu & Clare Present Murphy - Aircooled Campout 2020 Pics
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Heebee_GB
Well-known member
Hope you got sorted mate. 
Cheers everyone for all the help, advice and assistance I got over this weekend.
Didnt spoil my enjoyment of the show one bit although I was a little tired on Sat eve and retired early.
New alternator arrived today but didnt have the tools with me to reinstall the fan.
Special thanks has to go to Dave for sorting the replacement and arranging its delivery to a VERY busy show
Matt Pinker for networking with every single trader so find a breaker bar and vice in a Welsh castle to remove the old fan from the welded alt
We have just got in now after a 5.5hr recovery mission - wish they would send a recovery truck straight away rather than a bloke in a van with a new battery!
That delayed the process by over 5 hrs from my initial phonecall.
Will get working on the bus tomorrow and get rolling again - pics of the show to come!
Was an epic smashing weekend 8) 8)
Didnt spoil my enjoyment of the show one bit although I was a little tired on Sat eve and retired early.
New alternator arrived today but didnt have the tools with me to reinstall the fan.
Special thanks has to go to Dave for sorting the replacement and arranging its delivery to a VERY busy show
Matt Pinker for networking with every single trader so find a breaker bar and vice in a Welsh castle to remove the old fan from the welded alt
We have just got in now after a 5.5hr recovery mission - wish they would send a recovery truck straight away rather than a bloke in a van with a new battery!
That delayed the process by over 5 hrs from my initial phonecall.
Will get working on the bus tomorrow and get rolling again - pics of the show to come!
Was an epic smashing weekend 8) 8)
creationblue
Well-known member
That's a shame mate. How's the hulk feeling now? Less 'tired' I hope :lol:
Gotta say, you looked the part as the green fella bud. :mrgreen:
Ozziedog,,,,,,,, :mrgreen:
Ozziedog,,,,,,,, :mrgreen:
ozziedog said:
Cheers Ozzie - but it was terrible to get that paint off!
Right before I get to the alternator replacement part here are some pics of the show
Us leaving Lincoln heading over to Wales - a cheeky 190 mile trip to meet up with Scottie and Tracy on the way down then picked up Adam and Hannah just outside Caldicot
Traffic was heavy at times
After the electrical issue we managed to limp to the castle and get set up
Engine doesnt look too bad! :msn4:
Everyone was still setting up
After a walk around I decided to see how bad the engine fault was - looked ok from above
Ripped it to pieces
The offending item!
Now it was proper non driving I could get on with enjoying the show
Adam kept the kids busy
Steve & Mel arrived with Drew & Steph
Had a bit of Sports Day games on the bottom field
Then Sat afternoon/eve arrived
It was quite sunny!
Some impromptu face painting took place on Sun eve
Then onto Monday - waiting for recovery to arrive
Only 6 hours after my initial call did they collect us!
Next post will be of the alt swap and rebuild! 8)
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Great pics. Shame you had the problem and needed recovering but doesn't look like it ruined the weekend.
8) Costumes
Woz
8) Costumes
Woz
issit
Well-known member
Great Pics Bud 8) Glad you both got home safe i left the castle after the pack down at 4pm what a weekend :mrgreen:
i left the castle after the pack down at 4pm what a weekend :mrgreen:is said:Great Pics Bud 8) Glad you both got home safe
woz said:
Cheers guys,
Woz the costumes were great fun but my green tint was a little hard to remove
Dave - we watched you drive off in the Green Bay and our recovery truck arrived about 30 mins later!
Yesterday I knuckled down and sorted the alternator issue out. After stripping down the old one and inspecting the damage I am pretty convinced its been failing for some time - maybe even from a couple of years ago when the top pulley exploded and the alternator strap snapped at about 55mph, was always a little noisy after that episode. However here are pics and you can see what I mean.
Face of the old broken alt
Was far too hot yesterday to do on my knees in the garage so with Clare at work I utilised the dining room table
Old vs new and the elusive 36mm socket!
You can see how battle scarred the front face was compared to the fresh one
Got the new one all built up ready for installation
Stripped the old one down - from the back it looked good as new
I stripped the regulator out which was in great condition so now have a spare and kept all the screws and bits from it
Front wasnt in such great order - check out the woodruff keyway. Mullered
Removed the centre shaft and checked the internal surfaces - they were very worn but all intact
Main shaft was in decent condition but commutators were pretty scored
Closer examination of the front face showed the cause of the failure - the alternator front bearing has collapsed, front has disintegrated and some of the ball bearing races actually melted
Races actually missing
And removed on the table - probably says it all really
Compared to the rear bearing - like new and smooth as silk
With that all stripped I decided to crack on and get the new alternator installed and Murphy back running
Was a simple process and didnt take too long to reassemble everything
All ready for our next trip now although I do have a nice shiny new battery on order for installation once it arrives 8)
Thanks for reading
creationblue
Well-known member
Nice work
Great informative pics as usual 8)
Great informative pics as usual 8)
creationblue said:
Cheers buddy!
Today the new battery arrived - I took inspiration from Sparky and ordered a similar battery to the one he has installed as ours was a little underpowered and getting tired.
So this evening I have installed it, pretty impressed with the difference to be honest. Old one was dropping voltage on start well below 12v when turning the starter, new one hardly budges!
I went for a Yuasa 640HD 100ah and 900amps for cranking. Its a big old beast
Old vs new
Just need to secure it in place and good to go on our next adventure!
8) 8)
Myvanway
Well-known member
Good work there Stu.
You should have mentioned the battery before hand Stu, that one I showed you would have been perfect!!!! :lol:
Would have had to modify the engine bay a bit though!? 8)
You should have mentioned the battery before hand Stu, that one I showed you would have been perfect!!!! :lol:
Would have had to modify the engine bay a bit though!? 8)
slammed72 said:
slammed72 said:
Yep it has certainly made a big difference although I have to give Sparky the credit - I copied the one he has fitted although not the exact one as the wifelet wouldnt let me spend that much - good to know we have a deep reserve if any issues do present themselves!
Myvanway said:Good work there Stu.
You should have mentioned the battery before hand Stu, that one I showed you would have been perfect!!!! :lol:
Would have had to modify the engine bay a bit though!? 8)
Myvanway said:
Well where to begin................. :msn4:
On Friday I was booked in for a rolling road session including tuneup, carb balance, mixture setting, timing and all the other good stuff
Was a long and expensive day with replacement coil being needed, some rejetting of my carbs, power runs on the RR but left feeling happy with the results
Old school tuning equipment - works great though
On the rollers
Wired up for a run
Made a healthy 32Bhp at the wheels! Was happy with that
A video of the action
After the tuneup and leaving the garage the bus was running fantastic - only a 35 mile journey back taking in some motorway driving, A roads and city streets. Managed the trip down the motorway with a big grin on my face as it was running so well. However when exiting on the slip road the engine suddenly lost power, was reluctant to rev up and started popping and banging. I pulled over and checked all the obvious areas to no avail
As it was late I continued home slowly popping and banging the last few miles - after the significant bill at the garage I wasnt too happy but planned to return the next day for some assistance.
Saturday came and I nursed the bus back to the garage - was only running on 3 cylinders and not happy
I was assured it would be a simple fix and straightaway an issue was identified - the rotor arm was melted :shock:
Luckily I had a spare and it was fitted and tested again - still popping and banging
Changed the dizzy after the rotor arm thinking the electronic ignition module was toast - still popping and banging running on 3
Then we removed the spark plugs - finding 3 of the 4 in great condition however the 4th had no gap! It was smashed closed.
On further investigation using a small camera inside the cylinder bore this was discovered
The valve guide had cracked and broken off entering the engine through the valves causing significant damage - strange too considering it was the same valve guide I replaced after bending a valve? Crappy repro parts maybe?
At this point it was decided that the engine needed to come out so the head could be removed and checked
After this news I agreed and decided to remove it myself
So out it came
Upon removing the cylinder head - this was the piston damage :shock:
And inside the cylinder head
Piston had to be removed
After the guys got online and put out a distress call for help I was contacted by Dustrat - cheers Robert, he was able to supply me with the required parts
So a quick drive oop north on Sunday and I had these
Set of 4x Pistons, two cylinder heads and a spare barrel - just the ticket! 8)
Monday arrived and I headed over to the garage with my booty!
It was agreed the heads were good and the pistons would be swapped as a set of four - the best head was selected, stripped and rebuilt like new!
All the pistons were washed, cleaned and inspected prior to installation
Engine wasnt in a good state by now
Pistons all degreased and cleaned ready for install
The barrels were all rehoned using oil stones and the cylinder head was good to fit - so begins the rebuild
The next several hours passed in a blur of oily bits and rebuilding until I was left with this
After installing the now rebuilt engine - the moment of truth arrived! Boom he fired straight up!
Need a little tweak and an airleak sorting from the carb manifold however all was good in the end.
Have great oil pressure, runs great and no oil loss or smoke
Managed to get home at half nine this eve approx 13 hours put in today sorting it
Off on holiday tomorrow 8)
On Friday I was booked in for a rolling road session including tuneup, carb balance, mixture setting, timing and all the other good stuff
Was a long and expensive day with replacement coil being needed, some rejetting of my carbs, power runs on the RR but left feeling happy with the results
Old school tuning equipment - works great though
On the rollers
Wired up for a run
Made a healthy 32Bhp at the wheels! Was happy with that
A video of the action
After the tuneup and leaving the garage the bus was running fantastic - only a 35 mile journey back taking in some motorway driving, A roads and city streets. Managed the trip down the motorway with a big grin on my face as it was running so well. However when exiting on the slip road the engine suddenly lost power, was reluctant to rev up and started popping and banging. I pulled over and checked all the obvious areas to no avail
As it was late I continued home slowly popping and banging the last few miles - after the significant bill at the garage I wasnt too happy but planned to return the next day for some assistance.
Saturday came and I nursed the bus back to the garage - was only running on 3 cylinders and not happy
I was assured it would be a simple fix and straightaway an issue was identified - the rotor arm was melted :shock:
Luckily I had a spare and it was fitted and tested again - still popping and banging
Changed the dizzy after the rotor arm thinking the electronic ignition module was toast - still popping and banging running on 3
Then we removed the spark plugs - finding 3 of the 4 in great condition however the 4th had no gap! It was smashed closed.
On further investigation using a small camera inside the cylinder bore this was discovered
The valve guide had cracked and broken off entering the engine through the valves causing significant damage - strange too considering it was the same valve guide I replaced after bending a valve? Crappy repro parts maybe?
At this point it was decided that the engine needed to come out so the head could be removed and checked
After this news I agreed and decided to remove it myself
So out it came
Upon removing the cylinder head - this was the piston damage :shock:
And inside the cylinder head
Piston had to be removed
After the guys got online and put out a distress call for help I was contacted by Dustrat - cheers Robert, he was able to supply me with the required parts
So a quick drive oop north on Sunday and I had these
Set of 4x Pistons, two cylinder heads and a spare barrel - just the ticket! 8)
Monday arrived and I headed over to the garage with my booty!
It was agreed the heads were good and the pistons would be swapped as a set of four - the best head was selected, stripped and rebuilt like new!
All the pistons were washed, cleaned and inspected prior to installation
Engine wasnt in a good state by now
Pistons all degreased and cleaned ready for install
The barrels were all rehoned using oil stones and the cylinder head was good to fit - so begins the rebuild
The next several hours passed in a blur of oily bits and rebuilding until I was left with this
After installing the now rebuilt engine - the moment of truth arrived! Boom he fired straight up!
Need a little tweak and an airleak sorting from the carb manifold however all was good in the end.
Have great oil pressure, runs great and no oil loss or smoke
Managed to get home at half nine this eve approx 13 hours put in today sorting it
Off on holiday tomorrow 8)
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Well done that man.!!!!!!!
Happy travels and safe ones at that.
J & P
Happy travels and safe ones at that.
J & P
Dickie524
Well-known member
Epic efforts, well done to all concerned, just got to pack now!!
creationblue
Well-known member
Welcome to the 'change the engine the day before' club :lol:
Quality! now relax and enjoy 8)
Quality! now relax and enjoy 8)
