Mark IV No. 01 - "Kathleen"

[Adrian Harris]

Finished both track runs now, and am etch priming over the button head bolts in preparation for the top coat.

One question about plate fitting at the joint.

The instructions say to leave 3 plates off either side of the joint. On Chris's thread, he mentioned taking off four plates when removing the tracks.

Would I get away with leaving three plates off ? The one on the joint, and one either side ?

Or is that too little room to get the track tightening tool in place ?

Adrian.

[Daniel Scholefield]

No, you need the space to get the tensioner in and out and three plates is too little room (ask me how I know that). I remove three each side of the join which might be overkill but it works for me as I prefer the extra room to work.

[Adrian Harris]

Did you loctite the track fasteners, and if you did, how did you undo them ? Pliers holding the edge of the round nut ?

I've been working on the drive sprockets and found that, with the primer and paint added, I can't get the bearing holders through the track tensioning slots I've taken about .1mm off each side, so hopefully once they are stripped and repainted, there should be enough room for them to slide.

Did anyone add any grease to these fittings, to ensure the paint didn't bond together ?

Adrian.

[Daniel Scholefield]

Can't speak for others but even after I loctited the track fasteners (didn't first time, lost a fair few as a result) I was still able to remove them just by applying friction to the bolt enough to allow it to break free. I have had some that would not release not matter ehaty but ususaly it is one out of four so I was able to pry the plate away some to add enough resistance for it to break free. I didn't paint my tracks until after mounting them so have never had a problem with the cleareanes, again this is something I didn't even realise was a thing until you mentioned it!

One thing to note for future reference, the biggest issue I have run into is a combination of dirt and rust blocking up the hex hole on the bolts. Most can be cleaned but I have had some that are just too far gone. The solution was to cut a slot in the head and turn it into a screwhead and undo accordingly

[Pete Nash]

Heat will release 'Loctite'.

A Pencil Type gas soldering iron is useful for this as you can direct the heat at a particular fastener and those near it without affecting the rest.

Pete