A novices guide to looking after an Armortek

[John-Heaps]

Hi Ladies and Gents,
i am new to the forum and have yet to take delivery of my first model, ( King Tier).
After roaming the forum and seeing the amazing builds, details, extras and outstanding work i was wondering if the more knowledgeable members here, ( having seen photos of your 1/6 museums) ,could you please take a thought of how you look after your models and please put in your ways of taking care of your fantastic examples to aid the mere novices from your years of hard earned work.

For example.
keeping water out of electrics before first use.
sealing hulls during build.
prep before use.
Battery care when installed/charging warnings/precautions.
cleaning after use (what, how , why, what with)
Prep before storage.
methods of storing/ moving, transporting.
etc,etc,etc

What i am asking for is the 1/6th old and bold write up a user manual of what works from years of hard experience to help us new boys (52 years old)
so we can look after our models in the best manner.

Please feel free to add your best methods for us mere novices to gain knowledge from and when all info is in ( if ever) you never know one of you experts might even have your name on the "hains manual" for armortek care.

Thanks for your input in advance.
Cheers.
John.

[Stephen White]

John, probably best you trawl through the Knowledge Base then ask any specific questions which aren't covered. I'm sure you'll get input where you need it on specific issues but the KB is intended to be an online Haynes Guilde. It's a work in progress and please feel free to provide input on gaps. Battery selection and use are certainly covered, as are equipping a suitable workshop for both out of the box and custom builds.

Moving, lifting, transporting models are covered but the headlines are:

Hydraulic lift table for building, with a motorcycle scissors lift and lazy susan on top. This assembly allows you to work at different heights and once you've got the running gear on, to lift the tracks clear of the table to allow the motors to be run.

Motorcycle or wheelchair ramps to run the tank into your car.

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Lubrication is one topic which always promotes debate. You might wish to read the topic in the KB. The long standing advice from Armortek has been not to lubricate with wet lubricants as they combine with abrasive particles to abrade running gear. Dry moly lubricants are recommended and the KB topic covers it. Many still do apply grease and oils and it's probably not going to cause a problem unless the tank is run in sand or gritty surfaces over a long period. On the other hand, those who've followed the official advice have not reported any problems.

Some larger gravels can cause real problems for some models and you're most likely to snap a track link in such conditions. Otherwise, the models are remarkably robust. Operating in snow needs similar care and you should aim to let the model acclimatise to the ambient temperature before running it hard. If you intend to run through water, it's worth sealing the hull but otherwise it's not really necessary. If you do run regularly in water, I'd recommend removing the tracks and using WD40 after removing dirt and grit.

Corrosiion can be an issue unless you take priming seriously. Dissimilar metal corrosion occurs and the steel components can rust if not treated. There is a KB topic on priming and painting. I would strongly suggest priming all the track components. It might seem that the etch primer would be removed as soon as you start running but that's not the case and it goes a long way to avoiding seized track links.

The models aren't maintenance free. A certain amount of track bashing is required. It's good practice to jack up the tank after running and check bearings for end float, freedom of rotation etc. The sprockets and taper lock bushes should be checked regularly, especially when first running in. Tracks will stretch and need tightening and it's common to take a link out once the track tensioners run out of travel. Also worth checking your track pin fastenings. In fact, just do what you've been doing for the last 22 years......

[John Clarke]

Great explanation Stephen,

Me. I'd recommend lubricating the tracks once a year with WD if your using the model outside, an investment in our climate and definitely straight after dunking in H20. (moisture comes in all shapes and sizes)

I fitted stainless steel split pins on the plated track pins too on the second track rebuild. The mild steel split pins supplied with my KT rusted away.

Stephen. what sort of grease do you use in the gear boxes, final drives etc?

[Stephen White]

Thanks John. Rocol Oxylube. It’s all in the KB Topic, here:

http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... a277c1236b

[John Clarke]

Hi Stephen
I had read the topic on KB but I'm suprised that you'd be only using a dry film inside a sealed gearbox.

I've had many years experience with dry lubs and pastes and would think that the dry lub surface of the gear tooth would be worn off very quickly with out the chance of being relubricated.

I don't know if Armortek use hardened gears, they would reduce wear but there's still need for lubrication.

Either way, I'll be partially filling my sealed gearboxes with free flowing grease

[Mark Heaps]

Having looked at the KB topic, is there any particular reason why Rocol Oxylube is recommended and for rotating gears?
Rocol Dry Moly is a lot cheaper and practically the same stuff although only rated down to -50C as opposed to -200C for Oxylube. Do any Armortek owners go out with their tanks when it is below -50C ??
I can understand Oxylube or Dry Moly being great for the track pins and better than a wet lubricant like WD40, but cannot understand how they would be best for gear teeth in a sealed gearbox where no contaminants can enter.

[Stephen White]

To quote the Topic: "a number of dry, molybdenum based lubricants are available".

The advice to avoid wet lubricants is longstanding and based on the wear patterns which have been seen on models with high mileage. The advice in the KB Topic apples to the running gear as a whole, not just the final drives. Although the final drives have greater protection from the bearing seals and optional use of sealing compounds, contamination has nevertheless been seen after extended running. Roadwheel, idler and return roller bearing assemblies have no such protection and are more susceptible to wear if wet lubricants are used.

The Knowledge Base is simply a compendium of customer best practice. Some will find it more helpful than others. It's a work in progress (and by definition always will be). Feedback is key to it remaining relevant and helpful. It's also a labour of love, with emphasis on the labour.......

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

I avoid deep water to keep the bearings safe. Although the bearings are of the sealed kind, there are no rubber seals on the shafts.

Careful running in mud is OK for me. I just leave it to dry and it will come off by itself either in my garage or on the next run. A microfiber cloth is nice to clean the dust off the model after running in dusty conditions. The dust does not look realistic anyway and will get your hands dirty when handling the model.

Regarding the final drive, I guess the issue is that it is not hermetically sealed. There are seals, alright, but the hull sides have bolt holes underneath the seals and unless you have filled them, the surface is not flat and will let dirt in. I used a PTFE spray for dry lubrication of the gears on the first assembly. After that, I have left them dry. There are no issues with that, as the speeds are low. An area of interest is the many ways people have tried to avoid the driven gear to scrape against the hull. If it scrapes, there will be aluminum dust inside the drive. I am unsure of the consequences of that, as I have managed to avoid it with my solution.

I leave my tracks as loose as possible without skipping more than on rare occasion. If a pebble gets caught in the track, I really, really don't want it to stretch the track to the breaking point.

When I built my model, the recommended practice was still to lubricate the track pins with grease, which I did. It collected dirt and eventually dried. When I take track pins out these days, I wipe them dry before reassembling. Dry lube would probably be better here, but leaving them dry also seems OK.

[John Clarke]

Just my two penny's worth.
With many years working in the power industry I came into contact with dry and wet paste moly lubricants, various names and qualities and all give a graphite type lubrication. We usually used it as an assembly lubrication medium, nuts, bolts, joints and gaskets. It improved assembly and the dismantling of equipment that might be exposed to the elements. The spray moly (particularly nasty, wear a mask) was used to give short term lubrication on slides and shafts, it also gave some protection against the elements as long as it wasn't rubbed off. It was never considered long term unless the item didn't move.

Sealed gearboxes in my experience usually have a"designed for purpose" oil in them, of course sealed gearboxes are sealed with oil seals and it's unlikely you'll find those in the Armortek gear boxes. So I usually use a semi fluid grease which should not pass between bearing housing and shafts.

One thing I do know, there's one thing worse than oil leaking from a oil filled gearbox.........................it's when it stops leaking

I didn't really consider the corrosion element on the track pins when I owned the KT, It was second hand and I ran it for 5 years with out stripping the track to bare bones. I had new plated pins and new track. There pretty thick, when a link broke I found about a dozen worn tracks due to rust on the track pins. Which is why I'll be lubricating my Chieftain tracks once a year and every time it comes in contact with moisture.
Moly paste will be the assembly medium, WD will drive damp out and protect during storage........investment

[florian rudolf]

Hello,
where you get this part?

[Adrian Harris]

Search your local ebay for motorcycle scissor jack.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1200LBS-Wide ... SwIbBdQUYo

Adrian.

[florian rudolf]

Hello Adrian,

thanks for the link.
Unfortunatly I can't buy that in Germany

[Gerhard Michel]

Hello Florian,

found actually in german Amazon:

https://www.amazon.de/SMX-Motorradheber ... way&sr=8-1

There are much more offers..............

[florian rudolf]

Thanks Gerhard,

ich habe offenbar falsch gesucht. Habe jetzt eine auf ebay gekauft. - dort wars günstiger

[Pete Nash]

Quite a few of us use these Quad Bike loading ramps.

Advantages are that they are reasonably light to handle, easy to unfold (mind fingers ) and will take the weight of any tank.
disadvantage if you can call it that, they do take up a bit of room, though with a KT in the back of an estate car they will go nicely.

One bit of advice, get some old blankets to put on the floor of your car and over the bumpers etc to protect them.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-Alum ... SwDNdV1vff