Mark IV 007 Build

[Steve Stuart]

Tank Mod was a good day with lots of conversations and ideas exchanged. Daniel was talking about taking the second of his tracks off for remedial work, so this evening I have taken my tracks off.
The hard bit was drilling the heads off the outer bolts on the plates, taking three plates off on each chain to expose the split link. Identifying the correct link was easy as the yellow paint splash stood out loud from all the others The chains once the Idlers were slackened to the max were sufficiently slack that the minimum of leverage downwards on the chain was required to allow the split links to be separated sideways, no strain at all. The important thing for this to be the case is to run your tank, lots
The wear was not quite as bad as I expected overall. What was more worn than I hoped were some of the Rollers. Tomorrow lunch time I will take some photos of Tank when there is better light. My intention is to encourage others in the way that Daniel has encouraged me to, prevention is better than cure!

[Steve Stuart]

Idler and Front Horn

Birds Nest!

Underside Rollers

I am interested to see any comments on this, how does it compare to other Mark IVs
Steve

[Daniel Scholefield]

The wear pattern seems roughly the same as mine, in particular the dirt build up at the 'deflector' at the rear, I fully expect to see the same when I take the right track off mine later.
The rollers have the same wear as mine, it is just more obvious on yours as I did not prime mine so there was no paint to rub off, not sure if I had as much metal shavings but as the whole tank was on it's side when I took the track off that might have fallen away.
The only difference is you seem to have less wear on the end trim than I do, but that might well be down to how I have them mounted maybe slightly prouder than you?

As further comparison I will post pics when I take my other track off but from what I see the wear is similar from mine to yours.

[Chris Hall]

This is increasing the pressure on me to take Liesel's tracks off, then .... a scary thought. I can't do it yet, though, as I'm finally cracking on with Flaming Fire II and I don't want to lose the momentum ! I'll probably do it early in the New Year, when I'm already depressed enough in the depths of winter .

But, looking at Steve's pictures, I would make the following comments:

[*] the 'bird's nest' can be mainly vacuumed out with a thin nozzle on the end of the hose. I'm interested to see where it has collected, which tends to justify the historical position of the Deflector Plate (EK0128) over the build instruction. I'm a bit more concerned about the amount of swarf .....

[*] if memory serves, those rollers (EK0301) ... didn't much, largely due to the tightness of the fit between the inner and outer frames, and also the very tight brass roller bushes (EK0302) which needed a hammer to knock the axles (EK0303) through even with the suggested oiling. I found the same problem with the brass bushes in the Female sponsons, so I'm replacing them with bearings. If the rollers don't spin, that means that all the wear is in one small space. I suppose this can be rectified by periodically removing the tracks and slightly hand-turning each roller so a new part is being worn, to spread it out over time and to prolong the life of the rollers. Of course, on the Real Thing, such wear was countered by the regular and copious application of grease, which was as important to a Mark IV in action as petrol and ammunition.

In summary, though, it's reassuring to see that war and tear after over a year of operation (particularly by Steve, Daniel and I, who seem to be hogging the forum traffic !) isn't that bad. A testament to the Armortek design and materials used.

All the best,

Chris

[Stephen White]

Chris and all, I think you've coined a very appropriate new phrase, "war and tear" - sums it up perfectly. Fascinating to see the parallels between the model and the real thing. Regards. Stephen

[Chris Hall]

Proof that, however much you proof-read a post before hitting the 'Go' button, such unintended gems slip through

[Steve Stuart]

Well tracks back on! A sub plot, is that the Band of Brigands are friends indeed, I was helped out with some spares of the Track Bolts and Nuts, as mine have gone walk about.(I hope my grand tidy up will reveal where they have disappeared!) So big thanks are offered.
I removed only three track plates on each track, and with the track idlers at their most slack there was plenty of room to get the joining links back on. The tool I used to bring the ends of the track chains together was a pair of Slip Jaw Pliers, they worked very well, avoiding the need to remove more plates so as to be able to use the Armortek Tool. Putting the Track Plates back on was straight forward, I ran the tracks round so the join was on top which meant that the bolts ran downwards into the 'nuts'. The nuts were fished in underneath on the end of my penknife blade, which then was used to push up so the treads engaged easily. The final trick was to apply some thin superglue. Tracks retensioned and test run, all correct!
As far as wear on the drive chains go, the motors are now at their limit for taking up slack, next year I may need to get some half links so as to be able to take the extra slack, before going for new drive chains and sprockets. But in the meanwhile it is working fine. So all systems go!

[Daniel Scholefield]

As far as wear on the drive chains go, the motors are now at their limit for taking up slack, next year I may need to get some half links so as to be able to take the extra slack, before going for new drive chains and sprockets. But in the meanwhile it is working fine. So all systems go!

Surprised by this - my drive chains are no way that slack to allow me to use anything other than the offical tool to join them and what slack I have I took up with the tensioner anad I still have some room more more tension. Honestly I didn't think the chain would get that slack at all..something to ponder.

[Chris Hall]

Daniel -

Steve and I have talked about this. The chains he's referring to are the smaller ones between the motors and the rear final drives, NOT the big ones with the track plates on ! I'm a bit surprised too, but only that they've stretched that much after about 18 months of driving (we three 'Band of Brigands' being the longest publicised runners).

As well as Steve's half-link idea, I wondered about fitting a slightly larger cog to widen the chain run a bit. Otherwise, I can only envisage replacing the drive chain every couple of years, which wouldn't be ideal - especially when working in such an enclosed space !

Sometime over the winter I'll pluck up the courage to take off Liesel's tracks and write up my experiences. But I'm currently on a roll with Flaming Fire II (at last !) and I don't want to lose momentum .....

All the best,

Chris

[Armortek]

Hi all

All chain systems, and that includes our track and pin systems, as well these fitted to the MkIV's will go through an initial period of stretch. This occurs much more quickly than everyone expects. However, once this has occurred they will then only stretch very much more slowly, if at all, over their working life. What you guys are reporting is entirely to be expected. Whatever you do don't change sprocket sizes, as this will effect overall drive ratios, and turning performance drastically.

Mark

[Chris Hall]

Thanks, Mark - that's very reassuring. Should have asked the Guru first, shouldn't we ?

[Daniel Scholefield]

Ahh, should have realised it was the drive chains and not the track chains. that makes much more sense.
At least having corrected that very problem (down to loose motor mounts not the chain) I know what the symptoms will be. Getting access to the chains themselves is a pain but my decision to bolt and glue rather than rivet on my armour plates is going to help in the long run and having done one strip down I know how to achieve it (next time) without too much grief.

[Steve Stuart]

Guidelines New Publication

Here is something that may add a bit extra insight as to what shade of brown to use!
It will be available 18th March
Steve

[Daniel Scholefield]

It's on my 'to buy' list for sure.

[Steve Stuart]

Adrian's Lewis Gun Barrels now fitted. The old ones were glued in with 5 Star Super Glue, so judicious application of heat from a Blow Torch allowed them to be freed. Also being Aluminium they don't need as much in the way of an internal counterweight to balance them so they remain horizontal. A great addition to the Tank!
Steve