Help needed

[Andy Walker]

I'm building a 2015 early tiger and encountered a problem. There are two holes in the rear of the floor plate and two corresponding holes in the bottom edge of the rear hull plate. However there is nothing in the manual stating how these are connected. The outside of the floor holes are not countersunk either. My question is what bolt / screw is used and should it be hidden on the outside by countersinking?

[Andy Walker]

The hole is the bottom right one in photo...there is a corresponding one on left.

[Adrian Harris]

"M4 x 10 HEX" according to Page 2, if I'm looking in the right place.

Adrian.

[Andy Walker]

Thanks Adrian....I see it now....I must have had a doh moment I don't know how many times I looked through manual

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

If you are able to countersink, that will look much nicer. There was no hex bolt there on the prototype.

[Andy Walker]

Thanks Christoffer, I am considering that. the other end I believe as well.

[Andy Walker]

I'm not sure if I've made a mistake? I have been dry assembling the running gear, and found a potential issue. Where the suspension arm fits there is a rubber washer that fits between it and the side plate. This doesn't seem to do anything as can be seen from my photo....there is too much of a gap between the suspension arm and the side plate.
When I fitted the brass suspension bushes into the suspension bar ( Diagram 1 in the manual ) I pushed them fully in which meant they went a few mm into a recess in the side frame. This means that the inside end of the bush is not flush with the inside edge of the suspension bar, but is a few mm inside it. Is this correct? I'm hoping so as I've already glued the brass bushes in place!
Photo 1 is from the inside.
Photo 2 is from the outside.
Photo 3 shows the excess gap.

[Adrian Harris]

I'm afraid you have got them in the wrong positions.

The brass bushes should sit flush in the suspension bar, and the o-ring then sits in the recess on the inside of the hull side.

Armortek Tiger 131 Construction Manual-21a.jpg (71.15 KiB) Viewed 4140 times

This has come up a few times, as the position of the o-ring in the diagrams is, IMHO, confusing.
I think the o-rings should be shown on page 1, with the rest of the lower hull parts, rather than with the axles.

Adrian.

[Andy Walker]

Thanks Adrian. Looks like I have a potential Disaster! Any idea on how I can remove the brass bushes without destroying either the bushes or the suspension bar? I have used loctite bearing adhesive.

[Adrian Harris]

Heat will break down the Loctite, then use an aluminium drift to knock the bushes back out so you don't damage them.

I've just done exactly this as the bushes in my toasted Tiger weren't quite aligned with the suspension bar. Even after the fire, the loctite was still holding on some of them, so I used a butane torch to gently heat them until the bushes moved.

You can also use a nut with a long coach bolt, with something like a 20mm socket as a spacer; as you tighten the nut, the bush is pulled into the socket. Less likelihood of impact damage that way.

Adrian

[Graham Hough]

I have not used this method on a model but for my bikes you can use a long bolt and nut (M6?), a washer the same diameter as the bush housing, a tube larger than the bush (I use a suitable socket for a socket wrench) assemble all this to pull out the bush as you tighten the bolt/nut. If you are careful this should pull out the bush straight with out damage. I have also used a suitable sized socket to hammer out a bush but this method can be a bit brutal.

[Andy Walker]

Thanks Graham. I'll have a go with the blow torch and bolt method combined over the next couple of days.

[Andy Walker]

Problem solved . I used the method suggested but without heat. As I tightened the nut there was a crack as the loctite let go, and then I could slowly wind the nut down the bolt, pulling the brass sleeve back into the hole until it was correctly positioned.

[Adrian Harris]

I would recommend replacing the Loctite, as these bushes effectively take the weight of the tank, and are subject to twisting forces as the suspension moves up and down, so it's possible for them to be "walked" out of position if they're not glued in place.

Adrian.

[Andy Walker]

When I pulled the brass collars back into the holes they were very tight to move, I'm assuming because of the residual loctite. Do you think this would be sufficient, as it would be a real pain to completely remove all the collars?