Ok so this morning I got back into it again.
I found my 1500 grit wet & dry and used that, dipping it in a bit of hydraulic oil now and then. It worked well, without going too deep.
I found it easiest to work by feel, not by eye. When you first run your finger over the rust speck, you feel it catch at the tread on your finger. Once it has been polished a bit with the wet & dry in oil, you can still see it as a non-shiny spot, but it doesn't catch any more. You can still feel it, but as a tiny depression, so that shouldn't hurt the seal.
Right at the top of the ram, I found a band of rough brown stuff, about 3/4" wide, in a ring around the ram. After just making a mess with oil and the wet & dry, I realised it was a band of dried, crusty grease from just under the seal. From what I can tell, the actual ram must have a seal at the top and then a space that gets filled with grease, and then another seal to wipe any dirt and grit off as the ram retracts.
The ring of dried grease came off with a bit of turps and was clean and shiny underneath.
After I finished polishing all the rust specks off, I cleaned the ram down with turps and wiped it down with a clean rag dipped in hydraulic oil. I could feel some grooves and odd little bulges and ripples on the surface, but they were hard to get pictures of.
There are a couple of spots like the first pic. I think it is from the big hook on the second jib hitting it. As I was folding the crane away I noticed that it lined up. The second pic is the weird bulge or ripple I mentioned earlier. Neither have any sharp edges, so I am hoping they don't damage the seal. Time will tell, I suppose.
With that all cleaned up, I started on the 4 big bolts holding the winch frame in place. What a pain in the bum. It took about 3 hours to get them all out.
As you can see in the pic above, the frame is made of 2 sections of angle iron. The bolt shown in the pic holds the winch end frame to the angle iron and screws into a steel thread insert in the aluminium section, sort of like a Time-Sert. This bolt blocks access to the one below, shown removed, which holds the angle iron to the bracket below and has a self-locking nut on it, like a large nylock. The bracket is riveted to the chassis rail. I was able to remove the bolt into the aluminium end frame with a big breaker bar and length of pipe. The aluminium oxidises and really grips it tightly. I remembered this from when I pulled the winch from the MK3 apart.
With that bolt out, I was able to get the breaker bar on the lower bolt and lock the nut with a big spanner, which kept falling off. Would be so much easier with a helper. The passenger's side is a bit different, as the bolt I needed to do wasn't blocked by another one. The front one came out easily but the rear one was a real problem. It took me longer to get it out that the other 3 combined. The nut underneath is obscured by the torque drive box. You can't get a spanner or socket onto it. I used a couple of big screwdrivers and later a tire lever to wedge in between the flat of the nut and the side of the torque drive housing. To do this, I had to squeeze in between the toolbox and the forward rear tire. Then, when the screwdriver fell out. I had to squeeze back out and crawl under to pick it up. I think that when I put it back in, I might weld a piece of flat bar across one of the faces on the nut so it can't turn. Actually, it might pay to do that to them all. The winch has to come out through the top anyway, as it is blocked from dropping down by the transfer case.
To lift the winch out, I will need to loop a sling around the drive end and onto the hook of the crane, and then run another around the cable drum end and hook the hand winch to that. The torque drive unit won't clear the chassis rail if I try lifting straight up, as the base of it flares out. If I lift the winch drum end a few inches first, it will clear the chassis rail on the driver's side and let me swing the winch enough to clear the other side.
I would have liked to get it out this weekend, but I need someone on the ground to guide it while I lift it with the crane. I also need to borrow a few slings from work and get my trailer back so I can lower it straight into that. I was going to drain the oil out this morning, but it's started blowing a gale and I don't want the oil going everywhere. If it dies down I'll do it this afternoon. It's going to be interesting to see what's in the oil. I'm betting lots of brass shavings.
On another note, has anyone here had knee replacements? If so, how restricting is it to your everyday activities? I'm finding that after a day of climbing in and out of the truck, crawling over the frame and underneath it that I'm getting sharp pains in my knees, sort of on the insides where they would touch if you press your legs together. If I get any pressure to the side, I get a sudden sharp pain and often totally lose control of the joint, as if there is no muscle connected and usually results in me being on the ground. Both of my grandparents had their knees replaced, my mum had hers done, but they were all a fair bit older than me. I'm only 46. Damn, that sounds old when I say it out loud.
I know I have to get them checked out by a doctor, but I've been putting it off while I decide about private health insurance. So damn hard to work out which deal is best for me, affordable and without hidden issues.
If I get mine replaced, I am worried that I won't be able to do the things that I am able to now, like climbing around the truck, crawling around on the ground and loads of walking over uneven ground, which I have to do as part of my work.
What do you all think?
ps. Bruce, what warning light is this? I don't recall seeing one on the dash anywhere. I know there is a wire coming out of the pressure gauge next to the crane controls, but I thought that was an overload protection thing, hooked up to work the same as the winch overload engine cutout.
Oh, something else I noticed today after folding the crane away was that the original engine water temp gauge on the dash is now working and agrees with the aftermarket VDO one someone fitted. It's almost like it is fixing itself, like Carrie.
Greg.
