777B's in for repairs...

[SRB]

Well as the D's roll out in come the B's, 3 of these for various repairs, they've come across from Cyprus.

Wheel stations off the first truck, leaking hubs and check the rear brakes.

Will keep updated (if i remember!)

SB

[Nick Drew]

Hi Stuart,

When you say they have come across from Cyprus, what is the deal are they going back over there or have they been bought for a specific job here in the UK ?

I bet they are feeling the cold !!

Nick

[SRB]

Hello Nick,

We've bought them for a specific job, 3 B's along with 6 D's from America, these have just landed at Southampton docks.

SB

[John Gaunt]

Great pictures, Stuart. It's easy to get a good idea of how the rear axles are put together from your pictures.

[davej]

as always, great pics, gives you an insight to keeping these things going

and on a personal note can i put in a request for some pics showing the area next to the cab will help a treat for my models!!

Dave

[SRB]

Got the 2nd truck in now, this one has a sick engine and the back brakes are goosed, radiator out and starting to remove the engine, got 3 777D's landing this afternoon as well, we're going to need a bigger shop!

SB

[SRB]

Got the first hub part stripped down, not looking good so far, wheel bearings are pitted and will need changing but more concerning, the preload has come off the bearings and chattered away at the main spindle, as you can see in the pic, there is a decent wear groove on it.
Just scratching the heed now as to best repair it, don't fancy the lads opening the brakes up now, somewhere in the back of my head a little voice is mentioning worms and a can...........

[SRB]

Well,

What a way to start the week. Into work this morning and the bad news starts straight off....
Both rear hub bearings have had it, and the brake plates are all warped, not going to be a cheap fix! couple of pics of the bearings:

7b rear bearing wear.jpg

The rear brakes stripped and hanging up:

7b brakes stripped.jpg

And the hubs stripped, note the wheely bin next to the hub to give a bit of an indication of the size of the lumps:

7b hubs stripped.jpg

Now for the next disaster, got the engine out of the truck, lads have started to strip it, not looking good first off, there is the colour of the oil:

7b engine uh oh.jpg

Then we got the sump off, note the suction strainer:

7b suction screen.jpg

And the internal pipe:

7b engine debris.jpg

What started off as a limited repair has now turned into a full overhaul...... Oh joy!

Will keep posted of the progress!

Couple of pics of engine and frame:

SB

[John Gaunt]

Not a good way to start your week though with so many unexpected problems, hope you bought the trucks cheap enough to allow for the repair work.
Your pictures, as always are great, and one could easily imagine being in the workshop with you !
Keep em coming, really interested in how the story of these B's unfolds, hopefully things can only get better now.

[SRB]

The engine strip down continues, got the flywheel housing off, stripping front of engine down so we can get it on the turn over stands. Found a push rod had flicked out so truck was only running on 7 pots when we got it in. (it also locked up as we were testing it, suspect we are going to find a low liner...)

1.jpg

2.jpg

On the same truck, taking the rear wheels off to remove the wheel station, i know the brakes are bad on this one, disaster strikes as the studs are turning in the hub, this means having to cut the nuts off, not a very nice job at the best of times, let alone with the tyre that close, removed the valve from the tyre to get any air out and the lads will cut the nuts off tomorrrow.... carefully......
Pic of the studs turned, the flat should be against the lip on the hub...

3.jpg

T'other side came apart easy enough (thankfully!) just lifting off and a quick peak in at the diff, everything looks to be in place!

4.jpg

5.jpg

The fun part on these B's is trying to get spare parts, limited availiability on big parts such as rear hubs, an 0R or exchange ,complete wheel station is around £37k plus any core charges if the take off unit does not meet Cats rebuild guidlines, in a worst case could cost £75k, now you need 2 on a truck and the bill is climbing rapidly before you've even started. Got a guy looking in Scotland at a hub, brake pack and a couple of spindles tomorrow and trying to get a price of finding some spare parts on the East Coast of America shipped across....... Same wheel stations fit B & C series trucks, Transmissions will interchange between B,C & D's, and suspension legs are the same on B,C,D & F's.

The shortage of big lump spares is down to worldwide demand at the moment, Cat plan to make 750777F's this year and have sold 750, if you work it out thats 14.5 777's a week!

Anyway, enough rambling for now...

SB