Thread: Walter the Dormobile

Finally back to work on the Dormobile.

As I was testing the brakes prior to Cooma the old Rocky Mountain overdrive failed. Luckily I found the problem before leaving.

During brake testing I heard a 'pop' from underneath, all seemed OK but walking down the driveway later I found a disc of aluminium with Rocky Mountain on it !! A hole had been punched out the back of the overdrive.
Had I not found the piece of aluminium it would have run out of oil on the drive to Cooma......

Removed the overdrive at the weekend and put it back to standard, had a look tonight and a countersunk screw had worked loose,wound itself out and punched a disc of aluminium out the back of the overdrive.

I'd been in contact with Ray at Global Roamer when I first got the overdrive and asked a few questions as I fitted it. The support from him has been outstanding considering the overdrive was an old one and secondhand.
I need to pull the overdrive down at some point and work out how to repair the casing so it can be re-installed.

Just need to get the front seats back in and then I can get back to work on a list of things like trying to fit the headlining, installing curtain rails, replacing perished door seals etc.



Colin

I've just been offered a secondhand casing for the overdrive by Global Roamer ! How's that for aftermarket service.

I'll investigate getting it TIG welded first.
Once fixed the repair only needs to contain the oil, there's no load on the disc that got punched out.
I purchased a TIG welder suitable for aluminium earlier in the year but I might entrust it to someone more experienced.......



Colin

Have you looked at the possibility of tapping a thread in the hole and screwing a plug into it?

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Have you looked at the possibility of tapping a thread in the hole and screwing a plug into it?

Unfortunately the piece punched out is about 2" diameter.

Colin

Oh wow - that’s a lot bigger than I had thought. I was thinking around a 1/2” hole.

I see what you mean!

Yes, welding, new housing, would seem to be the best approach.

Since it is not stressed though, since you have the piece, I wonder how a structural metal glue would work, perhaps with several small screws for peace of mind? Joint preparation and clamping would need to be considered.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I see what you mean!

Yes, welding, new housing, would seem to be the best approach.

Since it is not stressed though, since you have the piece, I wonder how a structural metal glue would work, perhaps with several small screws for peace of mind? Joint preparation and clamping would need to be considered.

John,
I thought of that myself but not enough meat to screw into.
I also thought of a strap picking up on the screws that hold part of the synchro mechanism in the back of the casing.

I need to strip the overdrive, clean up the aluminium around the area and see if I can find someone to TIG weld a repair, hopefully the bearing housing directly behind doesn't get compromised.


Colin

The back end of the overdrive is now stripped and the case ready to be TIG welded, just need to find someone to take on the job.
I'd like to clean the inside of the casing, so far no solvent has touched the brown staining.

Ray at Global Roamer thinks it would have been made back in the 90's. I couldn't find any wear on the synchros and the bearings seem to be OK so once the case is fixed I can re-fit it.
Plenty of Loctite will be used on the screw that caused the problem !!

Colin