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Thread: Railko depth

  1. #1
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    Railko depth

    Hello from Brisbane.

    Here's one for the gurus.

    I spent most of today attempting to reassemble the front swivel hubs on my 88" - this included new railkos along with swivel balls etc. I bought the railkos, pins etc a couple of years ago from the outfit (then) at Springsure near Ballarat and had them pressed into the balls some little time ago.

    Anyway, the left hand swivel/hub assembly came together just fine as per the manual. Moving to the right side, I thought I was in for an early beer until I went to set up the top pin and spacers to get the preload right. Unfortunately, the pin wouldn't fully tighten down on to the outer swivel housing - about 1/4" too long.

    I tried to set it a couple of times and then pulled the left assembly apart again to check if the pins might have been different - the boxes were the same, and so too were the pins. The problem appears to be the depth of the aperture in the railko bush - around 1/4" shallower than the one fitted on the left.....

    My question is - is it likely that the Springsure parts outfit managed to sell me one railko suitable for a Series 3 and another that was meant for something else? Or is this an extreme case of poor crafting of aftermarket parts (they were meant to be OEM)?

    It's largely an academic question since the purchase was a couple of years ago and the outfit has changed hands. Whatever, I'm going to have to extract the offending railko and replace it with something more suited to a Series 3 Land Rover.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

  2. #2
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    Hello again.

    While having a contemplative Friday afternoon beer, I got to wondering if there might be some chance that the problem might be related to someone (not me) shoving the two thrust washers into one of the railkos so they wouldn't get lost. This thought occurred to me when I discovered the missing O rings (another thread) for the bottom swivel pins in one of the boxes for the top swivel pins.

    I haven't checked that slight possibility out yet, but two washers might explain the ~1/4" clearance issue.

    I live in hope.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by S3ute View Post
    Hello again.

    While having a contemplative Friday afternoon beer, I got to wondering if there might be some chance that the problem might be related to someone (not me) shoving the two thrust washers into one of the railkos so they wouldn't get lost. This thought occurred to me when I discovered the missing O rings (another thread) for the bottom swivel pins in one of the boxes for the top swivel pins.

    I haven't checked that slight possibility out yet, but two washers might explain the ~1/4" clearance issue.

    I live in hope.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    That was my immediate thought! Or, less likely, something under the thrust washer that should not be there.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    Hello again from Brisbane.

    Well, my hoped for easy solution proved to be no such thing in the clear light of day. I re-remeasured the depth of the two railkos - left and right - and one was definitely about 7mm shallower than the other.

    Close inspection of the bases without the new thrust washers did suggest that the bottom material was different between the pair, that of the offending bush looking for all the world like a thrust washer. However, probing with a pick-hook failed to loosen anything. I wasn't sure if perhaps a thrust washer(s) had stuck to the base through surface tension or whatever have you....

    So, plan B was put into action - I gently drilled a few small holes in a line across the base to a depth that I figured was about that of a single washer. That didn't loosen anything, so I ran another set of small holes across the base to form a vee - still no movement. So, I got a small chisel and chipped out the vee section - nothing moved and it didn't suggest that two washers might be lurking there. So, I opted to keep chiselling only to reveal the metal base of the railko. From all inspections the bush was part of a single fitting that included both the sides and base of a bush.

    Railko by Neil Mac, on Flickr

    So, Plan C came into effect which is to remove the ball, press the offending railko out and head over to Redcliffe in the morning to secure another one for which the pin does fit.

    I guess this brings me back to my earlier question - is there another kind of Land Rover that has a 20mm deep railko bush as the standard fitting? Or have I managed to secure a poorly made piece of crap that is out of spec by about 7mm?

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

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    Might have something there - the Railko bush was not used on Series 1 & 2 or early 2a, but the part number (539742) remains the same from 2a to 3 - except Series 3 109 V8, i.e., Stage 1, where it is FRC1930. And this makes sense, as the swivel housing had to accommodate a CV joint, so it makes sense it would have had a slightly shallower pin and Railko bush.

    I suspect then that you have scored one of each bush.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    John,

    Hello again and thanks for your thoughtful comments.

    That makes sense - both are Series 3 and it is conceivable they the stock may have got mixed up somewhere along the chain to the point at which they came over the counter to me.

    I’ll be calling by the parts place in Redcliffe tomorrow - so, I’ll follow up with them what they know about the dimensions of the two parts.

    Could have done without the grief, but there’s always some opportunity for learning something I suppose.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

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    Stage one bush is also a different diameter, same size as the top of the smaller series pin

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    Quote Originally Posted by mikek View Post
    Stage one bush is also a different diameter, same size as the top of the smaller series pin

    And also rarer than hens teeth with gold fillings.... If you do happen to find someone with a reasonable FRC1930 railko bush for a Stage 1 V8, I would really appreciate a lead!

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    Quote Originally Posted by BilboBoggles View Post
    And also rarer than hens teeth with gold fillings.... If you do happen to find someone with a reasonable FRC1930 railko bush for a Stage 1 V8, I would really appreciate a lead!
    1J 05 - AXLES - Swivel Pin Bearing Housing - Pegasus Parts remanufacture new Land-Rover bulkheads for Series models.
    These guys make a stake 1 railko bush
    2003 defender 90- Gone
    2014 Discovery 4 SDV6
    1981 Stage 1 V8

  10. #10
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    Thank you, I have ordered a set.

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