Paul, an ASSCO member from Queensland wants to know what type of wheel bearing grease to use in his Fairmont M15B and the following will apply to all models.
There is a number of specific requirements for the grease to be used in Fairmont Motor Section and Gang Car wheel bearings. Unlike automobiles where a rubber tyre absorbs some of the shock load the bearings in motorcars are subject to greater shock with metal wheels to metal rail, the sprung suspension models to a lesser extent but much greater than a road vehicle.
Another consideration is that Fairmont Motorcar wheel bearings rely on a ring of grease to form a seal which is less than ideal so the likely ingress of dust and moisture is high.
Therefore the wheel bearing grease for Fairmont Motorcars needs to have the following:-
Extreme pressure qualities for the high shock loads encounted.
A high level of tackiness so the ring of grease seal stays inplace much longer.
A high corrosion protection and moisture resistance quality.
A high quality grease that provides all of the above protection as at around $200.00 a bearing most only want to replace them once in a life time!
A lot of you may have wondered what the letter 'E' signifies stamped at the end of the engine number on some 2 stroke engines and Tutt-Bryant serial plates displaying engine number. I initially presumed it may have stood for export as my North American counter parts had not seen it at all on any Fairmont 2stroke engine in the States.
My research has now discovered that the 'E' was used to identify factory built magneto engines, the 'E' standing for Eisemann Magneto which was exclusively fitted at the time... Mystery solved!!
Why it was not seen in North America is because the magneto option was rarely if ever utilised there. I note that engines built after 1962 the 'E' coding was discontinued by Fairmont MN even though Eisemann Magneto's were still a standard fitting.
A detailed timing method from go to woe will be posted in the Gang Shed pages in due course
Builders Plate location
Not really techo but a question I get asked often so here is the information as known to me so far.
M15s pre 1965 (up to QR 286)medium moving to large Tutts plate located right hand side engine panel front top corner.
Post 1965 Pacific ACE Hornsby plate, Condenser hood.(thanks for the info Peter)
Post 1966 Pacific ACE Salisbury plate and Post 1976 early Pacific Construction plate left hand side engine panel under rear seat.
MT14's Standard Not sited
MT14 Z42 pre 1965 Not sited
MT14Z42 post 1966 Pacific ACE Salisbury and Post 1976 early then late Pacific Construction upper left engine panel side board at rear of car.
ST2 standard/Z63 to 1953 small Tutts plate located right side engine panel near top and rear of car. ST2Z42 not sited.
All ST2's 1953 to 1963 medium then large Tutts plate right hand engine panel under or near crank handle loop holder.
Post 1965 Pacific ACE Hornsby plate right hand engine panel towards front.
Post 1966 Pacific ACE Salisbury plate and Post 1976 early then late Pacific Construction Hornsby plates all located left hand engine panel top rear.
M19's all gauges bar Z24 to 1964 medium then large Tutts plate located right hand side engine panel top front corner.
Post 1964 Pacific ACE Hornsby located right hand engine panel top front corner.
Post 1966 Pacific ACE Salisbury left hand engine panel.
M19 Z24 upper rear right side engine board
In summary all builders plates were on the right side engine panel till 1966 when Pacific ACE Salisbury got going and moved them to the left panel where they remained till end of production in Australia. The few exceptions so far being the M19Z24, post 1965 Pacific ACE Hornsby M15 plate and the A5's that had them on the original driver/passenger seat back rest. I note the A5A had them off the seat back due to a different design and located them on the right side engine panel.
Condenser (Radiator) Caps
This one is an old trick used by many QR gangers... For those of you running cars with leaky condenser caps wrap a piece of cloth around the filler neck so that any water is absorbed by the cloth and then drips off the end of the cloth rather than running down and shorting out your spark plug. Magneto cars are more susceptible to this with their inherent weaker spark compared to the buzz coil..
An 'Evenrude' (Nee OMC) brand, available from boating shops, non vented petrol tank cap fits just fine on your Fairmont condenser. The locking vent ones are good on your fuel tank..stops 2 stoke washing out all over the place when your towing your car to a meet. Don't forget to release the vent screw when you run your car.
Heat the housing with a propane torch or similar till water sizzles on its surface. Take the housing in a pair of thick gloves and bang it cover side down on a dense piece of softwood...may have to do it several times but the inner race will eventually drop out of the housing..aluminium expands greater than steel.
Speaking of wheel bearings Fairmont uses a primitive sealing system for wheel bearings..a ring of grease that forms in the slot cut into the bearing cover.. If this grease ring is lost then your bearings are exposed to the elements. It is why Fairmont recommend you grease the car so often. This grease sealing method constantly throws out grease from the housing and therefore it needs replacing often.
I always grease my wheel bearings each time I load a car on to my trolley trailer. Drive thru one rain storm at 60-100km an hour and your wheel bearings will have water in them if they are not grease sealed properly!!
Adjusting your Wheel Bearings
An extract from drawing '41718'
'To set up bearings draw up cup follower (bearing cover) until bearings bind slightly while being rotated. Measure gap (between cover and casing) and to this add .003" to .005" as the total thickness of shims required'
This system will be the same for all Fairmont wheel bearing housings..
These Specs are kindly supplied by Rob Piligian, Whitehall, PA USA and were supplied to him from Fairmont, MN some years back. Thanks Rob.
Head Nuts - 44 to 50 ft.lbs.
Connecting rod - 25 ft.lbs.
Connecting rod bearing clearance - 0.003"
Piston ring end gap - 0.017" desired, 0.011" to 0.018" acceptable
Piston to wall clearance - 0.005/6"
Crankshaft end play - 0.0156" to 0.0469", Average 0.0313"
New rod journal - 1 5/16" diameter - 1.312"
Rob tells me that the high side to side/lateral movement of the crankshaft is a left over from the ball bearing engines with ring seals. I recommend you keep this movement to the lower side (.0156") to help keep the lipped seals in good order.
The correct side for the front differential axle sleeve on cars is to the right in long/short axle arrangements. The grease nipple is to the right also in all cars. The long/short axle arrangement is so the sleeve and grease nipple wont foul exhaust manifold, engine and body sills. The sleeve ID is .003-5" bigger than the axle OD.
So is my sleeve OK?
On new components there should be some very slight or no play when the sleeve is rocked back and forth and no side to side play.
My sleeve is rocking back and forth lots. Is it alright??
Fill it with grease till it oozes out each end and try again..if its still rocking lots then its worn, but how bad is bad now depends what the car runs like..if the car lurches at the front at certain speeds or the wear pattern on the wheel tread is scalloped then the car is unroadworthy and sleeve/axles need replacing.. otherwise keep it greased. Quite often only one side wears due to one side seizing ( water ingress, lack of grease, old grease going hard). Although the sleeve will have to be replaced quite often only one axle half will need replacing and if your lucky only the sleeve.
Side to side movement of the sleeve could indicate your split bushing sleeve bolt is loose..tighten. If the bolts tight and its still got lots of side movement then the split bushing is buggard and needs replacing.