MV addiction bites again. Another tank.

[Needle]

When and if you get a chance, get the keys to the Benabago from Kevin and take it around the block for me please.

Kevin is in hospital at the moment. He had a heart op on Monday, and looks like he will be "grounded for about 6 weeks".

I will check with Leslie and see if she knows where he put the keys. If not, I'll just bust the lock, hot wire it, and then drive it around the block for you.

 

[combatmech]

Yes, I forgot. Got an update from Tammy. I'm sure Leslie knows....if not, proceed with the above...opcorn:JK.....
The "new" tank looks all kinds of fun!! Did you guys get a history on it?

 

[BiffJ]

38.8 Liter V12 Diesel with quad cams and 4 valves per cylinder putting out 500 HP at 2100 rpm (maybe 2000rpm, can't recall). 5 speed transmission with the funkiest shift pattern you've ever seen. A very good sounding engine indeed. Glad to see another here in the States. We've been working on AugDog64's T34/85 for a couple years now and have figured out a number of quirks. Send a PM or post on the board if you have any questions we might be able to help with. Brakes need adjusting fairly frequently in order to steer and we finally got the airstart system going. You need an outside source of 2000psi air to use it but it works well and you don't heat up the entire tank to start it. (starter pulls a few amps)

Frank

 

[Needle]

We've been working on AugDog64's T34/85 for a couple years now and have figured out a number of quirks.
Frank

Frank,

Do you use all the fuel tanks, or just the two "connected" rear ones, and for continuous engine running do you have to pressurise the fuel tanks with the drivers hand pump?

From left to right, what is the order of the 4 driver gauges immediately in front of the driver? My order does not seems to match anything I ever seen before, and their operation is also questionable. I was sure fuel tank air pressure was on the left, but on this one its 2nd from right

Also, how long do you run your pre-oiler for? I am just guessing on time, because I see no change on the oil pressure gauge.

I also have no operators manual, so for a lot of the operational items I am having to go from what works in the Sherman, what I can find out/translate from the internet, or learning as I go.


And as for the shifter pattern.....who knows I found 1st and reverse by trial and error. Haven't got up enough speed (or courage) yet to find the order of the gears on the left (2 and 3?) or the right (4 and 5?). Someone has written on the inside of the hull 2 copies of the shift pattern, and they are both different, and wrong


My guess is:

2 1 4
3 R 5

which is probably wrong!

 

[BiffJ]

I think you have the shift pattern upside down but you could be right. I'm not near the tank right now so I can't check. I'll have a look next week when we're working on them. I do know that 1st and reverse are in the middle. I think reverse is forward. 2 and 3 are on the left and 4/5 on the right. You need to pull the handle on the shifter to move the lever to the 2/3 and 4/5 positions. You have to leave the handle alone for 1 and reverse. When we run the tank we usually have 2 guys inside, one to drive and the other to shift. Its not a smooth easy shifter by any means and sometimes takes two hands.

As far as the guages there isn't really an order I can say I've seen in more than a couple vehicles. Oil and gearbox pressure will either have a kg/cm2 marking or something saying Mp, Kp or other metric units of pressure. Normally they will go from 0 to about 8 or so on the guage. Oil pressure should come up on the guage with the pre-oiler prior to starting. If you don't get pressure you'll have to prime the system by pressurizing the oil tank. Its under the grill type cover on the right side of the engine cover. I wrapped a sock around our air blow gun and then pressurized the tank while Augdog held the switch down. When he got pressure on the guage I quit and put the lid back on. The system will lose its prime when it sits. The pump is about knee high and its taking oil from about floor/sump level so you will get some drainage. We didn't have much trouble as we were starting at least once a month but didn't start from around mid may til mid july and lost the prime. Thats when we tried the air trick.
On the fuel you won't get any pressure reading anywhere. The guage reads transmission oil pressure not fuel. Your best bet with fuel is to pick a tank and stick with it. We are using the front right tank which drains into the one in the middle of the fighting compartment on the right. We tried the rear tanks but the fuel lines are pinched somewhere and we don't get much run time before the engine dies. To start up pump the handle in front of the driver until you hear the fuel tanks make some popping noises. It doesn't take a lot. You may need to pull the handle and seal out of the pump and oil up the leather seal in order to get good pumping. Don't overdo it on the pumping. It doesn't take much pressure to insure the fuel reaches the pump. You don't want to pop a seam. Be careful on the oil tank too for the same reasons. You don't need any pressure to run, the onboard fuel pump will pull fuel out of the tanks and deliver it to the injection pump. Thats why there isn't a guage for the fuel air pressure...

The tach should be off on the left wall and thats the only standard position I've seen. The air start system requires filling the bottles from outside. To start you open the bottles (one or both depending on temps), then you open the valve next to the pre oiler switch and throttle up. These engines normally start quick so you don't need a lot of air to start.

Russian gearboxes are straight cut gears with no synchro in any gear. Basic crashbox with long levers and many bends and turns. That means draggy shifting and lots of muscle required. I believe the Sherman has the gearbox right next to the driver so thats a big difference. Another thing you'll find is that when steering the T34 you need to use some muscle on the levers. Its supposed to steer a bit when you pull a lever partway back by disengaging the drive clutch on one side. The other side is supposed to continue driving and that results in a gentle turn. In the T34 it results in nothing happening. You need to pull the lever back hard on the side you want to turn to. That engages the brake after disengagine the steering clutch. This is why brake adjustments are so important. If you're brakes don't hold then they'll drag and get hot. That makes other parts heat up like the clutches and then they won't disengage resulting in no turns.

The russian stuff is neat and simple but brute force driven. The T55 has some boosting on the steering and its easier but the shifter still sucks.
PM me and I'll give you a phone number. We can talk about some of these things if you want.

Later
Frank

 

[msehring]

Listen to Frank, he knows his T 34's Marc

 

[Needle]

Listen to Frank, he knows his T 34's Marc

Marc,

I am definately "all ears" on any info from Frank or Dave, and I am also extremely grateful for them sharing their experience.