Lynx II, hull # 4225

[David Dunlop]

An interesting side topic here.

Does anyone know if the specifications for all Ford Crank Handles and Ratchet Bolts are the same, or were they sized slightly differently for different sized/powered engines?

The critical factor with these parts would seem to be that the central shaft of the hand crank and the diameter of its cross pin are small enough that they do not bind at all when inserted in the Ratchet Bolt by the Operator. If the fit is too snug, then Rob’s experience would be all too frequent. As soon as the engine fires, the Ratchet Nut will pull the Crank Handle away from the Operator and beat him or her with it. Not pleasant at all.

This might also be the type of part which is best not mixed with those of other manufacturers even if they look like they will work. To work best, the fit between the two should be resistance free. No big deal I suppose if one never plans to actually use the Hand Crank.

David

[Tony Smith]

I have never used a handcrank to start a Ford V8, but I do find them useful to turn the engine when setting valve clearances. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to turn an engine by hand as well.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

I use the crank for winter storage. I think better to turn it over by crank than run it and have cold/hot condensation forming, especially in the exhaust. Keeps me warm as a side benefit.

[Lynn Eades]

The dreaded "lunatic stick". There are not many other options in a carrier. I have started mine with the crank handle. A V8 is less likely to kick you than a 4 cylinder.
Btw, if you don't know, don't wrap your thumb around it, just like you don't put your thumbs inside a CMP steering wheel off road.

[Peter Duggan]

Guys,

Buttoned up the back end and was well satisfied with a good test run.

I recognized that the front end shimmy (after hitting a sharp bump) was beyond my limited skills and enlisted Gerry Foster for help solve the issue.
Went through the front end without finding any smoking guns. Gerry took a systematic and layered approach. He determined that the Lynx has a multitude of issues that on their own weren't dramatic, but they all added up to create a problem. The U bolts for the front springs were no longer tight and allowed slight movement under heavy load. Torqued properly. Slight misalignment of the front wheels. Realigned. Movement in LF wheel bearing. Inner spacer removed to be machined. Slop in the steering column due to improper fitting shims. Steering wheel removed to add set screws.
Next trial should be interesting. Thanks to Robin Craig for the pictures.
Peter

[Andrew Rowe]

Hi Peter, have you had a chance to check the king pins with the shims, and also the bush that goes through the chassis for the sector shaft extension shaft, is that in good condition?,. Not looking up the book , but I think the King Pins should have a certain amount of resistance , which you can determine with a "Fish Scale" , and that will tell you how many foot pounds of pull is required to move your front hub back and forth, hence the correct preload on those King Pins ,
Cheers Andrew

[Harry Moon]

after a number of years with no issues I too had a shimmy when last driven in August. Checked things over and the only issue I could see that needed rectifying was the output bearing on the transfercase front axle output. It was noticeably loose so I took it out and replaced it. Haven't done more than a few kilometres on it so don 't know if that cured it.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Guys

When chasing shimmy don't forget tire pressure, I've spent days chasing out all the play in the front end of CMPs sometimes with no luck. Then for laughs tried changing front tire pressure. Started at the low end then took them up 5 psi at a time and the shimmy started changing found a pressure where the shimmy only occurred well above comfortable driving speed for that truck.

Cheers Phil

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Further to the comments above, also read Chevrolet C60s - Front Wheel "shimmy"

[Bob Carriere]

It was the truck tire shop that told me to play with the tire pressure and rotate tires. After exhausting all the finer adjustments ni COMPLIED.

Now I am using the 10.50 x 16 and after some Tire rotation and reduction from 50 to 35 pounds all around the shimmy went away....... and the lower pressure gives a better ride.....

The old rules about checking up on loose bolts is valid....... after two years of driving the Spring check up turned up two rear axle U bolts loose....a quick fix but how does it happen?????



Cheers

[Peter Duggan]

Guys,

Gerry bought the LH inner spacer for the front wheel bearing which had 11 thousands machined off and the steering wheel which had the addition of a set screw opposite to the loose keyway.

A couple of test runs had the Lynx tracking as it should and NO desire to develop a shimmy after tackling multiple bumps at speed. It appears that there were multiple issues. In summary, alignment, loose LH wheel bearing, sloppy steering wheel, and what I consider the most significant was the loosened U bolts on the front axle.

After the sense of relief following some great runs, the Lynx decided to give me a dose of reality by locking up in fourth gear.

C'est la vie, Peter

[rob love]

The lynx here will let you sneak out of a gear and then put in another gear like reverse. It will lock up the transmission. I find one just has to be very robotic and careful on the shifts, keeping the shifter in 90 degree movements as opposed to jaywalking it through the gate.

[David Dunlop]

Glad to hear you got the shimmy figured out, Peter.

Your last photo almost looks like bocage country in Northern France.


David

[Peter Duggan]

Originally Posted by rob love

The lynx here will let you sneak out of a gear and then put in another gear like reverse. It will lock up the transmission. I find one just has to be very robotic and careful on the shifts, keeping the shifter in 90 degree movements as opposed to jaywalking it through the gate.

Rob,

Thanks for your comments. You're quite right. I had just got back home from a great run through the countryside, parked and went to shift into reverse and was a bit slaphappy.

Any suggestions or hints as to how to best unlock the transmission. I decided to let it soak for a bit before I tore into it.

Thanks again, Peter

[Colin Alford]

Peter,

While Rob has evidently had to deal with this issue before, I can only offer a suggestion.

Ref your image on page 3 post 66 of the remote shifter and the 3 linkages to the transmission: Can you access the three shift-rods from underneath the vehicle or are they hidden by a skid plate? If you can access them can you move the third/fourth gear rod into the neutral (central position)?

Please ensure the park-brake is firmly applied, and wheels chocked before anyone crawls underneath!

[Andrew Rowe]

Had this happen in an old tractor crane of mine, and usually the only way was to take the gearbox top off and re-set the gears and gates in the right position with a big screw driver. Having said that you should be able to access the side of the box from underneath the Lynx, but if reverse is really jammed, you may not get it back in by working the remote shifters, your only option maybe gearbox side off, as , as you know the lid is mounted on the vertical , instead of in the horizontal plane like standard trucks, Cheers Andrew.

[rob love]

I was always able to go back into the gear last used and re-shift it.



Colin: The shift rods are accessible, and should be able to do what you are speaking of. I am pretty sure the "skip" is in the remote gear change box.



Pretty sure I have told this story before as well: When I first started working on this Lynx, it would get stuck in third or fourth gear (can't remember for sure now). After doing a ton of work on it, during the road test it got stuck again. I managed to work it onto the hoist, and was ready to drain the transmission to pull the shifter when I noticed a cotter pin missing on a clevis pin on those remote rods. The pin would sneak down and get jammed on a neighboring pin. Cheap and easy fix: a 2¢ cotter pin.

[Peter Duggan]

Guys,

The problem was with the front shifter linkage and not the transmission. Drained the transmission and there was no metal or debris in the oil. Jacked up the rear wheels to remove any load from the transmission, removed the inspection cover for the rear shifter, couldn't find anything amiss. Moved to the front shifter and barely touched the 3rd/4th shifter and it popped into neutral.

Road test suggests there is no problem with the shifters but that some driver training is required.

Peter

[Harry Moon]

Using experience learned the hard way, sometimes repeatedly I practice using a very light touch with the shifter. But still sometimes when i go to get out of the 3-4 gate to the 1-2 gate it goes into mystery gate and is still in whatever gear it was last in. I learned not to fight or force it but to lift the reverse gate on the shifter and take the shifter over to the reverse gate, not down into gear, just into the gate. Once there I release the lever and gently move it over and it goes into the proper gate between 1,3 and 2,4. I noticed I have to do this at least once a day with then prompts me to lighten my grip on the shifter to finger tips only.
but this winter I'm pulling the transmission to inspect it anyways.

[Peter Duggan]

Harry,

Thanks for sharing your shifter experiences and the techniques that you practice. Good luck with your transmission and please share your findings.

Again, thanks

[Doug Lavoie]

Great to see you have no major issues with the tranny. Happy trails!

[Crets]

Originally Posted by Peter Duggan

Guys,

With my limited mechanical skills, I've been very fortunate to find some very talented craftsman while tackling this restoration. Don Graham specializes in restoring antique and custom radiators, out of his shop in Frankford. Not only did he manage to restore and repair my old radiator, but he did it for far less than I had planned for.

Attachment 77233 Attachment 77234

Hello,

For the restoration of my Lynx, is there somebody who can provide me with the dimensions of the radiator?

Best regards,

[Peter Duggan]

Crets,

So much of life is about timing. I had the radiator out of the Lynx in September. It would have been quit simple to get any measurement that you need at that time.

The Lynx is now parked for the winter. I could get some basic measurements later this week if that is all you require,

Peter

[Crets]

Originally Posted by Peter Duggan

Crets,

So much of life is about timing. I had the radiator out of the Lynx in September. It would have been quit simple to get any measurement that you need at that time.

The Lynx is now parked for the winter. I could get some basic measurements later this week if that is all you require,

Peter


Attachment 126552

Hello Peter,

A basic measurment is good enough.

Thanks in advance,

David

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by rob love

....
Pretty sure I have told this story before as well: When I first started working on this Lynx, it would get stuck in third or fourth gear (can't remember for sure now). After doing a ton of work on it, during the road test it got stuck again. I managed to work it onto the hoist, and was ready to drain the transmission to pull the shifter when I noticed a cotter pin missing on a clevis pin on those remote rods. The pin would sneak down and get jammed on a neighboring pin. Cheap and easy fix: a 2¢ cotter pin.

I had a Mustang car suddenly give me a loose shift lever and no gear change. After it was towed, and an hour of shop time, the culprit was a similarly negligible detent ball somewhere. It might have been .50¢ on the invoice.

And good discussion of how to keep old vehicles running after all the usual chatting about rebuilding them.

[Peter Duggan]

David,

The basic measurements are 3 5/8" thick at the top tank, 25 7/8" wide and 29' tall from the top of the upper tank to the base of the bottom tank. There was an add on MLU, this summer that was for a WW 11 generator. It was powered by a period Ford flat head and the radiator certainly appeared to be the same. I'm suggesting that this radiator was used for more than the Lynx.

Peter

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Peter Duggan

David,

The basic measurements are 3 5/8" thick at the top tank, 25 7/8" wide and 29' tall from the top of the upper tank to the base of the bottom tank. There was an add on MLU, this summer that was for a WW 11 generator. It was powered by a period Ford flat head and the radiator certainly appeared to be the same. I'm suggesting that this radiator was used for more than the Lynx.

Peter


Attachment 126592

Peter, does the image from the manual also show the full part number? There is a NOS radiator on ebay at the moment (https://www.ebay.com/itm/33304539102...sAAOSwhJFb8duO) for an 11A-8005B. While similar, the top tank appears taller than the Generator rad.

[Andrew Rowe]

The Canadians manufactured larger "Rear engine chassis " during the war , as used in the "Indian Pattern Wheeled Carrier's " . These use a very similar
radiator, but the filler cap position and the crank hole in the core are offset, to the middle on the Lynx, but physical dimensions are the same , cheers Andrew.

[Peter Duggan]

Andrew,

The parts manual shows C29SR 8005B for the radiator assembly. This suggests that it is even different than the earlier marks of the Lynx.

Peter

[Andrew Rowe]

Hi Peter, as far as I can tell, radiators for both models of Lynx are the same, a couple of subtle differences probably are that the rear shroud on the back of the radiator, maybe slightly different , and one of the top outlet pipes that heads back to the engine on the Left hand side has a couple of bends in it to avoid the generator and regulator, on the Mk2 , but the outlet pipe on the actual radiator stays the same. I take it your crank hole is offset in the hull, so would coincide with an offset with the hole in the radiator core? The picture of the radiator on that generator is identical to the Indian Patterned Armored Car Chassis that were produced , being rear engine. Cheers Andrew.