Essential winter maintenance 2024.

At the beginning of November 2024, and following another busy period of activities for the appliance and its crews, a number of mechanical, equipment and electrical issues began to appear and it soon became apparent that a deep investigation would be necessary to ensure that 240FLM remained safe, legal and reliable as we head towards another year of service, in fact, it will be its 61st year!
Odd noises had been heard coming from the engine compartment and the road horn had ceased to work, this triggered an initial inspection and the opportunity to carry out a thorough health check. As a result, 240FLM was, by necessity, taken “Off the run” whilst the inspections and repairs were instigated.
As part of the vehicle routine maintenance, the braking system is monitored closely and, although no obvious problems were apparent whist driving, once a visual inspection of the system was available with the road wheels off, it became apparent that the air brake chambers on either side were looking decidedly poor, they are probably the originals, and as such, replacement new, or fully serviced originals would need to be refitted. As is the norm with vintage vehicles, some parts just are not readily available “off the shelf”, this was the case for the air brake chambers. However, it will not come as a surprise that in the UK, there is a hidden world of small businesses specialising in such obscure, rare or replacement items and this was the case for these parts.
In deepest Essex, West Horndon to be precise, can be found such a company. No new parts are available now, but after a few days the call came in to say that our originals had been completely overhauled and returned to “as new” condition and able to be safely refitted to 240FLM where we anticipate many more years of service.
Whilst dealing with the brakes, a decision was made to have the front brake shoes relined. They were getting quite low on available friction material, therefore, as with the chambers, the hunt began for a company who could help. This time a trip to Arlesey near Letchworth in Hertfordshire was required and in the blink of an eye, new linings were skilfully fitted and prepared ready for the shoes to be refitted.
During the process of servicing the front brakes, the opportunity was taken to have a really good close look at all the other hidden areas, rarely seen, and difficult to access. The clutch slave cylinder was seen to have a slight fluid leak into its protective rubber “boot”. Remarkably a new one was found, sadly however, it was found to have just a slightly longer operating arm so several hours of work, and sweat, was required to merge the old and new units into a useable and functioning item which has now been refitted.
With all the brake and clutch parts refitted, one last inspection has found a slight leak on the exhaust pipe which will need to be rectified and the road horn problem addressed.
As the road horn had stopped working! It would be not be unreasonable to assume that this would be a relatively easy fix! Oh no, a vehicle of this age, and several previous owners, ensured that this seemingly simple job turned into a complete rewire of the horn circuit to get it working again, but at least we now know how its wired!
Sitting behind the rear cab and in its own enclosure is the on board “lightweight” fire pump, this pump is designed to pump water to the top (head) of the ladders when they are extended to allow water to be played onto a fire scene. The pump has its own starter motor with a button sited on the pump control panel. Over the years, this starter motor has been the source of a number of problems, often caused by water getting into it, and once again, it has failed. On removal it was found that the solenoid and surrounding coils were heavily corroded. So, once again, the hunt began for replacement parts, new or old! Astonishingly, although the starter for the fire pump is obsolete, once again, having the right “connections” proved invaluable and, thanks to a considerate and supportive official at the original equipment manufacturers digging deep into his stores, we have been able to source a brand-new solenoid/ contact assembly and a repair kit of all of the small parts. It goes without saying that these scarce parts are not cheap, however, without them we cannot maintain the fully operational status of the appliance, something we pledged right at the outset in November 2014
Finally, the vehicle is equipped with 2 original wheel “chocks” designed to sit either side of the rear wheels when the appliance is at work. Our 60 years old original pair, kindly donated to the group, were pretty much beyond repair and likely to fall apart without warning.
Once again, we turned to our list of contacts and revisited a fine professional joiner who has turned out 2 beautiful new hardwood replacements which are just in the process of being rebuilt with all the original metal fittings and painted black as per the originals.
All this work has required the dedication and commitment of just 2 people over 2 months and between them they have put in an incredible amount of time and effort to maintain 240FLM to the highest standard and to ensure we can continue to fulfil our commitment to providing a professional, respectful, traditional and trusted service when called upon.
 
Wishing all our followers and supporters a very happy, safe and peaceful new year and we look forward to meeting many of you on our travels in 2025.

Please note, all the images are copyright to Peter Weight and Trevor Barnwell, no unauthrised reproduction is permitted.