Narrowed beam problem

[Ands1]

I've put myself in a right situation here, I bought a 2nd hand t2d narrowed beam in really good condition with leaves in.
I had a mate fit it who knew what he was doing as I don't have time.
Anyway I've been under the van & noticed the bottom beam adjusters was showing more threads than the top so I removed it & found the leaves dimple was not in the middle but the two torsion arm dimples are in the right place. So my mate has tightened the adjustable screw in the adjuster & stripped the threads as it's only gone in 2 turns to tighten.
On the top tube the centre adjuster bolt is in correct as is 1of the torsion arms but the other end isn't dimpled in the right place.
At a loss of what to do, go on holiday in middle of July fully loaded with 2 young kids. I'm at a loss

 

[Moseley]

Im not sure if I'm reading your problem correct, but surely the easiest is to remove the leaves, drill the dimple in the correct place, run a tap down the centre leaf holder and refit with a new adjuster locking bolt?

 

[Ands1]

Im not sure if I'm reading your problem correct, but surely the easiest is to remove the leaves, drill the dimple in the correct place, run a tap down the centre leaf holder and refit with a new adjuster locking bolt?

Yes you seem to be right mate, but I won't be able to drill the leaves as it will be so close to the existing dimples already drilled. Can I spin the leaves 180 degree & Redhill there. What thread is the centre boss 14mm ? What pitch?
I have to work on my van outside as I can't jack it up high enough. If I cock it up I'll be stuck with van outside in a vulnerable area :shock:

 

[Moseley]

I can't see any reason why you can't spin the leaves, they may make the van sit a little higher at first as they'll have worn all their life in the other direction. Don't know the pitch of the bolt, but I'm sure all the major suppliers keep the locking bolt in stock.


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[sparkywig]

I can't see any reason why you can't spin the leaves, they may make the van sit a little higher at first as they'll have worn all their life in the other direction. Don't know the pitch of the bolt, but I'm sure all the major suppliers keep the locking bolt in stock.


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Did this with mine.

 

[RePhil]

If you rotate the leaves (i.e. keep left & right as they are) then the force should still be in the same direction. Therefore the, age related, sag should still be the same as it was.
Drill new dimples on the opposite faces to those they are now on.

The large grub screw is M14 x 1.5 pitch - just measured my broken one.

Creative Eng sell them alng with the lock nut.

Tip from them is : Do not over tighten the lock nut as this will stress the grub screw, which is hardened steel. This makes them hard but brittle. That's probably why mine broke - I really tightened it!

If the rotating block in the centre is stripped of its thread, an option may be to drill through from the other side of the beam & weld it solid - at your preferred drop height.

M14 x 1.5 mm taps are not easy to find & nor are they cheap.

If I read this right & the stripped thread is in the beam. I would make a thread chaser (tap) out of the grub screw by slicing into it lengthways with a cutting disc. With care it may clean up the thread. Hardened steel after all.
Hope I've explained this well enough. Just like when you slice through one side of a nut to use as a thread chaser for cleaning up dirty bolts & studs when you don't have a die.

Hope this helps. Plenty time before July.

Phil.

 

[sparkywig]

M14 x 1.5 mm taps are not easy to find & nor are they cheap.

If I read this right & the stripped thread is in the beam. I would make a thread chaser (tap) out of the grub screw by slicing into it lengthways with a cutting disc. With care it may clean up the thread. Hardened steel after all.
Hope I've explained this well enough. Just like when you slice through one side of a nut to use as a thread chaser for cleaning up dirty bolts & studs when you don't have a die.

Hope this helps. Plenty time before July.

Phil.

Plenty of 14 x 1.5mm taps for sale. The one in the top link I've used for 18 months or so.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BERGEN-M14-x-1-50-Fine-Pitch-Tap-Set-Taper-Plug-/262471175370?hash=item3d1c804cca:g:yjkAAOSwrklVUv~Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M14-x-1-5mm-THREAD-TAPER-PLUG-SET-by-BERGEN-TOOLS-HSS-thread-repair-tap-/261817681340?hash=item3cf58cc5bc:g:Lj4AAOSwPhdVCpXV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;