Can anyone who is familiar with these machines, circa 1975, please give me a bit of advice. The machine in question has been standing for a long time, however most things work but the brakes were stuck. I have freed the various levers with a spray liquid and they vaguely work now but before I start dismantling everything, where is the problem likely to be. Does it have drum brakes on the wheels and is there any form of power assistance as it seems to need a bit of help? Also when I use the rear lifts they both seem to move quite a bit, (like an inch or two) before the rear of the machine lifts. Where is the play likely to be, as an initial look round does not reveal how they are attached? I am a bit afraid that they might fall off.
I have started to try and level the site of a new shed, which will be delivered in a couple of weeks. The JCB works OK but I don't really have a clue as to how to do it. Can anyone recommend a good book or would a JCB course be the only way to learn. Is it possible - or likely to be more successful to use it like a bulldozer or scrape up the dirt using the backhoe?
Oh yes, does the steering wheel just pull off on some sort of spline, as I need to get the dashboard off to fix various problems like the (mechanical?) rev counter and the STOP cable? I undid the nut, but it is stuck and the wheel is not really strone enough to use a strong puller.
Any advice would be most welcome. A workshop manual costs an arm and a leg, I am told. Does anyone have an old one I could photocopy or buy? Thanks, George.