a fairground life

Away this morning to a meeting regarding a future fair so did not get back to the shed until 2pm. I called about the Dropzone seals and was told they would be in at 2:30pm. Off I went to collect them and by 4pm I was on my way back. The seals are very fragile and I was warned to take every precaution when fitting them. So I returned to the wagon to fit the three seals into the ram flange. I cleaned it with a cloth and in the seal grooves with cotton buds to remove even the tiniest of debris. Next I smeared everywhere with vasolene. Finally I put the seals in boiling water to soften them up and make them more pliable. I managed to insert the "o" rings and seals with not too much problem after that. They did not seem deformed or marked in anyway. I went to the shed to put the flange onto the ram. I heated the flange & seals by leaving a 500w halogen shining on it for an hour. When we tried it on the rod, it was too tight a fit for us to put on by hand. I wanted to try a hammer to tap it on, but "b" came up with a better idea--he suggested that we use the weight of the lift cradle to press the flange down onto the rod. So using the crane we positioned the cradle over the rod and lowered it down onto the flange. Slowly down,down,down and then the flange pressed down over the rod with a slight plop, plop, plop as it passed through each of the seals. I would have to say that it was a success but we will only know when we try the ride out. NDT testing of the DZ tomorrow then pack it up again. I wanted to solve a problem with the air suspension but its a plumbers nightmare under there and I need some pro advice-any suggestions of who?
"b" is away tomorrow as my brother starts out for his first fair of the year so I will be working alone in the afternoons until "r" returns from uni.