Carnage of the Cape

[cm4x4nut]

Careful, I once thought I never would 

Best thing I ever did and the breadbox makes me smile every time I push the start button 

GG

I will work on him over a few beers tonight.......... 

[yogi]

We'll we lost 3 beers, a red bull and a 2L long life milk

yogi

PS(forgot about the 6 or so scrambled eggs ..... Not sure how that happened .... )

[Marcus73]

We'll we lost 3 beers, a red bull and a 2L long life milk

yogi

PS(forgot about the 6 or so scrambled eggs ..... Not sure how that happened .... )

Sorry for the loss of the beers, it's things like that which can ruin a trip


Sent from your iPad using Mental telepathy

[speewa158]

We'll we lost 3 beers, a red bull and a 2L long life milk

yogi

PS(forgot about the 6 or so scrambled eggs ..... Not sure how that happened .... )


Sad about the  but can you post up the recipe for " Toolbox Scrambled Eggs " Last time l tried that it tasted greasy , axel greasy     .       

[barraboy]

What a great trip.   My damage included an oil leak along the Old Coach road. When descending down a steep  rocky platform it was noticed by Mobi that someone was leaking oil. Of course it was me and we still had approx. 10ks to go to Jowalbinna. It was slow drip so I checked the dipstick and still registered a good level so kept going.

 Upon arrival and after setting up camp I placed a bucket under the sump from which the oil was leaking. Went to bed that night thinking that we would have to return to Cairns and the trip was over. Next morning revealed 3/4 litre of oil in the bucket. Bloody Hell. The recovery team stepped in and Symon, Yogi and Geoff got to work. The sealant holding the sump had been broken probably due to a knock from a rock on the track so the boys decided to drain the oil, pull the sump out, reseal and put it all back. Geoff had spare oil and after the repair all was good. What a great bunch of blokes and their assistance and expertise is greatly appreciated. The my swag spirit is fantastic and blokes like me probably couldn't make this sort of trip without their support.

Anyway the main body of the group had left for Archer some hours ago and we (5 vehicles) were bringing up the rear. Stopped at Laura to buy fuel and 10ks down the road the vehicle went into limp mode (Bloody Hell!!). Wouldn't rev over 2000 in any gear. After another 5ks it came good but then 10 minutes later went back to Limp. After the sump saga I thought I must have shot a chinaman. Pulled over and the recovery team  caught up and it was decided that I should soldier on to Coen and have the mechanic give it a once over with a Diagnostic machine. Nothing showing on Dash and we suspected it could be dirty fuel. All 5 vehicles refuelled and the other 8 swaggers would have before us and me with the problem. Not logical but there you go.

Anyway after I got going again it came good and stayed good the rest of that Driving day and the rest of trip to Virilya. Go figure but at the time I thought it must have just been a bit of dirt or something.

A week later we turn  for home and bugger me we are back into limp. Nothing over 2000 revs. Normally we would have been able to drive from Virilya to at least Musgrave Station but today we struggled to reach Coen. Got there just in time to have local mechanic check diagnostics for no result. Changed fuel filter and we set Camp for night behind the Sexchange Hotel.

Next day saw the vehicle driving normally and we happy and away we went. 100ks later back into Limp. Stayed like that all day to Mount Molly and then came good of its own accord. Has been good ever since and Cairns Diesel works could find no faults. Obviously it was dirty/water fuel but this only a guess.  Anyway I have since driven the vehicle to Brisbane and its going well.

So a few vehicle dramas on the trip makes for a bit of stress but boy it is all worth it. Great Company and the challenge of the OTT ect  ect ect makes it a trip of lifetime and hearing about the My Swag group and the chief organiser Mark McGirr is one of the best things I have done.

Thanks to all.

Regards

Martin

[yogi]

So the old girl did have a few mechanical issues but to be expected on anything with half a million K's on it. Unfortunately they were all due to poor workmanship and not due to the age of the vehicle.

- Driver side air bag kept loosing air .... got to Gin Gin replaced the valve and that seemed to fix the issue.

- Water temperature was all over the place in the 110 zone coming into Camila so got Renno to ring ahead to Mackay and find a new viscous fan hub as I had noticed prior to the trip that it didn't seem to have the air speed it should when hot but temps were fine. Picked it up the next day and fitted it that morning just to be on the safe side with the new engine having just been run in. Never got over 91 for the rest of the trip.

- Driver side air bag still loosing air .... crawled underneath and found the issue someone had used a zip tie to hold the airline to the top of the air bag and not the proper clamp. Once again Renno was on the phone but this time with no luck so we headed for Cairns knowing someone would have something there. Ended up replacing the air bags with a different brand that used push lock fittings and no more issues. Was also a good excuse to spend a few days with John and his lovely wife Bonnie also to catch up with Douggie.

- Coming out of Laura everyone had pulled up I assumed it must have been to fix something on one of their vehicles only to find out they were waiting for us as someone had noticed something hanging down from under my truck. turns out we had lost the drivers side panhard rod bolt earlier that day (it did seem a little tail happy but put that down to the road conditions and pace we were keeping) So after going through Symons bolt trays and having no luck the ultimate sacrifice was made and we asked Geoff if he had any Nissan bolts that might fit. We found one that was almost the right size so with a bit of team work thanks guy's (Geoff, Symon, Renno and who ever spotted the panhard rod Mobi ?) we had the new bolt fitted and locktighted in for good measure.

- Finished packing up at the Dulhunty river when I noticed the rear rims were damp .... crawled underneath and noticed that the diff housing, both rims and shocks were also damp. Nothing else on the car was damp so feared the worst of having blown both rear shocks given the airbag issues and lack of panhard rod bolt earlier in the trip. The dampness was kind of oily but not really so couldn't tell what it was. At first I was going to head for Weipa as I knew they would have shocks but after giving my self an uppercut I thought lets just see how it goes we can always get a set at the Top. They seemed to be working so will wait and see what they feel like unloaded around town.

- Heading home and just passed Gladstone when the steering goes all funny .... luckily found a side street off the highway to pull into where I instantly knew it was either a puncture or worse wheel bearings. Well it wasn't a puncture and the rocking motion of the passenger side wheel told me it was wheel bearings. Hoping we could just tighten it up Renno and I started to pulling the wheels off then the hub only to find it had completely collapsed. So we called RACQ for a lift back to Gladstone where we spent 2 nights while we waited for parts. Needless to say whom ever last did the wheel bearings didn't use enough grease.

Now after all those issue I know exactly where they arose from. Air bags and panhard rod bolt was 2 weeks prior to the trip found a snapped rear coil spring witch was replaced under warranty and the shop in question haven't used the right bit's on the air bags and forgotten to tighten up the bolt. I had new wheels bearing put on the old girl and the place had 3 goes at getting it right seems they needed more. Lastly the fan hub was simply me not putting enough silicon in it when I rebuilt it when the new engine went in.

We live and we learn. Thanks to all who helped me out.
yogi

[Mobi]

A great trip with great company, unfortunately there has been some damage:
Jockey wheel ripped off camper trailer(had a spare)
Tyre wall cut, fitted one of the spares(thanks Geoff for help)
On the camper trailer both wheel flares damaged
Both camper trailer stabilisers
Awning on truck broke rear attachment and badly scratched truck
Driver side side step bent
Exhaust pipe came off its rear mount several times
Auxiliary fuel tank is weeping from a weld
2 dust covers on the camper trailer and then greasing the bearings(thanks Geoff for the advice and help)
On a positive note the air con light now works:) go figure.
A big thank you to everyone for their help and assistance.
As I'm not home yet there may be more to add.
 
Peter

[jwb]

great stuff!

the joys of it all!

cheers

[GeoffA]

........So after going through Symons bolt trays and having no luck the ultimate sacrifice was made and we asked Geoff if he had any Nissan bolts that might fit........

Ahh yes, the GOLDEN BOLT......after all the modifications previously made to the car, it finally got its' first true improvement......

[duggie]

So the old girl did have a few mechanical issues but to be expected on anything with half a million K's on it. Unfortunately they were all due to poor workmanship and not due to the age of the vehicle.


 So after going through Symons bolt trays and having no luck the ultimate sacrifice was made and we asked Geoff if he had any Nissan bolts that might fit. We found one that was almost the right size so with a bit of team work thanks guy's (Geoff, Symon, Renno and who ever spotted the panhard rod Mobi ?) we had the new bolt fitted and locktighted in for good measure.


We live and we learn. Thanks to all who helped me out.
yogi

Hi Yogi,

It was great to catch up with you.

The Nissan bolt is just a start, it will be slow but now that you have started to see the light about how much better your Toyota is with this , all be it , tiny improvement, you will soon be seeking more from Nissan until the point will be so obvious to you that you really want a NISSAN. 

cheers duggie

[Symon]

Noooooooo yogi, don't go down that path. ... Come back to the light!

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[yogi]

Bolt was ordered and has now arrived ..... time to remove the cancer

yogi

[swanny]

Replace it with something worse then Geoff's fine Nissan part...haha, the bolt that kept your suspension together.....you know it's time for change....!!!!!

[MarkVS]

We have just got back on Monday.

We ended up with a bent cross bar on the 'Stone Stomper', slight dint to one camper mud guard.

Outside of the red dirt and pin stripes, no other damage to the Pajero or Camper.

Considering what we went through, much better outcome than I envisaged.


MarkVS

[yogi]

Replace it with something worse then Geoff's fine Nissan part...haha, the bolt that kept your suspension together.....you know it's time for change....!!!!!

You know what they say .... a picture says a thousand words



mmmmmm I wonder which one is the Nissan bolt

yogi

[GeoffA]

You know what they say .... a picture says a thousand words



mmmmmm I wonder which one is the Nissan bolt

yogi

One is made of proper steel, and the other is plasticine.

Doesn't matter how big it is. Not much good if it falls out......

The Nissan one lasted a LOT better than the Toyota bolt........nuff said....

[Raym]

Should have just kept the nissan bolt, thrown the rest away 

[swanny]

One is made of proper steel, and the other is plasticine.

Doesn't matter how big it is. Not much good if it falls out......

The Nissan one lasted a LOT better than the Toyota bolt........nuff said....

Totally agree.....nuff said....btw Geoff how's your breakdown list....big fat zero....bit like mine....nuff said me thinks....

[GeoffA]

......Hoping we could just tighten it up Renno and I started to pulling the wheels off then the hub only to find it had completely collapsed.........

Hey yogi,

Was it just the bearings that collapsed, or was the hub damaged too?

 
Geoff

[yogi]

Totally agree.....nuff said....btw Geoff how's your breakdown list....big fat zero....bit like mine....nuff said me thinks....

swanny .... give me a call when you car cranks over 500 000k's and not just city driving

Hey yogi,

Was it just the bearings that collapsed, or was the hub damaged too?

 
Geoff

It was welded to the hub .... lucky to still have the wheel on as when it went it went quick and the only thing holding the wheel on was the brake calliper and brake pads

yogi

[GeoffA]

It was welded to the hub .... lucky to still have the wheel on as when it went it went quick and the only thing holding the wheel on was the brake calliper and brake pads

yogi

Ouch......

[yogi]

Yeah but the stop overs were epic ....

Renno still cant believe you can have a slab of bundy and coke as an appetizer

RACQ turned up and we were smashing icy cold beers on the side of the road

yogi

[GeoffA]

Renno certainly got a ride to remember......

[yogi]

Probably should add that before we got into the beers that we had already jacked the car up, taken the passenger side wheel off and disassembled the hub. Thus working out that we were going no where and then we started on the beers and put everything back together ready for the long drive back to the workshop

yogi

[GeoffA]

Might take a look at mine. It's been a while.......