Passed WoF

The Jeep is legal again. Pit Stop at Melling fixed the handbrake, seems a clip had slipped on one of the brakes but they cleaned it out entirely, removing all traces of mud etc and took it back to VTNZ who issued the WoF. It seems the small inspection hatch on the back of each drum should have a rubber seal, neither have one. The rubber seal should stop the mud getting in, something to keep an eye out for.

Have a great Christmas everybody

WoF second time around

Finally took the jeep for its WoF second time around. After the first go I have got a new windscreen through Novus and courtesy of my insurance policy. That took a bit of sorting as sourcing a new rubber trim took some time, and the first piece of glass they ordered was too wide, seems there was a change in model somewhere. I removed the tyre carrier from the rear and sold that to another Jeep owner. I also found the hole in the exhaust and filled that with gunk. The only one I wasn't sure about was the handbrake. I removed the drums, cleaned out the surplus mud, sprayed brake cleaner everywhere and left it at that.

In the meantime I also tried drilling holes in the floor of the rear cargo area to put in some eye bolts as tie downs. In the process I found it was wet under the carpet and further investigation showed areas of surface rust. So a tidy up job, and some POR15 to stop the rust spreading. It never stops.......

Finally back through VTNZ in Lower Hutt this morning, and the only thing wrong is the handbrake so off to Pit Stop tomorrow. The inspector at VTNZ was a fellow jeep owner and suggested some new wheels with larger offset due to the rubbing I get especially in the rear with the 30" tyres on. Always somebody out there willing to help.

At Pit Stop there was a large Hemi motor sitting under a cover, I suggested they drop that in the Jeep while looking at its handbrake, however I understand that with 600 hp at the rear wheels it is a bit too much for the Jeep.

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow we will have the Jeep legal again.

Warrant of Fitness time

This morning I took the Jeep up to the VTNZ in Upper Hutt for its warrant which was already 2 weeks overdue. With the jeep not being a daily driver there was no hurry, and with other things happening the last two Saturdays I hadn't had a chance to get it done. So this Saturday I headed on up and read the paper while waiting. 1.5 hours later I got the list of things stopping the jeep from getting its WoF. Nothing major, but all things that will have to be sorted.

1) Handbrake is not working efficiently
2) The tire carrier is lose, the bottom bolt wobbles around in the hole and needs to be sorted
3) The exhaust has a leak somewhere
4) There is a crack in the windscreen

So back home and after lunch and a trip to Pak n Save I put the Jeep in the garage and tackled the tyre carrier. I had wanted to remove it anyway as it has already cracked the rear hatch. So out with the tools and the garage creeper and to work we went. After snapping two bolts and grinding the head off another I just about had it off, this had all taken a good couple of hours. With a growing pile of clay on the garage floor and in my eyes I was able to get my son to hold the tyre carrier at such an angle that I could access the last bolt holding it to the bumper and snapped the head off. So now the tyre carrier is no longer attached to the jeep fixing item 2) on the list.
Interestingly enough some of the bolts I don't have a matching socket for, odd sizes, especially those holding the tow bar on, which it looks like I would have to remove first before I take off the bumper, what a job.......
There are still two more days to have a look for the exhaust leak, and try and work out what is wrong with the handbrake. It will need to be a call into Novus to get the windscreen fixed.

Oh well, this way you learn about your own vehicle, and become more familiar with what holds it all together.

Andrew Farmer did turn up and gave the Jeep a good service. Apart from changing the filter and engine oil he checked both diffs, no problems there - oil was clear and at the right levels. He suggested I remove the anti-sway bar to increase the articulation. As soon as I have got a new warrant I will remove it and see how things go. After the driving in the river the previous weekend I was thinking that I would need to extend the breathers on the diffs to the appropriate levels but we found out that jeep had already thought of that and both diffs have extended breathers, the front diff extension ends up at the top of the fire wall, the rear diff extension disappears into the chassis, not sure where it goes to from there.
I was going to try and give the jeep another water-blast so the WoF man doesn't have to look through the dirt, he might find things on purpose :-) but the weekend ended up too busy, and it is still dirty so maybe Wednesday night.
Must be time over the long weekend for a drive, so who would be up to a drive along Odlin's Road on Monday morning (Labour day). Add a comment, or email me if you want to join in, maybe an early start and breakfast in UH first.
Have a great week

This past weekend I attended a NZQA certified 4WD driving course, Saturday was theory along with a river crossing in Rallywoods, while Sunday saw us practicing at Aotea Block. We practiced failed hill climbs in both manuals and automatics, a big difference in the technique. We then moved onto traversing uneven ground, sidlings and last but not least a controlled descent down the steepest piece of hillside we could find. Then it was play time, the wet weather helping make conditions fun.

You can see my photos from the two days at http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560950573oQpwBE and http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560958808MNQGMQ

Now I just need to wait a few days for Mike to mark the test papers to see how well I did. There were twelve of us on the course, and the theory was done over at Whiteria Polytech in Porirua, haven't been to a polytech, or Uni for a long time.

The jeep is once again muddy, and Andrew Farmer is coming to service it on Thursday, before it goes for a warrant which is also due.

I wonder what is next, a trip over Labour weekend maybe?

First Post - 26th September

Here I am with my first blog post, thanks to Wayne a 4WD colleague. So instead of typing up an email each Monday, or every 2nd, 3rd or 4th Monday as it has been I will try my luck at the world of blogging and you can subscribe, or not, as the case may be :-)

Here is a picture of me stuck in a swampy bit at Aotea block on the 16th Sept, it was just too boggy and I kept on getting high centred. In the end I was pulled out, almost tipping it over. Apart from that it was a fun day.

Time to do some work so that had better do for now.