Thread: Cape York Trip Preparation Advice

I did the Cape last year with Bushie Numpty and Shorty and had a great time.

This is the list of parts I took and ones I used


water pump
idler bearings
vee belts 3 in total - 1 used
lift pump

fuel filter
oil filter
wheel bearings x2

radius bushes x4

trailing arm bushes x4

uni joint - would hve used it but he front shaft flogged out nd was useless putting it in
spare shocks
alternator - my new 100amp one drowned so I put the old 40 amp one on
2 spare tyres
tyre plugs
an assortment of nuts bolts plugs and pins

If you want - have a look at Bushie's trip report on the qld forums page - some good ideas of where to go and what to see

Ian,

sounds dumb, but a bit of clear shower screen and some silver plumbers tape.

If you shatter a window then the thickness of the shower screen doesn't flap or rip easily, clear so you can see through it, and if the silver tape doesn't hold it on then perhaps nothing else will.

Iain, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, is better before a long trip than having an established LR specialist do a thorough pre-trip inspection. It's well worth the money having a professional look for any weak, worn, iffy gear (the most likely stuff to fail).

Did the trip last May/June, came back through western QLD. Had Coopers (Sydney) check over the old beast (1995 model). Replaced alternator and couple of bushes before I left. 10000kms later, nothing broken, no noises, no problems, the old girl didn't miss a beat, nor did the car.

Originally Posted by ugu80

Iain, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, is better before a long trip than having an established LR specialist do a thorough pre-trip inspection. It's well worth the money having a professional look for any weak, worn, iffy gear (the most likely stuff to fail)...

I fully agree there, a good pre-trip check by a LR specialist is invaluable!

Thanks for the advice, I would hope that a car with around 5000km or so on it would be in good shape, however it is going back to the dealer next week for a full check-up and oil change. Do they classify as LR specialist?

hi we live in cairns and work through the gulf and up through the cape
if your defender is a late model dont even think of going up with out
running a extra fuel filter seen one expensive episode allready and recoverys are can run into the thousands read the posts and take the advice and all will be good its a kick

I was going to as the dealer about that - when I asked LRA, they siad fitting another fuel filter would "void the warranty" - but not fitting one and getting water in would also "void the waranty" - so basically they are saying - "you're screwed"