Cloud obvious. Silver lining WELL hidden.

[VladTepes]

8O The Defender has got me into trouble again. Both with the wallet and the missus. 8O

Luckily Warren is on holiday as every time I go into MR I have been handing them money.
If only he'd known before-hand he could have upgraded to 5 star !!!


I had the car booked in for a service and to fix what appeared to be a buggered hub seal.
Well it was buggered all right.

On disassembly of the LH rear hub it was apparent to them (and I have the buggered bits in the tray of the ute now to prove it) that the stub axle, bearing, hub and wheel bearing were all "stuffed" (it actually says that on the workshop sheet so it MUST be the technical term style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif ).

I can barely beleive how flogged out they are - there's a big groove where the bearing was obviously spinning....


Luckily they had a half decent 2nd hand hub (I hate to think how much they cost new!) but I did have to shell out for a new stub axle ($180 ouch :cry: ) as well as bearing, repack bearing, new seals, gaskets etc.

Looks like I'm up for more Overtime shifts than I thought I would be.

Ron, what was that you were saying about "think of the wedding account" :?: 8O


Aaaaaarrrrggggghhhhhhh :!: :!: :!:

Well, at least that's out of my system.

There is a silver lining, however. It took me a while to beleive that there could be, but it is this that proved to be the problem, rather than the previously feared 'bent axle / diff housing'. So at least I'm not going to be up for a new one of those expensive bastards

Oh and the other upside is that I found out about it now, rather than when the wheel decided to seperate from the rest of the vehicle at 100kph on the freeway, or something 8O

small mercies.

[disco95]

TRhere's always a bright side to every situation Vlad :wink:

[Ace]

You need to start having a crack at all this mechanical stuff yourself rather than shelling cash out to someone else, you would save a fortune.

But you are right Vlad, its always better to find a problem before it gets dangerous or to expensive to fix. Matt

[VladTepes]

Sure I could have saved a few hours labour but since I have NO idea what I would have to do, NO idea what parts I would need to buy etc, and its a daily driver, I really don;t have much of an option. Its the parts costs that hurt too, not just the labour.

[Ace]

Originally posted by VladTepes
Sure I could have saved a few hours labour but since I have NO idea what I would have to do, NO idea what parts I would need to buy etc, and its a daily driver, I really don;t have much of an option. Its the parts costs that hurt too, not just the labour.

Yeah, i understand where you are coming from, we can so with only one car for a few days while the disco is in bits, as stacey doesnt have to go out everyday, if parts take a while to arrive, stacey gets un happy. If i didnt do all the work on the disco myself it would be in the shed waiting, i struggle to afford parts at the moment, so i have little choice, plus i actually enjoy it. Matt

[VladTepes]

Enjoying it isn't the issue. I love the satisfaction of things I've done, made, fixed, or created myself.

Knowing what the hell I am doing - that is the issue.

And the problem is... my life may very well depend on it.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Originally posted by VladTepes
Enjoying it isn't the issue. I love the satisfaction of things I've done, made, fixed, or created myself.

Knowing what the hell I am doing - that is the issue.

And the problem is... my life may very well depend on it.
6 years ago we bought our Elan. The guy said it was the best car blah blah blah. It was obvious it wasn't perfect, but it was ok and the price was cool so we took it home.

Unfortunately we shortly discovered that it had rust in the chassis, and to repair this the whole lot had to come apart. So, some computer guy that had never done more than a oil change ended up mechanically re-building a 30yo sports car. 8O

I think things turned out well in the end. We've had virtually no trouble since putting it back on the road, and I learn't enough to fix it wherever I go :roll: :roll: :roll: You just need a good coach style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

I think a key concept I took out of the whole experience was that if a mechanic can do it it's not hard... it may be unpleasant but if you put your thinking cap on it's usually easy enough. In the end I only sent things out that required specialised tools that were financially prohibitive.

Anyway, the point is that it's a really good thing for getting to know your car. I will do that with the defender too. Luckily I have a coach, and over the next 10-15 years I've got a feeling I'm going to get to know this car well. 8O style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif I have no delusions about being a mechainic, but I know that with a little help I can usually get things done. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

It's a pain the car being a daily though.. that really does put you under pressure. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif

[George130]

Mines a daily driver so poses some issues but I do any work I can on our cars. I was luck though as I wrote of my dads car teaching a mate to drive in my young days. Dad's finnal reply after calming down was you broke it you fix it so I learn't to do things and also not be to afraid to pull it apart and try.

[fernockulated]

:roll: now just imagine if you will vlad ,of doris cruisin nicely ,but noisily along the beach ,up past orchid beach heading for point lookout when ,BANG,there goes your rear wheel with axle attached heading off for new zealand 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O

better to spend a few dollars now than spend a whole lot more trying to get a tow truck on fraser!!!!!! :roll:

[p38arover]

Originally posted by VladTepes
Luckily they had a half decent 2nd hand hub (I hate to think how much they cost new!) .

About $250 depending on year.

Ron

[VladTepes]

well at least i saved $200 there.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

<span style="color:blue">most mechanics will simply use a workshop manual just like any would if working from home....

the difference between a mechanic and doing it yourself is :
a mechanic will have most of the neccessary tools required for the job and knowledge how to use them.... and which tool to use for what.
from experience a mechanic will know how tight or loose most nuts and bolts need to be without using a torque wrench on everything....
and without stripping and snapping bolts...

if you have a book or rave cd you should be able to do most jobs at home with a decent set of tools.....
you have e few people here on aulro with some knowledge on most repairs....
and if you ask before you attack something....you get info and tips and tricks before you start the job so you know what you are in for before you take the job on......
what im saying is...some jobs may sound hard but be very simple to do...
a lot of jobs are simple but just lots of time.....
if you work for lets say $20 an hour....why pay someone else $75 plus an hour so you can do overtime.....?

if you were in sydney i could probably give you a hand with some things vlad....
most jobs are only hard the first time you do them due to lack of confidence......
the second time round you know what you are doing and it takes half as long....







(of course .....if you are not sure about something always let someone qualified do it only for safety's sake....)</span>

[Reads90]

Originally posted by VladTepes



Luckily they had a half decent 2nd hand hub (I hate to think how much they cost new!) but I did have to shell out for a new stub axle ($180 ouch :cry: ) as well as bearing, repack bearing, new seals, gaskets etc.



Bloody hell
Thank god i got two and put them in my 90 before we sent it off
Cost me $40 here each

and no when you see it past you customs window in the middle of november, you can't half inch them out the back of it style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[DEFENDERZOOK]

<span style="color:blue">by the way vlad....did you notice any noise coming from the rear...?


or do i need to wait till its fixed to see if there is a noise missing from the rear......




i am curious to know......</span>

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Originally posted by VladTepes



at 100kph on the freeway,




8O 8O 8O

tailwind?

cliff?

semi-trailer?



style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pedro_The_Swift)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-VladTepes



at 100kph on the freeway,




8O 8O 8O

tailwind?

cliff?

semi-trailer?



style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/b][/quote]
That's cruel !! 8O style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Phoenix]

What is it about people on this forum and wheel bearings 8O

I'm sure most of you remember what happened to mine :oops:

Interstingly though, mine only made noises the day before it let go!

[seqfisho]

Ah Vlad,

I heard that Warren was extending his holidays an extra week after you had been in 8O

He's looking at buying part of the Island with funds from his Vlad account :roll: style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[VladTepes]

Thanks D-Zook - you could always come and live up here in QLD like everyone else... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

And no, I didn't hear any noise. It's a Defender - there's so much noise from the front you got Buckleys hearing noises from the back. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif