Roadworthy pain

[reeksyofoz]

It seems that registering a Victorian car in Qld ain't that easy :(

Having moved cars from Qld to Tas to Vic with nowt but a simple checkover, trying to get a car back into the sunshine state is a bit like trying to kayak to NZ ... looks easy enough on paper, but turns out to be quite painful :D

They have to do modification plates for:


LPG (which they claim isn't fitted to Qld standards so needs $ throwing at it)
long range tank
Conversion to 2-seater


A slight weep from the pinion on the county front diff. isn't good enough so i've got to replace that.

And then the expensive item on the list... Pitman arm and leaking steering box. Once i'd undone the retaining nut (which had come fairly loose) and was wrestling with the split pin to the drag link, the arm literally fell off! :eek: A rather unhappy looking spline sits beneath, so i'm guessing there's nothing for it but a reco. steering box.

$160 for the pitman arm
$900 for the steering box from British Off Road -

Anyone know if those prices are typical or am I likely to find things cheaper elsewhere? I can't seem to find any online catalogues.

[JDNSW]

I paid less than that for a new box including pitman arm from All Four x 4, but that was a couple of years ago (and on special). Can't remember exactly, but I think it was a bit over $600.

John

[reeksyofoz]

Thanks - site says they do them from $650 exchange ... so gotta be worth a call.

[Bigbjorn]

It seems that registering a Victorian car in Qld ain't that easy :(

Having moved cars from Qld to Tas to Vic with nowt but a simple checkover, trying to get a car back into the sunshine state is a bit like trying to kayak to NZ ... looks easy enough on paper, but turns out to be quite painful :D

They have to do modification plates for:


LPG (which they claim isn't fitted to Qld standards so needs $ throwing at it)
long range tank
Conversion to 2-seater


A slight weep from the pinion on the county front diff. isn't good enough so i've got to replace that.

And then the expensive item on the list... Pitman arm and leaking steering box. Once i'd undone the retaining nut (which had come fairly loose) and was wrestling with the split pin to the drag link, the arm literally fell off! :eek: A rather unhappy looking spline sits beneath, so i'm guessing there's nothing for it but a reco. steering box.

$160 for the pitman arm
$900 for the steering box from British Off Road -

Anyone know if those prices are typical or am I likely to find things cheaper elsewhere? I can't seem to find any online catalogues.

You don't have to have a modification plate for seat removal if the removal of the seats is "temporary". Indeed you do if the removal is of such a nature that the seats may not be readily refitted. Check your compliance plate. It notes seating capacity and a permanent variation is a change of compliance and has to be certified.

The long range tank? Get a standard one and refit. Bung the big one back in later.

The gas installation. Get the Qld. requirements from the Government Gas Examiner's Office. You may find little needs to be done.

The oil leak. QT has been savage on oil leaks for a long time. Motor cyclists think this is a damn good idea, as does the environment.

Qld. Safety Certificates are no more difficult to obtain than any other states, maybe even less difficult than NSW and WA. Sounds like they have done you a favour by finding the bad steering.

[reeksyofoz]

You don't have to have a modification plate for seat removal if the removal of the seats is "temporary". Indeed you do if the removal is of such a nature that the seats may not be readily refitted. Check your compliance plate. It notes seating capacity and a permanent variation is a change of compliance and has to be certified.

The long range tank? Get a standard one and refit. Bung the big one back in later.

The gas installation. Get the Qld. requirements from the Government Gas Examiner's Office. You may find little needs to be done.

The oil leak. QT has been savage on oil leaks for a long time. Motor cyclists think this is a damn good idea, as does the environment.

Qld. Safety Certificates are no more difficult to obtain than any other states, maybe even less difficult than NSW and WA. Sounds like they have done you a favour by finding the bad steering.

I wasn't arguing that none of it was relevant ... just that it was rather stringent.

The seat removal isn't temporary - I have a water tank, draws etc in their place - engineer certified in VIC already :)

Standard tank is in storage and it's not worth the hassle of getting it out and going through the palava.

LPG has a VIC compliance plate on the bulkhead.

Oil leak isn't a problem for anyone - it's not even enough to leave a patch on the driveway.

I was aware of the steering already, just annoyed at the $ it will cost to rectify.

[reeksyofoz]

I paid less than that for a new box including pitman arm from All Four x 4, but that was a couple of years ago (and on special). Can't remember exactly, but I think it was a bit over $600.

John

Great recommendation thanks John - All 4x4 are still doing brand new adwest boxes with pitman arms attached, listed at $990, but my tip for the day for anyone looking for a steering box is to find their listing on ebay and put in a lower offer.

[isuzurover]

I bought a 2nd hand disco box for my 110. Cost $220 from Linnrover (Wreckers over here). The box was like new.

The mod plates for the seats and LR tank should be a piece of cake - just $$$

[Bigbjorn]

I wasn't arguing that none of it was relevant ... just that it was rather stringent.

The seat removal isn't temporary - I have a water tank, draws etc in their place - engineer certified in VIC already :)

Standard tank is in storage and it's not worth the hassle of getting it out and going through the palava.

LPG has a VIC compliance plate on the bulkhead.

Oil leak isn't a problem for anyone - it's not even enough to leave a patch on the driveway.

I was aware of the steering already, just annoyed at the $ it will cost to rectify.

If the engineer who did your Victorian mod. plates is an "authorised person' with Qld. Transport then you will be ok. If not, then you have to have a Qld. one do it again.

LPG rules are a state matter so get the copy of the rules like I said and check your installation against them. A QLD. licenced gas installer/inspector will have to check the installation. You may not have to do much.

As to oil leaks, if the inspector can see a fresh seep, then you have an oil leak, no matter how small. Your leak may be insignificant to an owner of a Land Rover, British motor cycle, or God help us, anything made by Rolls-Royce, but it is a leak and must be fixed.

[JDNSW]

.......
As to oil leaks, if the inspector can see a fresh seep, then you have an oil leak, no matter how small. ......

A thorough degrease before the inspection is a worthwhile precaution!

John

[Bigbjorn]

A thorough degrease before the inspection is a worthwhile precaution!

John

This can be a double edged sword. Can make a leak easier to see. Generally a good idea though. Stop and crawl under just before you reach the inspection station and carefully wipe any known leaks can work. I have been through this on several occasions now and most inspectors are fairly reasonable but anything that can be seen to have a drop or a run, not just a moist seep is a no-no.

[Snapper.VTR]

I bought a 130 in Queensland before Christmas and took it in for a blue slip here in NSW, thoroughly prepped before hand, should be a doddle.


Yep everything OK except you have to get a weighbridge ticket (just in case it's too heavy or too light???) and the long range tank needs an engineers certificate, and here's the card of someone who can do it.
The tank has a Queenlsand compliance plate complete with reference numbers, inspectors number etc but that's not good enough for NSW apparantly.

Weighbridge not a problem ($25.00) managed to get an appointment for the engineers certificate same day. The bloke has a look at the bull bar and says I need to get the indicators working, then looks at the rear tank and says suspiciously, "that's plastic". I point out that the plastic tank is the original and show him the long range tank under the right hand side of the cab. He literally tapped it with a finger and say's "that looks OK!" 10 minutes and I'm all done ($350!!!!!!)

I then take it back to get the blue slip man to sign off, that's another $60 to review the engineers report!

On the bright side only took 5 minutes at the RTA and the standard plates finish with my initials, bonus!

I'm thinking one Government might be a good idea.

Anyway, good luck with the rego.

Snapper

[reeksyofoz]

He literally tapped it with a finger and say's "that looks OK!" 10 minutes and I'm all done ($350!!!!!!)

I then take it back to get the blue slip man to sign off, that's another $60 to review the engineers report!


$410 for that? I'd have wanted a number plate with my full name in flashing letters!



I'm thinking one Government might be a good idea.

You're not bloody wrong! I used to moan about the annual MOT in the UK, but that made a lot of sense compared to this ... IMHO :)

[Reads90]

I would go to another garage and get it a second opion on the roadworthy. My 110 has a second tank but and has been though 2 roadworthys that i know of with no problem

[isuzurover]

I would go to another garage and get it a second opion on the roadworthy. My 110 has a second tank but and has been though 2 roadworthys that i know of with no problem

As I understand it in QLD if the first garage have done a safety cert and knocked the vehicle back on the above points, then you cannot take it elsewhere, as the first garage is required to submit details of the faults to QT.

[reeksyofoz]

I've paid for the tests for the safety and gas certificates already through the original tester, so I might as well go back to him anyway.

Most of the 'leaks' are probably spillovers from clumsy fill-ups/drains I hope so one i've polished the hell out of the underside of the car the leaks should be 'fixed.'

I hope when they see the brand new steering box it will impress them anyway :D

[Newbs-IIA]

As I understand it in QLD if the first garage have done a safety cert and knocked the vehicle back on the above points, then you cannot take it elsewhere, as the first garage is required to submit details of the faults to QT.
Thats exactly right, I was talking to my RWC bloke yesterday and he was showing me the sheet that he sends into QT. He even has to mark if it was a Major or Minor fault. If after 2 weeks of the initial fail the customer returns back they have to pay the RWC inspection fee again. If after 6-7 weeks the failed customer doesn't show up thier details are sent of to QLD Transport. QT then check to see if the car has been re-registered with a RWC from another inspection station... if It has they deregister your car and won't re-register it untill you send it over "the pits" at a QT inspection station (the hardest to pass)

QT officers are getting around too, my RWC bloke has just been audited and told to clean himself up a bit, lazy with paperwork etc, he knows a couple of other places that have lost their licences for doing 'dodgy' RWCs

[scott oz]

I've just had my 110 pas the local green slip and it has a Loneranger long range rear and two belly tanks. Never asked for any certification. First i knew of it in NSW?

[JDNSW]

I've just had my 110 pas the local green slip and it has a Loneranger long range rear and two belly tanks. Never asked for any certification. First i knew of it in NSW?

In NSW greenslip is an insurance certificate. I think you mean pink slip (no longer pink), which is the routine roadworthiness. This is much less rigorous than the blue slip, required for first NSW registration.

Similar to you, my 110 has a belly tank (fitted from new in NT in 1986) which has never been documented, and interestingly required no documentation when I moved from Victoria in 1995, although that was before the current blue slip existed - I had to go "over the pits" at the RTA, which gave no problems except that they got the number of seats wrong and got one digit wrong on the chassis number. (They probably did not realise there was a second tank!)

Reminds me a bit of when I moved to Victoria in 1971 - had to get a roadworthy on my Citroen. One of the inspection points was to remove a front wheel to inspect the brakes - which he insisted on doing. The Citroen DS has inboard front brakes, and removing the front wheel gives you a good view of a hub and front suspension arms and half axle - but no sign of any brakes. Opening the bonnet gives a clear view of the discs and pads! (If you know where to look)

John

[reeksyofoz]

So i fit the new steering box... after receiving a Disco 2 one first and having to send it back for a new one (dealt with very nicely as it happens)


And ... there's a bloody leak from one the return pipe where it joins to the box. Inspection suggests that there's a little o-ring on that pipe which I should probably have replaced before fitting it to the new box :twisted:

What a SOAB. Do I have any o-rings? No. Is there anywhere open to buy o-rings on sundays? No. Do I have it booked in for its retest at 8am on Monday.

YES! Looks like they'll have to fit an o-ring for me. And I so wanted to get it all done myself :(

Sulk time.

[reeksyofoz]

Sulk over.

Refitted the return pipe and it didn't leak.

Interestingly, the LPG tank fitted in VIC was not acceptable because a dirt shield covered the tap. This had to be modified for a safety certificate to be issued.

Otherwise it seems that I fixed up everything else well enough to pass.

One point worth another sulk, though.
Rego for 12 months was almost $200 more in Qld than in Vic :mad:

[scott oz]

Sulk over.

++++++++++++++

One point worth another sulk, though.
Rego for 12 months was almost $200 more in Qld than in Vic :mad:
:D cheap if that's all it costs to get out of Victoria.

[Tombie]

So what is the price of rego including all 'slips' etc...?

SA has 1 'slip' - your rego, insurance (CTP) is built in....

Mine works out around $600 per year

[reeksyofoz]

:D cheap if that's all it costs to get out of Victoria.

:D

well it cost a fair bit more if you take into account the five month trip we had to undertake to really lose the trace ;)