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 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] ).

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 ) 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 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] I have no delusions about being a mechainic, but I know that with a little help I can usually get things done. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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

[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