Engine Shot...

my money says in 8 days you will not find an install a 4bd1 with all its gear.

Id handle it this way.

If your taking the vehicle back with you start contacting the mob thats shifting the vehicle for you if they can deal with it with a dead engine you have an exit plan, get the vehicle there, rely on hire cars/loaners to do your minor getting around and head to your exit port.

Backup plan complete...

now the fun plan

• get the car booked onto a transport company to a depo in range of your exit port.
• sort flights to the exit point get accomodation and get there
• Start sorting a replacement engine or the parts for a rebuild
• sort an engine build shop to get a short notice block bore and crank grind done
• beg/borrow/Steal workshop space
• redirect the vehicle to the workshop space
• Reconfirm your parts and have them sent to the workshop space
• rip down the engine
• get it to the build shop
• put it back together
• put it back in
• drive to the exit port.

if it all aligns for you you could have the car back on the road by friday evening

to the nearest major ports its about a 2 day haul (single to darwin but I dont think you'll get parts in time) you'll loose monday to admin and booking so that should get the car on the deck on wednesday evening. Engine out and stripped wednesday night dropped at the build shop along with parts on thursday morning, engine back thursday evening if you're lucky, built and installed that night and then back on the road on friday. Easy.

At this stage the decision has more or less been made as to what to do. We've decided to stay another three months in Australia, so the plan is to...

1) Pool our resources to get Erika (my travelling companion) home.
2) Leave the defender here in Alice Springs and for me to get to Darwin ASAP.
3) Spend a couple of weeks in Bali, return on a new visa.
4) Fix the defender then.

Timewise, it's realistically the only option that leaves us any margin for error. I get held up here, or I have another issue with the defender that prevents me from catching my flight out and thus overstaying my visa, and I get banned from returning to AU for a number of years to come, no questions asked. And it's not worth the risk :(

Im not sure if its feasable given the situation but if you need free storage for the defender theres already a hole in my yard slated for you (and Im sure theres several other people on here who could offer the same

for me, IF

• you can get depo to depo organised
• I can get a loan of a car trailer
• you want to arrange repairs nearer to a major capitol city
• your happy to resume your trip from nearer to brissy
• you can arrange it and notifiy me of it in a reasonable time frame
• it fits in with my Xmas holiday schedule

then the deefer can be parked up (then worked on) at my place.

you might be able to save yourself the cost of the trip to bali our customs people are usually not completely idiotic about granting visa extensions due to unforseen circumstances.

Best of luck and hope it all sorts for you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mike_ie

Bought up by the first guy who went to look at it this morning :(

---

Didn't read your dramas till now! Bugger. We will see what we can work out

Have you had a look at getting a visa extension - "extenuating circumstances". If you don't ask, they can't say yes. Might just be a phone call and an emailed attachment or fax reply???????

Make sure you have it in writing with the signature of an appropriate "Delegate" and granted/signed pursuant to the appropriate regulation/Act.

Cheers

RF

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Im not sure if its feasable given the situation but if you need free storage for the defender theres already a hole in my yard slated for you (and Im sure theres several other people on here who could offer the same

---

Mate, you have no idea the amount of offers for help I've received in the last couple of days, including yourself, from both guys here on the forums, and people in general around Alice Springs. A few families in Alice have already cleared space for me in their yards for me to park up the Deefer as long as I want, and managed to grab a much needed shower last night. Stab city, my ass....

Quote:

---

You might be able to save yourself the cost of the trip to bali our customs people are usually not completely idiotic about granting visa extensions due to unforseen circumstances.

---

I've been on the phone to them a couple of times. And while they were polite, the law is pretty clear cut in that the onus is on me to get out of here ASAP. They are making further enquiries on my behalf, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

On a separate note, lifted the head off last night, and the gasket isn't blown out, so I have bigger issues than previously thought. I need to strip the engine down further, but have to sort out the visa stuff first.

BUT... there is light at the end of the tunnel. I've been chatting with rovercare, and he's agreed to sell the Range Rover onto me, which is very decent of him. So it means that I can actually take a breather for a bit, and I have a donor car to get mine up and running as soon as I either get a visa extension or get back from overseas. All I have to do now is get both vehicles in the same place :)

That's awfully good of him to do that!

:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MacMan

That's awfully good of him to do that!

:D

---

That's an understatement and a half..... There aren't many that would, that's for sure.

That's great news Mike. See what happens when you have a drive of an Isuzu LR... The universe aligns and you end up with one in your own vehicle :D

I reckon it would be worth your while making the vehicle meeting place at Vern's shed if you can. There's a heap of Isuzu conversion experience down that way as well as being a nice part of the country.

Steve

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mike_ie

Mate, you have no idea the amount of offers for help I've received in the last couple of days, including yourself, from both guys here on the forums, and people in general around Alice Springs. A few families in Alice have already cleared space for me in their yards for me to park up the Deefer as long as I want, and managed to grab a much needed shower last night. Stab city, my ass....



I've been on the phone to them a couple of times. And while they were polite, the law is pretty clear cut in that the onus is on me to get out of here ASAP. They are making further enquiries on my behalf, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

On a separate note, lifted the head off last night, and the gasket isn't blown out, so I have bigger issues than previously thought. I need to strip the engine down further, but have to sort out the visa stuff first.

BUT... there is light at the end of the tunnel. I've been chatting with rovercare, and he's agreed to sell the Range Rover onto me, which is very decent of him. So it means that I can actually take a breather for a bit, and I have a donor car to get mine up and running as soon as I either get a visa extension or get back from overseas. All I have to do now is get both vehicles in the same place :)

---

Like i said if your quick enough in your other post i can truck the car to Adelaide (Car Transporter) from melb Im also with in half a hour of Drouin , In saying that over the next couple of weeks i might be doing maybe 1 or 2 more trips to SA heading over empty;)