It's Raining!

You may recall I mentioned the caravan accident which occurred on the second day of my last outback trip.  One of the club members is a keen outback traveller which produces interesting You Tube videos of his trips.  He filmed our trip and has posted a video of it.

The link to his You Tube channel is <here>.  Search for "Taming the Outback - Total Destruction"  As of writing this post it's his latest video.   I was the only person towing a trailer and you might see it several times in the video.

One observation during that trip was the trailer suspension.  The trailer travelled well on bitumen but appeared to rock excessively over corrugations and ruts.  Upon checking the suspension I discovered the four shock absorbers were defective.  This is annoying as the original four had been replaced two years ago.  I suspect there is a problem with the suspension geometry.  The shocks are likely incorrectly sized. 

In an effort to confirm this the shock absorbers were removed from one side along with the wheel.  Next I uncoupled the retaining chain and removed the coil spring.  I want to measure the maximum amount of movement in the suspension arm.  I need to measure the arm in it's lowest position and then with the arm hard against the bump stop.  From this I should be able to calculated the required stroke for the shock absorber.

A - Bump Stop

B - Housing for the top of the spring.

Everything was proceeding well and then it started to rain!  It's early Autumn so I suppose I can't complain.  Obviously the recent weather has fooled the daffodils because they have sprouted out of the ground.  Your four months early, you stupid plants! 

I don't need to work in the rain and decided to look at the new 4WD winch.  The manual stated it had been lubricated with a good quality lithium based grease.  Do I trust the Chinese manufacturer to use a quality grease,,, and the right quantity?

The first thing I noticed was the hex bolts that secure the gearing end of the winch weren't tight.

Red grease.  A complex marine grade high temperature lithium grease is usually blue.

There was a reasonable amount of grease however I decided to replace it with a grease I trust.

All the components went through the ultrasonic cleaner to remove the original red grease.

I did a dry test assembly to check I had the components in the correct order.

Re-grease and reassemble ensuring the bolts were tight

 

Next the winch control box.  Check all the cable terminals are tight.

Oops….. Someone had damaged a wire during assembly.  That was fixed.  All that is now required is the arrival of our eldest grandson who has offered to assist with fitting the winch to the bull bar.

It's still raining!