Repairing Rear Spring Turret on GQ

Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 07:14

ThreadID: 50205 Views:3360 Replies:7 FollowUps:11

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Willem

I had a mate drop by from Darwin on Monday and he just had to find something wrong with the GQ.(Maybe because he drives a Handgrenade...lol) After peering into the engine bay for a while he grabbed a tarp and slid in under the chassis and sure enough, he found a hairline crack on the right rear spring turret. Bugga!!

Now to repair!

1. Grind V-shape into crack with angle grinder. Wrap Alfoil around spring and Poly-air bag. Make sure there are no leaks from fuel tank. Lie on back with suitable protective gear and weld crack

2. Jack vehicle up high with Hi Lift Jack. Stabilise on Jack Stands. Remove stabiliser bar, shockabsorber, spring and Poly-air Bag. Remove Turret(not sure if this is possible as no mention of turret is made in Manual) and then repair and then put the whole lot back together again. Painful job!

Any better ideas?

Cheers

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Reply By: Leroy - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 08:18

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 08:18

Gee for a 'non handgrenade' you seem to have a lot of problems with your vehicle ;-)

Leroy

AnswerID: 264824

Follow Up By: Kev M - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 08:52

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 08:52

Leroy,

It sounds like they based the "handgrenade" on Willems GQ LOL

Cheers Kev

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FollowupID: 526635

Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 10:01

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 10:01

much as i love bagging Nissans any 4by with over 200k that actually gets used is going to require "ongoing maintenance"

FollowupID: 526647

Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (Qld) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 10:50

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 10:50

Davoe
Unreal them Nissans eh, seen one at Wolfe Creek Crater , He told me he had to go to the Granites Mine off the Tanami to have front Diff/axle housing welded , and when I got a long way down the Tanami Track I come across a Nissan parked up , not a soul in sight and the whole front axle assembly taken out , and it was sitting on blocks, the disc rotors and coils in the back ,Had a damn good ARB bullbar on it too,

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Reply By: Member - Robert W (VIC) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 09:57

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 09:57

Drill small holes at ends of crack (if accessible) to arrest cracking and monitor area -- it may have been like that for years?
Bob

AnswerID: 264834

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:33

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:33

Thanks Bob

FollowupID: 526718

Reply By: Peter 2 - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 12:36

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 12:36

Willem
Unfortunately it is not unknown on GQ's but more common on GU's especially when fitted with heavier springs and carrying a bit of weight.
In an extreme situation they tear off the chassis completely and crush the brake and fuel lines up against the floor. A friend had this happen to his GU in WA while on hols and it was a very expensive body off the chassis repair.
I'd be drilling the ends of the crack as suggested and then trying to get it welded in situ by a competant welder.
It may require removing the rear diff housing and running gear to enable better access, the last resort would be either lifting the body up enough or taking it right off.
When they repair the spring towers on the utes they weld a length of RHS across the top of the spring towers between the chassis rails to stop the towers flexing up on the inside, might be a bit hard on the wagon though, depends on how close the floor is.

AnswerID: 264855

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:40

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:40

G'day Peter

Yep. My mate is going to make up a frame to fit under the body of his GU so that the flexing stops on the turrets. I do know that this could be an issue with GQ's.

I will drill a small hole to arrest the crack to start off with. It is accessible. I have not carried great weights in the GQ and now have transferred all the weight to the trailer. The back of the vehicle is very light. I do have the poly-air bags in the rear and run them at about 10psi. The truck has done 346,000km so the few repairs I have to do now are minimal.

Cheers

FollowupID: 526721

Follow Up By: Member - Glenn D (NSW) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 20:37

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 20:37

Hows it going guys ,

My next door neighbour had the same body off experience with his GU . As you said a real show stopper on the wrong side of the country , Noticed on your member profile you are in the TLCC Peter, may be the same guy he is a member as well.

There were a fair few posts a few months ago on the chassis / spring mount crack topic . Many blamed airbags , but dual wheel carrier type bars also got a hiding .

I reckon I would give the in situ fix a go before major surgery , The worst that can happen is it will crack again . At least you will be able to keep your eye on it.

Glenn.

FollowupID: 526746

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 21:02

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 21:02

G'day Glenn

Yep I will give the in situ a whirl first. The crack is only about 5mm long at this stage. I know a bloke who is a good welder so will ask him to help when I see him next.

Have you solved the starting problem with your GU yet?

Cheers

FollowupID: 526750

Follow Up By: Member - Glenn D (NSW) - Thursday, Oct 04, 2007 at 19:56

Thursday, Oct 04, 2007 at 19:56

Yeah , changed the glow plugs.

Starts first time now on cold mornings.

In hind sight it used to do a smokey start every now and then and I was thinking maybe the injectors were needing a service. I guess it never got cold enough to be a real problem.

Hope you sort your crack out.

Glenn.

FollowupID: 526934

Reply By: Shaker - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:34

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:34

It will need plating, or it will crack alongside the weld.

AnswerID: 264883

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:50

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 17:50

OK will se what I can do about welding a small plate over the area.

Thanks

Cheers

FollowupID: 526724

Reply By: Member - Lionel A (WA) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 18:54

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 18:54

Willem,
Got a panel beater mate who suggested you empty the fuel tank, run compressed air into the filler to help vent fumes. Tape a fire blanket to the tank adjacent to the welding area and use someone as a spotter.

Cheers....Lionel.

AnswerID: 264905

Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 21:03

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 21:03

Thanks Lionel....I will bear that in mind.

Cheers

FollowupID: 526751

Reply By: mechpete - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 22:28

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 22:28

It only happens to vehicles that have heavy springs and or poly airs fitted , obviously to carry more weight than its meant to . Iv,e had 2 GQs and no problem but others have
cheers mechpete.

AnswerID: 264956

Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 22:51

Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007 at 22:51

Willem,

If the crack is only 5mm long, I would drill a 6mm hole to get rid of the crack all together.

A 25mm square plate could then be welded over the 6mm hole.

You would have to get the 6mm hole in the centre of the crack or go for a bigger hole, or

If possible I would try and have a small steel plate on the inside of the tower where the hole is and weld the plate through the 6mm hole. Grind the weld flush with the outside of the spring tower, this should stop the crack from spreading.

Wayne

AnswerID: 264960