Well the kids are under neurological stress these days as they face the daunting realization that they are in the last months of being teenagers and are about to enter that frightening world where their age begins with a "2".
In previous post (68264) we nearly rolled the car when it slid sideways and the kids help was needed as I had decided that something had to be done about that hairy track section.
So after a call to arms, 3 kids showed up with matocks and spades and off we headed to 4wd country.
Thanks to a masterstroke by the Victorian government preventing kids from carrying a car load of passengers, they no longer have any reason not to buy much less safe Utes , so off
we headed in a little convoy, with their motocross bikes in the back of the utes, as the day wasn't meant to be all work.
I had instructed the computer to generate a minimum
police interference route so we made good time, to near our bush block.
Resting in the staging area with a cappicino in one hand I was duly informed one of the bikes needed a new piston and this would only take an "hour".
It seemed I had only finished airing the tyres down, when they had the head off but had trouble with the piston.
Next minute - a ominous silence ensued.
"Dad how do you get a circlip out of the sump ? ".
Still not fully aware of the messages context I said "make sure you block off the cylinder barrel before you remove the gudjeon pin circlips won't you.
"Err we did, but one circlip slipped down the side of the rag into the sump oil and can't be reached".
Now all
well equipped 4wders carry a strong thin magnet and some copper wire to wrap it in, and after a short panic I found
mine, credibility was restored and we made up the magnetic fishing line, and feed the magnet into the oil only to be rewarded with nothing.
Ok this could be serious and require the engine cases to be fully pulled apart.
The next Victorian title motocross race is on soon , so I made a really helpful comment like "At least you will save on entry fees".
Needing a distraction, and remembering the real mission I got the gang into the car, away from the bikes and we descended the steep valley to the infamous gully below.
Standing on the
embankment edge where the car had previously slid fully sideways, the realisation of the potental danger was still so great that I felt a shudder of disbelief and knew instantly
that god drove a Patrol.
It was hard for any of us to believe that a car could survive that slide.
Two weeks ago you couldn't stand on the rain sodden ground but now it was
rock hard but the matocks and some muscules soon had everyone sweating and in an hour the track
was a critical 200mm wider and a lot safter.
The track section angles caused extreme wheel articulation and I wanted to get some movie of driving it, but exhausted, it was back to the
camp & bikes on the ridge above.
The girls had the narrowest hands and bravely did a finger search through the oil for the still missing circlip without result, but after draining the oil and using a little turps to dilute what remained a shout of excitment revealed that the circlip could be seen below the crankshaft.
It still couldn't be reached though , "Ok whose got the magnet".
1/2 half an later it was found trodden into the dirt.
It worked, with a tender touch the circlip was pulled up and out of the crankcase.
"Sweet" , translation = all is okay and the engine is back together and running.
An hour from sunset now, everyone is finally geared up, on their bikes, me in the car, and we are about to hit the tracks when I hear from someone else "This bike won't go, the starter motor won't turn".
Applying the first law of mechanics, I said "What did you play with last".
I knew the Kids had borrowed the second bike two weeks ago and out came the admission, they had forgotten its key and couldn't start it despite trying to
bridge a few wires here and there, and of course didn't think to
check it after they got
home.
So, out comes the multimeter, and we strip the bike down so the electricals are exposed.
Honda's are like Nissans before the 3lt engine and don't break down so it had to be something they stuffed.
A useful feature on the multimeter is a buzzer sound on its resistance meter, espically near sunset.
It sounded as the starter button was operated so it was ok. Moving back to the starter motor I shoved a screw driver across the starter solendiods big fat contacts and the
starter operated, so it had to be the relay not operating.
And their it was, a blown fuse which was part of the starter relay.
The kids had unknowingly blown it 2 weeks ago and hadn't checked the bike worked before this trip.
Every good 4wder carries big blade fuses even though there car uses only the small type I told the Kids (after first making sure I had one).
15 Minutes later, with the sun having just dipped below the mountains and generating a beautiful display of pink across the underside of the clouds we are assembled
and off to the Valley and tracks again.
Time being short I pushed the car hard, getting ahead of the bikes and it felt great as it took in the washouts and rocky tracks.
Soon I was in position to drive the bad steep section and hoped to discover which wheels would lose traction and slip first.
I could see non-moving headlights across the valley, guessed it meant trouble and soon only 1 of the 3 bikes showed up.
The other two bikes had crashed out only 1 kilometer into the valley and needed recovery.
We did one quick filmed run up the tough 4wd section, as this was the only way back for the car anyway' It was a good video and later review showed as suspected, that both a front and opposing back wheel had simply spun through lack of articulation,
and this helped explain the previous incident.
We had some drama with the bikes as one rider had some bruises to remember and the other took some damage but now the day was over, those 2 kids had spent fully 5 minutes actually riding that day and rarely was the fire so appreciated as they sat around it with 2 cold beers each, one being drunk and the other placed over the bruises.
The fire was so relaxing and peaceful I don't even think they heard dad telling them about prior prepartion preventing poor performance.