The simplest things can bring you to a screaming Halt!
Submitted: Saturday, Sep 03, 2011 at 17:22
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Axle
The Defenders are all about simplicity thru out the whole vehicle, including the electrical system, and i always thought that the only thing that would stop them would be no power to the cut out solenoid on the injector pump, but that would hardly be a likeley problem. Comming
home the other night i noticed the lights getting dimmer the indicators stopped working, ten minutes after that she conks out,( in a line of traffic!! , " Oh Joy"), Turns out a wire had dropped off the alternator,the battery just ran dead flat....hence the solenoid valve did the same as when turning the key off. Got me thinking though, if one was on their own out at
the black stump,and a alternator failed internally, then you could have serious issues , if only having one cranking battery,.. Have never bothered about these things before and have never had any trouble but one can get to complacent, me thinks" .....lol. ...more spares to round up.!
Cheers Axle.
Reply By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:49
Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 07:49
While out there a couple of weeks ago we followed an emergency on VKS-737 Axle.
He had a collasped alternator pulley bearing and this stuffed up the entire car , it was dead in the water , and couldn't be used for anything, or jury rigged in any way.
It was a 3lt patrol diesel.
Like many modern cars it had a stupid serpentine belt which wraps around everything.
In this case even carrying a spare belt , brushes or alternator is useless.
If one item goes so the whole motor system becomes useless.
Got luv the old 3 belt system , at least you can drivet, recharge , drive it etc
So this type of failure really does happen.
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Follow Up By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 08:07
Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 08:07
Yes Robin, I have often thought the single belt could be a problem.. The Patrol 4.2 TD has 2 belts that run the water pump.. (i forget without looking exactly how it works) that's handy!! Michael
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Follow Up By: Axle - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 20:03
Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 20:03
Hi Robin, Serpentine belts have a disadvantage allright, But then most are good for 150.000ks, Those little bearings that run in alternators, Belt tensioners, Idler pulleys, etc are the higher risk culprits i feel. Guess if you have a vehicle with a few ks up its best to replace most things before any remote travel.
cheers Axle.
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Reply By: Member Al (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 09:43
Sunday, Sep 04, 2011 at 09:43
Alternators can be a problem. They run continuously subject to the heat from the motor/exhaust and from their own generated (pun intended) heat. The brushes are constantly wearing and the bearings/grease get older by the minute. Sooner or later something will fail, and according to Murphy, at the worst possible moment. Yet they rarely get routinely serviced.
In preparing the Troopy for an upcoming trip, just yesterday I attended to my alternator. Rather than pull it out and overhaul it I opted to replace it with a new one ($330) and service the old one at my leisure. As it turned out this was a good decision because the 12v output stud sheared-off as
the nut was being removed. Glad that did not happen Out Bush! (The stud is a stupid design and will get modified)
Starter motors are not so bad. They usually do not dramatically fail but rather become somewhat dodgy, requiring repeated starting attempts and cussing words to get a response. Maintenance can be attended to later. And operating only intermittently, their bearings don't usually collapse.
In general, I don't carry endless spares, preferring rather to replace in advance those items that are subject to ageing or wear. Things such as hoses, belts, shock absorbers, timing belt, water pump, idler pulley bearing etc. But that's not to say that I carry no spares!
It's all about preparation, preparation, preparation. Besides, I have to have something to do between trips, LOL.
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