10/01/2017
2016-2017 post-Christmas & New Year’s Victorian High Country Trip with 4WD breakages…
No I did not break my 4WD, well perhaps a blown fuse issue to the old Compressor for the ARB Lockers, was the only issue that I had.
A fellow traveller in another group had a major malfunction with his 2003 Holden RA Rodeo four door ute. When he broke a Rear Main Leaf in the spring pack on Left Hand Rear wheel. The broken main leaf allowed the rear spring hanger [swinging bit] to flatten along the chassis allowing the tyre to remain rearward then rubbing on the rear mudflap and wheel flare. Minor damage here so no worries at all. The vehicle was limped back to camp and the spring removed. In the photos you can see the break in the top leaf. Options were Weld the Main leaf [Spring] using 2 x 12 volt starting batteries or get a new set of springs. The owner opted for new replacement springs from Sydney a few days and lot of miles for his mate a few days later. Welding would be only temporary anyway.
“Springs are a limited life component”. I had best say here that this vehicle was “holiday time overloaded”, although it had a reputable and very common brand of replacement Leaf Springs installed, be it sometime several years earlier of course. Any Spring in an overloaded vehicle doing the outback roads and Victorian High Country work that we do each year, somethings will break. It is a given that this will happen. In my opinion, perhaps every seven years replace the springs esp. if loaded as much as we do to our 4WD’s. Carry a Spring Clamp repair kit for your leaf springs if you have them in your car or trailer. A leaf spring clamp can be stout heavy duty “U bolts and 13mm flat plate” to clamp either side of the break. Or Two 13mm flat plates drilled with four Bolts to clamp the area over and either side of the broken spring leaf. This will get you out of immediate trouble so professional repairers can overcome your problems in a garage…
An emergency spring clamp uses two flat steel plates and bolts or U Bolts through a flat plate to clamp the broken leaves to the good leaves and provide good alignment of the axle. This is a temporary fix only…
Welding using batteries see here: http://www.lcool.org/technical/80_series/bat_weld/battery_welding.html
Practice a lot at home before trusting your new found welding techniques out on the track somewhere, unless on someone else’s Car/4WD/Trailer… ha-ha! I have successfully welded a few broken parts on 4WD’s over the years. From, Broken Shock hangers, broken shock absorbers, broken chassis at steering box, broken springs and a few other items.
