[paynebrody]

hey guys. i'm heading off on a trip from melbourne to uluru via oodnadatta track and the start of the gunbarrel highway, up to alice then across the simpson and back down the birdsville track. opinions on spares to carry? i have all the normal stuff, fuses hose repair, welding gear (for dual battery), two spare tires (plus bead breaker, irons etc), nuts bolts, spark plugs etc. what are peoples thoughts on spare coil pack? and wheel bearings? swivel hub bearings? by the way going with ford everest (im more worried about that thing to be honest). thanks, brody

[Jezza86]

might want to do the rear bearings before you go.
the more you pack the more wear and tare through additional weight.

[laurie]

Prep . Do a major service before you leave , replace All fluids , change hoses and belts , grease bearings , check brakes . keep old parts as spares ( hoses , belts ) make sure your suspension is up to scratch
are two spares needed ? roads could be corrugated try not to overload . coil , wheel and swivel bearings should be fine but take a trailer wheel bearing if you take a trailer have fun and take lots of pics

[MrRocky]

2 x uni joints

[shep]

In my jimny I carry both belts, a coil and lead, 3 transfer case mounts, set of spark plugs, cam angle sensor,
spare dipstick and a small collection of quality tools. No point taking to much stuff as you end up breaking stuff because of being overloaded.

[paynebrody]

thanks guys. car has only done 55k so i cant imagine electrics/bearings would be that far gone but you never know.. uni joints are a thought. and i have a spare alt/fan belt (didn't worry about ac/ps belt, figured that wasnt 100% critical) oh and good point about service i should have mentioned, i just did the 60k service last weekend i.e. checked valve lash (was nervous about this but ended up being way easier than my bikes), changed diff oil front and rear, t case oil, trans oil, new plugs. shep thats my thinking exactly, we travel pretty light but simpson is going to require 60+ litres of water and a 100 litres of fuel (full tank plus 60+ litres) so we are already nearly at capacity there already, dont want to load up with stuff if i dont have to. has anyone actually heard of a coil pack 'breaking' on the trail? how does a jimny go on 2 cylinders? (slowly i imagine). likewise, surely wheel bearings would give a bit of notice before catastrophically failing?

[THE_DICTATOR]

I would pack a AC belt. Simpson with no AC and you may as well drive a old pos sierra

[watermouse]

Carry one of those tyre plug puncture kits from TJM or ARB. I have used them a few times with great success without even having to remove a wheel.

Other than that just sort out any gremlins you know you have before you go and give the car a real good look over.
Check for leaky shocks or if they are old throw a new quality set in.

Also airing down a bit on those roads helps a lot on the corrugations and punctures.

[Jezza86]

paynebrody wrote:

thanks guys. car has only done 55k.... surely wheel bearings would give a bit of notice before catastrophically failing?

no, not really. they might have play, but at that point the axle seal might have gone too. i did my rears at 15, and 30000k, and the fonts at 30000k as well, but mine spent more then half its km's on dirt, and was wheeled daily for 1-2 years there.

what might be working well on bitumen, doesn't mean it ill hold up on a corrugated road as well as what fresh metal with no fatigue would.

[buzbox]

Various bolts. Perhaps a shock or two.
A mate of mine went up to the cape in his sierra and even though he replaced the shocks and did a shake down test run before leaving, one failed and a shock bolt worked it way loose and was lost. It delayed his trip by 2 days.

My trip to fraser via the long way through national parks etc, I lost a shock bolt also, I got to the next town and popped into the hardware shop and was ok for a temporary fix, the closest bolt I could find was 1mm thinner which resulted in some clunking and eventually wearing the crush tube so I had to buy a new shock. Knowing I had half a dozen in my toolbox at home pissed me off. I also should've packed a spare axle but thankfully, through the help of Auszookers I was able to find one from a member not far away. I also picked up one of his old shock bolts
I didn't bother with a spare tyre at all for my trip, but had a puncture repair kit and compressor under the seat. No point in lugging an extra 30kg which would result in increased fuel consumption and for the terrain I was driving chances are if I were to get a puncture it would be from a stick, nail or screw. In hindsight, I should've put a jerry can in place of the spare wheel instead of on the roof and only fill it up at the last servo before heading offroad. But even then I only used the spare fuel once, just to empty it because there were plenty of fuel stops on the freeway trip home.

If I were to do your trip, I'd take 40L, obviously because of the just in case factor, but fuel in remote areas is expensive. And cable ties!! DON'T FORGET CABLE TIES. Go to bunnings and get stainless steel one's too.

[jono165]

I'd be very careful with the weight of 2 full spares, I bet you that all packed up your car will be over GVM. The rear wheel bearings are small enough as it is so they're a likely failure if you're very loaded up. I'd be trying to get the Everest to take some of the extra weight for you. I think a Jimny only has around 300kg of payload which adds up pretty quick.

[Jezza86]

so do you intend on taking a 5 tonne press, angle grinder, chisel and mallet to take the old bearings off the rear axles?
no amount of spares will compensate for flogging your gear.

[jono165]

I think the only way to easily take spare wheel bearings for a jimny is to use the 1L style backing plate setup so the axle can be removed easily and carry a spare set of axles with bearings already pressed. Or just run the car light.

[paynebrody]

buzbox wrote:

If I were to do your trip, I'd take 40L,

Need 60l extra to make it from Mt Dare to Birdsville via french line and qaa line based on previous sand trips (Big Desert etc), but to your point, will only carry this much fuel for that leg. All other legs should be able to get away with less.

buzbox wrote:

I lost a shock bolt also

stocked up on a couple of these plus various other ht nuts and bolts

jono165 wrote:

I'd be very careful with the weight of 2 full spares

Again necessary for the Simpson leg. a valid concern though on weight. the second spare is just a tyre, no rim. we will have bead breaker and levers in the Everest. ill also have my puncture repair kit on board, plus a spare tube. Sounds excessive but when things go south it generally happens quickly. The last Big Desert trip, i debeaded two tyres and puctured one within about 10min. could have easily been torn sidewalls etc. admittedly the tyres were very worn.

jono165 wrote:

Everest to take some of the extra weight for you

an excellent point. we have already planned to offload quite a bit into the Everest

Jezza86 wrote:

so do you intend on taking a 5 tonne press, angle grinder, chisel and mallet to take the old bearings off the rear axles?
no amount of spares will compensate for flogging your gear.

this is my thinking at the moment. the amount of tools etc required to change bearings makes it not possible in reality, all well and good carrying the spares but you have to be able to fit them in the middle of nowhere. the plan is to keep weight to a min and tread very lightly (correct pressures, low speed etc) and only load up with fuel and water and other supply as dictated by the leg, i.e. not planning to carry 100l of fuel to get from Melbourne to bordertown when there are servos the whole way

THE_DICTATOR wrote:

I would pack a AC belt. Simpson with no AC and you may as well drive a old pos sierra

Old POS sierra! that would be awesome

[Mike57]

With a heavily loaded car keep your tyre pressures down on the corrugations to help reduce the shock on the wheel bearings. I carry a spare rear wheel bearing plus seal. If you have a post 2009 model you will need the ABS ring as well. While it is not a roadside repair at least you have the parts when you can get to a workshop. Take spare lower shock bolts for the rear as these work loose unless you have loctite on them. I have done many outback km including the tracks you are doing and only had troubles with the shock bolts and rear wheel bearings.

The Jimny actually stands up pretty well on the rough roads but overloading will be the biggest concern. Keep it as light as possible by offloading some fuel into your mates car as you say.

Mike

[paynebrody]

Mike57 wrote:

While it is not a roadside repair at least you have the parts when you can get to a workshop

good point. saves express posting something to the middle of the outback. i already have various shock/linkage bolts packed including a couple of lower shock M12x70x1.25s. and will take your advice and take spare bearings. when you had issues did the bearing go straight away or did you get some notice? do you carry a front hub locknut tool? Dont think i have time to buy one anyways, leaving next friday...

[MrRocky]

Spare coilpack, unis (2), front wheel bearing (1), rad hoses, cable ties, fencing wire, transfer mounts(2), engine mount (1)
All this stuff stays under my seat permanately along with a few tools including a hammer

[zooks4life]

When ive gone outback i took belts hoses coil pack in the pety cable ties are a must, fwncing wire we also took steel in a tube. Good stuff. and then if it really turned to shit hired a sat phone.

[Jezza86]

zooks4life wrote:

When ive gone outback i took belts hoses coil pack in the pety cable ties are a must, fwncing wire we also took steel in a tube. Good stuff. and then if it really turned to shit hired a sat phone.

actully good point.
do you have a mate with a boat? see if you can borrow their epirb (assuming they dont want to take their boat out while you are away)

they work everywhere and in a dire situation, someone will definitely come get you.

[paynebrody]

Yeah we have a sat phone and a 2× PLBs (similar to epirb, one per car). But perhaps I can borrow the boat instead, it's sopping wet according to SA road reports. In fact Oodnadatta track and Birdsville track are both closed. Hopefully they dry out very quickly, not a lot of options for alt routes out that way...

[shep]

Holy crap you southerners take a lot of stuff when you travel

[paynebrody]

shep wrote:

Holy crap you southerners take a lot of stuff when you travel

i know right! its all for dirt bike trips. very high likely hood of lying in the bush somewhere not able to move any of your limbs, hence the PLBs

[shep]

Remote travel is what I do for a job. Mostly solo. Take no spare parts, just two tyres , sat phone and a few different types of radio.
Doing a tanami trip next week

[vet 180]

shep wrote:

Remote travel is what I do for a job. Mostly solo. Take no spare parts, just two tyres , sat phone and a few different types of radio.
Doing a tanami trip next week

thank god i am not the only one that thought it. Here I was thinking I am massively under-prepared for my trips

[Mike57]

paynebrody wrote:

Mike57 wrote:

While it is not a roadside repair at least you have the parts when you can get to a workshop

good point. saves express posting something to the middle of the outback. i already have various shock/linkage bolts packed including a couple of lower shock M12x70x1.25s. and will take your advice and take spare bearings. when you had issues did the bearing go straight away or did you get some notice? do you carry a front hub locknut tool? Dont think i have time to buy one anyways, leaving next friday...

I do have the front hub tool but the front bearings are pretty tough. I drove from Kalgoorlie to Perth (about 300km +) before it really sounded bad so yes there was some warning.

[bumstein]

Water (lots of it), radiator hoses and a PLB.

[tanked]

A friend just did the gun barrel , telegraph tracks etc.. One thing they were stoked that they took exhaust putty and fuel tank putty. Didnt use the fuel tank putty but did use the exhaust putty. Thats my 5c worth

[paynebrody]

hey guys, made it back alive. trip report here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52262

[Mike57]

Great write up. Glad you made it without any issues. Sounds like you carried a bit of weight. Did you weigh the car loaded by any chance?

[paynebrody]

Mike57 wrote:

Great write up. Glad you made it without any issues. Sounds like you carried a bit of weight. Did you weigh the car loaded by any chance?

thanks mate. no didn't weigh the car but that would have been interesting in retrospect. we had 70l water, 60l fuel, two swags, esky and food, a few clothes etc, some cooking gear. Load must have been almost 150-170kg? Something like that. Plus two guys. We only carried that load from Mt Dare into the desert, all other legs we had maybe a jerry of fuel and a jerry of water. Still had 5-10mm of travel left in the rear, figured we were safe