Journey The Journey is Home.

[dagree]

A good lesson for everyone there @chartrock ....
Luckily you have a dual axle van and even luckier no injury or major damage occurred (Maybe apart from pride?)

Not going anywhere but one of tomorrow's jobs is to get the tension wrench out of the shed and check the wheel nuts..... And I only want to write those words out just this once

 

[crackacoldie]

Well my wheel and bearing saga progressed. I took the front wheel off from the opposite side to the "mechanic" (who reckoned my bearings needed replacing) and checked the bearings on that side. All good so I replace the bearings after repacking and checked both the wheels nuts on that side of the van. Having found the loose nuts on the wheel the guy had removed and tightened them all appeared good.
A week or so later I headed off to "Drovers Rest" and "Dave's Residence-in-Waiting" for a few days with each. Twenty minutes from home, while doing 100 kph on the M1 a small van pulls alongside with the driver waving me over. Stopp.ing on the M1 is no joke but I pulled over and he stopped in front and came running back to tell me a wheel had come off a few hundred metres back down the road. Sure enough, the rear wheel on the side the "mechanic" had worked on was missing, the miserable sod had loosened the second wheel as well as the one he removed and I OBVIOUSLY FAILED THE CHECK THAT WHEEL. I walked back down the motorway for a Km but failed to find the wheel although around about the spot it should have been, a ute took off in a hurry as I approached so maybe he has an alloy rim with a good tyre on it.
Two studs broken, others with their threads full of alloy, no nuts anywhere. Called RACQ who told they would send a tow truck as they do not work on the motorway (I can understand that) but I said I can tow it. They sent a truck anyway and he escorted me to a tyre place about 5 km away who were very good, replaced 3 studs, fitted the spare and found some nuts and sold me a steel wheel and tyre as spare. Two and a half hours later and $335 lighter we were on our way again.

A lesson well learned and I can agree with @Crusty181 that you do not notice a missing wheel on a dual axle unit. I got stuck into the "mechanic" when I got home but that is another story.

Write out 100 times

I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS ............................................................... :frusty::frusty::frusty:

Glad to hear it turned out ok @chartrock and only the wallet was hurt.

 

[Bushman]

Oh crap ! that could have turned nasty real quick, I must admit I'm a bit paranoid about wheel nuts/bearing especially since our service guy didn't turn up prior to Riverina trip last year, while I generally check stuff myself both before leaving and in transit, it was while at West Wyalong I noticed scrubbing to front tyres, while I did some visual checks around the van and underneath, I put it down to the fact I'd just done a fair tight u-turn on gravel then a reverse, wasn't till we got home that we found all 4 wheel bearings we're loose.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

A good lesson for everyone there @chartrock ....
Luckily you have a dual axle van and even luckier no injury or major damage occurred (Maybe apart from pride?)

Not going anywhere but one of tomorrow's jobs is to get the tension wrench out of the shed and check the wheel nuts..... And I only want to write those words out just this once

So on the subject of torque, how do I know what tension to correctly tighten them too ?

I'm going to purchase a torque wrench but not much use unless it's being done correctly

 

[Drover]

Heck at first I thought it had happened again.................................I might just recheck things before I leave, my mechanic is a top bloke but he's getting a bit old.......................................and as I often say...the mantra is "Check Your Nuts Regularly ".

 

[crackacoldie]

So on the subject of torque, how do I know what tension to correctly tighten them too ?

I'm going to purchase a torque wrench but not much use unless it's being done correctly

We rang Jayco and now follow that, they wanted a chassis number, my guess is some may vary with different hubs

 

[Drover]

Try this article out.......................http://www.alko.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TechnicalBulletin-WheelNutTorques0805.pdf
or this one for alloy wheels.................http://www.csadirect.com.au/pdf/Tec...144-WheelNut-Torque-Procedures-&-Settings.pdf

 

[Axl]

Wow @chartrock thats a close one, glad it worked out ok in the end mate could have been much worse.

 

[Crusty181]

Write out 100 times

I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS
I WILL CHECK WHEEL NUTS ............................................................... :frusty::frusty::frusty:

Only 95 more lines to go

 

[dagree]

So on the subject of torque, how do I know what tension to correctly tighten them too ?

Spoke to our local tyre guy a while back (A friends son) and he suggested 100 - 120 ft/lbs.... Whatever that equates to in metric I'll convert once I get a new tension wrench

 

[Dobbie]

I got one at Aldi!

Two or three years ago...can't remember.

(Couldn't resist that.....apologies.....)

 

[dagree]

(Couldn't resist that.....apologies.....)

Accepted.... I think

 

[chartrock]

I got one at Aldi!

Two or three years ago...can't remember.

(Couldn't resist that.....apologies.....)

Likewise, good piece of gear.

 

[Drover]

I actually looked in Big Mals manual and it had it at 120Nm's, I was surprised I also found it told me what my bearing numbers were, should have looked earlier would have saved me a lot of work..............just used to Jayco and no info.
100ftlbs would be a goer I reckon about 135Nm's.

 

[chartrock]

Well, a couple more mods completed yesterday. I have had trouble filling my rear tank and I am sure it is because the breather has some water in it and the air pressure from a hose in the filler is insufficient to push it out, (most of the air just comes out the filler mixed with water). A mate suggested a longer piece of hose jammed further down the filler tube and this seemed to work but I was not convinced. I remembered somebody else on the forum had fitted hose connectors to the fillers so I bought 2 brass fittings and found, with a bit of effort, they would screw directly into the plastic filler neck. Now The hose pressure really fills both tanks and very quickly as well.


The other mod was to stop the frustration of having to lay on my back under the van to fit and remove the bayonet fitting for the BBQ. A longer length of 15mm copper pipe, a 90 degree brass fitting and a flaring tool was all that was needed to bring it out horizontal at the side of the van. A piece of solid rubber as a stone shield completed the job. A nice soapy water mix tested the connections and showed a small leak which disappeared with a slight tighten of the connection. No more cursing now when I have to use the barbie.

 

[Crusty181]

I remembered somebody else on the forum had fitted hose connectors to the fillers

3rd time you've forgotten me

I'll have to check if I can swing mine horizontal

 

[chartrock]

3rd time you've forgotten me

I'll have to check if I can swing mine horizontal

If it hadn't been for THAT photo I probably wouldn't even remember you now. Just kidding Crusty, put it down to "Old Timer's Disease" but in my defence, there are that many good ideas worth pinching on this forum I doubt anyone could remember who first came up with a particular one. :noidea:

It is not difficult to turn the bayonet fitting, the worst part was making a hole in the cross piece big enough to pass the brass nut through because it had to be on the pipe before the flare could be done. My largest drill is 1/2 inch so I had to file the hole out another 1/8 " for it to go through.

 

[Drover]

The breather hose is probably twice as long as the van and winds all over the place more than likely ................but very snazy mod.....

I have heaps of Good Ideas and if I didn't think of it I pinched from somebody else.......................don't forget your Nuts either ,old timer............

 

[chartrock]

They have been checked twice since I arrived home.

 

[Crusty181]

If it hadn't been for THAT photo I probably wouldn't even remember you now. Just kidding Crusty, put it down to "Old Timer's Disease" but in my defence, there are that many good ideas worth pinching on this forum I doubt anyone could remember who first came up with a particular one. :noidea:

It is not difficult to turn the bayonet fitting, the worst part was making a hole in the cross piece big enough to pass the brass nut through because it had to be on the pipe before the flare could be done. My largest drill is 1/2 inch so I had to file the hole out another 1/8 " for it to go through.

I put my own 2nd bayonet at the rear of the wheels, and know my efforts to make it neat will mean no slack in the tube to work with