WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR TRUCK TODAY!

Finally got round to doing the bottom ball joints and sort of broke it...

N/S.
Changed bottom ball joint. Took a bit of splitting, but eventually got it after about 30 mins worth of mullering, seemed harder to get out than the last time back in Nov.
Checked, greased and tightened the play out of the wheel bearing. The bearing is okay, just needed a bit of tlc to take out the very slight play.
Replaced brake pads.

O/S
Replaced brake pads.
An hours worth of gentle tapping with the lump hammer and all I've managed to do is muller the ball joint, stupid things well stuck. Going to Toolmart in the morning to get a new sledge hammer and a more 'robust' ball joint splitter.

Now going to the pub for a wet.

A louder Pedestrian Awareness Audible Warning Device; that’s the horn to you an’ me.
The old one, the factory fitted pair were all rusty and sounding like a frog with a very bad cough.

I bought a kit from that useful online auction site, brand new for less than a tenner and the pair were a snap to fit in just under an hour, and no skinned knuckles either.
That’s half an hour to remove the old ones and fit the new ones, including changing over the spade terminal wiring.
Ten minutes trying to find the fixing nut that slipped out of my fingers.
Ten minutes to scour the “joybox” looking for a replacement nut ‘cos the giant nut eating monster had the one I dropped, and five minutes looking for my keys so that I could check that they were working. Now it sounds like a big vehicle rather than just a croak.

N.B. The “joybox” is that box or tin which everybody seems to have containing all those odd nuts, bolts, washers, screws and bits of mechanical bric-a-brac we tend to accumulate over the years. So called by my father who when asked if he’d found what he was looking for would reply “No joy yet, but I’m still looking”.

and i have just picked up my new set of wheels
and then trialed fit

they look soo good, just need to change the 235/60 r16 tyres to my 235/85 r16's :dance:

Finally.....

One trip to toolmart for a more suitable ball joint splitter and an upgrade in the hammer situation later the O/S lower ball joint gets to meet the larger splitter and a 7lb sledge.

It bent the splitter :shock:

After another half an hour of bang-bash the joint finally gave and we were able to move on to the next phase and strip off the auto-locker to get the hub off enough to get the ball joint out and a new one in place.

While in there I also managed to clean up and re-grease the wheel bearings. Bonus was not having anything left over when I finally got it all back together.

Road test then followed, no squeaks.

Charged the battery up cause it seemed like a good idea :angel:

Enjoyed the sun while fixing the boot opening mechanism on the Passat. Took all the wiring apart in the boot, followed by the cables and motors etc etc. Found the sealed unit ( :evil:

) solenoid was jammed in the open position. Gave it a whack on the tool box, squirted it with WD40 hoping some would get insde, and then delivered it a direct 14.4v defibrillation from the Astra batterery while the Astra was running. The solenoid jumped into life instantly and now works as should. Put everything back together and voila the boot opens perfectly with the latch, key, and the button on the door.

Then it chucked it down and I am sat inside watching the rain wash the mud off the Trooper :evil:

She got a bit mucky last weekend when I was doing setup at a re-enactment event:

The mud was up to an inch thick in places.

FAO Greg: Those wildcat tyres work really well in the mud. Up to 6" deep in places and never lost traction. Even managed to drag a bowser of diesel out of the mud when a V8 Defender on BF A/T's just sat there and wheel span.

replaced my belt tensioner with one off a Cherokee also got the fan bearing off it to now berth is not rattling anymore
got all the bit for a tenner from the scrappy

Gave mine a quick turn over today as its not been use for a while.....shat myself thinking the windscreen had cracked again :evil:

but it was my sunglasses that where cracked :thumbup:

You numpty Drifty ... I would blame Stella if I were you.

Yup, 660ml bottles tonight :party:

Wish I could ... work in the morning and I get up at my usual 6 am

Two weeks off and bet I dont do anything to the car :lol:

not a lot needed thankfully :thumbup:

Have to admit you have kept on top of most things with your truck, now that you have sorted your battery drain issue.

Cheers, yup sorted that, its cosmetically lumpy but mechanically spot on, just not worth pampering the body too much if I am going to rip the paint off or the odd dent next outing :lol:

Totally agree :thumbup:

Haven't done a thing to BOb the fronty but I do feel dirty because I went and test drove two Land rover discovery 300tdi :lol:

Tried to stop at a roundabout and the moment of oh f***k as you realise the alternator belt has snapped and you have no breaks. So limped round to motor factors picked up a new belt and continued very gingerly my way to work

Going back to motor factors this morning as the belt they gave me is to big, upset the missus as she has to get up and take me to work then pick me up later

Not quite to the truck, but for the truck!
Finished my 3" lift shackles today! Start wd40ing the torsion bolts tomorow if it stops raining and then hopefully get em on at weekend :thumbup:

Actually declared mine off the road now :cry: