Don't Take it for Granted

Submitted: Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 20:48

ThreadID: 70229 Views:4796 Replies:6 FollowUps:13

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Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr)

When you purchase something for your 4x4 or anything for that matter,especially if you are getting it to get you,or you & your family out of a bad situation.
Just don't take it for granted that it is going to work for you for the purpose it was purchased for.
Earlier this yr April, I made phone calls to various 4x4 outlets to have a Winch & fitted to my F250.TJM (Coopers Plains)got the the nod as they were reasonable with their costing & could fit it in before i headed north to Cape York.(some of you may have already came across a post about 8 weeks ago by Trevor R.)
Well i had got myself & wife into a situation that we needed to use the newly installed Winch.Bogged to the Diffs both ends & the ground so hard to penetrate under the surface mud & not going any where Back or forth.It was time to get the winch into action as this is why i had it installed (believe me it was not the situation i wanted to be in)About 3.30-4.00pm Hot & sticky night fall coming soon enough).
I start to pull the line out from the winch & there are sparks a flying around from between the winch & the radiator & oil cooler or inter cooler.We only needed 10 to 12 ft of rope to do the job as a tree was that close,Nah the Winch was not going to work no matter what, so the wife & i tried in vain to get that truck outa that bog.By about 5pm we decided we could not get it out no matter what so try the old Sat phone (only emergency calls no plan)
Got through to relevant people & sit back & wait now,had some food & cuppa then settled into the truck for the night with the motor running with the air condition on,as it was so hot & the mossies starting their attack on us.
Talking to the wife trying to keep her calm which she was doing quite well,thinking out loud telling her we may not see any one 'till about midday as not sure where they be coming from.
Then we got a surprise with as set of head & spot light on the ridge above us,were we happy (blood oath we were ) it was the local copper from Laura the closest town.
Cut a longer story short as this should go to the Blog section,He & a mate got us outa there & we spent the rest of the night behind the Laura Pub before heading to Cairns to find the local TJM.
Next day get back to Cairns Tjm tell the manager of the store what had happened & then rang the Coopers Plains store told them the story,they give the Cairns store the go ahead to fix the winch as the ydid not have a replacement Ok i tell them,had to wait 6days as it was a long w/end that is ok as they were fully booked out.So we get it all sorted the following week & i am happy again as this time it has been fitted correctly.
What TJM did in Coopers Plains was they fitted it too far back & when spooling out it was shorting out & burnt the motor out as well,& apparently checked by 3 different people that it was functioning properly (yeah right).
I would like to give a big thumbs up to Jason the Manager in the Cairns TJM Megastore for getting the job done properly & efficiently,A big thank you Jason & to your fitting staff who look like they take there job seriously.
If any of you are up that way & need anything for your 4x4 drop in and see them first.

Cheers,

Bob.

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Reply By: ian zzr - Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:22

Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:22

hi robert glad you had a good out come, i think when a particular item is fitted it should be tested to not only try it but to test your self on it , can understand your frustration with original fitter , have been in motor trade to many years to wont to remember, and at times it is hard to find a reputable mechanic\fitter, hopefully this was a short sightedness of the person at the time , and not a sign of the dealership. did the top last year myself first time what a top place itchin to go again

cheers ian

AnswerID: 372250

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:52

Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:52

Hi Ian,I know it is hard to find good labor as i was an employer myself for 30 odd yrs.Yes i should have tested it myself & will endeavor to do so from that point on as it is our lives at risk not there's unless they fit there own the same way.
Yes the top end is a special place, I enjoyed my time up there,don't know if i'll do it again as i like to do more of the remote areas i've had a taste of the outback & the more i see the more i want it.
Thanks for your reply,have a good night.
Cheers , Bob.

FollowupID: 639498

Follow Up By: Blaze (Berri) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 01:14

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 01:14

Hi Robert,

Glad everything finally turned out OK. I tend to agree with Robert a little with its up to us to test the items we purchase. I agree it should have been fitted properly and we should have faith in these fitters but its our lives and our families we put at risk. I guess its the same as when I was a diving intructor, I never jumped in the water without checking my pressure guage on my tank, no matter whos said they had checked it. You may also find a post I put up interesting regarding winches. ThreadID: 69435 Even if it been fitted properly it may have failed.

Cheers glad it all worked out,

P.S. by the way after being stuck up north myself years ago with 2 flat tyres and sunset on us, we now carry some mesh that I can tape to the windows if needed to keep the mozzies out should I ever be in that situation again.

FollowupID: 639510

Follow Up By: Member - Timbo - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:54

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:54

Better still: ask TJM to give you a demo of how to use it before you depart from their workshop (and your hard earned ones!)... I can only imagine how that would have gone when the TJM staff spooled the cable out under a shower of sparks!

FollowupID: 639544

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:12

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:12

Blaze, you are correct that it may have failed if installed properly.That is also a handy hint re the mesh to keep the mossies out but it was also so humid we may have wasted away.Haha

Timbo,yes i should have asked for a demo at least then i would have known it was ok at the time of install.
"I can only imagine how that would have gone when TJM staff spooled the cable out under a shopwer of sparks"
Or any other company who install these things.

Thanks for your follow up.

Cheers,

Bob.

FollowupID: 639623

Reply By: Mike GU - Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:51

Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:51

I had ARB fit an OME lift only to put my rear springs in upside down, the supervisor walked off breifly and the apprentice finished the job without confirmation from his/her boss it was done correctly! Last time they see me in they're bloody showroom.

AnswerID: 372256

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:54

Sunday, Jun 28, 2009 at 21:54

Mike it can get frustrating,It should be checked & checked again.
Thanks for your reply.
Cheers ,

Bob.

FollowupID: 639499

Reply By: Pezza QLD - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 01:50

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 01:50

Hey there young Bob,

At least you made it back to tell your story.
I heard about your little escapade up there in big lizard country, wouldn't be an adventure if everything went right now would it ? lol
Oh, and next time you're travelling along the Warrego hwy late at night on your way up north, you wanna keep your UHF on so when someone like me calls you up to have a conversation I'm not talking to myself ! LOL
Nt sure if you know or not but I went on a little adventure myself while you were away on yours, you can read all about it here if you wish.

Cheers
Pezza

AnswerID: 372269

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:19

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:19

G'day Pezza, you are so cheeky.Lol
You are so right about the adventure.Yes i heard you were offto the out outback all must gone ok as you are back in two pieces.Lol

Had the uhf on most of the time maybe i had it turned down,next time give a signal.Lol where abouts was that? day or night?

Cheers,

Bob.

FollowupID: 639624

Reply By: Mr Pointyhead - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 08:25

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 08:25

It is good practice to pull the winch cable fully out then load it back into the drum under load when you first get the winch (Some winches have this in the instructions). If the cable is loosely wound on the drum and you do a recovery only using part of the winch cable, the cable can jam down in the lower layers on the drum.

It is a good idea to do the regularly because it also keeps the internals of the winch well lubricated, and of course, checks that everything is working ok.

AnswerID: 372282

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:24

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:24

Mr Pointyhead, instructions!! never got any,may be i should have asked for them hey.
Yes is goood to do the maintainance on them,looks like i have to the bar off to do it too.

Thanks for your reply.

Cheers,

Bob.

FollowupID: 639625

Reply By: Member - Old Girl (QLD) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:24

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 10:24

We have had many problems lately with the car due to apprentices. I know they have to learn some where but not on our rig had a gut full. So many times ive had to take it back. There are many many boomerang business in Toowoomba. The new tyres had stick on weights on them . I said they wont last. Sure enough on the way home they flew off. The sales man wouldn't put clamp on ones on cause it would mark the new rims. I said have a look at the car mate it spends more time off road than on. Only reason why we went there is because no one else sells Mickey's in town. Boomerang. Found hubs leaking after we had the bearings and whatever else needed to be done before a trip. Boomerang after new concrete drive way ruined from grease and oil. Goes on and on changed mechanics, wish we used this new bloke years ago, no apprentices in the work shop. Latest was to try a different auto electrician. Wanted a new stereo put in the hands free phone kit taken out. Boomerang have to go back and re connect the spot lights. Christ was i angry. They cut the wire and took the switch. It had IPF on the front of it. Only had them put in a couple of months ago. Heading off to the tip in a couple of weeks im driving the whole way up and back. I dont feel at all confident in the car.

Sharon

AnswerID: 372291

Follow Up By: Member - Timbo - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:00

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:00

The thing is, if they stuffed it up when you were paying, what kind of workmanship do you think you'll get when you take it back and get them to fix their problem for nicks?!

I do almost all 'boomerang' work myself - less hassle in the long run. In fact, I do almost all work on my car myself because I don't trust other people with my car (unless I can't do the work myself - then I have to leave it with someone else).

FollowupID: 639546

Follow Up By: Member - Old Girl (QLD) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 20:07

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 20:07

Im hearing you. Dont know what the converstaion went like this morning but they went to hubbies work and fixed the lights. Get my licence back tomorrow so off to get the weights put on the way we wanted. Service and tune hope thats it.

FollowupID: 639607

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:30

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 21:30

Sharon, know where you are coming from with the works done Or not done on your vehicle or mine or any other persons for that matter.Hope you get your sorted to your satisfaction soon.
I regret not doing a mechanics course when i was younger though.

Cheers & happy travels,

Bob.

FollowupID: 639628

Follow Up By: Member - Old Girl (QLD) - Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009 at 19:20

Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009 at 19:20

Thanks Bob. The electrician fixed the lights. They wrapped the wire around the go pedal. Scared the life out of me when the car started to rev and I coulnt stop it. Kept my cool. The tyre place tried to tell me something else was causing the vibration. I asked them ever so nicely to check the ballance. Sure enough the back ones were out and I loved ringing them when I got home to tell them the vibration has gone. Not believing a woman is still out there. Had the first service done today after the rebuild. While I was sitting there waiting I noticed the electric brakes has also been disconnected. wow they realy done a good job on me!! The new mechanic was very helpful and was happy to show me what he was doing and why even got under and had a look around while it was on the hoist. I know how the turbo works and what wiring is for what ,just the basics. If I hear a noise I now can usally work out what it is. Going through the whole car tomorrow, see what I can fix myself.
Thinking positive just like one of our EO members currently up the Cape. He sure got the run around too.

Sharon

FollowupID: 639730

Follow Up By: Robert HL (SEQ)(aka zuksctr) - Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009 at 08:03

Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009 at 08:03

Hi Sharon,glad it is all getting sorted now,it will give you good ease of nind that all is doing what it is suposed to do.

Have a good day.

Bob.

FollowupID: 639802

Reply By: Member - Redbakk (WA) - Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 16:29

Monday, Jun 29, 2009 at 16:29

Recently heard of the couple in Perth that booked their 4WD into a repairer for some minor work before heading to Onslow for a winter break with friends and after they left their vehicle at the garage overnight to get the work done, got a phone call the next day, telling them, that their vehicle " fell" off the hoist and they needed to come and see the damage.
They, of course were devastated but the repairer came through for them and they were at least able to get away for their planned holiday and on their return the repairer would finalize the repairs (damage) at no cost to them.

AnswerID: 372329