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I was under my new 06 GU ute stripping out some unused wiring when i noticed this
Now i was unhappy to say the least but when i had a look from the 'inside', i was shocked
The coil hat has torn away part of the inside chassis rail, with the front of the coil hat.
Can this sort of damage be repaired and does anyone know of a shop in Perth that would be willingvto/capable of fixing it.
My old GQ has been absoloutly hammered for 380k with plenty in the back and also towing, and shows no sign of this fatigue. Yet this patrol has less than 100k on the clock and has towed a 20ft van around. It still has the OE springs and shock on the front and i think lovels springs on the back with monroe shocks. I know that this is a problem but do they usually fail so badly.
Very common on well used utes. make sure you get the coil hats braced after it is repaird. I dont know anyone in perth tho, mab try ring around a few panel shops they will be able to recomend something
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BIGDAVET86 wrote:Thanks for that, so it is the kind of thing that can be fixed.
Does anyone know of anyone in Perth that can fix this sort of thing
i dont think anyone will touch that s tuff here in perth, which is why i done all my own custom suspension work.. you could try coastal 4x4 ? but even when i spoke to them they dont touch custom suspension stuff.
that is some seriously phucked up chassis carnage!!
I would be finding a truck trailer building mob or heavy smash panel beater,it can be fixed but would be braced and plated and the repair could never be hidden.
I'm sure there would be plenty of places in Perth capable of fixing it eg: Any chassis repairer/smash shop.
If it's a wagon the body has to be lifted away from the chassis for the repair and bracing to be done properly ($$$$) but it may be covered under your insurance policy eg: "I hit a huge washout on a dirt road sir". It's a common problem on loaded GU's travelling on rough roads. They aren't as strong as GQ's in the chassis department.
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Thats what i was worried about. What concerns me most is the whole piece that is torn out and the stress fractures coming from that. I dont even know how you would go about fixing it. I was gonna call Perth 4x4 and Northern 4x4 on tuesday, they are about the only one's i know that do any sort of custom stuff.
BIGDAVET86 wrote:Thats what i was worried about. What concerns me most is the whole piece that is torn out and the stress fractures coming from that. I dont even know how you would go about fixing it. I was gonna call Perth 4x4 and Northern 4x4 on tuesday, they are about the only one's i know that do any sort of custom stuff.
Cheers
yer what i was trying to say is perth doesnt have any custom 4x4 fab shops that i know of compared to over east. hence why e veryone does backyard coil conversions/suspension setups.
Last edited by pinkfloyddsotm on Mon Apr 26, 2010 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
My GQ wagon did it up the cape but my GU with way more extreme use has not done it... probably because i welded a strip of 50 X 6 flat from the edge of one spring tower to the other to stop them "spreading" and lifting upwards.
just weld it all back into place [its only the inside thin section and the outside thicker section is still fine] then run some RHS across from one chassis rail to the other and over the top of the spring mounts to stop them going upwards.
the problem seems to stem from heavy duty springs in the rear and high loads.
they had to lift the body up off my Wagon and weld it up then weld a 65x 35 RHS over the top of the towers to fix mine but it only cost me $250
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Just try and find a Heavy Truck/Trailer repair shop, your normal run of the mill fab shops would more likely say sorry not repairable.
Its common for Mining and Heavy Haulage trucks to have chassis work done over time, tell the repairer that you can buy prefab items to strengthen the work to save him time http://www.superiorengineering.com.au/s ... _32_33_181.
Just remember what you are doing is not fab work but a structural repair that has to be passed to meet your Reg Body approval, some fab shops can do that but not all, hence the reason for you to try a Heavy Truck/Trailer repairer they do it every day.
Just drill the ends of all the cracks with an 1/8 drill then bash everything back into place, grind and clean it up..... weld it all....then add a couple of gussets to stop the twisting off that bracket and away you go.
Just remember if you make this area to rigid it will just transfer the stress elsewhere and it will crack there instead, so the whole thing still needs to soak up the twisting action to some degree.
That is so common it is almost a joke now, we do at least one a week at our workshop.
Lately We have been charging $500 drive in drive out (depending on the extent of damage and if it has already been bodged up ) , 1 day fix, never had a come back or warranty claim.
Talk to coastal as they sell our gear and we can give them the rundown on what to do.
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Try Parins in victoria road malaga. They mainly do trucks and machinery, but as far as i know they have full chassis straightening and repair facilities. They'll atleast point you in the right direction.
Well i have had some good quotes this morning, Perth 4x4 reckon they can do it no problems, fixed and braced, but no quote, hourly rate job.
Robson Brothers and Northern 4x4 both said they would use Cass Jones to fix it, but big $$$ and hard to get booked in.
Ultimate 4x4 did one last week, $625 for the brace kit installed and $200 to fix the damage. But the kit does not brace the two towers togearther it plates the chassis and the towers are gusseted to that and plated on top. Im not sure if is as good as bracing them together as well.
Coastal 4x4 are going to call us back but it doesnt sound promising, they have only ever braced the towers on their comp truck and never repaired damage before.
Tried 3 different truck body builders, wanted nothing to do with it. TL engineering, "we could probly have a look at it late november".
What is the best way of doing the bracing, if the chassis is already damaged i assume it will now be a week point so will the bracing need to be diferent to what would be done if it was undamaged? Is bracing the two towers togeather the best way of doing it? Its a ute so there is no space restrictions.
BIGDAVET86 wrote:Well i have had some good quotes this morning, Perth 4x4 reckon they can do it no problems, fixed and braced, but no quote, hourly rate job.
Robson Brothers and Northern 4x4 both said they would use Cass Jones to fix it, but big $$$ and hard to get booked in.
Ultimate 4x4 did one last week, $625 for the brace kit installed and $200 to fix the damage. But the kit does not brace the two towers togearther it plates the chassis and the towers are gusseted to that and plated on top. Im not sure if is as good as bracing them together as well.
Coastal 4x4 are going to call us back but it doesnt sound promising, they have only ever braced the towers on their comp truck and never repaired damage before.
Tried 3 different truck body builders, wanted nothing to do with it. TL engineering, "we could probly have a look at it late november".
What is the best way of doing the bracing, if the chassis is already damaged i assume it will now be a week point so will the bracing need to be diferent to what would be done if it was undamaged? Is bracing the two towers togeather the best way of doing it? Its a ute so there is no space restrictions.
Just another option have you rang a mobile welder. Try an exhaust or performance shop and or find out who they use for building drag chasis and roll cages.
Well its booked in to Perth 4x4 for the first week of june, to get fixed and braced, then its on with the new suspension, pickup the tinny im borrowing and then packup all my sh*t and moving to Port Hedland for a year or so. Cant Wait.
No real price as such but hourly rate and they have got the ute for a week so they can chip away at it.
It Should end up a good job , we deal with them alot and they seem pretty good fella's.
And it is not a technical thing to fix by any means.
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