Seems I was misled - it was the actual shaft that snapped. There is a hole through the front section of the shaft and that is the weak point which snapped. So, a similar situation to the other thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=11700The trip was supposed to be a NSW Subaru Club Hay River Track into the Simpson Desert and then QAA line into Birdsville.
EXCEPT........
16/4/19 Small split in fuel tank after returning from the Lake Eyre track
17/4/19 Broke down 33Ks out from Dalhousie Springs - another member towed me into Dalhousie
18/4/19 1430 Collected by tow truck ($3410 covered by NRMA Premium)
19/4/19 0305 Arrived Kulgera NT
19/4/19 thru 22/4/19 Easter in Kulgera as nothing moves over Easter
23/4/19 Tow truck to Alice Springs ($1700 paid by me); get hire car
26/4/19 Diagnosed with broken balance shaft (but they didn't order the parts that day!)
29/4/19 Parts ordered; fuel tank removed for repair
1/5/19 Parts arrive
4/5/19 Collect car - leaking diesel so back to dealer
6/5/19 May Day public holiday in NT
7/5/19 Fuel tank removed for another repair
8/5/19 1000 told car would definitely be ready this arvo; 1300 now told needs new fuel tank which will arrive Friday
10/5/19 Collect car
11/5/19 - 16/5/19 Travel home 2,800 Ks with stopover at relative's place on the way.
So, one month after the breakdown I finally arrive home!
My trip came to an abrupt ending with the Triton spewing engine oil everywhere 33Ks out from Dalhousie Springs. Another club member towed me into the Springs and the by the time I got to Dalhousie Springs the fuel tank started to leak again as the split has grown a little, no surprise there, but the soap and tape sealed it up again. The engine bay took in heaps of dust during the tow and so bad that at times I could not even see the tow vehicle in front of me!
The afternoon at Dalhousie Springs was spent arranging recovery using the public phone, standing in the heat of the sun and covered head to foot in flies – bloody awful. But thanks to RAA and NRMA a truck was arranged from Kulgera NT some 320 kilometres away.
The car and I were collected on a flatbed Thursday 18th April at 2:30 PM with arrival in Kulgera at 3:05 AM on Good Friday! Terrible roads and the tow truck barely got above 40 KPH most of the time. We stopped over at Mt Dare for some dinner. The driver Tony had an absolute marathon with 20 hours on the road to come get me! It took us both a full day to recover from the pounding we took; the tracks in the Dalhousie / Mt Dare / Fink area are the worst I’ve seen.
Being the Easter long weekend I had to stay over in Kulgera until the Tuesday but I actually enjoyed my 4 day stay thanks mainly to Tony, his family, and the rest of the team who made me feel a part of the Kulgera Roadhouse family!
It’s was a real eye-opener to see the number of damaged vehicles and campers coming into Kulgera as the dirt roads are in such a terrible state ATM. Some cars were missing their entire plastic front bumpers, broken tail-shafts and trailers with bent suspension.
On Tuesday 23rd April we had just got into Alice Springs when the tow truck blew and destroyed both LHS rear tyres! So there we were parked up on a traffic island at a major intersection for a long time while the repair took place! Again, Tony going above and beyond to get us under way while the Tyrepower guys were on the way.
Eventually we got to deliver the Triton to the Mitsubishi dealer but they couldn’t even look at the car until Friday 26th and I then thought I’ll be lucky to get out of Alice by Monday or Tuesday (Ha!).
Friday 26th April the issue was diagnosed as a broken balance shaft
Monday 29th April 2019 I called into the dealer about 10:30 this morning and was greeted with “Ah just about to call you”– they hadn’t even ordered the parts yet! But what can you say when they have your car “hostage”. Anyway the parts were ordered while I watched and will come by air at my expense – about $80 (later reduced to $20) and should arrive Wednesday. The car can be put back together Thursday through Friday and ready at the latest Saturday morning.
Picked the car up late Saturday morning, filled it with fuel then drove back to the caravan park. Had a look in the engine bay and then underneath to check out the fuel tank weld repair; the weld was fine – but – diesel was leaking from elsewhere. Back to the dealer where the service department by this time had closed. One of the sales people helped out by contacting the service manager and he then arranged for 2 mechanics to come back to the workshop (remembering that it is a long weekend here). Turns out the tank is now leaking from the seam between the top and bottom halves and will need to be removed, sent back to the metal fab shop for another repair and then reinstalled. They said the tank was pressure tested before installing so I don’t know how this has happened. Given the public holiday on Monday I did not expect to leave until Thursday morning! At least they gave me a courtesy car this time.
At 10 am 8/5/19 I visited the dealer and was told the repaired tank would be back by lunchtime and the car would be ready this afternoon. So in preparation I was back at the caravan park packing up when I got a call about 1 pm that the tank COULD NOT BE REPAIRED! A new tank has to come from Adelaide (by express freight), will arrive Friday morning and the car will now be ready Friday afternoon. They asked me to pay for the cost of the tank (part only $800). The service manager is taking the case up with the fabrication shop as it seems they are the culprits who pressure tested the tank when removed from the vehicle and caused the extra damage – not sure who to believe though! ( The workshop manual warns against testing the tank outside of the vehicle as it could cause damage to the tank)
I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get out of Alice Springs!
Upon return, and after unloading, the car went straight to my local dealer who is checking out a strange rattle from the front of the engine that developed on my way across Oz.