and the door mounted temporarily
and the door handle fitted
before dismantling it all and taking it off to be "polished" as my cabinet making friends refer to it. In another age it would have been "varnished" but the new 2 pack urethane finishes are much more durable and look like glass when done properly.
While waiting for all that to dry so it can be reassembled the window trims are machined and mitred
and test fitted to the window
before removing them for "polishing" also.
I think I may have mentioned that the back end of the truck has had that sinking feeling of late. At the risk of repetition it is worth observing that trucks are built to carry moderate loads most of the time and their maximum load for only very short periods. If they are made to carry this load for extended periods the springs can be stressed so that they settle lower than normal. In my case the truck will be quite close to its' maximum capability for most of the time and appears to be suffering that condition. To be truthful I didn't think I would have to pay too much attention to the weight I would be loading on but it is proving just how careful you have to be when approaching the maximum load. So some uprated springs were ordered in. These are stronger and designed to return the truck to its' original height and carry the load continuously without sagging.
These were supplied by "Westralia Spring Works". I had originally enquired of these springs, it turns out, in late 2008!!!! These people were recommended by everybody of whom I enquired where to go to get HD springs - they seemed to know exactly what was required and even agreed to supply them at the original 2008 price. Recommended!
My truck however was just a bit to big for them to handle so they recommended "Big Wheels" to install them. I had originally heard of these people way back in the big tyre saga and had intended to visit them sometime to have the steering checked and aligned before any big trips so now was a good time.
So here is the truck jacked up and the original springs removed.
and here are the new springs ready to go in.
You may notice just how neat and tidy the workshop is !!
Makes me feel a bit embarrassed about mine . . .
However, the guy who did the job on my truck was certainly one of the best mechanics I have ever seen working. He was neat and tidy, methodical and never used more force than necessary to do the job. In fact I never heard him swear the whole time I was there. I think he must have been in a senior position as he seemed to direct the work of a couple of other guys as well. He was never awkward about explaining anything I asked about and was polite and friendly. Highly recommended.
My only complaint was, given the hourly rate they were charging ($120), they were a bit pedantic about charging for the couple of new bolts which were required at one point. Total bill just over $2000.
So new springs, pins, bushes and U-bolts installed and truck back on the level I got them to test the steering while I was there.
I already knew it was going to involve more pain in the wallet but better to be safe.
Sure enough - new tie rod and drag link ends are required so another visit is being scheduled.
An interesting aside occurred during all this. I finally had found that Major Motors who are the Isuzu distributors were only half a kilometer down the road and had as part of their brake testing machine the ability to weigh each wheel independently (ie the actual weight of the truck on each wheel). I had the feeling for some time that the truck was more loaded on one side than the other from the way it drove but I wanted to know by how much so I could make some changes to compensate. So I booked it in for an oil and filter change which were due and had them weigh it at the same time ($60 extra). It turned out that it was the opposite from what I had expected. I thought the truck was heavy on the left - the machine said it was 600kg heavier on the right. 600kg !! Now when the mechanic jacked the truck up to start changing the springs he put the jack right in the middle of the rear differential and lo-and-behold the truck tipped to the left.
"Why so heavy on the left?" he enquired?
"The scales said heavy on the right . . ." I replied.
"Yeah! Right."
So back to Major Motors . . .
"Excuse me. Any chance of your guy having the truck the wrong way round from normal when weighing my truck the other day or perhaps the scales being slightly wrong?"
"No way mate. We have that thing checked regularly to make sure the brake tests are OK."
"Well we have a problem because (insert list of all the reasons here). Any chance we can quickly do it again?"
"Sure. Just run it in here."
"Hhmmm. It still says to the right but now each wheel has a different weight from last time. Any chance of turning it round and doing it from the other direction?"
"Sure. Turn it around. . . Well bugga me. Now all the weights are different and it says heavy on the left. The damn machine must be US!"
"Hhmmm. Any chance of getting my money back?"
"Sure mate. Just as soon as we figure out how to do that. We've never done a refund before."
If any of the people who have had their truck weighed there ever read this I think they better set up a standard procedure!
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