NSW: Sunday 4th August Newnes SF

[Flashover Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Flashover]

Giddy up........will see you at Richmond maccas........better get some sleep!

[jamesh Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close jamesh]

Would just like to say had a good day out today hope to catch up with you guys in the future

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Yep that was a great day out, lots of mixed activities from general 4wding, rock steps, some nice sight seeing and watching people others with lead feet ;-)

I was too busy to take many photos but hopefully the videos will make up for it (later this week).

We started off at the wombat holes with large convoys front and back:





The wombats has been dug out quite heavily near the top and is no longer suitable for stock cars. It's bad enough that Clough even bent his spindle on it! We're going to have to find more tracks that are easy enough but still provide a challenge.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Then it was off to lost city, which 5 vehicles drove down (on videos for later)



A couple shots on the way out from lost city:





We then had lunch at moon rock, whilst watching others have fun climbing the power line track.

Then off to Sunnyside ridge for a nice view.

And a few of us drove down part of the Spanish Steps track for a play, where James had some mechanical issues with his car, but we all helped to get him out of the valley.

Pumping up at the end of the day:

[cloughcarib Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close cloughcarib]

Got home no worries. Work truck tomorrow.

[fatty boy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fatty boy]

Just got home, was a very long drive back home
It's been a great day out - good experience as well as meeting people face to face. Nice to meet everyone and especially big thanks to glen_ep for organising the trip :thumbup:

PS - definitely need to wash the car now

[Sydneydude Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sydneydude]

thanks Glen also from our side, great day, great location(s), great spirit and fun. Mark had a ball, was fast asleep after the spanish steps (by that time I was definitely craving a coffee too). Have pics on Facebook, will check how it works here

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Ok glen can I ask a dumb question what's a spindle ?? Cheers Steve

[Sako85 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sako85]

Great day out with a great bunch of people. Was good to test the new car out.

Ok glen can I ask a dumb question what's a spindle ?? Cheers Steve

The Spindle houses the Hub/wheel bearing and ties the upper and lower ball joints together. Steering rack & Caliper also bolt to it.

Hope that made sense!

[MrX Member Find all posts View Profile Close MrX]

Glen, thanks for the great day, great advice and putting up with my dumb noobie questions. The family had a great time so thanks again!

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Thanks Sako, what causes the problem in the first place ?? Sorry for asking what is probably a dumb question just some thing that I may need to be careful of in my 120 if its an issue that comes about quit easily when off road..... Cheers Steve

[Sako85 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sako85]

The most likely cause was a very hard hit on that LHS (looked like a decent hit too from where I was standing!). There was so much force in play after the suspension had compressed fully onto the bump stop the force left over had to go somewhere. The pivot point for the load bearing arm has now moved from the inner mounts to the lower balljoint via the compressed bump stop making the wheel/tyre want to turn in at the top, so thats what it did.The Spindle must be the weak point on that setup so that is what gave way.

Probably the best possible thing to give way. If it was a either a control arm/wishbone, one of their mounts or one of the balljoints that gave up the ghost, it may not have been drivable.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Is that fixable while still on the track or some thing this requires to be fixed in a work shop ?? Is vehicle still driveable ?? Thanks for the explanations appreciated..... Cheers Steve m

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

I checked out the videos last night and finally saw Clough's impact. The front end isn't visible but you can certainly see the car stop and bounce sideways.

Quite a few USA drivers have bent their spindles on Toyota rigs and they've came up with a weld-on solution for it; "spindle gussets". The effectiveness of that solution is debated because the welding task itself often weakens metals. Also, like sako touched on, we must remember to keep known weak points in our cars, so we don't break more expensive components or even the brackets on the chassis.

It'd be difficult to fix on the track because you'd need to remove it from both the upper and lower ball joints, and have a replacement spindle available (with bearings).

Here's a bent spindle from an FJ:



And here's what they look like with the mod welded on, a "gusset":

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Got home no worries. Work truck tomorrow.

Glad you got home okay. See if you can purchase a second hand spindle with original bearings still in place.


fatty boy, Sydneydude, MrX;
No worries guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the day and hope to see you out there again