Re:G'day from Oz

Having just registered I'd just like to say hello.So, I'm in Canberra, Australia and have just bought myself a 2010 Jimny. I have to say I wish I'd found your website before I bought my Jimny. The wiki has so much information. I like the sense of humour too. Me and my Jiminy (as my partner likes to call it) are still getting to know each other. I've only had it a matter of weeks, and while it seems a well kept vehicle I'm having so much trouble getting it into my name. It seems as though every government regulation has been set up to fight me and pound me into the ground. Checks, rejects, testing, repairs, retest. Shelley Long and Tom Hanks starred in a move called The Money Pit. Everything seemed to be going wrong with their house and it was costing them a fortune. Hence, the name of the film. My car seems a bit like that at the moment. Hopefully, it'll get through and be better for it.

Thanks Lambert. Here are a couple of photos. Not sure if you'll see anything in particular but it has been raised 50mm (body lift and larger tyre profile). I'm not used to too many 4WD experiences. This is my first. Still getting used to it. I have to smile to myself every time I get in and out of the thing. Getting in takes an extra-large step, and exiting is more of a turn-and-slide to the ground effort. Not particularly elegant. I don't know how Landcruiser folks manage that have been raised a huge distance off the ground. 

Hi and Welcome along.

oooh -  nice pictures of your Jimny, sorry, your Money Pit in the sunshine.

Sunshine, remember that UK residents, just had the two weeks of Summer   

Nice looking Jiminy, I am sure it will stop been a 'Money Pit' in the near future. Then you will have the cash to put fuel in it and go somewhere.

Or, stop mentioning how much it is costing to your partner [probably a good move in any case] and it won't seem so much.

Robin

Hello and welcome, nice looking Jiminy 

wrote:

Thanks Lambert. Here are a couple of photos. Not sure if you'll see anything in particular but it has been raised 50mm (body lift and larger tyre profile). I'm not used to too many 4WD experiences. This is my first. Still getting used to it. I have to smile to myself every time I get in and out of the thing. Getting in takes an extra-large step, and exiting is more of a turn-and-slide to the ground effort. Not particularly elegant. I don't know how Landcruiser folks manage that have been raised a huge distance off the ground. 

I had to double take at the pictures.... Wondered what that blue was in the back ground..... I remember now .... From a visit to Spain where I basked in the glory of warm sunshine 

Jimny looks good.
 

Now that's weird. It being referred to as a money pit. I'm seeing some of it now. And I've only just got it home. And all to do with vehicle registration. That may be what you call MOT fees over there.

When I saw the car it seemed very nice. It had an upgraded radio (with GPS and other stuff, half of which I can't work out), a CB radio, some power outlets, and the two back seats had been removed and storage shelves with a drawer had been fitted in their place. On the outside, it has a winch, some spotlights, larger profile tyres, and has been lifted 50mm. It also had a bull bar and a front and rear tow bar. It came with the roof rack and awning and the seller threw in the rest of the tent that goes with it. In addition, I was provided with the old radio that had been removed, the old coil springs and shock absorbers, the original front bumper bar, and the two rear seats. The car also had a second battery installed with some sort of cut out with it for when the volts start to drop. There were other little bits and pieces that I might never use. Oh, yes. It also has breathers from the diffs and gearbox mounted under the bonnet as well as a snorkel. I also have an anti-sway bar I suppose you'd call it except it swivels rather than resists; he mentioned that with a smile. He said I might want to put it on for fun one day. And I almost forgot. He gave me a recovery kit as well.

The car had one other thing that even the seller didn't know about. Something that I discovered later when I took it for its roadworthy inspection. It has a 1.6 L engine.

So, my sorry state started when I took it to a local garage to have a vehicle roadworthy inspection. All new purchases have to be checked over by an authorized workshop. I got a call from the mechanic quicker than expected. "I can't do this," the guy said. "Why not?" "It's had an engine change. You'll have to take it to the government." At least he didn't charge me. He seemed grumpy. Probably because he didn't get any money out of me. I bought the car thinking it had a 1.3 L engine. This one has a 1.6 L engine. No, not 1.5 at least not according to the engine number.

At the completion of the inspection I was provided with a report that indicated where the car failed, and one of the items was the engine. I needed to take the car to a qualified engineer to have it certified before it could be registered. Not a mechanic. I'm wondering if engineers charge the same price as lawyers.

Happily, the engineer I rang had had a cancellation and I could take the car to him within a few days. He was a very pleasant guy. Well, with people like me giving him $1800 for his work he would have to be. The good news was that the engine was fine. It had been fitted well, had next to nothing on emissions, and got a big green tick. But this guy was thorough. He noticed the leaking diff oil coming out behind one of the rear backing plates. The roadworthy guys missed that. There were lots of little things he picked. Some not so little, but the really big thing was yet to come.

He took the car over a weighbridge and compared what he got against the manufacturer's specs. The difference being the bits and pieces that had been added. The modifications. The bull bar would be heavy. So would the winch, and no one can deny batteries are heavy too, and the two tow bars would have added to it, and no doubt the various undercar protection the seller boasted of all add weight. I'm not so sure about the springs that were changed in lifting the car 50mm but they would add a bit. So, here's the thing. The car has a certain load carrying capacity; like for four people, but that's with no modifications. If you add weight in other ways, as noted above, then there is less carrying capacity for passengers. It seems with all the extra weight that's on my car it would be illegal to drive it with any more than the driver, because it would be overloaded.

The solution to this hit me with another shock. The engineer suspected that since all of the work done had been done well that the car probably would be okay to carry passengers, but it would have to be tested. If the car was certified at a higher Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) then it could be registered. GVM tests are $2200 to complete. The alternative is to remove the heavy stuff. I want to keep the winch etc so I'm digging deep into my pocket.

Yup. It's a money pit. Oh, yeah. I gather I'm up to $1000 on the oil leak and new rear brakes.

welcome.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

I receive Emails from an Aussie 4x4 magazine and the authorities are forever clamping down on overweight combinations of 4x4s and caravans. They set up road side weighing stations and fines are heavy. Over here we wait until someone has an accident, the media have a field day and 24 hours later they are back to reporting on subjects that really matter (to them that is).
I towed the club caravan behind my Gen.2 and nearly lost it going down a steep hill when it started to snake. That was nasty.
Our hearts go out to you (but not our cash) and hope your troubles will soon be a thing of the past.

Roger