New Tyres Lead to More Discoveries

We had the tires replaced today with the help of Uncle Aume at Dunlop Alotau. He managed to get us a staff discount at their Port Moresby office and we paid K260 (US$68) for 245/75R16 tyres. A pretty cool deal!

Our cost for the 5 tires totaled to K1,460 (US$380) – much less than I had initially anticipated. However, while the tires were off I discovered a couple of problems.

The Isuzu MU Wizard raised up and ready for new tires.

It turns CV axles on both sides of the vehicle have been removed. It is not really necessary in a city environment but is required for 4 wheel driving. However, I also discovered that the rear sway bar is broken.

We had to break the wheel stud in order to remove the tire.

A broken rear sway bar.

The CV axles are also missing.

I also confirmed the park/emergency brake cables are broken and we had to brake one of the wheel studs because it was stuck.

The next thing on my list is to fix the passenger and drivers seats, clean the interior and then fix the brake cables. As easy as it sounds, it will be a challenge to find the required parts.

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Interior Cleaning – Driver’s Seat

So I’ve started cleaning the interior beginning with the driver’s seat. The seats have collected dust over the years and I frankly not healthy for use. The interior is very dirty and will require a lot of cleaning. Anyway, I have started with the driver’s seat and I’m working my way around. I had initially wanted to have it vacuumed but after seeing this video I decided to give it a try. The seats are not in spectacular condition, but I have gotten rid of the dust and it is much better than it was. I also had to clean the bottom slider so the seat would move freely. It had hardened dirt could hardly move. I clean it using a carb cleaner which was a mistake. It turns out carb cleaner has paint thinner and stripped some of the paint. Driver's seat is much cleaner now. This was easily fixed with a bit of sandpapering and a coat of paint. I plan to have all the seats cleaned by the end of the week. Unfortunately, I have just met another obstacle – a dead battery.

Ball Joints and Wheel Bearings Replaced

So after a long hiatus we have finally started some work on our Isuzu MU Wizard. The first thing we did was replace the ball joints. The ball joints had reached the point where it would fall off any time. It would squeak whenever I hit a hump/bump or turned a corner. This led to me grounding the Wizard for almost 6 months. I know its a long time but I was caught up with work that there was very little time during the day to work on the SUV. Fortunately, I'm starting 2021 with catching up with the vehicle's maintenance. Last week we replaced all the ball joints and outer wheel bearings. All parts were sourced from Pacific Engineering in Port Moresby. The ball joints did not require special tools - ball joint puller, etc - but it did require some elbow grease and breaker bar. While the ball joints were out, we also decided to check the wheel bearings - and yes - they were also kaput. We ended up replacing them as well. We have also identified that the tie rod...

The Cost of Replacing Ball Joints and Wheel Bearings

In my last post I shared about replacing the ball joints and outer wheel bearings for the Isuzu MU Wziard. However, I forgot to give a run down on the costs. In this post, I share how much it cost me to get the job done - especially the parts. The main cost associated with this was the parts. I sourced all the parts from Pacific Engineering & Repairs Ltd; they have lowest prices in town (IMO) - and no they are not sponsoring this post. So here is a run down. The ball joints cost the most at K352.00 (US$80) for bother right and left. Then the bearings came at K77 (US$18) for both sides, and I also had to get some grease at K27.50 (US$7). I also had to spend around K50 (US$12) for food, drinks etc so in total I spent around K506.50 (US$117). Mind you, this is just an estimate because labor basically free. Anyways, I just thought I'd share that with you. Lukim yu!

Bernard's Isuzu MU Wizard Journey

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