So we have a busted shockie. The loop at the end has been
turned into a strap by a particularly nasty pothole and if we’re to get out of
Bachsten Camp we need to fix it.
Daz has read a lot of 4WD mags in his life – There is a huge
pile of them at home to prove it. But somewhere in the dim dark past he read an
article about how to use your car batteries to weld your way out of a tight
spot. Although Daz has never welded anything more than his initials in a piece
of steel before he knows the basics and the theory. He has also equipped the
4WD with the gear he need to weld:
- Welding Rods
- Welding Gloves (we use these for the camp fire all the time)
- Welding goggles
- Jumper leads
- Welding rod holder
- Wire Brush
- We already have 4 batteries (2 in the 2WD, 1 in the camper and a Waeco Outback which comes in handy as a spare)
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| Busted Shockie |
The first thing we do is try to bend the metal strap back
into a loop so that it’s ready for spot welding. The problem is that in the act
of bending the metal back into a circle the entire loop detaches itself from
the shockie. Dammit that makes life a bit more difficult. It looks as if we’re
going to have to weld the whole thing back onto the shockie….
 |
| Clamped the ring onto the end of the Shockie so nothing moves |
Nat files the paint off the bits that need to be welded
together and works on a device to hold the loop onto the shockie and clamp it
in place so daz can weld it, as it’s not going to work if we weld it on
crooked!
Daz gets 2 batteries and links them together in series with
jumper leads and gets his tools ready.
Once everything is ready Daz puts the earth on the shockie
loop and attempts to weld. Nothing happens…not even a spark! He hooks a 3rd
battery into the series and tries to strike a spark again….tap…tap..tap….ZAP!
yeah we have a spark! It’s a bit hit-and-miss getting the spark to happen but
Daz is patient and keeps at it. He is being careful to not blow holes in the
steel and stops frequently to turn the shockie and clamp it back on the table,
and chip off the slag (that’s a proper welding term) before continuing.
 |
| Daz Welding! |
Eventually this is the result…..
We also have to manufacture a rubber bush to stop the shockie
loop and the bolt from bashing together. With the help of some spare bits of
hose and a plastic tube we think we have a winner.
The Shockie goes back on the trailer – it has 143.7 km of
terrible road to prove itself….we lay bets and cross our fingers.
