Another town, another friendly mechanic more than happy to help out for a good cause – the S***box Rally and Cancer Council.
Pete and Paul are in
Broken Hill tonight and first stop was McClure’s Vehicle Maintenance to see a guy named Lachie. Fellow S***tbox Rally entrant Corey McAllister had given Pete Lachie’s phone number and address through that very annoying and just as useful social medium Facebook, and he’s just as nice and helpful a bloke as Corey promised he would be.
Yesterday afternoon, while fixing the fuel leak at
Streaky Bay, the boys noticed an oil leak from the left hang rear axle seal, which needed to be fixed before the rally. Henry also had a slight weep from the diff oil filler- a dodgy soft plastic grommet that had gone hard and shrunk, and would likely fall to pieces if anyone went near it to try and refill the diff.
![Back on the hoist Henry.]()
Back on the hoist Henry.
![First job, wheel off.]()
First job, wheel off.
![A nice surprise; the oil hadn't reached the brake linings.]()
A nice surprise; the oil hadn't reached the brake linings.
On the approach to
Port Augusta Paul got on the phone and tracked down a new axle bearing kit for Henry for Henry at the local Autopro
shop. At the pub last night Pete tried the Internet to find a Ford dealer in
Port Augusta, and the only search result was a Ford dealer, which was permanently closed.
Once at
Port Augusta Paul’s knowledge of all things cars kicked in and he remembered that a VN Commodore with a live rear axle has the same diff, hence the same filler plug! There was a Holden dealer next door to the Autopro
shop so Pail went in and came out with a brand new filler plug.
After a fuel top up Paul took over driving and Pete got on the phone to Lachie. Lachie said he would wait at the workshop until the boys arrived, and once the car was in the workshop and up on the hoist the actual job took just a half hour.
![Axle out.]()
Axle out.
![Paul advises a bigger hammer.]()
Paul advises a bigger hammer.
![Axle going back in, all fixed.]()
Axle going back in, all fixed.
Anyone travelling through
Broken Hill call in and see Lachie at McClures Vehicle Maintenance, very helpful and super friendly. He's at 423 Blende Street and the number is (08) 8088 7666. Country towns are great and the people that run the local businesses are just awesome.
Click
here for more information on the S***box Rally and
here to see Pete and Kris’s rally preparation. To help in the fight against cancer click
here and then click on the Give Now button. It all helps.