The ‘no press, no vice’ method of changing uni joints.
Look, just ask any FIFO worker, life in the mines is tough. Back-breaking labour for 12 hours plus a day; dirt; grit and constant exposure to varying elements. It’s no wonder they get paid so well. But hey, spare a thought for the vehicles that help these folks do their jobs. Massive loaders, digger and cranes have all taken over from the slave labourers of yester-millennia and move huge amounts of earth around day in day out without a worry… and then there’s Rusty.
We’re not quite sure what Rusty did in its previous life in the coalmines. If I had to guess I’d say it was used as an aggregator of mechanical misfortune, a sort of sacrificial totem that was offered to the gods of Rust, Breakage and Seized Parts in the hope that the really expensive machinery would be spared. If that is indeed the case, old Rusty did its job exceptionally well, with just about every component needing work.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. Interestingly the driveshaft universal joints seemed to be working just fine, with minimal play and only light surface rust. Still, our mate Ben Lavis from Drivetech 4×4 suggested we swap them out anyway while the diffs were apart, if for no other reason that to ensure they were as good as could be. If you’ve ever had to do a uni on the side of the track you’ll already know how fun it’s not. We were convinced.
Watch the video to see how we went about swapping in a new set of uni joints to Rusty’s driveshafts – and nope, it’s not the usual vice or press method either…
