Killarney KZN

[AdrianZ]

Me and a buddy took a drive out to the Killarney 4x4 track just past Shongweni dam. It's a very nice track, you pay R100 per vehicle for the day and they have a lapa, swimming pool and toilet facilities available that's included in the price. It would be a nice day out with the family and having a braai there.



The lapa:


Swimming pool:


This was the first time I took the hilux off road so i started off slow and got braver as the day went on until I ended up stuck on a rock and discovered that my rear difflock has a connection problem somewhere so it's not working all the time (mental note to fix that)


After that we decided to rather stay on the track. They have a couple of nice stream crossings


They also have a quarry to play around in






All in all a nice day out and i got to learn a lot about my vehicle. I'm happy

[Mud Dog]

Glad you enjoyed it and that you got to learn more about your vehicle. Be aware of rocks like that ... they can cause some nasty damage to the tie-rod and even the banjo housing if struck hard enough. Rather put your wheels over the rocks / high points if you cannot circumvent them. Places to be on the look out for such obstacles is in high grass (rocks and anthills) as well as in unclear water. Nice pics!

Oh, where is the protection pan from under the front between the springs. There should be a pan in there to protect the pulleys and fan belts. Also there are some loose wires hanging down there, those should be neatened up out of harm's way. :problem:

[AdrianZ]

Ok thanks Andy, i'll keep a lookout for the pan and fix up those wires.

I was going over the rock with the tire but then had to turn a bit to be able to make it and that's when the tire slipped off the rock so it came down gently and just rested on the pumpkin

[Mud Dog]

Adrian ... what I mean is that it looks like your pan is missing .....?

[AdrianZ]

What should it look like? If it's not there I'll go get another one. It makes sense that there should be something protecting those pulleys and the fan

[Mud Dog]

It's a solid plate with a few round ventilation holes in it. It's function as I understand it, is more for pulley and fan belt protection than sump protection although it covers a little of the sump in the front. It's not uncommon for a piece of a branch or even stones to be flicked up by the wheels and foul up between the pulley and belt. When this happens the belt goes for a Burton. Combi's used to suffer this problem until they were fitted with a steel mesh guard. The other danger is long grasses being drawn up into the engine area and packing against the exhaust manifold, thereby becoming a very real fire hazard (has also happened before).

I looked to see if I had any pics, but none that show it nicely ... will look again just now. (My son is out with the vehicle at the moment so can't take a pic now). If you cannot source one second hand somewhere, it's something that's not too difficult to make up yourself or have someone make up for you.

Best pic I can find right now is a bit dark on the underside of the van ...... Have circled the pan area.

[AdrianZ]

ok thanks Andy. I don't have one on my car, I'll go shop around and see if I can find one