Thanks for the update, are you travelling on the piste between Foum Zguid / Zagora / Tazzarine?

If so Don't miss out the "crater" ( ~20 miles N/E from Tagounite)

Here as it's a stunning area to travel over in my opinion.

If you need any waypoints PM me your email address.

Have fun.

Thanks for the tip bier.

Repairs
 

So were the knackered shocks, the ones on the car when you bought it or new standard type that you had fitted?

Think that reinforces my opinion that decent upraded suspension, thats springs, shocks and bushes - OME, Ironman, or similiar - are a fairly important upgraded prior to a trip.

Trust you had an enjoyable few weeks with Barrie, great guy and awesome chef. Enjoy the rest of your trip

yep standard shocks on teh car when I bought it. Field bodges done, repaired by a 15 year old moroccan in Boujdour and got some new ones from Toyota in Agadir for £80 yesterday.

On piste as much as possible. Did MH9 yesterday but it's mostly tarmac now only 20km of piste left. Off to do MS9 and 5 after this coffee :)

Did MH2 today, tarmac all the way now:frown: still a stunning drive (is any route through Imichil not?). Lot of snow on top and I don't think I would have done it on the old piste.

Now outside Midelt heading North on the way home:thumbdown::thumbdown: don't really want to but landed a new job thats starts on Monday. Uploading a few picture onto my Flikr at the mo an the rest will come when I'm back.
Flickr: Trackasylum's Photostream

So heres some pics of my mechanical problems, these hit after 2 days with no sign of human life in the Western Sahara and a days drive to the nearest town.

First both rear dampers failed leaving a very bumper ride, then at the next break I noticed the drivers side axle mount had cracked severly.

So in full A-Team stylee the gang got to work
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6...4d53106d54.jpg

Ratchet straps, a tow strop and loads of zipties seemed like it would hopefully hold. Ok the zip ties did sod all but it made us feel better using them :thumbup1:

Made through to Boujdour camping by late afternoon found a mechanic and negiotiated a price (well Barrie did). Next morning it was off the the garage for repairs.

Boken Mount
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6...7da11cba8c.jpg

Damper Damage
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6...6237527468.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6...6dd5b518fc.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6...bf2332e087.jpg

Once everything was apart things started to become clear. The shocks are standard Toyota's but old, quite why the top mounts sheared is a mystery but this failure but the axle mount under added stress.

The mount had been previously repaired in the UK prior to me getting the vehicle, how long before I have no idea. The metal used to plate it was no more than 2mm thick and could easily be bent by hand. Obviously once the shocks went this plating just ripped apart

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6...efaf290458.jpg

I'm still amazed and stunned by this, it was a dangerous repair for any vehicle and should not have been on the road imho, the bracket coudl have failed under normal road use, negiotiations are under way with the selling dealership!

Anyway the Moroccans fabricated a new bracket out of some solid metal, wleded that on and a couple of bolts were welded to the broken dampers and after a Tajine I was back on the road.

The Colorado's seem to be particularly prone to rust on the back axles, the fuel tank pickup and the bash plate.

Another thing to watch out for on old shocks is that the rust can build up under the shock mount bushes weakening them - I suspect that this is what happened with you car - the mounts sheared and then the end was hammered smooth as it floated around driving across Morocco.


As already stated on this thread, this is the problem with second hand cars, particularly the older 4x4s, you get all sorts of monkeys working on them which is why you need to check them over properly before a trip.

Shock and suspension problems could have been catastrophic for you and your passengers and then there is the added inconvenience and delays to your fellow travellers.

Thanks for the info Julian, you interpretation of why the shocks failed is very useful. On it's own this would have been a irritating issue but replacement dampers are easily sourced. The bracket was just shocking though.

Since I've returned I've established that the axle brackets are prone to rusting (due to a drainage hole getting bunged up and water sitting in it).

Disregarding this when it was repaired it should have been fixed with something better than a coke can. I'm currently in "negotiation" :rolleyes2: with the supplying dealer regarding this.

I'm just glad that when it all failed I was with the Waypoint Tours Group and not on my own. Even so it was a full day's drive to safety/civilisation. If I'd been on my own I'd probably be a bleached skeleton now.

Not in Morocco, some kid herding some goats would have been bound to have turned up with an hour or so - they seem to pop up everywhere :-)

normally selling something as well lol

Just had a communication from the dealer I purchased from.

They have ignored the failure of the dampers but admit in writing that they repaired the bracket. They say that the bracket repair was of a suitable standard because it passed a MOT undertaken by a 3rd party prior to my purchase.

Now I'm not an engineer but there's no way the metal used was structurally good enough for the bracket repair and I'm also pretty sure that the MOT test would only have cehcked the bracket for corrosion and not the thickness of the metal used.

The supplying dealer have offered to cover 50% of the costs I incurred getting it patched in Morocco as a "Good Will Gesture" or in cash terms £150. They must think I was born yesterday :thumbdown:

Looks like Trading standards is the next stop

Interesting post this one

Just a quick question - when you bought the vehicle, did you make the dealers aware of what your plans were for it - ie. you were going to morocco and would be using it offroad

If the answer is yes,you did then then the claim is not for the axle problems but the fact that the goods sold were not suitable for the purpose for which they were sold. I had this issue many years ago with an expensive set of boots that i bought for a trip to nepal - they fell to bits, so i took them back, shop attitude was well you used them in very tough country hard luck what do you expect, so I uttered that little sentence and hey presto the attitude changed completly and i got a full refund.

Now you may also be able to argue that the goods were not of merchendisable quality (another oogd phrase) but my big concern is that if they did that repair knowing what you were going to do with the vehicle then they should face a court. I'm guessing that had they disclosed that repair you would not have bought the vehicle

Anyway good luck and keep us informed

Yes the dealer knew from the day I first viewed it what my intended use was. My intial contact on return highlighted the vehicle having 2 significant issues in terms or the Sale of Goods Act, Not of a Satisfactory Quality and also Not Fit for Purpose.

Things have moved on slightly over the last 2 weeks but they still state that in their opinion the use of <2mm metal on a structural bracket was ok. They have also tried the similar response you got with the boots, very extreme use. They have no evidence of the route taken or the terrain covered. They have also said I should have modified it and come close to saying that 4x4's are not intended for off road use (they are a 4x4 specialist selling to a lot of local businesses for agricultural use!).

Is it worth checking with a toyota main dealer on how they would have repaired this fault ?

You gonna name & shame these people then ?

Extreme use - you told them where it was going and they sold you a vehicle , back to not fit for purpose i think

Well good luck - I don't know how much trading standards will help as they seem to want a group of cases before taking action, send them one more letter headed last letter before action then if no reply go for a small claims court action - nice & cheap to do , for your loses (repairs, losss of holiday time etc etc) , or for the cost of the vehicle even