Tallarook trials and tribulations

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Winston
Winston (Winston_FJ)
29 Apr 2018

An incident free trip!

Yeah, right. That would rewrite the books...

The day started with good promise, everyone was early to the meeting point so we trundled down to our entry via Davis Rd onto Jenkins where we aired down.

Headed up Jenkins Link for the first track. Easy going, little bit of a steep climb at the top that would be very interesting in the wet. Then onwards to the very steep climb that runs off the top of Jenkins 1 to the top of the ridge. As per previous drives it is very loose with me having to have a few cracks at a couple of points. Stopping to see how the rest of the convoy were going didn't help my cause. With the vehicles in our group being very well set up everyone made it up without too much drama. Top effort from Steph in his Patrol with open diffs.

From the top we headed down Rocky Track where, at the junction of Horans, we came across the local firies. Turns out they were doing planned burns in the area but after a brief chat we were cleared to continue on our route up Cable then down Tehans 3 as all the burns were supposedly happening south of there, and we were track north. The there is a little track that runs from Cable to Brandy Corner that used to have a good step up from the dry creek at the bottom. Dozed. A prius could just about drive it now. Shame.

We made our way down Tehans 3 and then took the unmarked shortcut from the bottom corner to Tehans 2, more fun than sticking to the main track. It was along here that my dramas unfolded. Noticed a slapping sound from the engine bay and my power steering was whining badly. At the end of the short cut back on the Tehans 2 I stopped and popped the hood - power steering fluid was black and the belt fabric backing was fraying significantly.

And that was the end of tracks for me. With the next planned track probably the hardest of the day I pulled out and just played guide for the rest of the trip, taking the group via transit tracks to the start of the tough tracks and then meeting them at the other end.

So I headed up along Tehans 2 on to Corner Track where I would meet the crew at the top of the no-name link track (have read it used to be called Fireline?). Was waiting for a while, just out of radio range, but had phone reception and received a message from Sean that Steph had suffered a torn sidewall right at the toughest point of the climb. Needless to say the track provided a good challenge for everyone. Jezz commented "bloody good track that!" with a big grin.

As it had taken nearly 2 hours to get everyone up this track, the planned route was shortened with the next challenge being Steep Track. Steph decided to follow along with me on the transits rather than risk another puncture on the harder tracks, especially as he was the only one with 33s so we couldn't even offer him one of our spares.

As we headed towards Steep along Brandy Corner we started seeing more and more smoke, and as we rounded a bend we were met by the sight of flames and a bunch of the firies . One of them running towards us waving his arms. After a bit of talk with him explaining we had been cleared to drive where we were it turned out there was a bit of a mix up about which tracks were closed - and we were in the thick of it. He cleared us on our way after a bit of consultation to a senior over the radio

The challenge was set at Steep. Try the centre line that has a bloody big step on it. First though we stood back and watched one fella come down the track in a Landcruiser. Didn't seem to be having the most fun time...

Despite 35-37 inch tyres, plenty of lift and either twin lockers or Jeep traction control, no one quite managed to get up over the ledge. Oh so close but no cigar. Steph and I headed off to the next rendezvous point after watching Jezza round up the valiant attempts on the lower sections. Apparently a group that turned back halfway down Steep ran into trouble with a Jeep breaking it's transmission. So once again there was some more waiting.

Once the guys met us at the junction of Jenkins Tk and Main Rd I showed them to the bottom of Phone Tk, and with much sadness watched them head up the hill while Stephan and I limped around to the bottom of Mountain Track, cracked a beer, aired up and waited for the smiling 5 to come down. Everyone managed to do the 'smiley face' rock garden climb and were pretty chuffed about the track. Aside from a tyre or two losing air at some point they all drove without incident.

So that's it from me. No photos as i really didnt get to see any action. Things didn't pan out like I'd hoped but hey, that's wheeling. Glad the others enjoyed the trip and I guess I'm just going to have to get this round of gremlins sorted on the FJ and run the trip again.

If anyone did take any photos or vids feel free to share them! Cheers.

4x4mate
4x4mate (maltalian0)
29 Apr 2018

Sounds like a great day besides the troubles. 

Thanks for the right up. 

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Matthew
Matthew (discomatt)
01 May 2018

Thats a bugger about the car,your  not having a good run with the FJfrown

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Winston
Winston (Winston_FJ)
01 May 2018

Thats a bugger about the car,your  not having a good run with the FJfrown

Must be systemic from that Land Rover style grille on it... ,🤣

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Matthew
Matthew (discomatt)
02 May 2018

Must be systemic from that Land Rover style grille on it... ,🤣

If thats the case you are lucky it doesnt have any Jeep styling or you would be even worse off

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