Hey Nomads, ever considered your weight problems and how to solve it??? Well I solved mine by buying a truck. Purchased a Fuso FG84D 4WD to tow my caravan around Australia and carry all the gear that we can't do without. Whilst this was a great idea, just be cautious. Check out the prospective dealer/maker etc. We were travelling from the Roper River to Borroloola in the NT and pulled up for lunch. Got back into the truck and found it was locked in gear. Well to make a long story short.....after being towed into Borroloola the gearbox was sent to the Fuso Dealer in Darwin and found to be U/s. $10,000.00 later we were back on the road. I contacted Fuso regards an "out of warranty consideration" as the warranty had run out 15 months ago but the truck had only done 91000ks. I bought the truck new and have had it's scheduled services carried out on time by Fuso dealer/agents. Being an ex truckie I have looked after this truck for the simple reason of not wanting any breakdowns whilst travelling in remote area's. Any reasonable person would expect to get more than 91000ks before a major breakdown of this magnitude. Well...Fuso don't want to know me. Their attitude is it's out of warranty and that's that. So.....give FUSO a wide bearth 'cause they sure as hell want your money but wont back up their product.
Dont stop at that . Go to consumer affairs . Theres also the reasonable service life . Im sure youll get somewhere ? Was the wrong oil added ? Something to look at ? If serviced by dealer ?
Can you give us all an idea, exactly what was wrong with your gearbox
It is unusual to hear someone had stopped for lunch, then on start up found, his gearbox U/S, to a tune of $10,000 repair/replacement
Don't worry.....I'M on their tail and wont let go. Thanks for your comment, Your dead right , there is and should be a reasonable service life. That's what I'm trying to get through to these morons. If their product is only good for 91000ks, I wouldn't think too many people will be buying off them. I will keep everybody up to date as it happens.
Hi Tony, It's unusual alright. I had just driven about 300ks and before we stopped there was no indication whatsoever of a problem. No grinding/clashing of gears, nothing. When we pulled over I just put my foot on the clutch braked to a stop and engaged the handbrake. About an hour later after lunch got back in the truck and it was locked in gear. Nothing I could do would release it. When the gearbox was stripped down at the Fuso dealer in Darwin he reported that all the synchro's were smashed and there would be over $7000 worth of parts required. So they fitted a recon box. I was and still am totally mystified how this could happen. Unfortunately I couldn't be there when it was stripped down as I was stuck in Borroloola. As it was it took over 2 months to get back on the road. Add on the accommodation and car hire fees and the costs just skyrocketed. If Fuso knew what we went through in that time they could GIVE us a new truck and it wouldn't make up for all the heartache. THEY JUST STUCK THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND.
As we have both said, very unusual, with no indication of noise/gear crashing, to find that ALL the synchro's were damaged
I have come across gearbox with two gears nearly jammed, due to linkage/gate/selector problems
Jacking one wheel up, (in the case of your 4x4) perhaps a wheel on each axle, and have one person rock the wheel, and another person rock the gear lever
It makes you wonder, if that particular (assuming 5 speed manual) gearbox, is strong enough for the job it was doing
Seems lube , oil or linkage issue ?? Or other BS going on . Like someone disconnecting linkages to get work ? $10k seems a hell expensive !! I would be adapting a 6L80E GM auto for less . But imo Fuso should be held Atleast part responsible!!
It's a 6tonne truck. All we are towing is a caravan (under 3 tonne) and a 4.2m tinnie and associated gear (600kgs) with the usual crap we all carry on a trip like this. This is why I bought a truck instead of a ute or Cruiser. If the gearbox (5sp manual) can't handle that, there is something wrong with the design.
That's a no to your first 3 sentences. Oil correct,no linkage problem and certainly nobody sabotaging or BS going on whilst in my care. RGM Maintenance is the Fuso agent in Darwin and they charged me $8646.19 for an exchange box. The rest was labour/towing/oils/other parts etc. Yes, I know I could've sourced a cheaper box somewhere else, but when you are in a remote place like Borroloola NT it's nigh on impossible to communicate to outside suppliers. In a situation like we were in you just have to suck it up and pay the piper so you can get back on the road. You will notice my previous post about time. (over 2 months waiting for repairs). FUSO SHOULD COVER SOME OF THESE COSTS.
