1st to 7th Aug, 2023 Jon & Annalise’s place, Cairns, Qld (Engine changeover started)

Tues, 1^st

Joan and Roz’s birthdays today so sent off messages to them both.

Steve headed off to work on the truck so I wrote up my blog.

Steve came home as Brian and Kerri were coming to catch-up. So lovely to see them again. The kookaburras came for a feed too while they were here.

Misty rain on and off still.

Steve went back to the truck after lunch. I did some cleaning in the house so it is nice and fresh for when the newly weds come home. A kookaburra came and sat on the railing so I took a photo to send to Annalise - her babies are missing her.

Rang Terry - he had a rough trip back on the train, very bumpy so he is enjoying a restful day today. He didn’t get to see the photos of the wedding and was telling his neighbour Pat about it so I sent her the photos so she can show him as his little phone isn’t any good for looking a photos. He is going to get the van ready for a caravan rally the following weekend. So happy he is wanting to get out and about still.

 

 

Wed, 2^nd

More misty rain showers. Not very good for trying to get washing dry.

Steve headed off to ‘work’ - it feels like hard work with things not going smoothly but with Dan and David’s help they are working through the issues.

I went into Tuckshop for a cuppa with the girls and to help them out for a few hours.

Home for lunch then picked up Wendy and Trish to check out the low tide walk at Palm Cove. It is pouring with rain here so hoping it is better out the beach.

It was clearer though very windy. We got to Palm Cove and realised the photos on FB were taken from Buchans Point. Looking across to Double Island and Scout Hat you can see the exposed reef.

Lots of people have come out for the walk on the sand spit. You can’t get to Double Island of course as there is a channel but it certainly looks like we are walking on top of the water.

I spotted a lady who looked familiar and said hi. Amazingly she recognised me and even remembered my name as it was the same as her mother’s. We had met 20 years ago at the gym where she took Wendy and I for some classes. Wow what a great memory. We had a great chat as we walked back to the beach.

More rain as we went back to Palm Cove for a cuppa. Chatted till 5pm then headed home.

I rang Terry again and Pat had got the photos and got them printed for him so he is very happy now as he has his ‘special’ photo of the girl from the Tradie Bar!!

Returned calls to Uncle John and Margit too.

Steve came home bearing a big bruise on his forearm where the press got him. So lucky it didn’t break his arm.

Malcolm rang to say they are planning to come for a week from the 18^th which will be great.

 

 

Thurs, 3^rd

Met Wendy just after 7am for a walk. Too wet for the Esplanade so we did our old routine of walking around Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Steve headed back to the truck of course.

More rain during the morning then the sun appeared at lunch time as I headed to Brothers for lunch with the line dancing ladies. Very social time at the moment which is great.

Back home for some more cleaning and the rain is back again.

 

 

Fri, 4^th

Heavier rain during the night so we have a pool of water under the camper. Steve back to the truck with Dan helping make some things with the big water cutter - impressive machine.

I continued with my cleaning in the house and the sun was out long enough to get the sheets and towels dried.

Picked up Wendy and Rebecca for lunch in town. New restaurant up high overlooking the lagoon and the ‘ferris wheel’. It was nice but open to the elements so it was very windy. Hence our windswept look.

A big squall came through after a lot of people had finished their lunch and swept plates and glasses crashing on to the floor. I think they need to invest in some clear blinds or they will lose customers if they keep getting wet and wind blown.

Back home to finish my cleaning. Will just give the floor a wash before they get home.

Steve got home at 6 so a quick dinner then down to Brian’s to watch the Supercars races in Sydney which he taped from last weekend.

 

 

Sat, 5^th

Steve’s making progress with the engine.

I meet Jenny and Carolyn for a cuppa and we chatted the morning away.

Quite day getting things organised for dinner tonight with Kaylene and Rick.

We sat outside on the patio for a while enjoying the view but then had dinner inside as it was quite chilly. Had a couple of games of pool and amazingly (luck was on our side) the girls one. We won the second one too as Steve sunk the white off the black but we played on and let the boys claim a win, haha.

 

 

Sun, 6^th

Cool strong wind - hope it blows all the rain clouds away. Steve went back to ‘work’ and I cleaned inside the camper and upstairs after our dinner last night.

After lunch I drove down to check out the truck. The engine is in but another problem. One of the engine mounts is in the wrong place. I sent of an email to DCA about it and he came back with an answer that was of no help so Steve will just get a new mount made. Also the turbo is sitting too high to fit under the bonnet even with the big scoop. The fun doesn’t stop!! So lucky he and his mates are so handy to sort out the issues along the way as the company is certainly of no help especially as you can ring them and have a chat about things. This is probably why they don’t do the installs any more, they just provide the kit and then it is our problem!!

Sunnier afternoon so got our towels dried in the sun which is nice.

Steve has been taking photos of the engine changeover with his phone so I got them off to add to the blog.

Taking the old engine out with Dan’s help.

With Dan’s expert skills they made a template for the flywheel to space the torque convertor back from the flywheel bolts as there was a stuff up with the kit we got from Wholesale Automatics who weren’t really interested in helping the problem so between Steve, Dan and David they solved the problem themselves. Smart blokes. Dan then programmed the Water Cutter to cut thicker steel to make the parts. The other template was for the bell housing spacer. Thanks to David too as he has been machining bits that Steve needs and is a lot of support for Steve in trying to work out ways around problems.

 

The Cummins 4.5L 4 cylinder common rail engine.

 

Steve panelled beated the fire wall back on the passenger side to make more room as the engine is wider on that side.

 

The engine and auto transmission on the back of our truck.

Steve had to grind off the heads of the bolts off to allow clearance for the torque convertor bolts on the back of the flywheel.

The engine and auto joined together. When Steve pulled the sump off to get the engine ready to lift into the truck he noticed a loose bolt holding the oil tray below the crankshaft - hope there isn’t any other loose bits that the Chinese haven’t done up correctly!!

Dan helped Steve put the new assembly into the engine bay. Still a lot of work to do.

 

I went down for a look and Steve showed me another issue. The engine mount on the drivers side fitted well but on the passenger side it is 40mm off. I sent an email off to DCA about that and the bolt. They came back with an answer that didn’t make a lot of sense so Steve will just get Dan to make a new engine mount but there was no comment about the loose bolt!

Very proud of Steve taking on this big job. There has been a lot of problems to overcome already so hoping things improve for him now.

 

Mon 7^th

Cold wet morning. Steve went off to work on the truck so I curled up with my book.

After smoko Anita rang so I went over and picked her up and we chatted over lunch at the new crepe restaurant. Scott got married and now they are have a grandson.

The sun came out after lunch which was nice. Pat sent a photo of Terry by his car and van all ready to head off on Wednesday for the Caravan Club rally. So glad he is getting out and enjoying himself.

Quiet relaxing afternoon.