Got sold a Lemon, need help to find parts

[JamesFerrier]

I bought a 1991 Patrol Ute through a private sale in Febuary this year, and being my first car I wasn't wise to the dodgy people that will say and do just about anything to make a sale. The car came with a roadworthy certificate that looks genuine, however, I suspect that the mechanic who did it was a mate of the seller, as it turns out there are some pretty serious issues with the car. I found this out when I put it in for a general service and to have the tyres replaced and balanced.
The staff at the service centre found:

1. Needs new power steering pump
2. Pitman arm bush has slight play
3. Both steering ends are loose in the knuckle
4. There are rust holes in the Chassis where the body bolts to (this has been "fixed" by previous owner, by putting some steel plate between the chassis and the body)
5. Play in the Diff pinion-front diff.
6. Needs new bushes and new bearings

I'm a complete newbie and not really a cars person, however it seems that I will be spending a lot more time under this car than anticipated! Can anyone suggest where I start?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
James

[macca]

Mate you will be asked to post an introduction in that section of the forum soon enough, put in there where you are from.
Each state probably has completely different approaches to your delema.
The origional mechanic may well be in a bit of strife, especially the rust and possibly the rest.
Motor traders associations and RTA (dont know new name) are governing bodies in NSW, try contacting them.

I know its no help now, but a qualfied person to go over a car before you buy is money well spent, sorry to state the obvious.
Or pay stuff all for it so there is money to bring it up to scratch.

[Sir Roofy]

Mate what can i say some one is going to be fried over your issue here
as macca said above you need to report to the r.t.a or who ever to find a solution
to this
if your not sure about your ability talk to and take someone with you to look over your next buy

THATS JUST PLANE RECKLESS WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO YOU
BY SELLING YOU A DEATH TRAP

[97_gq_lwb]

Sometimes you can be lucky and the diff pinion nut just needs tightening a fraction someone may have removed it and not done it up properly at some stage.
I have had success with nulon transmission stop leak in the power steering before.
As for the steering knuckles etc i have some here from a leafy gq ute if your interested in second hand stuff i would have to check them first obviously.

[Outrage]

Bushes and bearings, those kind of items are expected to be worn, even the power steering pump and dif for a 20 year old vehicle, but that rust with the steel plate, that's a bad one. That should have been picked up on a RWC check I'd imagine.

[growler2058]

G'day mate welcome aboard jump over to the intros and say g'day mate something we ask all members to do cheers


Tap, Tap.......Who's there?

[MQ MAD]

Mate what can i say some one is going to be fried over your issue here
as macca said above you need to report to the r.t.a or who ever to find a solution
to this
if your not sure about your ability talk to and take someone with you to look over your next buy

THATS JUST PLANE RECKLESS WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO YOU
BY SELLING YOU A DEATH TRAP

While i do agree with ya,
The rig is well past its 30 day roadworthy period and theres 2 fifths of nothin that can be done ....
The dude who done the bodgy roady will deny any wrong doin, gee feb was 6 months ago
Im sure there are many who get hotty or bodgy roadworthies done,it does still happen, but the old age adage of "Get it thoroughly independantly inspected" is a lesson anyone should use

OP,
That body lift is bigger than the legal 2 " , that should have been a givaway it was a dodgy roadworthy

The chassis rust should be done first, but the other issues are general wear and tear with these ol rigs
Nothin lasts forever regardless of the purchase price or the condition

[happygu]

James,

I agree with MQ MAD, that you will have a hard time proving some of these things were actually unroadworthy at the time of transfer as it has been 6 months. You may have to chalk a few of these things up to experience.....

The only thing that you really have going for you, is that the body ribbing can't have detoriated that much in a six month period - the rest could be classified as wear and tear.

If you are in Victoria, there is another avenue for you, as all roadworthies now have to be filed with photographic evidence for proof that the vehicle was in the condition that the roadworthy describes. I sold a car around four months ago, and the roadworthy now costs double what it used to, as the photographs need to be stored and kept for at least 7 years as evidence. You could demand to see the pictures from the roadworthy provider, and if he hasn't done the right thing, you may be able to take steps to get it resolved.

The other thing is it may not actually cost all that much to get someone to weld in a new section of body ribbing, or plate it up to make it serviceable.

Try a couple of panel beaters for quotes.

Mic

[nipagu7]

Hi James
Bad luck about the dodgy deal mate , don't let it get to you . I personally think it is good to get an old banger for your first car and learn to do as much of the repairs you can yourself , the experiance can help you in the future to recognise when something is going wrong before it goes severly wrong . Also in the future when your ready to step up to something more expensive you will be less likely to a more expensive mistake .

[roadthumperpatrol]

Also where are you located? so people can advise you of local places to source parts

[BearGUST]

As others have said, some of those things aren't too bad. The main one to worry about is the rust.

I bought a car which had a dodgy RWC a couple of years ago, I went back to the place and demanded they supply the bits so I could fix it myself. They tried claiming that a seat belt that doesn't retract is not a unroadworthy... I told them I would see what Vic Roads thought, they supplied me ALL the parts that I asked for but were not happy about it!

[97_gq_lwb]

A lot of people i have spoken to go and pay more money for a dodgy roadworthy.
I personally prefer someone to do it properly as they might find things i haven't noticed myself.
A safe car is more important then a few dollars it might cost to fix it.
At the end of the day it is not just your life your risking it is that of innocent others as well.

Then their are grey areas with lifts and mods that come into play .