How tight is your bull bar ?

Forum Home > OKA Maintenance > How tight is your bull bar ?

Pete Fox
Member
Posts: 140
Hi All
In all of the messing about with the steering column, I got a real good look around the steering box, and noticed a crack in the top of the chassis where the front cross member is welded on. A further look around had me going a bit as the crack continued down each side of the chassis so that it was only holding by the bottom of the RHS.



Crack above is on the outside just forward of where the thick plate the steering box bolts onto



Inside chassis.
Further investigation revealed that there was a broken bolt and a loose one on the opposite side bull bar mounts. This allowed the weight of the bull bar to flex the chassis on the drivers side. This vehicle spent a good part of its life running up and back on the corrugations of the Oodnadatta, Birdsville and Strzelecki tracks.
The broken bolt was a bit of a worry to get out because it should have been Grade 8.8 or better, but is drilled like butter and took about ten minutes to remove. Obviously a replacement.
The bull bar is on the ground as is the winch. I am 6'4" and 110kg and I can't pick it up for very long so I am guessing about 120kg and the winch is a mother of a thing - a Mega Winch, huge thing with a 2 speed gearbox, it's heavy too my guess is about 60kg with the cartridge type cross member it sits in.
So the moral of this is, check your bolts in the bull bar and try not to drop the winch in your leg if you have to get it out.
Getting out the grinder and welder tomorrow.
I am seriously considering leaving the winch out and cutting the bull bar up to leave only a bumper bar.
Pete
--
Peter Fox

OKA 266 Multi-cab.

Photobucket album



February 2, 2012 at 6:21 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Peter 334
Member
Posts: 118
Peter awhile ago i took my Oka to bits to do some needed repairs to nearly everything including the bull bar , i had a good look at the bar only to find cracks in the main supports both sides, it was bolted on well but not with the desired bolts , that is all fixed and everything that goes back on with any weight to it gets 8.8 bolts galved cheers peter
February 2, 2012 at 7:59 PM Flag Quote & Reply

Hal Harvey
Site Owner
Posts: 509
Wow! As a few owners can attest the XT/LT bullbar is crazy heavy. I was missing a front bolt for years and that turned into a crack on a trip last year, but it wasn't an issue because of the receiver mounts I had that bolted in under the bumper; as the bullbar couldn't drop any further...



... which I only introduce in case it suits you to do like I have with the front winch - it lives under a bunk in the back of the OKA, and bolts up to a frame that fits into the receivers (front or rear) when/if required, which of course is very rarely. The bash plate, not on in these pics, still fits.



As for cutting the bullbar up to leave only a bumper, that's not unreasonable given the height of the thing; my collection of deceased kangaroos would rarely if ever have reached above the bumper, and if you're not big into spotlights a lot of the middle stuff could be superfluous. The only time I ever used an outer bar was to express my feelings about a bitumen-coloured Ford in the blind spot on a roundabout one day when I was a bit tired and careless; the Ford was written off (completely bent) and the bullbar and OKA were, to all intents, undamaged.


--
Hal

February 2, 2012 at 9:11 PM Flag Quote & Reply

OKA in Africa
Member
Posts: 34
The crack is worrying, I will check my bullbar/frame connection. However looking at the Ford and the "damage" on the OKA bullbar does convince me that the OKA is quite a strong vehicle!
--
OKA 327 in Africa

photo album



February 2, 2012 at 11:24 PM Flag Quote & Reply

James & Usha (THEByleDuct)
Administrator
Posts: 161
You can see on the front of 072 my bull bar is missing. The previous owner, Tim, said it kept cracking on the corregations in FNQ so he took it off. A good way to lose a bit of weight I reckon.



From Two Mad Men and a Truck

--
OKA #072

February 3, 2012 at 12:52 AM Flag Quote & Reply

David Hallandal
Member
Posts: 133
There is a upgrade on the bull bar mounting system to prevent this from happening where the bull bar bolts on to the Chassis. The upgraded bull bar mounts are a lot longer.


Above the Original Mount

The Old and the New

The Old and the New Bull Bar Mounts
--
David Hallandal
OKA-131 Home Page
OKA Camper Trailer
XT and LT Service Manuals on CD For Sale
20mm Spring Hanger Upgrade Kits For Sale

February 3, 2012 at 7:53 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Peter & Sandra James Oka 374
Member
Posts: 412
When we got 374 the winch and mounting cradle were already gone so I bought one of the Tigerz 12k winches with plasma rope and the mounting cradle to go with it.
Chopped up and modified a Toyota 75 series Hayman Reese towbar to fit behind the front bull/bumper bar, the receiver tube is just behind the original fairlead hole in the front bumper.
The winch lives in the boot and can be plugged in either end of the Oka when needed.
Its out of the weather and the weight isn't on the front.
374 already has the larger bullbar mounts.
--
Oka 374 LT Van

February 3, 2012 at 8:19 AM Flag Quote & Reply

Dandj
Member
Posts: 367
Yes the front bullbar is seriously heavy and its cantilever design stresses the mounting points.
Maybe it's time to replace the superstructure with an aluminium frame bolted to the steel bumper section. If it's good enough for Mac trucks...
On a lighter note, this is how to replace a front bullbar:



On the Anne Beadell, after the corrugations broke a mounting bolt. One supervisor, one bolt fixer, one photographer and 2 lifters.
--
David and Janet Ribbans, Oka 148

February 3, 2012 at 8:42 AM