Logsplitter’s travels in his Grenadier.

[Logsplitter]

I can push the cables out inc the grommet with one finger. Very loose. Also the cable clip that joins the two cables together is not attached to the bodywork. it also seems that routing or connection of cable is not right as attached to heat shroud and to another pipe with cable ties. These are not my fixings. The only cable ties I’ve used are as in above pictures on earlier post

 

[Logsplitter]

I crawled under a new Grenadier today and cables seem better/tighter fix. That spare bracket hole in the last photo I’m going to bend around the cables and have a big cable tie or wire around for extra security on my vehicle

 

[DaveB]

I crawled under a new Grenadier today and cables seem better/tighter fix. That spare bracket hole in the last photo I’m going to bend around the cables and have a big cable tie or wire around for extra security on my vehicle View attachment 7842667View attachment 7842668View attachment 7842669View attachment 7842670

Obvious answer.
Stop pushing the cables with your finger

 

[Logsplitter]

Travels continued.
After leaving Livingstones camp we head back out through the flooded dirt tracks and then head east back along the Caprivi staying at couple of camps along the Kavango river, where I try my luck at fishing but no luck for tiger fish or cat fish. At camp after reading a post on the forum I decided to better secure coolant pipes with cables ties as some have an aweful lot of movement in them when shaking by hand and would have way more movevent on rough roads. After a couple of relaxing days on the river we head south east towards Tsumkwe staying at a game ranch en route. Many hours driving on good graded dirt roads. Cruising along at 80kph I hit a pothole on what was otherwise a good road. About 5km after this we had to stop at a veterinary and police checkpoint so I decided to check auxiliary radiators as pothole and corrugations are what make them come out of there fixings. Sure enough the left hand radiator was out of its fixings again but grommets not lost as I had glued them on. I took the time to reinstall the radiator and then reinforce with extra thick cables ties which I did for the other radiator to whilst stopped at the check point. Since then the big cable ties have held up for 2k plus km.

 

[Logsplitter]

KHAUDOM NATIONAL PARK
From Tsumkwe we head north into the wilds of Khaudom after filling up with fuel and water. Now this place is real wild. Thick bush, deep sand and boggy peaty river crossings and elephants around every corner. We spent three days here venturing up to the north of the park where the sand is even deeper.
The bush is lush after resent rains and the grass along the tracks is high. Game viewing is difficult as bush so thick but many big herds of elephant. At some points we just have to sit tight as surrounded by elephants. I fitted a seed net to the front of the vehicle as grass high and In seed. It was definitely needed.
My second time to Khaudom and I love it. It’s truly wild. You have to be prepared as you could be lost for days if you broke down or got stuck on one of the many small tracks through the bush.
Technically youre only allowed in with a minimum two vehicles or in convoy because of its remoteness and high chances of getting stuck. The lady at the southern entrance gate looked at our vehicle and said you’ll be fine

 

[lagartoboy]

View attachment 7842699View attachment 7842700KHAUDOM NATIONAL PARK
From Tsumkwe we head north into the wilds of Khaudom after filling up with fuel and water. Now this place is real wild. Thick bush, deep sand and boggy peaty river crossings and elephants around every corner. We spent three days here venturing up to the north of the park where the sand is even deeper.
The bush is lush after resent rains and the grass along the tracks is high. Game viewing is difficult as bush so thick but many big herds of elephant. At some points we just have to sit tight as surrounded by elephants. I fitted a seed net to the front of the vehicle as grass high and In seed. It was definitely needed.
My second time to Khaudom and I love it. It’s truly wild. You have to be prepared as you could be lost for days if you broke down or got stuck on one of the many small tracks through the bush.
Technically youre only allowed in with a minimum two vehicles or in convoy because of its remoteness and high chances of getting stuck. The lady at the southern entrance gate looked at our vehicle and said you’ll be fine View attachment 7842698View attachment 7842697View attachment 7842696View attachment 7842695View attachment 7842694View attachment 7842693

I dig your kudu hood ornament!

 

[anand]

I crawled under a new Grenadier today and cables seem better/tighter fix.

Glad to see it was "updated" as we (US PTO2 drivers) were told

 

[acwiltshire]

View attachment 7842535View attachment 7842536

Ineos part number 18728#Hamb./finish the gren yourself / 16747 Z

 

[acwiltshire]

Ineos know this now and are surely addressing. I will get a fix in Windhoek and will be under the vehicle to check myself.. The cables need to be completely enclosed in a clamp so they can’t fall out. I’m confident I will get fixed. But why didn’t this issue come up in prototype testing. I am over 18k km in and loaded for the whole journey. I’m wondering of all the vehicles that did the 1.8m km of testing how many did that distance loaded and probably 30% dirt roads . Not many I guess.
I’m doing the testing for them at my expense. . Can’t complain as they have supported me through the issues. It just seems to me as a layman that the issues I’ve had are so basic that they should not have happened.
I could go under this vehicle with an Ineos engineer and identify issues that should not be there in a vehicle built for purpose. Cable fixings, auxiliary radiator fixings and coolant pipe fixings top the list.
Dont get me wrong it’s a great vehicle and I love it All the major components are spot on but fixings for cables pipes and ancillary equipment needs addressing in my view.
Many more thousands of km to go on far rougher roads once I get fixed up in Windhoek.Then i head north into unknown territory for me

You do indeed deserve to go on the IA payroll as "consultant proper tester".

 

[Logsplitter]

Probably in his head?

Infact @JeanMercier you are quite right I don’t have a list. The rougher the roads the more I check. If I’m doing long drives on good tar then I just check fluids and cursory look around the car before setting off. On rough roads I will do a more thorough check and crawl underneath to check for anything loose.
I’m always listening to the vehicle as I hate squeaks and rattles. In fact I had an annoying rattle before Christmas that I could not identify. I left Liberty the Grenadier with Ineos Kavango in Maun and they serviced and checked over the vehicle for me whilst I returned to the U.K. for family get together. They identified the airbox rattling so fabricated and fixed an extra support bracket.
On top of that I found the awning fixings to the rhino rack had snapped. 6 out of 8 fixings had snapped. I didn’t have the proper T slot brackets for the rhino rack platform so had some made up. Pretty poor welding so I’ve gradually replaced with my own fixings/Bolts and washers and will pick up genuine fixings in Windhoek.

 

[Jean Mercier]

Infact @JeanMercier you are quite right I don’t have a list.

That's what I thought: too busy travelling, visual check of "everything", listening to the car, smelling, and rechecking previous repairs, no list needed

 

[Defenderlover]

Hi Logsplitter, when I see how much loose/dry/inflammable stuff gathers between the muffler and the protection shield, I would take the shield off and close all the openings of the shield and the surrounding area with wire mesh. Trough the wire mesh you get enough ventilation! Your Grenadier has the same mesh in the openings of the front bumper.
Ineos has to change this part around the muffler as soon as possible! Even if it wouldn`t get hot enough there to ignite the accumulated stuff, it`s an insufficient construction!
On your way back to Windhoek you shouldn`t miss Kaokoveld, Brandberg, Mesum Crater and Spitzkoppe. These are outstanding places in Namibia!
Thanks for your travel blog, Hans!

 

[stickshifter]

Hi Logsplitter, when I see how much loose/dry/inflammable stuff gathers between the muffler and the protection shield, I would take the shield off and close all the openings of the shield and the surrounding area with wire mesh. Trough the wire mesh you get enough ventilation! Your Grenadier has the same mesh in the openings of the front bumper.
Ineos has to change this part around the muffler as soon as possible! Even if it wouldn`t get hot enough there to ignite the accumulated stuff, it`s an insufficient construction!
On your way back to Windhoek you shouldn`t miss Kaokoveld, Brandberg, Mesum Crater and Spitzkoppe. These are outstanding places in Namibia!
Thanks for your travel blog, Hans!

Just a few days ago I posted that the rear skid plate looks like - under certain conditions - it will get packed with icy/slushy/snow. If that winter mix is also full of salt or magnesium chloride it won't be good for the vehicle. A really frozen block will also be hard to clear and could be stuck in there for a while - depending on temperatures and whether you have a heated garage or park outdoors.

Today we see the skid plate filled with grass/brush. I think the rear skid plate is a good idea, but its not well executed. Some steel bars with no plate could provide similar protection without the same problem of things getting trapped in the space. Maybe it would also be possible to design it with a little more clearance. Perhaps an opportunity for the aftermarket?

P.S. Elephants are awesome. Nice photos @Logsplitter

 

[Logsplitter]

Just a few days ago I posted that the rear skid plate looks like - under certain conditions - it will get packed with icy/slushy/snow. If that winter mix is also full of salt or magnesium chloride it won't be good for the vehicle. A really frozen block will also be hard to clear and could be stuck in there for a while - depending on temperatures and whether you have a heated garage or park outdoors.

Today we see the skid plate filled with grass/brush. I think the rear skid plate is a good idea, but its not well executed. Some steel bars with no plate could provide similar protection without the same problem of things getting trapped in the space. Maybe it would also be possible to design it with a little more clearance. Perhaps an opportunity for the aftermarket?

P.S. Elephants are awesome. Nice photos @Logsplitter

Take the rear silencer out then no need for that specific skid plate. That’s my thinking

 

[bakepl]

I can push the cables out inc the grommet with one finger. Very loose. Also the cable clip that joins the two cables together is not attached to the bodywork. it also seems that routing or connection of cable is not right as attached to heat shroud and to another pipe with cable ties. These are not my fixings. The only cable ties I’ve used are as in above pictures on earlier post View attachment 7842661View attachment 7842662View attachment 7842663

Yes, seems this plastic keeper that holds the cables to the body work is the failure point, it falls off and then the rubber grommets easily fall out dropping the cables onto the driveshaft. Hopefully Ineos comes up with a better solution - perhaps a newly designed keeper with a proper nut that secures it on to the body?

 

[Tazzieman]

I crawled under a new Grenadier today and cables seem better/tighter fix. That spare bracket hole in the last photo I’m going to bend around the cables and have a big cable tie or wire around for extra security on my vehicle View attachment 7842669

I'm adding some speed nuts to my spares box. At a pinch if needed I can connect to those screws nearby and attach an alloy strip (also in my spares box) . Easier than trying to find a ziptie point.

 

[David van Breda]

Well done Dave!!
Thankfully nobody got eaten by the lions!

 

[ECrider]

Well done Dave!!
Thankfully nobody got eaten by the lions!

definitely need a emoji @Stu_Barnes for such efforts.

not all heroes wear capes @Logsplitter

 

[Logsplitter]

Well done Dave!!
Thankfully nobody got eaten by the lions!

You know what I didn’t even get a thank you from the driver although the German tourists were appreciative. I think the driver was so concerned about his vehicle and guests to remember to thank me. And no equipment. His truck was wedged against a tree and the driver trying to cut it with a pen knife. We supplied the saw and all the recovery kit.

 

[Logsplitter]

I'm adding some speed nuts to my spares box. At a pinch if needed I can connect to those screws nearby and attach an alloy strip (also in my spares box) . Easier than trying to find a ziptie point.

Can you send a link to speed nuts please I don’t know them. I will add to my kit of cable ties, silicone , sealant ,gaffer tape, roll of garden wire. nuts bolts screws etc electrical connectors and so on