Squeaky Dakars : Any advice from others with the Dakars ?

Pretty sure you can buy it online

 

Huh. Damn! Never heard of it, but it looks good. But that would have been the smart thing to do. After what I did doesn't work I'll have to try it out. Rust is a never ending battle where I'm at so I'm trying to be proactive.

 

http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/0477985P/rust-cure-rust-cure-formula-3000-reviews/reviews.htm

 

Thanks. I'll do that. I've already painted them with a enamel though. It should be fine right?

 

Yep

 

Lol. Tell me about it. I live in a rainforest by the ocean...and they salt the roads about 5 months a year. If I can keep it at bay for a little while then I'll chalk it up as a win. If not I'll cross that rusty bridge when the truck gets there.

 

Spray Rust Cure or Fluid Film on your leafs prior to install and then annually

 

Sweet. The weather here is close to BC's on the coast, so it should work. I can't believe I've never heard about this. I was looking into rust converters. Rust literally kills rigs here. My wife will now be stuck with her subie for a few extra years now.

 

I found some Fluid film locally. So I'm set on that. What's the general consensus on greasing between the leaves? I've heard both ways. I was thinking I'd fluid film them and then grease them up and slap them together. Am I just making more work for myself here?

 

Thanks. That seems like it should work fine. I'd rather not install a shippery pack. I'm going to have two sexy packs by the time this is all said and done.
They're very silent now.

 

Here's my version...

I bought a 2' sheet of 40mil PVC shower liner at Home Depot and cut it into 2.5" strips. I sandwiched a strip of liner between all leaves except the bottom two overload leaves. Chassis grease on everything. Its not pretty but I'm hoping it'll work and last.

One question...the addition of the liner made me have to compress one side of the pack to get it under the inner most retainer (right side of first pic). Should I remove the bolt for this retainer?

 

Are those zip ties ?

 

That's what I was wondering.
My suspension knowledge is limited(but I'm learning as much as possible) and I'm no Dakar expert like OZ but, if those are Zip Ties...I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to have them between your leafs.

 

Yep, those are zip ties.

I was kind of wondering the same thing as I was putting them together. I tried to stagger them so they didn't all stack up in one spot and create a huge pressure point.

I could easily release some tension on the pack and pull the zip ties out. I just didnt want the PVC sheeting to work its way out from the leaf pack.

 

I just wrapped(overlapping) my rubber sheeting around the leafs that will come in contact. I think that the pressure of the leafs being pressed together should keep the liner in place. See my picture below:


I'm under the impression that the idea behind the pond liner/rubber strips is to have a very thin but durable material placed in between potential problematic contact points on the leaf pack. If I understand correctly, it's best to have a very minimal amount of space between the leafs. Note, in the picture above, I have yet to tighten the Center Pin down to compress the leafs together.

 

I don't think it will hurt anything but they may cut your sheeting or snap from the leafs pinching them

 

Nice work guys. I'm interested to hear how it works out for you.
To think, the ARB guy I contacted said that they didn't have any complaints about squeaky Dakar's.
Well, mine are still silent...for now.

 

I think what I'll do is relieve the tension and remove the zip ties from between the leaves. I'll then install longer zip ties around the entire pack by the two retaining brackets. The end result should be the same; keep the liners from working out of the pack.

Rear springs will go in the truck this afternoon as long as weather holds!

 

This seems to be the kit, going to pick some up tomorrow.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_354912-48650-SPPLP_0__?productId=3546732

 

So guess what a 1st gen full military wrap prevents you from doing...



Yes, that's right. No prying these apart far enough to insert jack shit.

So...





I put a double layer on the front end and back end of the leafs. Still need to grease and reassemble and do the other leaf. The contact pints on each leaf and each end varied a bit, so I just opted to use full width pieces from the roll of pond patch kit. You could squeak by with one kit if you cut them a little narrower that the width of the leafs, but I think it is better to just buy two kits...so I'll need to get another tomorrow.