Gary Junction Road

The Gary Junction Road (also called the Kintore Road, Desert Road or WA Border Access Road) is now a major outback highway providing an essential link between Alice Springs and many Aboriginal communities in western area of the Northern Territory and eastern part of Western Australia, including Papunya, Kintore, Kiwikurra and Kunawaritji.


The Gary Junction Road and Gary Highway are easy to confuse. The Gary Junction Road runs west from Alice Springs beyond the West MacDonnell Ranges for around 1000 km into WA. It ends at Gary Junction, near where it crosses the Canning Stock Route at Kunawaritji near Well 33.


The Gary Highway leads due south for 400 km, from Gary Junction though the Gibson Desert and ends at Everard Junction on the Gunbarrel Highway.


I hope that's all cleared up now.

The Gary Junction Road west

Although it follows the line of Len Beadell's original track, the Gary Junction Road has been re-graded into a wide relatively smooth gravel highway.

Access to this road can be via the Tanami Track, northwest of Alice Springs, or west through the MacDonnell Ranges and Haasts Bluff to Papunya. The latter route is much more interesting, but slower. It could easily take you a week just to reach Papunya if you stop at all the best spots along the ranges.

Gary Junction Road from a nearby sand dune

In 2007 and 2008, the Gary Junction Road was in good condition and fuel was available at the 4 Aboriginal communities scattered along its length, although getting progressively more expensive the further west you travel. A permit is required to travel this road but is easily obtained on-line. Note that actually 2 permits are required, one for the NT section and another for the WA section.

West MacDonnell Ranges

Redbank Gorge

Redbank Gorge, the water is freezing

One of the best and least known spots is Redbank Gorge, the last of the recognised gorges in the West MacDonnell Ranges National Park. It's west of Glen Helen and beyond the end of the bitumen but it has a nice quiet campsite as few people seem to venture that far out from Alice Springs.

Haasts Bluff


Haasts Bluff is an impressive rock formation at the end of Larapinta Drive at the far western end of the MacDonnell Ranges. Not surprisingly, it is an important site to the local Luritja people and is known by them as Ikuntji (Creeks Crossing). See this link.

Haasts Bluff

Haasts Bluff, side view

Frederick Blakeley Memorial

Fred Blakely Memorial

At the foot of Haasts Bluff is a memorial to Frederick Blakeley. He was an explorer and prospector of the early 1900's whose primary claim to fame was that his favoured means of transport in the outback was the bicycle, which he considered to be superior to the horse. This probably contributed to the failure of his biggest project, a 1930 expedition to rediscover Lasseters legendary gold reef. See this link.

Papunya and its circles

Papunya is the first large aboriginal community west from Alice Springs on the Gary Junction Road and it's curious, not for it's store or fuel pumps which are quite adequate although difficult to locate, but from the town's layout. Although not obvious from the ground, the town's roads are laid out as a series of interconnecting circles and you can best see this by locating Papunya in Google Earth or Google Maps and zooming in. There appears to be only one Papunya in the world so it's easy to find.

The circular road layout of the Papunya Community

West from Papunya the road becomes a pleasant scenic drive past low mountain ranges, through green and flowering desert bushland and between delightful stands of desert oaks. It was much prettier than we had expected, the road was fairly smooth with a few patches of corrugations and we met only a handful of fellow travellers, plus a few camels.

Camels using the Gary Junction Road

Mount Liebig

Mount Liebig Range

Mount Liebig is one of the highest mountains along the Gary Junction Road at 1500m and the sloping forms of the ranges look soft and mellow in the morning light.

First of Len Beadell's plaques

About 20 km past Mount Liebig, we come to the first of Len Beadell's plaques on this road. The exact reason for this sign escapes us as it simply says Alice Springs 204 M left, Giles 354 M right, Sandy Blight Junction 103 M right. Even in his biography, this sign is described, not by a feature such as a road junction or geographic location, but as "12M west of Mt Liebig".

Len Beadell marker

Once you have discovered your first marker you are henceforth on the look out for many more and there are more than 60 scattered around Len Beadell's tracks, mostly at significant points along the way.

Len Beadell Marker

Description of LB's plaque strategy and history.

Len Beadell had a strategy of erecting aluminium marker signs, or plaques, on all his tracks to indicate road junctions, prominent geographic features, major camp grounds for his working party or just as mileposts. He wanted his roads to be useful to future travellers as well as for the scientific purpose for which they were built. So, in his own words, he deliberately routed his tracks as close as possible to points of interest to future travellers and erected informative marker signs for the same reason.

He would make the plaques as the roads were being built using letter punches to stamp out the information on aluminium rectangles, but without the distances marked. These would be mounted on posts, significant trees or when all else failed, on the top of 44 gallon drums. He would cut out 3 sides of a rectangle on the top of the drum and bend the flap up to hold the plaque. In the absence of a drill he would use his revolver to shoot the holes in the drum to take the nuts and bolts. Once the roads had been built, he would drive back along them measuring the exact distance on the odometer of his LandRover and fill in the missing distances.

Unfortunately many of his original plaques have been souvenired, damaged or lost over the years and his family, primarily daughter Connie, has been progressively replacing them with exact replicas. Some originals have been removed for safe keeping and can be seen at Giles Meteorological Office but a few original signs still exist, mostly on his less travelled tracks. A good original example is one from 1958 on the Great Central Road, still there, no doubt, due to the 23 nails fixing it to the tree.

An original Len Beadell marker on the Great Central R

Sandy Blight Junction

Sandy Blight Junction marks the northern end of the Sandy Blight Junction Road which leads up from Giles on the Great Central Road. Or does it?

Intriguingly, Len Beadell's party actually continued the track north from Sandy Blight Junction for a further 37 kms into uncharted desert areas for no apparent reason. The track north looks in very good condition, which is not surprising, as it leads nowhere and therefore carries no traffic. The faint red line winding north on the map below stops abruptly in a huge mess of sand dunes with no obvious destination in sight.

Unused track goes 37 km north from Sandy Blight Junction, but why?

Why? Was he beaten by the difficulties presented by the sand dunes? Not very likely, Len Beadell was never one to give in. Was he aiming for the Aboriginal community at Nyirripi, 85 kms to the north east, and thus close the loop to Yuendumu on the Tanami Track? That's quite plausible, since on Len Beadell's original marker plaque (see below), which is now located at Giles with a replica at Sandy Blight Junction, he shows a track north to Vaughan Springs, but with no distance marked, just a blank space then "M" for miles. Vaughan Springs is 50 kms north east of Nyirripi in the Treuer Range, so the theory that the Sandy Blight Junction Road was eventually intended to link up with the Tanami Track seems a rational explanation.

The intriguing Sandy Blight Junction Marker  (now at Giles for safekeeping)

Like his other tracks, Beadell would put up plaques as the roads were built and then come back subsequently to mark actual distances on them after they were finished. This plaque was never completed. But why was the track to Vaughan Springs not completed? Maybe he was getting beyond his main geographic area of activity and was called back to more pressing work?

Sandy Blight Junction sign and the unused track north

One other school of thought is that the Gary Junction Road was originally going to be located further north, but was subsequently re-routed further south. Sandy Blight Junction would thus end up where it is now, south of the actual end of the track. That would leave the top end of the track unused, and explain the conundrum. **NOTE: See the comments below this blog for further explanations.**

The sign at Sandy Blight Junction, it was more like 400 km to the Great Central Road

Don't ignore the grand 4 WHEEL DRIVE ONLY sign if you feel tempted to go south down the track towards Giles and the Great Central Road, it's a quite interesting but tortuous route, and further than the 340 km the sign suggests, nearer 400 km. Also some wag had deleted the trailing zero from the other sign post. It might be 27 km to Kintore but it's certainly not 25 km from Papunya, more like 250 km.

WA/NT border

At the NT/WA border there is an original Len Beadell plaque mounted on a white painted post. Turning our watches back 1.5 hours seemed a pointless exercise out here, so we switch them off completely and relied on our biological clocks, which are quite reliable. I know when I'm hungry or tired without the aid of a watch.

NT-WA border plaque

Beadell's Ration Truck at Kiwikurra

In November 1960, during construction of the Gary Junction Road, the team's ration truck caught fire and was totally destroyed, 51 km east of the town of Kiwikurra. A sign has been erected at the site and the partially restored truck with additional information is now housed at Kiwikurra.

Site of the burnt out ration truck, now relocated at kiwikurra

Reporting on the funny side of a total disaster, Len Beadell tells the story that seeing that the 1400 l water tank was boiling and set to explode, he shot a hole in the side of it with his revolver, and finding some tea leaves in the debris, made a cup of tea. The sugar had melted into the sand so it was a question of one shovelful or two?

Len Beadell's burnt out ration truck at Kiwikurra

The only significant items they could recover from the wreck of the ration truck were the springs, which they subsequently removed to repair a trailer.

Jupiter Well and Desert Oaks

Jupiter Well is one of those places that you always wish for and hope to find but never quite seem to.


There is wide camping area is set under a large stand of swaying desert oaks with the breeze through their branches providing a soothing background sound. In the centre is a hand pump installed by a survey company in the 1960's which pumps good quality water.

Jupiter Well camping area

With good water, ample shade and a beautiful setting, we stayed for 2 nights, did some washing and wandered over the nearby sand dunes. The only downside was the number of flies about, but that's not something which is confined to Jupiter Well, and anyway we had a 2 m square pop-up screen room with us so we could sit, read and drink in the atmosphere unafflicted by wildlife.

Pumping water at Jupiter Well

And best of all, it's free.


Gary Junction

After about 1000 km from Alice Springs we reached Gary Junction, after which the road was named. This point is the junction of the Gary Highway, the Gary Junction Road, the Jenkins Track and the Callawa Track (sometimes incorrectly spelled Callowa Track).

The Gary Junction, Gary Highway left, Jenkins Track ahead, Callawa Track right

There is a Len Beadell plaque on a 44 gallon drum sitting in centre of a triangle of tracks and a visitors book in a steel box, which make interesting reading. It's amazing what innermost feelings people will blurt out in the anonymity of a visitors book, and we are no different.

The markers where the Gary Road Junction Road and Gary Highway meet

We really feel like we are in remote country now, with the shortest distance on the plaque being 320 MILES (500 km). Alice Springs is 630 M, Sandy Blight Junction 320 M, Carnegie Station 360 M, and Warburton 380 M. They sound a lot further converted to km.

The Gary Junction Junction plaque

The Jenkins track is actually the continuation of the Gary Junction Road and leads the seemingly trivial distance of 50 km to the Kunawaritji community and store where it crosses the Canning Stock Route (CSR) near Well 33. Thereafter that road leads across the top of the Rudall River National Park to the Telfer Gold Mine and then on to Marble Bar.

The Callawa Track is now a very overgrown and little used track, leading north to the CSR and then across the Great Sandy Desert to 80 Mile Beach, and there is a warning sign to this effect erected at the start.

The Gary Junction Road was a pleasant and fairly easy trip. It was prettier and more scenic than expected and with fuel and supplies now available at the aboriginal community stores along the way it was not too risky. Of course, having got this far you still need a substantial strategy for getting on to the next destination or back home.

At Gary Junction however, we branched off down the CSR on our first trip and down the Gary Highway on a subsequent trip (see Gary Highway and our 2007 Outback Trek), which are the subjects of separate articles.


Comments received:


Motherhen commented:


A good descriptive blog Danji. I believe the Len Beadell plague near Mt Leibig is for Leibig Bore. It fits the distances desribed in his books. We camped there, and there is a bore which has been a numbered Government well, however it is no longer operational nor is the water accessible.


John R (cQld) commented:


Re the road north from Sandy Blight Junction, Len writes in his book "Beating About the Bush": "Our earlier intention was to make a further 150-kilometre link northwards and eastwards to join up with the existing Tanami-Halls Creek track at Mt Doreen, but as it happened the 1000-odd kilometre access to Marble Bar became more urgently needed." He then came back to the junction and did the road east to Liebig Bore, then headed west towards Marble Bar (though it was a couple of years before he eventually made that connection). No doubt a road to Mt Doreen became something "for the future", but never completed.


Dandj replied:


John, many thanks for that explanation. It's been bugging me for some time and I'm glad my basic assumptions were correct.
In Len Beadell's biography "A Lifetime in the Bush", it says that the SBJR was completed on 4 July 1960 as far as "the SBJ area" but the exact location of Sandy Blight Junction itself (and hence the position of the Gary Junction Road) wasn't determined until 27 August 1960, and obviously that was south of the end of his SBJR workings. It also says "a further 16 miles (26 km) of road was constructed but never used". So now we know. The rest of 1960 was spent on the GJR east and west from SBJ. The completion of the SBJR to Mount Doreen (only 50 km NE from Vaughan Springs) on the Tanami Track presumably got overtaken by other priorities as you suggest. Pity, it would have made a pretty interesting drive.

Safety and Emergency Equipment on our Oka

Important Note:
If you have an HF Radio, first read this document regarding current (2011) changes to the RFDS emergency call procedure using an HF radio on the VKS-737 network.
If you have a Satphone read this document for accessing the RFDS.
If you don't have either an HF Radio or Satphone in your vehicle (or travel group) you are putting yourselves at unnecessary risk when away from major towns or highways.
Refer also to these outback safety documents:

• RFDS Safe Outback Travel (straight forward stuff from people who should know),
• WA Police Bushcraft and Survival Guide (120 pages of very useful stuff, download and read before travelling, and put a copy in your Emergency Rucksack).
• Suzi and Ruedi's insight into safe traveling in their Oka.

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Safety and Emergency Equipment in our Oka:
Apart from the usual recovery gear (jacks, towropes, hub adaptor, spade, sand mats etc, see our separate post on our Recovery and Maintenance Gear) we also carry the following range of safety gear and emergency equipment in our Oka.
Electronic/Electrical Equipment:
1) 406MHz EPIRB (this should preferably be one that includes a GPS (GME MT403G) for faster and more accurate positional location, (minutes, not hours, and to 100 m accuracy).

• The EPIRB should be tested regularly, but activated only in cases of grave and imminent danger. Also ensure that emergency contact (next of kin) details are registered with ASAR and up to date as they will be contacted before any SAR activities are mounted, to avoid false alarms. You can also upload your planned trip route to assist with verifying an emergency call. Both can be done via the Beacons page following registration.

2) Strobe/Flare Flashlight (orange) for attracting attention at night.

Strobe/Flare flashlight and EPIRB on quick-release mountings

The strobe/flare emits a powerful orange flash which can be seen for many km after dark. Test it regularly. [Eflare EF350 Safety Beacon, available from Exploroz].
3) HF Radio plus a range of antennas:

• Tapped whip for all VKS-737 and RFDS frequencies,
• Super Rod 9m whip for 8022 kHz, (see here) plus a 4.5 m extension cable to tune it to 5455 kHz (and most RFDS channels which are around 5 mHz),
• Long wire emergency antennas for 8022 and 5455 kHz, (for 8022kHz, length 8.88 metres/29.17 feet, for 5455kHz, length 13.06 metres/42.90 feet, thick insulated wire such as used for garden lighting).

[Important: Regarding the Red Emergency Button on your radio, from December 2010 (ie from NOW on), use of the Emergency Call Button facility has been phased out by the RFDS and will no longer be monitored, (see the press release here ).
So if you have a Selcall facility use that, but you'll need to know the numbers. Otherwise call a VKS base during sked times, or make a broadcast call, someone will likely be listening and can forward a message to the authorities. If you have a Satphone call the RDFS direct on these numbers. If that fails, in a real emergency, activate your EPIRB.]

Note: Call in (don't just listen) regularly at sked times for a radio check. This will provide confidence that your radio will transmit effectively when needed. It's also very important that all party members, especially your spouse and kids, know how to use the radio, including erecting and connecting the emergency antenna.

9m SuperRod antenna erected (beware of overhead power lines when erecting any antenna, sandflag pole etc)

4) Moving map computer based navigation system (Oziexplorer pc software with 250,000:1 scale maps of the whole country (Etopo series from Exploroz here). These plus a GPS will give you local positional and terrain information to a few metres resolution, depending on the age of the maps. (If you are a Mac person, Oziexplorer runs well on a MacBook under VirtualBox/XP),

• If you know the route you are taking, it's possible, but a bit awkward, to pre-record your track on Google Earth for later replay. It might be useful to actually see what is just beyond the next hill or sand dune, or if the track you are on actually leads anywhere useful, but bear in mind Google Earth images may be out of date (eg summer vs winter) or poor resolution.

5) GPS x 2, a USB module (Globalsat BU-353 Mouse GPS) for connecting to our moving map computer system and a hand-held one (Garmin Extex Venture) for use when walking (can also be connected to the computer). These days many mobile phones/tablets can also be used offline for this purpose but probably won't be able to access a network for communication in more remote areas.
[Note, a SPOT Personal Tracking device or similar might provide additional peace of mind, so your position can be tracked remotely].

6) Telstra NextG phone. T100, effective and cheap ($49 from Dick Smith or Telstra shops), so you can afford 2 of them, with modem facilities (T100 works well as a modem using Telstra's JoinMe application, but is fairly slow), plus 2 external antennas (a whip and a Yagi).
[Note, our phone modem now being replaced by a Telstra Elite Mobile WiFi module for internet access, no need for the 4G model in remote locations, but an external antenna is a must].

• The Telstra NextG network provides the widest coverage of all networks, but not all the country is covered.
• A NextG phone with the Telstra Blue Tick and provision for an external antenna connection is necessary for best coverage.
• Note: not classed as emergency equipment but surprisingly useful in many remote areas and with a longer range than a hand-held CB. (But see note below),

7) Hand-held CB radios (GME 610 x 2). Note: not classed as emergency equipment but useful for convoys or when walking in groups. Always take one with you if you wander off alone but ensure both are turned ON, obviously. I've modified ours to enable a full size, roof/bull bar mounted CB antenna to be connected, for longer range.

• Useless for long range emergency communications. (See note below).

Note: CB Radios and Mobile phones cannot be relied upon in all situations, especially away from major towns and highways. Always carry an HF radio or Satphone as well as CB/phone.
8) Emergency Engine Stop Button. If you (or quite possibly your passenger after an incident) need to stop the engine quickly, or if you break off the ignition key or can't access it, an Emergency Stop Button can be useful.

• We have a switch in the centre of the dashboard which simply cuts off the 12v supply to the fuel cut off solenoid on the injector pump. I sometime use it if the turbo time won't switch off. It can double as an immobiliser as well, as the engine can't start unless the solenoid is energised. It's also useful for spinning the engine without it starting, such as building up oil pressure after an oil change before applying a load to the bearings.

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Mechanical/Non Electrical Items:
1) Fire Extinguisher x 2, a larger 2 kg plus a 1 kg powder extinguisher. Two is safer than one in case one doesn't work when needed.

• They should be shaken up at least annually to avoid the powder packing down hard though vehicle vibration. We keep them just inside the door so they can be easily accessed from outside as well as inside. Ideally, one should really be nearer the cooker.

2) Fire Blanket. We have one located near the cooker.

• We had to use it once when a plastic mat got stuck unnoticed to the bottom of a saucepan which was then put back on the stove. Flames took hold and black acrid smoke filled the Oka surprisingly quickly. The blanket effectively stifled the flames but we had to evacuate while the vent fans removed the smoke. We had acesss to the fire extinguisher but luckily it wasn't needed, they can make an awful mess. The smoke alarm also went off adding to the drama.

3) Smoke Alarm. Ours has a light inside as well since it can be very dark at night when camped in remote locations.

• However, in the confines of a motorhome, false alarms while cooking can be a real but unavoidable nuisance, even with an extractor fan. I have fitted our alarm with an electronic inhibit function which times out after around 40 minutes, long enough to cook a meal, or it can be manually reset earlier. (See this electronics article, and scroll down to "Temporarily silencing a smoke alarm". As far as I know this is not available commercially, I built by own).
• The non-recomended alternatives are to cover it up (shower cap) or take the batteries out of the alarm, but both options are a serious safety risk until they are returned to normal operation. Chubb/Quell sell smoke alarms with a 10-15 minute "hush" function but that is not long enough and anyway they still activate if the smoke density subsequently increases.

4) Drinking Water Filter

Clean purified drinking water can prevent many of the annoying stomach upsets caused by drinking water from dubious sources. Even clear running water can harbour dangerous microbes.

• A 0.5 micron water filter will filter out most of the nasty chemicals and bacteria which can cause digestive tract infections.
• When bush walking we also carry water bottles fitted with small outlet filters. This allows us to refill them from any source if we really had to. But don't use cordial or similar in these bottles, it will clog up the filters immediately.
• We also carry water purification tablets available from camping and outback stores.

In an emergency, water can be purified using SODIS, a cheap Solar Water Disinfection method, pioneered by the Swiss. See this site for simple instructions. I was put on to this method from Suzi and Reudi's website but their link is dead.

• Fill one or several clear PET plastic  or clear glass bottles with contaminated water (filtered to remove as much cloudiness/turbidity as possible),
• Leave (lying down is best) in full sun for at least 6 hours, protected from wind and kept as hot as possible to aid the process.
• This will kill the bacteria in the water, see these FAQ's.
• Drink direct from the bottle to avoid re-contamination.
• Algae can grow during and afer this process but are apparently NOT harmful.
• Purified water can be kept for long periods in sealed bottles without re-contamination.

5) Snake Bite treatment. In remote locations, a serious snake bite can prove fatal.

• Taking supplies and instructions for snake bite treatment (using the vital Pressure Immobilisation Bandaging procedure) can be a life-saver (detailed instructions here).
• Refer to a separate Snake Bite Discussion Notes page here).

6) Lifebuoy. If you regularly swim, or camp with children near water, a Lifebuoy or similar would be essential.

• We don't have one but we would have floating items (eg foam cushions) we could throw in. A simple "throw bag" device with a rope attached would seem a good investment and are available here or here.

7) Comprehensive First Aid kit and manuals, (see here for outback First Aid Kit suggestions),
     7.1) These are the first aid/medical items in our kit, roughly in the order we most use them:

• Prescription medications
• Vitamin B1 to reduce the effect of mosquito bites
• Insect repellant
• Antiseptic Cream
• Lots of Band Aids (larger cloth types stick on better and last longer than the small thin plastic bandaids which don't stick to sweaty skin)
• Insect bite/sting cream/spray
• Antihistamine (Zyrtec) tablets to reduce the itchiness of sand fly bites
• Sunblock/sunburn cream
• Headache tablets
• Cold/Flu tablets
• Anti-fungal cream
• Indigestion tablets
• Deep Heat for muscular pain

     7.2) These are items we also carry but seldom use:

• Antibiotics (only for emergency infections like toothache and inflammation of small wounds, seek medical advice for more serious infections)
• Immodium for stomach upsets/diarrhoea (our water filter prevents most of these)
• Ural tablets for urinary tract infections
• Bonjela for sore gums
• Throat lozenges
• Eye wash
• Ear drops
• Bandages
• Wound closures
• Ankle/Wrist/Knee straps
• Water purification tablets

      7.3) We also now carry a defibrillator  (Philips/Laderal Heartstart HS1) in case of heart emergencies (most other people's but hopefully it would be used on ourselves if necessary).

8) Orange "V"-sheet for daytime visibility and also weather protection (available from marine suppliers, eg Whitworths, Bias Boating),
9) 4.5 M Fibreglass Sand Flag Pole. The base is permanently mounted on the front bullbar and the pole installed to provide a visual warning to oncoming vehicles when climbing steep sanddunes crests, or when it's essential for us to be seen such, as a breakdown at a dangerous location. Can also be used for hoisting radio aerials and emergency flags.
10) Emergency Rucksack, pre-packed, or which can be quickly packed with emergency supplies in case of fire, or major accident where we had to abandon or escape from the Oka quickly. We keep seldom used items in the rucksack all the time for a quicker getaway.
Contents:

• EPIRB, strobe/flare flashlight, hand-held GPS, hand-held CB radios, phone, spare (charged) batteries,
• Headlight/torch, reading glasses, compass, maps, whistle, mirror, "V"-sheet,
• First aid stuff, insect repellant, sterilisation tablets, emergency blanket/shade cover,
• Matches/lighter, collapsible plastic bucket, rope, Swiss Army knife,
• Water bottles (2 x 2 litres min., with filter elements), dry food (sweets/biscuits/dried fruit),
• Hats, jackets, ponchos, sneakers,
• Keys, money and cards (wallet/purse), paper and pen, survival checklist, sundry items.

Note: In any eventuality, stay close to the vehicle where you can more easily be found.
10) Lethal Flying Objects. Although not actual safety equipment, we do ensure that everything is securely fixed down and can't easily break loose in an accident to become lethal flying objects. This makes sense for travel over rough tracks anyway.

• There are bulkheads behind both seats to protect our heads and large items (eg fridge, cooker, water tanks (including the toilet), gas bottles, fire extinguishers, HF radio) are kept low down and have steel frames bolted to the vehicle sub-chassis and/or side frames, and they have never moved. Steel frames may be heavy but weight=strength=safety. [Note: Small bolts (anything under M6) and pop rivets can be points of failure, and also stainless steel should be avoided as it's much weaker than normal high tensile steel].

• Smaller items (bottles, cans, utensils, and tools-which can be very heavy) are kept in compartments that only open sideways, so they can't fly forwards. Our rear tailgate section contains heavy tools but has a fixed bulkhead fitted in front of it. In other types of vehicles a cargo barrier and/or tie down straps would be a must.

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Things we don't carry in our Oka:
Satphone (expensive, inflexible (can't broadcast widely), would duplicate the HF radio for some applications), but would be useful to call the RFDS,
Winch (heavy to carry around and would seldom be useful, except to pull other people out).

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Nice to Haves:
Programmable HF radio (our existing radio is old and reliable but only has 6 channels and no Selcall facilities). Yes, it does now. We have recently fitted a Jenal SC2 Selcall microphone to our radio, so we can now directly contact any RDFS base via selcalls through any VKS base.
I have also modified the radio so we can receive ABC and BBC shortwave broadcasts (amongst others).

Fixing the Leaking Steering Box

As we travelled the rough roads across the Gulf Of Carpentaria from Burketown to Booroloola, we noticed a drip of red oil from the power steering box. Checking the hydraulic fluid level revealed that the level had gone down about 1 inch. There was nothing that could be done on the side of the road except to top up the reservoir and carry on, mindful of the fact that on a Oka, the power assistance for the brakes also comes from the same hydraulic power source as the steering, so a loss of hydraulic pressure could be quite serious.

 

By Booroloola the leak had got worse and was traced to the seal around the input shaft on the top of the steering box. After a long search, we bought a 4 litre can of fluid from a mechanic in Boorloola, the last fluid in the town it would seem.

 

[Note: After doing this fix, it appears that that a major steering failure from a leaking seal on the input shaft is unlikely, unless the reservoir runs dry].

 

 

 

Red fluid oozing from the steering box.

On the stretch from Booroloola to Katherine, the leak stabilised but it was still losing about 250 ml a day, but what was worse was that the fluid dribbled down the outside of the steering box and was then liberally sprayed by the wind over the chassis, springs and eventually down the side of the Oka where of course the dust stuck to it, creating a sticky mess. We covered the steering box with a modified wine cask bladder to stop the dispersion of fluid but something permanent needed to be done, which could only happen after got home a month later.

The Fix

The steering box fitted to later Oka's (or as an Oka mod to replace the earlier Kirby-Bishop steering box) is a TRW TAS-30 box made by TRW Torfinasa, Spain. You won't find much data on this model which was fitted to a number of European small trucks. However, it is similar in style and operation to other TRW TAS series boxes so information on the TAS-40 to TAS-85 range is quite relevant.

 

The TRW identification label.

There are a number of useful TRW articles on their website which document the process of replacing the input shaft seal on a TAS series steering box. Even though none of them specifically relate to the TAS-30 steering box fitted to Oka's, these are the most relevant:

 

TAS Series Service Manual TRW1108 (more detail than you'll ever need)

Service Procedure TAS100 (On-vehicle repair procedures)

Input Shaft Resealing Instructions TRW800 (Useful descriptions with colour photos)

Replacing the input shaft seal can be done without removal of the steering box and takes the best part of a day, once you have the bits and understand the instructions. There is no need to remove the pitman arm or any other components under the vehicle

 

In a nut shell, you'll need to:

1) remove the radiator grille and LHS headlight frame, and unplug/move aside any cables which will get in the way,

2) remove the steering column shaft, including the lower UJ. (You can do this without removing the steering wheel housing by slitting the rubber boots to remove them and gluing or clamping them back together later. The metal top clamp and foot can also be cut to aid removal and refitting. Refer to our blog entry here for some details on this),

3) prepare for some fluid spillage (you might loose half a litre or so, it doesn't sound much but it can spread a long way),

4) thoroughly clean the top of the steering box,

5) remove the dust/dirt seal from around the input shaft, it's just clicked into a groove on the input shaft,

6) remove the internal circlip (or flat spiral spring clip in our case) from its slot above the seal,

7) temporarily replace the lower UJ on the input shaft and loosely fit a pinch bolt,

8) disconnect the hydraulic return hose from the steering box (it's the larger fitting and marked "R", see the photo below to ensure you get the correct one) and quickly cap the return outlet to avoid fluid loss,

9) quickly plug the end of the return hose,

10) tie an old piece of towelling around the shaft to contain any expressed fluid,

11) spin the engine for a few seconds but don't allow it to start (disconnect the wire to the fuel cut off solenoid on the injector pump). This builds up pressure in the hydraulic system and pops out the seal. Refitting the UJ prevents it shooting skywards. When you hear a "pop" as the seal pops out, stop spinning the engine immediately to reduce fluid loss.

12) remove the UJ and towelling and the old seal. The old seal was not damaged but the sealing lip had completely worn down (compared with the new one) and was barely making contact with the input shaft.

 

[There is actually not a lot of pressure behind this seal in normal operation, the real hydraulic pressure is directed to the steering rack pistons during a turn operation, or is simply returned to the reservoir (unless the return port is blocked, as when the seal is being forced out). So I think there was little risk of a major steering failure unless the reservoir ran dry.]

13) clean up the top of the steering box and reinsert the new seal, spring side downwards, grey side upwards. (This requires a special tool, plus some care to avoid inserting the seal too far. You can easily make a suitable tool, see notes below).

 

14) fit the new circlip, ensuring that it is fully in its slot,

 

15) reconnect the return hose and tighten fully,

 

16) bleed the system if required (it has an automatic bleed function so manual bleeding shouldn't be required if you follow the instructions and don't loose too much),

 

17) run the engine and check for leaks, and then grease and refit a new dust/dirt seal, it clicks in a groove on the input shaft with the lip in a slot on the top of the box,

18) refit the steering column, rubber boots, headlight frame and grille,

 

19) do a road test to exercise the steering box (carefully, the brakes are hydraulic powered as well as the steering), check for leaks and recheck the reservoir level. Do this several times over a few days.

What you need

1) An input shaft seal kit seal kit. I acquired this kit (part number TAS75/C1) from the local TRW importers, Complete Steering Australia Pty. Ltd, Phone (03) 9369 2659. They were familiar with the Oka steering box and the seal kit was around $80 delivered. This sounds a lot but it contains the seal, dust/dirt cover and new spring clip, plus a couple of other items not needed for this fix, and it's difficult to source from elsewhere.

Input Shaft Seal Kit.

2) 2 hydraulic fittings, a Ryco S56-12 or Pirtek AU-12 male plug, and a Ryco S65-12 or Pirtek AW-12 female cap, or equivalent (about $5 each). Hydraulic pressure is used to force the old seal out and these are for temporarily capping the return outlet on the box to create internal pressure, and plugging the return hose to prevent fluid loss.

 

Cap and Plug for the blanking off the return outlet and hose.

3) A special tool for inserting the seal. You can buy one ($US36 from the USA plus freight, assuming the J37073 is the correct size, or around $A100 quoted locally), or you can quite easily make something similar, as it's only a stepped cylinder. The TRW manual warns against using a socket to insert the seal since if you go too far it won't seal, and might require removal and disassembly of the steering box to recover it, which is a big job. However you can use a socket if you adapt one to prevent this from happening.

 

A long socket modified to avoid inserting the seal too deeply.

4) A couple of litres of Automatic Transmission Fluid (Dextron 111 or equivalent) to replenish the reservoir.

 

Modifying the seal insertion socket

 

You'll need a fairly deep socket, long enough internally to surround the input shaft plus a bit, and small enough in diameter to just fit inside the seal housing. A long, 1 1/8 inch A/F, or metric equivalent would suit. To that you can fit some clamps to prevent the socket from penetrating too deeply. Only 4.3 mm depth is required. You may notice that the clamps I used are actually some old Oka saddle clamps from drive shaft rear UJ's, which I opened out a bit and bolted across the socket. You could easily make some similar clamps using 3mm steel bar. I did try hose clips but they are not wide enough to sit on the seal housing and are not flush on their lower edges.

 

About 4.3 mm depth is required, no more.

After removing the circlip from above the old seal, I "calibrated" the modified socket by locating it over the input shaft and nipping up the clamp bolts while it was resting on the old seal. That gives it the correct depth. Make sure the clamps are then securely tightened as you don't want them to slip up during insertion of the seal and overdo things. It's better to leave things a little short than to drive the seal too deep.

 

Inserting the new seal

 

 

 

Follow the instruction above, or in the TRW documents. They are similar but I've added some practical tips. These photos may also help.

 

Old seal exposed after removing the circlip (or spiral spring clip in our case). The return hose and outlet plugged. Using the socket to insert the new seal. (The socket was calibrated this way too with the old seal in place) It was a little bit squeezy wielding the hammer above the inlet shaft (a slightly shorter socket would have been better), but it doesn't need too much force, and it's a good thing anyway if it prevents the seal from going in too far. In my case the seal didn't go in quite level so I had to tap the socket on one edge to level it up. The seal must only be inserted far enough for the circlip to fit fully in its slot. The circlip located in its slot above the new seal. After putting the new circlip in, I removed and replaced it a couple of times to ensure that it really was fully in the slot. You don't want the seal popping at the wrong moment and distributing fluid all over the Oka and road, and leaving you without steering or brakes. If the circlip is not quite in its slot, put the socket back on top of it and tap it down gently until it seats properly. Remove the plug and cap from the return hose and quickly reconnect to the steering box, to reduce fluid loss, and tighten fully.

To aid the bleeding process, and before reconnecting the steering column shaft and lower UJ, I ran the engine several times briefly as per the instructions, checking the reservoir level in between. Ensure there are no more leaks, from the input shaft or return hose, then grease and refit the new dust/dirt cap. If all is OK, then you can fit the lower UJ and steering column shaft.

 

The seal and dust cap in place, with blue grease under the cap to keep out water.

Replacing the steering shaft

 

The steering column shaft can be replaced without disturbing the steering wheel housing but needs to be manually compressed and expanded as it's fitted to the splines at each end. It's better to leave all the pinch bolts off until the shaft and lower UJ are in place. Being able to slide the shaft up and down the spines makes fitting it a bit easier. Ensure that the steering wheel is aligned with the front wheels in the straight ahead position before assembly.

 

The lower UJ back in place with safety locknuts fitted.

I fitted Nyloc nuts plus extra locknuts to the UJ bolts to ensure they never, ever work loose.

When refitting the steering shaft, according to TRW, the UJ's should be in phase to avoid cyclic binding. I never knew I suffered from cyclic binding but apparently it can occur where there are 2 or more UJ's in the steering shaft and they are out of phase.

 

"Steering column assemblies with more than one universal joint (cardan type) can cause a cyclic binding feel or torque variation at the steering wheel if the u-joints are not in phase with each other".

 

I presume being "in phase" means that the UJ cross shafts are parallel, like in this photo, but they don't explain. (Note: the urethane bush clamped to the siding shaft is to reduce steering column rattle, which works well and could easily be installed at this point, see this article).

 

Steering shaft with UJ's in phase, I think.

Replacing the rubber boots and steel framing brackets is easier if they are first slit/cut up the back. You don't then need to slide them over one end of the steering shaft where they get in the way of reconnecting it. The steel clamps should hold them in place but they can be super-glued if you need to.

Rubber boots, slit up the back to aid assembly. (They were cleaned before reinstallation)

I also fitted a leather boot to the the lower UJ to protect it from the worst of the dust and water.

Leather boot to protect the lower UJ.