Oka owners group newsletter

The standard Clutch as fitted to all OKA’s is a ceramic clutch and as OKA state in the owners manual should not be slipped. If you do slip the clutch you will cause rapid wear to the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel. The ceramic clutch was fitted as early testing showed failure of an “organic” clutch. An organic clutch plate is what most people would recognise as a normal clutch plate. It was recommended by Andrew Kee of Whitehorse Trucks (ex OKA dealers in Morwell, Victoria) that I replace my clutch with an organic type. He had supplied some 10 of these to various OKA owners and had had no problems. The advantages being that the clutch can take some slip with undue wear or problems, and it is much softer on the drive-train giving a smoother take-up of the load. The new OKA due for release this year will have an Organic Clutch. OKA on their web site have an organic clutch “on special” for $1250.00, Andrew charged me $890.00 and I have since learnt that Paul Nott (see the members list) can get them even cheaper. The clutch that was fitted to my vehicle is made by Daikin and if you go on their website you will find they have a listing for OKA (WA) and the part numbers start with OK.... .

2. Thrust Bearing Free-Play Adjustment

Terry of Eastside Trucks, Morwell, carried out the repairs to my vehicle. He explained that it is a common problem, that he has found a lot of OKA’s have the free play on their clutches incorrectly adjusted. Too often the Thrust bearing is under load and therefore working (turning) continuously, leading to early failure of the thrust bearing or at worst a slipping clutch.

To ensure that it is adjusted correctly the following procedure needs to be followed:

1. Remove the inspection plate from the bottom of the bell housing (6 screws). Some vehicles will have a

grease nipple for greasing the thrust bearing.

2. With the plate removed you will be able to see the side of the thrust bearing. With a long screw driver you

should be able to freely rotate the bearing with the clutch disengaged.

3. If the bearing turns freely, all is good so far. Have someone operate the clutch pedal. As they slowly push

the pedal down, you keep on turning the bearing until it stops. At this point the clutch pedal should have

moved about 25mm, if so your free-play is adjusted correctly.

4. If the bearing does not turn freely, you either have a seized bearing or more likely not enough free play.

You will need to adjust the free play by adjusting the adjustment bolt, which is on the opposite side of the

bell housing to the clutch lever arm. N.B. Too much free-play will make it difficult to disengage the clutch.

5. You will need to test your setting to make sure you can still disengage the clutch.

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Hi everyone,

OKA OWNERS GROUP (PUTTING PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT FIRST)

NEWSLETTER June 2004

Life has been pretty hectic round here lately. We are trying to get ready for our annual trip, spraying burrs, sowing crops, straightening up cattle etc. Then we had a great influx of family as Marj’s mother died (aged 95). The next weekend our grandson and a mate had an 18^th birthday party in our machinery shed, with a juke box sound system chock-a-block full of brain rattling noise that teenagers call music (sure glad this wasn’t invented in my day; it wasn’t invented ‘till we went metric). Anyway, with 150 plus 18 year olds in one mob making a racket, we had the Oka ready to move down to the next paddock out of earshot.

We have had a request from Peter Furlong to let him know your Oka’s model number and year, and the configuration (eg “twin cab”) and a description (see below). He is putting together a database so if you are looking for a vehicle with the mods you want, the database (& Peter) can give you the lowdown. Peter is also finding new Oka Owners as he travels round the country.

We would ask members to please try to check the authenticity of any technical information they send in. We don’t want to give our mates too much of a bum steer. We only assemble the newsletter, we don’t write it, and can’t double-check what we receive from other members.

We will be leaving here at 7.30 am sharp on Thursday July 1 for Innaminka, where we hope to catch up with as many of you as possible either there or along the track. We have received feedback from a good number of Oka Owners who are planning to be at Innaminka that weekend.

In the July edition of 4WD Monthly (with a 4WD wagon on the cover and “Red Sand Dreaming” written across the bottom of the page) is a lengthy article on Oka’s some may like to read. We emailed all members with computer access so many of you may have already seen it. Thanks Rowena for letting us know.

The winter is a great time to travel in the Outback and we are looking forward to hearing where our members have ventured this year. Aren’t we lucky to have Oka’s to travel through these areas in fair comfort! Drive safely.

Lloyd & Marj Parsons

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Oka Database

Hi Lloyd & Marj

Could you please include in the next newsletter a request for all owners to supply me with a description, manufacture date and full vin number of their vehicle(s) to help me compile database of Okas in Australia. No photos at this stage please.

Contact via phone [phone]

Email [e-mail]

or mail to PO Box 853

Cranbourne 3977 Thanking you

Peter Furlong

NEXT NEWSLETTER – NOT UNTIL SEPTEMBERS 2004 (AFTER OUR ANNUAL TREK). Please email any information you can give us for this next edition, and we will put it together when we return. Thanks.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA – OKA GET TOGETHER

Rowena, Peita Moss & Geoff Alush from Victoria will be in Adelaide on 24^th and 25th July,

We will be holding a BBQ at our place on Saturday the 24^th July and then a Day trip on Sunday the 25th to Victor Harbour (Via Cape Jervis and the Windmill Farm).

There will be BBQ for Dinner on Saturday Evening with room for a couple of camper trailers and tents on our front and rear lawns for those not wishing to drive.

Please let me know if you wish to attend as we wish to get as many OKA’s as possible for this Weekend. Children are most welcome as we have a 9 year old son and a nearly 3 year old daughter.

David and Genine Hallandal

22 Spring Street,

North Plympton, SA, 5037

Ph: 0428 32 39 32 All Hours

VICTORIAN OKA RALLY – MOLESWORTH – 7^TH – 9^TH MAY Written by Rowena Paterson

We couldn’t complain about the weather over the May weekend of the 7^th – 9^th. The days were warm & the nights clear but a little cool. Geoff & Sandra Wilkinson were the first to arrive on Friday afternoon with myself soon arriving shortly after. Friday night we stoked up the fire as the damp & cold set in. On Saturday morning Greg & Maree Boyle and their children: Thomas, Phillip, Emma & Robert turned up towing a camper trailer.

Saturday afternoon we had a visit from Darren Visser and Paul Nott in Darrens OKA. We also had Peter Davis and family from Melbourne in their Landcruiser visit us for the afternoon. They are hoping to upgrade their vehicle to an OKA and took the opportunity to talk to some of the OKA owners and check out their vehicles.

It was a quiet weekend, with people going for walks, socialising and relaxing around the camp fire.

We had the Kookaburras visit us once again, keeping an eye on our every move, especially when food

was involved. Geoff & Sandra left food out to thaw, it was a bad move! The Kookaburra spotted the

food, dived in and managed to get its beak into it before Geoff could scare it away. The end result: a nice

little beak mark in their food. It did look funny!!

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The Boyle family found a spider in their camper trailer, removed it and left it out for the Kookaburras to see. Sure enough, they dived down, grabbed it & flew back into the trees and ate it. I don’t think there is much they don’t eat.

After hearing all the OKA talk during the weekend, I had a laugh when one of the kids came up to me and asked the question “is this a XT or LT?” Yes they are quickly learning the lingo!

Sunday morning the kids stoked up the fire and a few of us enjoyed a cooked breakfast. It was a fairly cool morning with a light frost. The sun soon appeared and it warmed up. Shortly after we heard a motorbike and a yellow Ducati appeared. The rider hopped off, removed his helmet and told us “I also own an OKA”. We soon realised it was Geoff Proctor, who decided to visit us on his bike. It was good to meet Geoff for the first time and he stayed for a few hours chatting to us and checking out our OKAs.

We also received a phone call from Peita Moss & Geoff Alush, who were packed up ready to join us for the weekend, but due to a few dramas at work and home, were unable to come. Peita wasn’t a very happy person and had to unpack everything, including the roast dinner and firewood.

By Sunday lunch time we were packing up ready to head back home after a really good and enjoyable weekend.

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Axles

Hello, Marj & Lloyd

John noted the axle story down last night. Now it's my turn to attempt to email it to you.

When we purchased the OKA, oil was leaking from the front axle.

We had been told that a major wheel alignment had been done. The seller showed how the corners of the tyres were badly worn due to severe negative camber. We took the vehicle to the large truck wheel alignment centre in a Brisbane Industrial area to find out what had been done. They reported that

they had just straightened the front axle until the camber was neutral. The fact that they had no machinery to determine that the drive shafts were still in the middle of the axle tubes was a cause for concern, as well as a hint as to why the oil seals couldn't work any more.

Being mindful that this would have to be corrected eventually, John took every opportunity to get suggestions & advice about the best way to correct this unfortunate situation. In the course of time, he found out that the weakness is not in the axle tubes, but the forged or cast yokes at the ends.

He was not feeling good now, realizing that the original fault was still there & now the axle housing had been bent also! To add to our woes, our Cairns mechanic informed us that he could source the only available axle – a brand new complete one from a mining company, for $16,000!

At this point John contacted OKA. Their first suggestion was to fit 2 of the axles made for the new model, for $20,000. We would gain another 500k GVM - whoopie! But then they said "plus new wheels"! The stud pattern is different. We'd just had 3 wheels rerolled! Too much! Next day they rang with a far more attractive offer. They had located a local (Perth) engineer who had devised a procedure to overcome this apparently not uncommon problem. The axle was duly stripped of its working parts to be shipped off to OKA.

Six weeks later we got the message that it was back in Cairns. We headed down there with great anticipation to see WHAT HAD THEY DONE TO IT? We knew that sometimes the axle tubes must be replaced, so we were relieved (& more than $1000 better off) that they were able to just straighten the whole thing. The angles & dimensions of the end yokes were "blueprinted"(drawings provided by OKA)

then reinforced with 4 roughly 2" triangular webs of 3/8" or 1/2" plate welded inside the upper & lower

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arms of the king pin yoke. That is, 4 reinforcing webs on each end. It looks really well done. We're looking forward to having the truck back soon.

Another bit of info that came John's way recently related to the breaking of rear axles. Apparently the limited slip diff is too limited! Some people have had an axle snap when engaged in a tight manoeuvre on a non-slip surface (ie a roundabout & a servo driveway). The addition of "Limslip" from Penrite to the rear diff oil will overcome this risk.

We hope to be able to join the group / members this year, but no guarantees just yet. I eliminated paragraphs to reduce space - hope you can work it out easily, Marj. All best wishes

John Williams & Louisa Crossley

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As we are not overly computer literate we are sending this note to you to forward, etc.

Re the note re weight/rims, etc.

My OKA is rated 6000 GVM.

It has 35 spline front stub axles and dual shocks, plus extra spring leaves.

And after we broke both back axles we have 35 spline rear axles with ARB diff lock fitted by Sydney Competition Warehouse.

I think that John should address the basic problem of increasing his GVM - sure reducing weight where possible is desirable but I don't think it’s the complete answer.

Re note re clutch cable and accelerator

I have the original OKA linkage system - have had one problem with it fixed by Rob Clarke in Alice and its going okay at this stage.

My accelerator jammed however - the cable winds in a convoluted shape from the pedal right around behind the motor - long with several bends. If you disengage at the accelerator pedal, lift up to the roof of the cab and pour WD40 or equivalent down it frees up and I haven't had to replace it or had trouble for quite a while.

Thanks for the newsletter - we love it.

Our time schedule doesn't seem to fit into any of the rallies at this stage but you never know. Happy travelling,

Jack and Vivien

Regards Viv & Jack Frost

[e-mail]

[phone]

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Tachos, Tyres & Rims

Lloyd,

All the tachos on the Okas are adjustable - there is an adjustment screw on the back. You will need a rpm metre or if you know what rpm for a given speed then you can adjust.

I have a Bosch 120a alternator on my machine also have just fitted an intercooler and a roof mounted condenser. The next job will be electronic rust protection.

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I have just read the news letter and the letter from John on the subject of tires and rims. My machine has done the first part of its life on 16in and then I swapped to 19.5 and what a blessing the benefits are, no more problems getting them balanced, easier to change the tire in the bush, they run cooler, tubeless tire plugs fix most punctures more selection of tires, greater loading capacity (I have Goodyear G291T max cap 2730kg ea), more stability on the open road due to less wall height i.e. less flex.

The disadvantages are slightly slower speed due to the lower profile and you can’t run them too flat on the beach as you might pop the seal; it has happened to me once but I had about 15lb in them and I turned a real sharp corner. It peeled the tire straight off the rim but they are so easy to put them back on; it takes me 10-15 min to take a tire off and put a new one on. I carry one spare rim and tire and 1-2 spare cases to save on weight. I get about 80000km out of the goodyearsG291T (265/ 70r)

Well I have had my 20 cents worth so I will catch you later. Michael Hall

News from Walter & Elly Hess

Lloyd and Marj are always asking for a contribution to the Newsletter. It’s indeed not fair to leave most of the work to them, so we’re going to try to write something.

We left the main island for Tasmania on Friday the 13^th of February, which left us plenty of room on the ferry: Spirit of Tasmania. We have been crisscrossing this beautiful State ever since. My only complaints are: 1/ that it’s hard to find a straight road and 2/ that the fishes don’t bit. I think it might be a case of false advertising, a conspiracy between all the locals to fool us, tourists, so we spend heaps of money on tackle.

We were in the only OKA at the 18^th CMCA rally, which was tiresome as we know had to answer all the questions about OKA. It would have been much better to spread the load and we’re always keen to swap stories with other OKA owners too. We did meet some Tassie OKA owners on the open day’ who insisted on us visiting them which we will do in a couple of weeks, future club members for sure. Other visitors were the parents of a tour operator with an OKA. We already met Greg who went fly-fishing with a friend at a lake where we were wild camping. Seeing the OKA of course he came to talk to us. We’ll have to visit them as well. Strange and wonderful how the OKA ownership starts new relationships!

The rally was a great experience, very well organized and boy, do they keep you busy, we needed a week’s holiday after that. Honestly we can recommend participating, we met heaps of interesting travellers in all kinds of vehicles, learned new things, got new ideas and made some good friends.

Before and after the rally we have and still are till the end of May discovering Tasmania, we’ve travelled along most of the coasts, the inland lakes, the Gordon Dan, several National Parks, we’ve done the Gordon River cruise, sailed on the Lady Nelson in Hobart, walked among the top of the trees in Huonville, spent two days in Port Arthur which impressed us very much, camped and fished in remote places, on lonely beaches (and some packed ones during the Easter holidays!). We’re very impressed with this island and its friendly people, the choice of camping sites (lots of them at no charge), the beautiful scenery, the huge forests. They have lots of tree plantations now, so lets hope they will leave the old growth forests alone for the sake of all of us.

Walter and Elly send greetings to all of you from the great island of Tasmania.

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Hi Lloyd & Marj,

Thanks for your e-mail. We may, in fact, have exchanged g'days at some stage, but not been

introduced.

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You see, I've been lusting after something like an OKA, since 1980, when on my meagre 2nd year tradesman's wages, I bought a very used 1973 petrol Toyota dual-cab Dyna. For many happy years, girlfriend, friends and I roamed the bush near and far from Mount Isa in the Dyna with it's generous ground clearance and rugged (and rough) construction. Unfortunately, we were often limited in our adventures by lack of 4wd (mostly wide, dry, sandy creek crossings) and fuel limitations (I had LOTS of jerry cans).

When I read about OKAs in the early '90s, I knew it was the vehicle for me. However, after ringing the factory and asking the price, I figured it was just a dream. In 1994 my then partner and I went to Perth on holidays, and I took the opportunity to go to the factory. After spending some time in an OKA, the lookout for a good and 'affordable' (mutually exclusive at that time) second-hand dual-cab OKA began.

In the meantime, I'd bought a second-hand 60-series petrol Toyota Landcruiser station wagon, and that just had to do. My lookout for an OKA became more and more occasional, and other interests like flying ultralights and rock 'n' roll dancing took over. With sightings of OKAs becoming rarer and bush trips becoming rarer still, my search pretty much ceased.

At Easter time, 1999, I took my first trip to the national AUF 'fly-in' at Narromine. Either that year, or in 2000, I can't be sure, while I was sitting outside my room at the Narromine Aerodrome Caravan Park, contemplating my lot (I'd recently become single again, and wasn't exactly happy with the world at that time), I heard the sound of a diesel truck engine, and looking up, saw an OKA trayback ute, with a bolt-on removable camper attached. It was like seeing an old friend, and I remember thinking, "gee I wish I'd been able to buy one of those!" But the Landcruiser was coping OK, and courtesy of my recent breakup, I had a whole new mortgage to look after, so at that point I had to be satisfied with my lot. Besides, I figured I'd buy another aeroplane to replace my old 503-powered T500 Thruster, before I bought another car. I did, however, go back to buying the 4WD Trader and looking at second-hand OKAs again.

So life went on, and every year I've driven the Landcruiser to Narromine for Natfly at Easter, and most years I've spotted the same OKA. This year, I figured I'd go and talk to the owners. I was curious about what someone who'd obviously owned an OKA for quite a while, thought about them. Also, I'd been thinking more and more about a new vehicle, as the Landcruiser was getting a little long in the tooth, and I had a bit more financial room to move (could borrow more :-) ). I'd just booked a flight in the Beech 18, and was heading back to my room for film and video tape, when I saw the OKA, backed in next to the kitchen, and some people standing around chatting. I stopped for a minute, undecided as to whether to stay and talk, but kept going, as the Beech was about to go, and wouldn't wait. When we landed I

went back, but the people were gone. The OKA had 'Parson's Portable Penthouse' (or I think that's what it says) painted on the front of the cab, and from reading the newsletters and browsing the OKA Owner's site, I figure it must be your own fine machine. I was the guy in the black cowboy hat, standing on the bitumen track and staring for a few seconds, like he didn't know what he was looking at. As you can see from what I've written, I did indeed know what I was looking at, the expression on my face one of indecision, not confusion. So I may have said hello to you at one of the functions or standing around one of the aircraft during the last 5 Natfly events, but not been introduced.

This trip (2004) my stereo packed it in soon after leaving home, and so I on the long drives (9,000 km in all) I had lots of time to think, and I decided, "either do a restoration job on the 'cruiser, or replace it with something newer or more capable". The 'cruiser is a bit wearying to drive, and I've had enough working on vehicles, so I figured a replacement was the preferred option.

On my way to Townsville to visit friends, I bought the latest 4WD Trader magazine. I was still buying them every 3 months or so and had pretty much settled on buying a second-hand 4.2litre diesel GU Nissan wagon. I didn't like the new 'cruiser's price or looks (or toothed rubber/kevlar timing belts, which I've replaced a few of on other vehicles), and they weren't any better to drive than the Nissan, so really I was just searching for the right Nissan in my price range. Smack-bang in the middle of the latest edition, was an ad for a fairly straight looking dual-cab OKA, at the price point I'd been considering. Hmmm. Now I felt confused. After a lifetime of rebuilding, fixing and modifying old cars and trucks, I'd

talked myself into a shiny (near) new drive-and-forget 'civilised' 4WD. Now here I was feeling that same 6

keen desire to own an OKA; a second-hand one that would certainly require repair and modification, and this time, within my grasp.

What to do? My friends in Townsville, thought I was crazy to even consider it, saying they were too big and ungainly etc... They'd just bought a new diesel Prado for $57,000, and that was the ONLY way to go, or so they quite firmly insisted! So I had to think it through for myself.

First I rang Rowena from the ad in the back of the magazine, and from her comments I thought I could live with it as my only vehicle, and I knew from the dimensioned engineering outline drawings the OKA factory had given me, that it was mostly taller than other 4WDs, (in fact it's much shorter, and slightly narrower than the now-popular Ford F250) I rang the phone number from the ad numerous times that week, but the people were away, so I left some messages. They finally rang me as I was arriving home in Mount Isa, letting me know it was still not sold, and located 1,400 kms away in Rockhampton. Rockhampton! Groan. The last thing I wanted to do right then was more driving. But I wasn't about to buy something unseen and undriven, so I decided not to unpack, but get some sleep and drive to Rockhampton the next morning. I went, I looked, I drove, I ummed and ahhed, discussed a price, and thought about it on the long drive home. I even mentioned it to my dad, who was sure it would be the worst thing I could ever buy. Finally I bit the bullet, went to the bank and secured the finance (they're so nice, just giving away all that lovely money!) and bought myself a dual-cab XT OKA.