Ray!

If you have a look at the main page, you'll see Google signed in as a member, and I've seen Facebook listed there as well. What does that mean? What makes it even more interesting are these two articles that I discovered today: http://www.technologyreview.com/featured-story/428150/what-facebook-knows/ http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428049/trust-us-were-google/ Cheers Ray

Everything is now together and I decided to make the mount a permanent fixture on the support, and just use zip ties on the vent when I need to use the unit. This is what it now looks like when set up on the dash: The white bits you see on the bottom of the tablet are just two bits of foam to stop the tablet rubbing on the console. I'm going to see if I can find something that will sit inside the pen holder and lift the mount bracket up a tad, so that I don't need to use the foam, which I can guarantee will collect dust on a trip and rub the console. My Nokia Bluetooth GPS unit sits perfectly at the back of the support and is held in place by the zip ties used to provide additional support for the mount. A small update. I didn't like the zip ties on the forward part of the mount (they just looked ugly), so took I them off, and the suction cup seems to be holding on like grim death; so I'll see how things go. I also have a very strong velco strap holding the mount to the support near the tablet end, so there's still a backup in case the suction cup lets go. I also added my Nokia Bluetooth GPS to the front of the mount (held on by double sided tape) which I'll most likely use as the GPS for navigation, until I work out why I'm having trouble with my Garmin GPS. While the Nokia works off battery power, which should last up to eight hours of use, I'll be powering it off one of the USB ports on the tablet, so it won't run out of power (I'll just have to remember to turn it off at night). This is what the mount looks like after the latest modifications (I sorted out the Garmin issue and have replaced the Nokia Bluetooth GPS with the Garmin USB GPS): Cheers Ray

Good to see that you're not welding anything to the chassis. Cheers Ray

A picture is worth a thousand words: www.lpickering.net (NSFW) Cheers Ray

I'm not sure what you're actually after as an answer. Go off-road and lock them manually and you should never have an issue. Cheers Ray

The auto hubs are probably as strong as the manual ones, as long as they are manually locked. Cheers Ray

The only thing I don't quite like about those is the fact that the internal bush isn't vulcanised to the rubber, which means it will be prone to catching crap and potentially shreading. Cheers Ray

Yes, it should be a press fit and so there should be no movement whatsoever, which ensures that it lasts longer. Cheers Ray.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/us-mum-spends-15k-on-injections-to-get-bootylicious-backside/story-fn9076o9-1226395624468 I have died and the afterlife is another planet. Cheers Ray

If you haven't changed any of the bushes in that time, then most likely every one of them is shot. Only use rubber and get genuine if you can. The rubbers that have been vulcanised into an inner and outer steel sleeve are usually the best and hold up the longest. The sleeves prevent the rubber from shreading due to torsional forces. Cheers Ray

If they are in auto setting, the moment you go into high/low 4WD, they lock, but in this mode they are not at their strongest, which is why they should be manually locked when going into more serious stuff. GQ auto hubs should fit earlier model GQ Patrols, in the GU the hub design changed somewhat, so that's why there are issues with backwards compatibility. Cheers Ray

Finally, I found a way to easily mount the tablet on the dash while 4WDriving. It turned out a lot simpler than I had anticipated, considering that I'd been mulling this for over six months now; funny how ideas come to you when you can't sleep. Anyway, the first thing I needed was a bit of metal plate, which I got from Mitre 10 and is basically a piece of flat used to join wood framework (75mm x 250mm) and which I panel beat to fit the front edge of dash: I then worked out the best position for the stainless disk used by the mount (fit and fiddle with the mount until all was good), and then attached it the to the support plate (support) by removing the adhesive protector: I then attached a flat bar at the windscreen end of the support (this is what will be used to hold the support in position): Then came some painting: Addition of protective material to the underside: And the unit was complete: Positioned on the dash without the final attachments and second protective material: The entire assembly is going to be held in place with a couple of zip ties. The flat bar at the end will be the support for the zip ties that will be threaded through the vent braces and tightened; the support bracket will not move when the zip ties are in place. To add extra security to the mount itself, as I don't entirely trust suction cups, I plan to use two more zip ties that will go around the suction cup mount to the flat bar. Should the suction cup come undone for some reason, the mount and tablet will not move. I also intend to place some foam in the pen holder, so that the tablet does not rub on the upper part of the dash. I'll add some final photos later, as it's now getting dark and I prefer to work when it's easy to see what you're doing. The way this works is that I can leave the support bracket on permanently, and I'll see whether I like that; or attach the mount permanently to the support bracket and then just attach the lot to the dash when the need arises. The latter may be the better option, as it'll probably be easier to attach the zip ties to the vent when needed and the support bracket then won't cause any blemishes to the dash if permanently mounted. And another point about this mount, if I need access to the little enclosure, all I have to do is press a button on the top of the mount, pull the arm out and swing it up, and I can open the door to the enclosure. This mount design will suit any tablet up to 10" size. Cheers Ray

Very reliable, as long as they are manually locked when going off-road. The GQs came with auto hubs from 1992 onwards, but I'm not sure whether GU hubs fit a GQ. Cheers Ray

The later model Patrols are mechanically stronger than the GQ in many respects, much depends on how and where one drives, and how the vehicle is serviced. Cheers Ray

Check engine and transmission mount rubbers and possibly the body mounts. Get someone to start up and rev the engine while you're looking at the passenger side engine moutn, it souldn't move. The right hand side is always under compression, so should never wear out. The body mount rubbers can be checked by having someone more or less drop their weight on the bull bar and if the body doesn't move with the bar, then the mounts may have compressed past their life. My first GQ had done 100,000+km kilometres in the Souht Australian outback, carrying a fair bit of weight, and the body mounts were stuffed, as I found out later. Also check out the control arm rubbers, front and rear parts. Use a long screw driver or tyre lever at both ends and see how much moverment you get, it shouldn't be much at all when moving by hand. Check out the same at the rear end, including torsion bar rubbers. Also check your king pin bearing by jacking up the front and then with a tyre lever or such, see if you can move the wheel in and out. Cheers Ray

If it's done a lot of corrugated roads, that will have an impact of the life of wheel bearings. I'd also check the rear ones, but they are a lot harder to replace. Cheers Ray

The bearings should be checked and re-greased every 100,000km at least, depending on usage. Their condition will depend on how the vehicle has been used and if the tie rod ends are stuffed after 100,000km, it's clearly had a pretty hard life. I'd be going through everything to make sure other bits like bushes, mounts etc are OK. Cheers Ray

I'd buy second hand, or even new, Nissan manual hubs before I'd buy AVM. AVM are the most over-rated, under-performing, hubs ever made. My opinion only (I've owned AVM hubs). Cheers Ray

Even a chain can store energy, so the best thing is to never use a towball as a recovery point. Cheers Ray

You should read the entire story. The new scare that was put out by the warmongerers was fatally flawed and those flaws were picked up by some astute skeptics and now the entire report has effectively been binned. If only the warmongerers could stick to facts and the scientific method. Cheers Ray

I'm still on the original pads and have done over 100,000km and there's at least 50% left on the rear and more on the front. I guess a lot has to do with the fact that I drive my auto like I did my manuals; anticipating and always using engine braking to slow down. Cheers Ray

And the facts keep emerging: http://joannenova.com.au/2012/06/300000-dollars-and-three-years-to-produce-a-paper-that-lasted-three-weeks-gergis/#more-22055. Cheers Ray

Here's a quite long but excellent article that describes exactly how I feel about Windows 8: And this really sums it up: http://www.mobileopp...-windows-8.html I can see lots of people being very unhappy with Windows 8 and corporations absolutely refusing to install Windows 8 in their organisations (they will be the driving force pushing for modifications to Windows 8). Cheers Ray

For those with wood fires, here's something worth considering: http://smartburn.rtrk.com.au/?scid=129688&kw=5849497&pub_cr_id=12141138403. our neighbour told us about this product, as he uses one each year to clean his flue (it's a bloody long one), and he says it works a treat. According to the web site, it's good to use pretty much all the time, especially for low burning fires where smoke etc is generated the most. Might give one a try. Cheers Ray

This is excellent - the US Bureau of Labor Statistics view of what constitutes green jobs: http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/exploding_the_green_jobs_myth/ I wonder how Australia's equivalent calculates green jobs? Cheers Ray