How to bend a Uneek 4x4 Bullbar in one easy step...

[flashy]

I was about 450km south of Perth this week, on a rarely used track, with overgrowth preventing me from seeing what I was about to hit. I section of the track had washed away after flooding. It was about 1.5m across and 0.5m deep. I hit it at about 50kph and the video does not come close to showing how much of a thud this was. Everything in the car ended up in the front with me (minus the fridge which is tied down thank god!):



It if it wasn't for the the Uneek 4x4 bullbar, it would have smashed my radiator and vaious other parts of the front-end, leaving me stranded! Instead I managed to bend the bullbar upward (popping the grille out) and destroy the bar's bash plate completely. Frank the Tank is fine though. The bar absorbed all the shock:



The underbody was covered with mud and gravel so I went across the Gardner River and back to give it a clean before returning to Perth to fight another day:



So annoyed that I bent the bar but grateful that it did its job. New one is on order. The rest of the under-body bash plates did their job and protected the rest of the KK.

[Banshee]

BTDT! But not in the Jeep. Good to hear there was no major damage & everyone was ok. (For certain definitions of major damage, the bullbar and your wallet would probably disagree...)


I did it in my '78 Chrysler Gallant wagon. I was going up the coast road from Port Douglass to Cooktown via Bloomtown, at the time and the road was dead straight with god visibility and raised about half to a meter from the surrounding area. (So that it was still there during tropical storms.) But they had concrete channels across it ever so often to let water drain through from one side to the other... And I didn't see any sign for one until too late to slow down, and it was the same colour as the dirt road, of course...

Hit the dip having slowed from ~100 to something less, went in & out ok, but then when I came back down on the other side, the tyres sank into some dust & the sump landed on a big rock shaped like a square block in the middle of the road. Reshaped it nicely! It was far more aerodynamic after that. But the car did sound like a diesel the rest of the way to Cooktown & back to Cairns. Pulled the sump of there, & bashed the sump baffle enough to get it out of the way of the crank counterweight that was clipping it. Then gave it an oil change & new filter. Still have the socket set I bought to do the job!

[KKnut]

Wow Flashy, that would have been a big disappointment until you realised that the KK is still ok. That washout could do with some makeshift warning signs for others using that track, I'd hate to see that coming toward me at speed.



How did your front end suspension go? You obviously bottomed out the front extremely hard, I'm guessing there was at least bump stop damage and a wheel alignment was needed?


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[hopwrecked]

I guess the bash plate did its job..good to hear no one got banged up.

[flashy]

Originally Posted by KKnut

Wow Flashy, that would have been a big disappointment until you realised that the KK is still ok. That washout could do with some makeshift warning signs for others using that track, I'd hate to see that coming toward me at speed.

Yeah I was disappointed. My best mate could tell by watching the video because of the time gap between the impact and me saying something.

I had to cave in the sides of the ravine with some small logs and rocks to get back over it. Maxtrax were needed too, but the edges are a lot softer now for the next person. Still would be a nasty surprise though. the track was a dead end so it does not get used much. I wish I knew that before driving down it!

Originally Posted by KKnut

How did your front end suspension go? You obviously bottomed out the front extremely hard, I'm guessing there was at least bump stop damage and a wheel alignment was needed?

Surprisingly the suspension and steering are fine. Not even out of alignment. The bullbar took all the impact because it was so deep.

Originally Posted by Banshee

BTDT! But not in the Jeep. Good to hear there was no major damage & everyone was ok. (For certain definitions of major damage, the bullbar and your wallet would probably disagree...)

Oh you are right. A bullbar is bloody expensive, but it could have been a lot worse, and I could have been stranded. I am trying to see the bright side. But don't worry... The beers in the Engel were somehow fine They tasted better than ever when I got back to camp.

Once the new bar is on, I am going to reward the KK with a paint buff, because I have pin-striped the hell out it in the last 12 months (and I am feeling guilty for mistreating him).

[AusTac]

Thats crazy mate glad everyone/thing is ok sure says good things about quality accessories

[rocsolid]

Hi Flashy

Looking at that pic, you might have pushed your rad support panel up. As the bonnet looks close to the rad support on the drivers side. You have to keep in mind the bumper is connected to the sub frame on your kk jeep. It wouldn't hurt just to drop pass a panel shop and get it checked out.