Hilux Max build thread

[hilux_bondy_007]

looking great max, your lux is really capable offroad. so any more info in wat your latest direction of of your offroad ability.

[danmcccc]

Lux looks like it's holding back well on that decent, Is that using crawler gears?

yeah that decent was in compound low, was pretty steep.

Currently investigating which option to go with to take the hilux's offroad ability to the next level...have a couple of ideas in mind but cant decide between which route to take.

its got no major panel damage...so you either dont need it to be more capable or your not wheeling it hard enough

trust me, she's got her fare share of small dents and both sides are well and truly pinstripped

why turn her into a raisin uneccessarily? if your damaging panels your wheelin harder but not smarter! you can get away without damage.

yer i know, you dont have to talk to me about barwork ...i dread to think what mine would look like without after some of the hits my bars have taken...my rear bar is missing most of it paint on the hoop thats half way up the taillight

[Hilux Max]

These are what Im considering as my options.....

4.5:1 Diff Gears

Pro's - bring factory transfercase crawl ratio back to stock or just better. Will allow me to run over 33's on the road much easier. Regain some fuel economy.
Con's - will make compound low too bloody low and Ill almost never use the Crawl Box unless I go big arse tyres. The close to $1,000 labour ARB will take to get the job done.

Winch

Pro's - either a hi mount which will need to be rebuilt to get it to the level I want. Or a low mount that will fit on the bar. Will let me tackle harder tracks by myself and/or not have to require others to recover me. Safety.
Con's - rebuild the hi mount may end up costing more than I think. Will need dual battery's. Extra weight over front end.

and finally....I like this one

2.28 Geared Lefty

Pro's- Main reason for going the lefty will be for clearance. Lefty is factory clocked at 15 degrees, is smaller slightly than the Chain transfercase and by clocking the Crawl Box adaptor another 5 degrees upon install will guarantee me a flat belly. Thats a good 2" of extra clearance at the ramp over angle center point of the vehicle. Will give the same belly clearance as having to run 37" tyres with factory case. Then I make up flat belly skid plate and launch the luxi up obstacles if need be.
Con's - Never been fitted to a hilux yet, not even sure if they make 2.28 geared leftys, only 4.7's that I know off.will be another first.......thats about it

[Hilux Max]

Just to add....due to the design of the chain transfercase it doesnt let me clock it without having to modify the top of the trans tunnel and cut into the floor below the passenger front seat due to the size of the chain case. Im not keen on a bodylift as I dont want the hilux any higher than what it is....to me its pointless when you can gain benefits elsewhere that are just as good if not better than extra lift.

Heres a pic to show the clearance problem with top of trans tunnel....circled is the area that will instantly hit with any sort of clocking to the right -


The taller Marlin quick shift shifter base pokes up through the floor of the hilux....this wont be able to be used if I clock it as it would hit the floor and its needed due to clearance on the center console -


Here you can see the issue with the center console and lid....unless I get rid of the console or fit a 4x2 workmate console which is lower and open on top -


Heres a pic of an 05 Tacoma with crawl box and lefty fitted.....see the flat belly? You can just see the blue lefty sitting above the bottom of the chassis rails....click on pic for full picture.


One other way I could possibly do it is to get a custom "cut down" transmission mount to lower the transmission bout half an inch which would equate to about an inch where the transfercase is. This would allow clearance to clock it with the floor of the vehicle and achieve a flat belly.

Still investigating.

[KTM525EXC]

The cogs never stop turning with you, hey max always making the effort to take the lux to the next level

[GI Joe]

Haha Great work Maxx. I dont even understand a lot of what you are saying but im impressed. I do agree with your thoughts of re-gearing. I looked at it for my truck but decided the cost was prohibitive at this time. One day!!

[Hilux Max]

Id reccomend reearin diffs to anyone running 33's especially with an auto.

dilema of mine is it would negate the Crawl Box and I cant have that, so I think Ill put up with the sluggishness onroad for the benefit offroad.

yes Troy, my cogs never stop...I loose sleep over the hilux!

[Hilux Max]

So I scored a free sr5 sportsbar last week from a friend that put a canopy on his hilux.

Thought why not slap it on the hilux?

This morning I sanded it back lightly and painted it in alloy etcher spray, next will be two coats of satin black.

Then back on the hilux.

Couldn't be stuffed with the hassle and cost of powder coating to be honest as I dont know how long the tub will stay on the hilux for anyway....

[Hilux Max]

Two coats of Satin black and she's done....



Fitted it to the hilux and realised I was supplied the brackets for the bolts to screw into....search my extensive bolt supplies and couldnt find anything that suits....

Oh well...will fit it next week.

Off to Cobaw Forest tomorrow with DLUX, and a couple other trucks....

[CJY91LUXXY]

Zipties are your Friend Max. On a serious note tho satin blacks good!

[scottsr20]

I don't get why going to 4.5 diffs would negate the crawl box. Wouldn't you just leave the other box in high range and just not need compound low very often?
You still have the advantage over everyone else of choosing between 2.28 and 4.7 reductions - like having a 3 speed transfer case .

[Hilux Max]

Exactly Scotty....

most of my wheeling is done with the factory transfercase (2.28) in High and the Crawl Box (4.7) in Low and I just swap between L1 and L2 on the auto shifter.

Compound low I only use for very steep decents.

If changing from 3.7 to 4.5, then Id be using the factory transfercase (2.28) almost always and rarely use the CrawlBox (4.7) by itself....

with 4.5 diff gears the Crawl Box by itself would take the place of compound low previously with the 3,7's.

still usuable...just not as much.

Still an option too

trying to work out the pros and cons....if I can manage to clock the chain case with a lower transmission mount then diff gears it'll be.

[scottsr20]

With the chip and exhaust I don't find the 3.7s too bad onroad, so I'm thinking about splitting the difference and running 4.1s . On 33s it will make my speedo read pretty right and Parrs truck doesn't seem to have too much trouble turning 35s on them either.

[LuxTruck]

And regarding the fluff.....our "Monster-Fluff" sells/performs and satisfies owners all around the country.

Thanks Darren, always nice chatting with you [/quote]

BOOM!!!

[scottsr20]

i gotta say, I take what I can get these days but "Monster Fluff" is not top of my list...
I do prefer the shaven look....

[Hilux Max]

Had a friggin awesome day out today at Cobaw State Forest with DLUX and a few of his mates.

With each trip the hilux is surpassing my expectations and impressing bystanders with its ability.

One track towards the end of the day was off its head....we managed to crawl up a rutted track between a boulder and tree/tree roots only to find it was a dead end.

It wouldnt typically be a track you'd want to drive back down but we did.

Each truck made it down scarily on 3 wheels, rectum locking up severely in the process.

I had a snatch strap hooked up to an 98 hilux whos brakes werent working too good to both slow him down and stop him from flippin over with two big blokes hanging off the back corner to stop him flippin.

Might be a couple days till I get the vids all up.

Tell ya what thou...JK Jeeps are pretty impressive with the amount of travel they get stock.

[GI Joe]

Can't wait to see the pics

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

[Hilux Max]

Well, I only managed to upload 3 vids last night before encountering "servo issues", not sure what that means? Either tpg has got issues or ive up/downloaded too much this month.....either way, it'll end up on my Youtube channel at some point in time - http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHiluxMax/videos

Heres the first obstacled we encountered, a large rut with a drop off to the left against an embankment......

Jeep almost rolled here on first attempt as the rut threw the Heep to the side, and a 75 ute with no flex gave up after first 2 attempts after almost rolling.....(as I said, vids to come at some stage)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC0k84CcNuI&feature=plcp&context=C3eefd40UDOEgsToPDskL-sTgykoBoFCP0fcy6ZfnN

And heres a couple of the old war-horse FJ40 on 35's having a ball like a pig in shit!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Koqkn8IO_M&feature=plcp&context=C358bdfbUDOEgsToPDskLj3hf5A0kBvW1Fg8_qmr5X


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Koqkn8IO_M&feature=plcp&context=C358bdfbUDOEgsToPDskLj3hf5A0kBvW1Fg8_qmr5X

More to come in the coming days if I sort my upload issues....

[Hilux Max]

Heres some of the first pics coming through from others.....

We met at BP Servo at Bulla before proceeding to Cobaw -



This is some pics of Dlux coming down...me doing my best to stay upright and guide him down. This track was begging for some panel damage - how we all got down without any more than a scratch beats me.....



Due to the severe off camber nature of this track it lifts the left hand rear as you approach it then swings the right hand rear straight up...


The 98 hilux cab chassis almost went over twic e down this bit.

Needless to say drastic measures needed to be taken to get down safely so I put my big a$$ to work and hung on the back of Georges Bitch like a baby to a tit!



Unfortunately my fat a$$ wasnt heavy enough as Georges Hilux kept on lifting its rear leg like a dog trying to piss against the rock, so I got another fat a$$ed bloke to hang onto the rear of georges bitch -




At the other end of this rut, at the very front of Georges Hilux you had to drive up the embankment to lower the tail end.

With all the weight of the vehicle on the right hand front tyre I thought he was gonna roll the bed off the rim. Damn tuff MTR's are I tell ya.

Then it was a series of 3 point turns forward and backward to enable us to get down the track which veered left around the tree.

More to come as other bits and pieces come in.

[helmut79]

Good to see you putting yourself to good use Max...............

That unweighted rear moments feel like shit when your in the hot seat.

Are the youtube vids working or is it just cause I'm at work?