NewHilux.net

packeteer wrote:yeah, that pad reccomendation came from brakesdirect

for diff drop I'd go with the Monster Rides kit, one of the only good ones. just dont buy the useless spacer kits that are everywhere

The MR diff relocation kit arrived during the week so now waiting for the transmissin specialist to give me a date to overhaul the front diff. Thanks,
Geoff

As the year is flying by, its time to get the Survey Wagon ready for its next adventure - I face the prospect of being made redundant at any moment but have 6 weeks leave approved from late August so planning for a trip to WA via Maralinga and the Gunbarell.
The timing belt was due so I've replaced the water pump, timing belt, idler and tensioner, vee belt, radiator hoses and new coolant. Gave the engine bay a good clean while it was stripped down.
Next on the list was to attend to the side rails, where they attach to the steps, tjm think this is the gear to get you there and back again



but this what happens as the bar flex's against the pissy little bracket on corrugated roads



after considering the options I welded a sleeve of 50mm NB pipe over the broken rail, made a decent plate to attach to the step and added a gusset to help stop the flex.



A couple of thick coats of paint to cover my welds, then cut a bit out of the step so it all sits properly and the job is done.



I'm left to wonder where they'll break now.
Still haven't had the diffs looked at yet but that should happen in April, only taken 9 months to get this far so lucky its not urgent.
Geoff

Hi Geoff
It's Colesy from WA, looked at this site to get some info on blanking plates for the exhaust gas re circulation and came across this thread and recognised the vehicle from Mt Ive. I thought, I know those gadgets on the Hilux.
Terry

Hi Terry,
I haven't killed my Hilux yet and getting it ready for another assult on the deserts. My lady has just bought a house down at Bridgetown so planning a couple of weeks travelling across to WA, spend a couple of weeks hunting orchids in the south west, then another couple of weeks to get home. Catching up with you and Brownie was on my list of things to do so will keep in touch as we get closer. Cant make any bookings etc yet as I will be made redundant some time this year, just dont know when - after 17 years I need to ride the wave as my redundancy will be worth collecting.
Re EGR, I believe you need to leave a 10mm hole in the blanking plate or you get error codes. Its on the list of things to do but I'm waiting until my mechanic mate has time to play with it and hook it to the computer and see whats happening. I cleaned my intake last year at 130000km there wasn't much muck in there but I am about to fit a Provent and stop the oil mist from PCV going through the intake.
Geoff

If you need a place to park up you know it's available. Bazza who was at the salt with me when you and Alan were there, passed away on 3rd Jan 15, Jack the Dancer. You may remember him telling you he had a 2009 Hilux like yours, well I bought it to tow the trailer to the salt this year in March. I melted the front piston last year on the bike engines don't run on air only, leaned it off too much. I got 150 mph out of it, 4 mph off the record. I am going through the Hilux to set it up how I want it and totally confused with these egr blanking plates as far as some say they don't bring up error codes and some say they do and like you said you may need to have a 10mm hole in the centre of the plate. I am also going to fit a provent catch can as that makes sense to trap some of the oil. There has been discussions on this site earlier about those egr plates but like I said everyone has a different experience with them. I guess I will just fit one then I will have my own experience and opinion.
We have two decent bushfires going at the moment down south so I hope your house at Bridgetown doesn't get impacted. Check the Department Fire Emergency Services (DFES) website for information and updates.
Terry

Neat repair there Geoff. What's that old saying? "If you want something done properly....."

kitdoctor wrote:Neat repair there Geoff. What's that old saying? "If you want something done properly....."

Thanks, you got it in one. I've studied how TUFF bars are attached and when time allows, I'll make up some new brackets like theirs that support the bar better and glue them in. Will be a time consuming exercise but I'd like it done before I head across the Gunbarell and its zillion corrugations.
Geoff

Its been a while since I returned from another successful trip across the WA deserts and have time to write up some of the stuff I did before heading off.
Needed to attend to the spotlight mounting on the bar as the lights kept moving, removed the lights and tapped the bar flat, sanded the remaining powder coating off to give the lights a flat surface to sit on and found this --



a series 0f cracks around the OD of the washers caused by the bar being too light duty and the lights vibrating. The whole deck of the bar was cracked so I made up a couple of 3mm plates that picked up all the bolt holes and laminated the deck of the bar between them with Sikaflex - thats that problem solved.



The powder coating inside the bar came off in big sheets so was fairly easy to get a good contact with he bar.



Fitted a set of DRL's and a mount for the Gopro, gives a great view



Removed and straightened the bash plate and found some cracks around the rear mounting points so cut and welded a strengthening plate over the damaged area and fabricated a hump to accommodate the diff drop.





The hump took a few hits and has a fair bit of 'rock rash' as I learnt exactly where it was and can mostly navigate across obstacles now and miss it.
I also modified my canopy and removed the troublesome zippers from the back panel and build a new camper insert, thats another story and I'll write it up when I have time.
The above mods were all well tested across a trip made up of 12000km of bitumen and 7000km of dirt roads and tracks and performed perfectly, it was my first trip without bull bar problems so can recommend any of the mods I've made.
Geoff

Hey mate, great build!

Got any pics of the modified canopy and new camper insert?? Love to see how it goes together