[mad possum]

265/70/r16's are 1/2 the weight of the 285/75/r16's! and the rolling resistance has reduced to the point I almost ran myself over with the trailer when i moved it out of the tyre shop! noticeably easier to tow with the patrol too. very good improvement.

 

[geeyoutoo]

Wheel bearing was shot in the trailer. definitely rolls easier now, bearing wouldn't spin even after i clean it up, probably lucky we made it home. explains the slightly higher fuel usage for the last day's driving (15/100km but also fair share of hills). That being said tho the trailer would have been 200kg lighter as water tanks were emptied and supplies had been eaten.

Welding was done today by a friend with a nice MIG, amazing how fast good tools can get projects done. I played apprentice as usual and made myself useful and avoided getting any fingers chopped off. Spare tyre on the trailer will sit 150mm further back now. the other bit of good news with that is the jockey wheel can now be moved back so it doesn't impede.

The trailer currently has 285/75/r16 rubber on it, previous owner put brand new micky T's on it. way to heavy and large. Picked up some 265/70/r16's today that are 2/3's used, so much lighter. The trailer is light and these Maxi's will be fine for it. Just have to find a right sized spare now.

And to bring the topic back to the patrol, it settles it, next set of tyres for the troll will be back to stock size, good aggressive pattern but no need for that extra 8% rolling diameter. But that's probably still 40,xxx km away provided they continue to wear well.

Mate I went from the original 265/70/16 that came with it 19 years ago to 265/75/16 at the first tyre change and stuck with them ever since, I know a lot of people love their 285's but I've never seen a need for them and what I have has not stopped me from going anywhere I wanted to or to follow others with bigger tyres.

I have a 3" lift and some may say it looks a bit silly with the smaller tyres but that has never worried me.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[mad possum]

yes, having the trailer at stock size pretty much means the next set of tyres will be back to stock. Good tread pattern is more important than size.

 

[geeyoutoo]

yes, having the trailer at stock size pretty much means the next set of tyres will be back to stock. Good tread pattern is more important than size.

Absobloodylutely, check out the BFG TA KO2, I've had mine for a couple of years now and love em, especially in sand.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[mad possum]

I will definitely enjoy bringing the gear ratio back to stock, rather than have to swap diff gears, especially since its twin locked. Yes the BFG's are on the list, also had General AT grabbers on the navara and loved them, very similar pattern. Plenty of sand around here

 

[mad possum]

all new bushes in the front end. sure feels better than before! I think the shocks are at the end of their lifespan too, suspension shop mentioned that the tyre wear intakes as much too.

 

[Rhysta]

Great thread mate, thanks for the information. I just picked up a 13' GU ST ( have owned many GQ's when I was younger) and ill be referring to your build a lot I reckon!

 

[mad possum]

Great thread mate, thanks for the information. I just picked up a 13' GU ST ( have owned many GQ's when I was younger) and ill be referring to your build a lot I reckon!

Glad someone's getting some value out of it. might have some works planned on it. she's driving nicely at the moment. manifold still squeaks when cold, but just moved house so definitely no plans on fixing it anytime soon.

PDI FMIC kit looks very tempting... need to get some measurements done to test if it will fit with the ARB bulbar.

 

[Bidja]

PDI FMIC kit looks very tempting... need to get some measurements done to test if it will fit with the ARB bulbar.

What ARB bar do you have fitted?

Can measure my PDI FM install and compare against your opening(clearance) that ARB bar mounts provide.
Dist of mount protrusion (horizontal edge) above chassis rail?
Dist of the bar mount vertical face out from radiator bottom support member(at fixing point of vertical center bracket under bonnet latch)?
John

 

[mad possum]

new Rad went in today along with a flush. temps more stable since which is good.

In other news the 'manifold leak' turned out to be a loose hot side pipe! when cold it had just enough gap to whistle. well 1 year of whistling when cold (due to me not wanting to get the 'leak' fixed since it only happened for the first minute while cold) suddenly got fixed one night while on the way to fishing when it popped the hose right off! nice bang but i had a good idea what was wrong. just had to wait until the turbo cooled a little and i could get my non gloved hands close enough.

Also fixed my tyre compressor today, new hose clamp for that. $3 so def cheaper than buying a new one.

its currently not getting driven out of town much so seeing 13.8L/100 around town. it well overdue a service but i just picked up oil today so that will get done next weekend after i recover from my 8 shifts straight.

While camping last weekend i found the fridge was having issues, so I traced it back to the 2nd battery pos terminal, turns out it can come loose and threaded the bolt! no idea whats been going on under the bonnet there but the nylock nut wasn't looking happy (gutted) and the bolt had lost 1/2 of its thread! anyway always good to carry an assortment of spares, which did the trick nicely(also the tools to use those spares).

upgraded fuel rail relief valve arrived this week, might get a chance to fit sometime in the next month.

Considering its been 11 months since i've last posted i'm sure lots more has happened to it but thats all i can remember for now.

 

[mad possum]

Ordered the big mouth scoop, Geeyoutoo's write up has sold it to me. I'll def be watching temps, hopefully I have it sorted before the next Fraser Island trip.

Gu bonnet scoop

We make plastic add on automotive exterior parts - front bumper lip / skirts / spoilers / 4x4 flares / bonnet scoop + more to suit Holden Commodore/ Ford Falcon / HSV/ FPV/ Toyota/ Honda/ Subaru/ Mitsubishi / Nissan and more

mrbodykits.com.au

 

[Marko_SJ]

new Rad went in today along with a flush. temps more stable since which is good.

In other news the 'manifold leak' turned out to be a loose hot side pipe! when cold it had just enough gap to whistle. well 1 year of whistling when cold (due to me not wanting to get the 'leak' fixed since it only happened for the first minute while cold) suddenly got fixed one night while on the way to fishing when it popped the hose right off! nice bang but i had a good idea what was wrong. just had to wait until the turbo cooled a little and i could get my non gloved hands close enough.

Also fixed my tyre compressor today, new hose clamp for that. $3 so def cheaper than buying a new one.

its currently not getting driven out of town much so seeing 13.8L/100 around town. it well overdue a service but i just picked up oil today so that will get done next weekend after i recover from my 8 shifts straight.

While camping last weekend i found the fridge was having issues, so I traced it back to the 2nd battery pos terminal, turns out it can come loose and threaded the bolt! no idea whats been going on under the bonnet there but the nylock nut wasn't looking happy (gutted) and the bolt had lost 1/2 of its thread! anyway always good to carry an assortment of spares, which did the trick nicely(also the tools to use those spares).

upgraded fuel rail relief valve arrived this week, might get a chance to fit sometime in the next month.

Considering its been 11 months since i've last posted i'm sure lots more has happened to it but thats all i can remember for now.

Funny that.
I had a hot side hose pop off the other day on the way back from a fishing trip.

However, would 1000x rather burn my fingers reaching that hose clamp and be able to get going again than suffer a torn hose. (Been there done that )

 

[mad possum]

new scoop arrived today as well as a set of filters so i can do a service next week.
new scoop is def going to make a difference in summer and getting more air across the IC.

 

[mad possum]

well i wanted to test fitment etc before going to the effort of painting, sit perfectly.
Anyway the Mrs came outside and saw it for the first time and groaned, she said it was way too big... I told her it was staying but I'd paint it to match. She disagreed and said to leave it black.
Used a thin strip of foam to run around the edge by the mount points, seals nicely (very similarly to what GEeyoutoo did with his double sided tape.
Took it for a drive. EGT's are slower to rise and faster to fall. I'm tall and it is high enough to block the view of the bull bar.
So for now it stays mat black.

 

[AndrieK]

View attachment 522141
well i wanted to test fitment etc before going to the effort of painting, sit perfectly.
Anyway the Mrs came outside and saw it for the first time and groaned, she said it was way too big... I told her it was staying but I'd paint it to match. She disagreed and said to leave it black.
Used a thin strip of foam to run around the edge by the mount points, seals nicely (very similarly to what GEeyoutoo did with his double sided tape.
Took it for a drive. EGT's are slower to rise and faster to fall. I'm tall and it is high enough to block the view of the bull bar.
So for now it stays mat black.

Even if you want to leave it black, I'd suggest giving it a coat of satin black paint. Plastics like that which is supposed to be painted will fade and go gray very quickly if exposed to even moderate amounts of UV.

I've painted quite a few plastic parts on my Patrol with White Knight Rust Guard Epoxy Enamel that I get from Bunnings in a rattle can.

 

[mad possum]

yup it will get painted regardless, very easy to take off and on. Also as Geeyoutoo did, i added a few split rings to make sure it stayed put.
Up here in QLD the sun is terrible for fading so everything needs regular TLC.