[Ethanissan]

Also swapped my weird scoop-bonnet with a much better factory one:

Also have since removed roofrack for good aerodynamics...
I mean, less-bad aerodynamics...
Actually it probably hasn't made a difference in this thing.

And a photo of the spring reset:

And look at that extra downtravel 🤯

I'm really going to try to get as much as I can out of the leafs, because I'm stubborn and want to show that coils are not the be-all and end-all of suspension. They are much better, yes, but leafs can still do some good work.

 

[MQTray]

While your on the research bug, one thing to consider before putting the 260 in, is investigating the process of shaving the bottom of the diff to create the clearance your after and whether it’s possible with the bigger ring gear.

Something to consider if you have the resources.

 

[Ethanissan]

While your on the research bug, one thing to consider before putting the 260 in, is investigating the process of shaving the bottom of the diff to create the clearance your after and whether it’s possible with the bigger ring gear.

Something to consider if you have the resources.

Yep, seen this before, not sure if I have the skills or the resources to do this though. Dad has an arc welder, but I wouldn't trust myself to make it work properly. Also the 260 is the diff that was already in it, and I have a seperate GU carrier that I'm getting re-geared so I can put the 4.1 back in and drive it until the 4.3 third member is ready to go in. But right now the housing is out of the car and the center is out, so tomorrow I'm going to put it all back together and make it driveable again.
So basically, I really want to drive it again, so no time, and I don't feel like the benefits outweigh the risks. It's the only housing I have, so if I stuff up, I can't drive it again for months until I find an new housing.
Also is the 4.3 ring gear bigger than the 4.1?

 

[Ethanissan]

So, the MK is back on the road after having the diff out for much longer than anticipated, but no changes yet.

Originally I jacked up the car and put it on stands, not very well at all, thinking that it'd only be there for a day or 2 while I pulled the axles apart, made the comparison thread, and put the 233 back together to get put under the car.
Then I went through the fiasco of finding the metal in the 233, and having the Patrol just sitting on the jackstands that were only meant to be there for a short time and I was absolutely not comfortable with at all, and it ended up sitting there for almost a week while I decided what to do.
(looking at this picture, you can understand why I hated the way it was sitting on the stands, they were on gravel, and right in the centre of the chassis, extremely dodgy, and supposed to be temporary while I took the 260 out and bolted the 233 in)

I originally took the 233 with the broken LSD plates to "Top Cog Diff and Gearbox Centre" in the Caloundra industrial area. Only 1 guy who works there, has for many years, and he's extremely good at what he does.
He said he could fix the LSD, but it would cost a good few hundred dollars, and that, combined with the tailshaft lengthening cost, combined with the fact that the H260 has an extremely good 2-way LSD, got me convinced to stick with the 260, as I have mentioned previously. However he wasn't going to be free until this week (1 week after I saw him originally), so I had to decide whether to leave the housing out until I could put the 4.375 carrier in, or put it all back together with the 4.11 so I could drive it again, and then have to pull it all back out again later to do the 4.3 swap.

At this point I was being tormented by watching too much youtube and reading too many forum posts about other people driving their patrols, and after having it off the road for a little over a week (yes, that's right. I don't know why I just wanted to drive it so badly, so kudos to people who send theirs off for conversions and can't drive them for months), I just decided to bolt it all back together, for both peace of mind that it wasn't going to fall off the stands, but more importantly, so I could drive it to Nambour and back for tafe for the next few weeks, to get a good idea of what the EGT's do on the highway with the 4.1's, and just remember what the 4.11 and 33" combo felt like in general so I could compare it fairly to the 4.3 gearing.

So still 4.1's for now, but more to come.

 

[Ethanissan]

So yesterday I took the 35 spline H260 3rd member, and 37 spline LSD to the diff guy I mentioned in the last post, and he said he'd probably get onto it tomorrow (which is today now), which was all good. I mentioned to him the fact that the GU uses bigger bolts to hold the carrier to the housing, which surprised him, but he said to bring one of the MK bolts in so he could have a look, and maybe get someone he knows in the area to machine press-fit sleeves to go into the carrier to suit the MK bolts.

So I headed home (like a 5-minute drive) to grab a bolt from the 233, as my 260 ones are... in the 260, in the car obviously, but the 233 ones are identical. Headed back to his shop to show him, and as I walked in he said: "it's done". I just stood there confused for a moment and looked down at the diff, noticing the slight surface rust on the 37 spline LSD and slowly realizing what he meant. I looked back at him and said "really? seriously?" and he just grinned at me haha. Man some people are good at what they do.

So he said he'd do it the next day, I leave for 20 mins max and come back and he's just done it while I was gone.
He took a look at the MK carrier bolts though, which are a 7-8mm bolt, and they look much smaller than the GU 10mm bolts. He wasn't happy with the idea of using them, so we decided, as recommended by a fair few people now, that I'll be drilling and tapping the housing to suit the 10mm bolts. Always good to do it right first time.
Couldn't bring it home until today though as he doesn't have an eftpos machine so can only easily take cash, no big deal, I just went to an ATM this morning, grabbed the cash out, and picked it up from him.
Very happy, only ended up costing $100. If I was to go to the 233 it would have been roughly $350-$400 to repair the LSD, then $500-$600 to get the tailshaft lengthened, balanced, and both uni's replaced. So between $850-$1000 for a re-gear and slightly better clearance. Now the H260 route is looks very very desirable, which is why I ended up keeping it.

Now I've just got to pull out the diff again, for the second time in a couple of weeks, to drill and tap the housing holes for the new bolts, and whack the GU 4.375 H260 3rd member into my housing.
That'll be coming in the next couple weeks when I have time, and it shouldn't take nearly as long as the last time the diff was out, since I'm just swapping the centres and drilling/tapping the holes, then bolting it all back in. Hopefully no more hiccups.
Like I said though, I'll be using the 4.1 for a little bit just so I remember clearly what it's like and can tell the difference, if it's out too long I'll be driving the 3.8 V6 calais and I'll forget how slow the Patrol is in comparison 💨

Anyway here it is now, all back together, although with the interior out at the moment as my carpet and sound deadener got soaked during the last couple days rain:

 

[MQTray]

Pretty sure you will get a good idea of what the 4.3s will feel like if you put 31” tyres on it and go for a spin.

 

[Ethanissan]

Pretty sure you will get a good idea of what the 4.3s will feel like if you put 31” tyres on it and go for a spin.

Yep I've been told that that's the case, I might do that sometime soon because I'm really curious to see what everyone else's SD's feel like. Since they never came out factory with 4.1's (my diffs appear to be from a wrecker, out of a P40), there wouldn't be too many people running them, especially when it's recommended to gear an SD lower with 33's, certainly not higher. As well as that I haven't driven in another SD33T other than Dad's farm ute in the pics above, but it's got 4.6 diffs and 31's and feels slower than mine for some reason, so I don't have any real reference for what they 'should' feel like. Probably because it seems to be an untouched engine, whereas mine has definetly had the head off at some point, and had injector pump work done, as well as running 8-10psi of boost with extra fuel. I'd love to compare the ute and my wagon at some point too, there's a good bit of 2-lane straight road near where we live that's good for doing test runs, so I want to get them both down there at some point to see how much difference there is.

 

[Ethanissan]

Also got something sneaky made for after my drivers side door matches the rest

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[rgren2]

Better.

 

[Ethanissan]

Exciting year ahead for the wagon, by the end I won’t even recognise it!

Got new diff ratios to go in:

Got superior +2” shackles that’ve just arrived and I’m installing currently (another post to come after about that):

Got a ZD30 variable vane turbo and a big Aeroflow front mount intercooler that’ll help heaps with the on-road driveability:

At the same time I’ll get a 3” exhaust with a simple hotdog muffler so it just sounds good and will help heaps with the power, especially as the exhaust will need to be made from the turbo back (no stupid 90* dump pipe)

Hopefully will get the paint all sorted, fingers crossed that’s this year

And Got a front LOKKA that’ll hopefully turn up in the next few Millenia, should drastically increase the capability when out 4wding, especially in combination with the h260 LSD in the rear

Maybe will make a false floor for the rear sometime so I can mount permanently my fridge and air compressor (onboard air yaay!)

And tidy up the interior, can’t decide whether to restore it all to factory brown, which admittedly, I do quite like, or make it blacked out like multiple people have done.

More coming about the shackles tonight.


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[rgren2]

I only have a cat now, no muffler. It’s not too loud, even under load. Sounds better than the muffler free landcrabs.

 

[Ethanissan]

I only have a cat now, no muffler. It’s not too loud, even under load. Sounds better than the muffler free landcrabs.

Should I add a cat to my system then? I figured since I don’t have one a nice hotdog will give a good sound


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[rgren2]

Doesn’t require a cat, try without first, some sound great, some make you want to hide your head in shame.

 

[james008]

Keep the brown interior. It's an 80s car, may as well embrace the 80s inside and out.

As @rgren2 said, your SD won't need a cat. The entirety of emissions control on a turbo SD is a PCV valve lol.

I've run my SD for years without a muffler, it's not exactly quiet, but not obnoxiously loud either. SD sounds good as far as inline 6 diesels go.

 

[Ethanissan]

I'm starting to wonder what I should post in the "what did you do today" thread, and what I should post here. I don't really want to do heaps of double posts, obviously that doesn't help anyone, but at the same time both threads seem relevant.

Anyway, like I said there, I made up the first bit of the new intake piping, just a template for now so that when I go and do it all properly I'll know what lengths I need of everything. It's now 3" all the way from the snorkel into the turbo, and using the body-mounted prefilter as the main/only filter instead of the top-mount big filter that usually sits on top of the motor. The prefilter should flow better than the main, it's got 3" inlet and outlet surprisingly, and won't suffer the heat soak that the main filter suffers, according to an old Landy post. Turbo should be able to breathe easily now and the egt's definitely are lower at 110kph, and cool down quicker than they did with the big round filter and stock cast alloy intake piece. Next will be to mount the intercooler and get it all plumbed up, likely using the N/A intake manifold as it enters from the top rather than the side, so it'll be easier to do a crossover pipe into the manifold, then I'll probably drive it for a bit like that before I pull it off the road to mount the ZD30 turbo, and just tweak the pipework to suit.

 

[Ethanissan]

In other news, the SD seems to have a very normal amount of blowby for a healthy engine, so happy days
This is after a decent 110kph drive on the highway, just got home with the engine still well and truly in operating temp, and took a video of the blowby when warm:

 

[Ethanissan]

Going down to see Chris @ Evolution Tuning this arvo to get a base Dyno run done on the Patrol, see what kind of numbers it's making at the moment. It'll just be a pure test run that I can base my improvements on in the future.

With 4.11 diffs, 33"s, no intercooler, stock N/A exhaust without muffler currently dumping under the back seat, running ~10psi on the stock turbo and seems to have a good amount of fuel, Holley electric lift pump with standard lift pump delete and blank (running about 5.5psi of fuel pressure).

 

[geeyoutoo]

Going down to see Chris @ Evolution Tuning this arvo to get a base Dyno run done on the Patrol, see what kind of numbers it's making at the moment. It'll just be a pure test run that I can base my improvements on in the future.

With 4.11 diffs, 33"s, no intercooler, stock N/A exhaust without muffler currently dumping under the back seat, running ~10psi on the stock turbo and seems to have a good amount of fuel, Holley electric lift pump with standard lift pump delete and blank (running about 5.5psi of fuel pressure).

Made me remember, not sure if Chris is related to him, but there was (maybe still is) a Chapman running a mechanical business and dyno at Cooroy, many years ago we had a simple agreement that I could get a quick cheap power run after I had made a modification, this way I knew whether I went backwards or forwards and gave me some insights, ie, when I fitted my Cross Country Intercooler it felt really good, but on the dyno it only made 4Hp, torque was where it changed more dramatically, can't remember what it was exactly. Another point that just sprung to mind, after fitting the last Eclipse we dyno'd it and found there was no significant change on the chart but the vehicle felt better, the difference was response when out on the road.

 

[Ethanissan]

Made me remember, not sure if Chris is related to him, but there was (maybe still is) a Chapman running a mechanical business and dyno at Cooroy, many years ago we had a simple agreement that I could get a quick cheap power run after I had made a modification, this way I knew whether I went backwards or forwards and gave me some insights, ie, when I fitted my Cross Country Intercooler it felt really good, but on the dyno it only made 4Hp, torque was where it changed more dramatically, can't remember what it was exactly. Another point that just sprung to mind, after fitting the last Eclipse we dyno'd it and found there was no significant change on the chart but the vehicle felt better, the difference was response when out on the road.

That's really cool that he did that for you, do you remember how much he charged per run?

 

[geeyoutoo]

That's really cool that he did that for you, do you remember how much he charged per run?

No, can't remember, just that it was affordable at the time.