Well, the old ute starts to get a bit hot under the collar come summer…So much so that solenoids and all sorts of stuff goes a bit funny when im stuck in traffic on a hot day (With the aircon on)

So, ive decided I will try some bonnet vents and see how things go. I did some reading and basicly there seems to be a bit of a rule for vents…

If you want air to come out of the bonnet, put the vents at the front
If you want air to go into the bonnet, put the vents at the back.

Seems this all applies to air pressure, when your driving down the highway, the air hits the front over the front of the bonnet, leaving a low pressure are, so air gets ’sucked’ out. The air then flows along the bonnet until it hits the wind screen, and then has a resonably sharp change in direction, giving a high pressure area at the back, so air is ‘pushed’ in.

Anyway, heres a couple pics of what im propoasing for the ute….any suggestions ?
(Note that becuase I want air drawn out, ive put them towards the front)

At the time I was pretty convinced I wanted a endless air system for my Tourer GU Patrol. It just made sense.., it would never overheat, pump up the tyres super quick, and even let me run air tools if I ever wanted to. Perfect!…..right ?

Well, it seems that the people that make the endless air system havent really updated their brackets etc in a while. You see, my Gu is a 2003 model 4.2 Diesel, which means it has a extra cross member at the front of the engine for some reason. So if I was to buy a endless air compressor and the brackets for a TD42 (my engine), it would foul on the cross member…. The advised solution ? Bash it with a big hammer until it fits….. Im sorry but I dont really feel like bashing in a cross member on the newest car ive ever owned!

So my solution ? Get a smaller electric compressor for now. I already have one of those 100% duty cycle BOSS air compressors in the Ute, and it works great….but again WAY to big for the space i had spare.

So what did I go for ? Well the new compressor from ARB. I have had the older style ones in a previous car, and althought they werent exactly fast, they always did the job. I ended up installing it under the washer bottle, seems to be a perfect fit. I have to say….geez they are quiet compared to the older style / boss compressor. I haven’t really had a chance to really ‘use’ it yet, but from what i have seen…it does give me confidence that it will do the job just fine.

I still think that eventually once there is either a bracket or compressor that fits my car without having to bash anything…I will go endless air for sure!

Well….after a LONG drawn out process of trying to figure out what suspension I wanted to put in the GU, I ended up with the following options…

Springs.

EFS
King
Dobisons

Shocks

Bilstiens
Koni
Tough Dogs
Airbags ??

Well, as far as springs go, I ended up not bothering with airbags…after talking with a couple of people that supply airbags, and they basicly admited it was reasonably easy for a stick etc to puncture an one… I didnt really think they were ‘bushable’ enough for a tourer, nor did I feel that just getting some super heavy duty springs was going to suit me because it would ride way to hard when unladen.

The solution ? Helper bags… So I ended up choosing some medium rate king springs, and putting some Polyairs in them…so far its worked a treat…and the worst that happens if a bag blows ? The Patrol doesnt sit level…I can handle that…

Now Shocks…I was ‘very’ tempted by the bilsteins until I relised they are mono tube design…sure great for disapating heat and such….but what happens when they cop a dent from a rock etc ? Well…they stop working…. Not something I want to have happen in the middle of the desert!

So….Koni’s was the choice….but which Koni ? there was 3 models to choose from… 82, 88 or the BIG 90’s….

We obviously my first thought was the bigger the better …..Right ? …Well seems i was wrong…After chatting to few ppl, the 90 series is a race shock, so might have been to harse for want I wanted…..So i ended up with the 88 series… Saying that, I still have a nagging doubt in my mind that the 90 series would have been better suited….oh well, time will tell!

Well, on my mission to setup the Gu for touring, I need some draws for the back….but ran into the dilemma that the missus wouldn’t be able to reach into the fridge once it was mounted on the slide, which will be ontop of what ever draws I get. (Probably Black Widow at this stage)

So….I got this

Its a fridge slide that drops down by about 300mm so the missus can reach the beer!! Hows awesome’s that!

Well….after a LONG time…I finally managed to install my reconditioned high mount winch. I didnt really have to mod the Bullbar at all, just chop the grill up a bit.

I used the 7.8hp motor I got from NZ, and after doing some testing, im very happy with it. Me and Mate measured some amps / voltages at different points in the system, and found some interesting data.

* At near stall the motor draws over 470 amps!
* Im seeing over 2 volts being dropped between the solenoid (Titan)
* Theres is another 1 volt drop between the battery and the solenoid.
* My alternator is doing very well (Producing 76ish amps, from a 80 amp alternator)

The answer is….

a) some bigger cable (currently using 2 gauge)
b) either another Titan solenoid pack to run in parallel, or swap out to a different system.

Heres a pitiful photo or the current setup, that I will try and replace asap.

When I was talking to my partner Oddie about our impending cape trip in July, one of the first questions was. “Where will I shower ?”  …Well I kinda didnt know…and talking to a few friends, it seems the creeks etc are the best place.  Oddie didnt really like that idea…so the obvious solution was to get a camping shower of some sort.  I had looked at the portable ones, but generally like the idea of just having one installed under the bonnet.

After a bit more research, I decided on the Helton Hot Water system.

Full Kit

Just the heat exchanger

It looks the goods, 100% copper etc….Will see how it goes when I install it.

Well, since im updating the blog…I should tell you about the purchase of the IC-400pro for my new Gu Patrol

As the series 3 (and before) GU’s seem to have bugger all room on the dash to install stuff.   I had previously purchased and installed an Outback interiors roof console.  I then did the research on which UHF I should get, and the IC-400Pro came out on top.  It was Military grade kit and was reprogrammable to push out 25watts (the norm being 5w).   The install was easy and a mate of mine already had the cable and software to reproramme. (Thanks Izy)  So now I have the option of using just standard 5 watt to transmit.  Or if Im in the middle of no where in serious trouble, I can now push a button and send at 25w.   All in all, very happy with the IC-400Pro.    

  

Well, ive been really really really busy latley and havent updated the blog…soz So ive had the frantz filter installed for a few weeks now….and i have the sample of the original  oil to send away to be checked…  So really havent got much to show except some pics of where i had the filter installed…  

  

The filter was hooked into the oil galleries  that used to be for the vacuum pump behind the alterator in earlier versions of the TD42, made life very easy… 

Ok….Td42’s….fantatistic engine…as my first diesel engine…I love it, after tuning its got decent power, good economy, and as we all know will last until we all use flying cars to get around in.

Saying this….servicing…every 5000kays!!, NOT COOL!…  2 Filters and 8 litres of oil every 5000km really starts to add up!  After thinking about it, I couldnt see how the big rigs would put up with dropping oil so often.  So i did a bit of research and found a thing called a bypass oil filter.   The idea being that it doesnt force all the oil through the filters before getting to the gallerys like the standard stuff, but steals a tiny flow and ’scrubs’ the oil a bit at a time.

There seems to be some really good benefits in this.

1.  Seeing that the bypass filter doesnt imped oil flow,  it can clean the oil sooo much better (something like less than 1 micron filtration)

2.  Can increase oil life substantially, like 2 – 4 times. So 20,000 kays between changes for a Td42…MUCH BETTER!

3.  On the Frantz kit the filters are really only dunny rolls!! So very cheap to replace.

Anyways, ive just emailed Frantz for some pricing and details.  But so far its looking very promising.

Will post again when I get more details.

Well, after stuffing around Friday night, and Sat morning, I now have the arms fitted to my ute. I had to cut away some of the reinforcing that I had done to the diff for the bracing on the passenger side to fit. Im going to call Superior when i get a chance and see if i can weld these plates inplace, so I dont have to worry about any weaknesses.

You are supplied 3 Nuts and Bolts for the passenger side drop arm (The short one) I would of like to of seen new bolts included for the other side too, plus nuts for the chassis end…But there ya go. One thing that im a bit worried about is the length of the bolts, they seem maybe 2 – 3 mm to short, as the bolts doent ‘quite’ come through the nuts by a thread or so… Im going to talk to Superior about this too, and see if i have made any errors. If not, im going to go down to the local bolt shop and purchase longer versions.

Anyway, after fitting I jumped straight in and went for a quick drive around the block, on the highway, and then offroad. The first thing I noticed was how much smoother the ute drove. Just less harsh. Steering way waaay better, but im assuming thats because I finally have the right castor correction. Highway driving was the same, smoother and well mannered. I did notice ’slightly’ more body roll, but nothing to be concerned about.

Now…offroad, On friday afternoon, I went for a drive before i fitted the arms, and found a little spot where without the lockers ingauged, the ute would flex out, and id stop. I thought this would be a great spot to test the new arms, as in theory once the arms where in the ute would have enough flex to still have traction. I marked where i stopped with some sticks etc, and then took some photos.

On Sat morning after I had fitted the arms, I went back to the same place and tried again. But….I stopped still….what tha?? I had progressed further than on Friday afternoon, but only by about 6 inches, not really what I was hoping for. I started taking photos, and then noticed that now the limited factor was that my front shocks had maxed out.

If you look closely at the two photos above, you will seen in the bottom one that the ’skinny’ bit of the shock is showing…basicly meaning its reached its maximum travel.

Soo…. I didnt have the tools with me to drop that shock, but will get some longer shocks asap and test again. My bet is that it will increase travel dramaticly. So far im very happy with these arms.

More photos of the testing etc HERE