Tow Wagon Thread

[wopass]

(wonder how it would go with LPG injection.

It'd go bang.

LPG fumigation is bollocks and very hard on the engine for the power it delivers. Stick to diesel tuning, plenty of examples of hot-rod duramax on the net.

do you really know anything about LPG fume in a diesel??

have you done it??

zilla has a fume kit in his lux..i think that is still running

we have installed a fume kit on a 24v VX 80 series running 35" tyres and its pretty good and has done thousands of Kms towing a big ass camper trailer all round the south island and the north island also on the dyno it pulls near on 1000nm of tourqe with 35" tyres. barely any smoke out the zaust either...

but what would i know....

[mudzilla]

You can keep the body, but I'd have the Duramax any day

This thread is about Tow Wagons... Which is why I bought a Truck with a decent motor and a comfortable drive and carry all the tools , spares and dog.. A bit hard to do with no body
The engine however would be awsome in some kind of off roader like a 40's or rock/mud buggy with 44"s ..... need massive diffs tho ..

[wopass]

You can keep the body, but I'd have the Duramax any day

This thread is about Tow Wagons... Which is why I bought a Truck with a decent motor and a comfortable drive and carry all the tools , spares and dog.. A bit hard to do with no body
The engine however would be awsome in some kind of off roader like a 40's or rock/mud buggy with 44"s ..... need massive diffs tho ..

true that!!

[DaveM]

You can keep the body, but I'd have the Duramax any day

This thread is about Tow Wagons... Which is why I bought a Truck with a decent motor and a comfortable drive and carry all the tools , spares and dog.. A bit hard to do with no body
The engine however would be awsome in some kind of off roader like a 40's or rock/mud buggy with 44"s ..... need massive diffs tho ..

Jus commenting that I like the motor, and if you are going to get that picky, it also stated "Cheap good allrounders? " in the first post, nothing about easter going ons either, but back on topic, what is considered "cheap"?

[wopass]

[
Jus commenting that I like the motor, and if you are going to get that picky, it also stated "Cheap good allrounders? " in the first post, nothing about easter going ons either, but back on topic, what is considered "cheap"?

lol thats true.

a cheap tow wagon would be a 4ltr falcoon... cant believe i just said that

[KiwiBacon]

do you really know anything about LPG fume in a diesel??

have you done it??

zilla has a fume kit in his lux..i think that is still running

we have installed a fume kit on a 24v VX 80 series running 35" tyres and its pretty good and has done thousands of Kms towing a big ass camper trailer all round the south island and the north island also on the dyno it pulls near on 1000nm of tourqe with 35" tyres. barely any smoke out the zaust either...

but what would i know....

1000Nm, I call BS.
To get that amount of torque from a 4.2 you need to feed your engine about 60psi boost. Any less and your pistons will be running out the exhaust as liquid.

Post up this dyno chart, I think someone put in the wrong axle ratio.

[DaveM]

If it comes down to $$, you can get cheap Safari's these days in Petrol or Diesel, as long as you aren't in a hurry, they are fine, its just a shame the VX fetch such a high price, well, good if you already have one I guess!

[vvega]

do you really know anything about LPG fume in a diesel??

have you done it??

zilla has a fume kit in his lux..i think that is still running

we have installed a fume kit on a 24v VX 80 series running 35" tyres and its pretty good and has done thousands of Kms towing a big ass camper trailer all round the south island and the north island also on the dyno it pulls near on 1000nm of tourqe with 35" tyres. barely any smoke out the zaust either...

but what would i know....

1000Nm, I call BS.
To get that amount of torque from a 4.2 you need to feed your engine about 60psi boost. Any less and your pistons will be running out the exhaust as liquid.

Post up this dyno chart, I think someone put in the wrong axle ratio.

i think the point is more... there both still running and running well

keen to know your first hand experance on this before you start throwing wild accusations at wopass

[wopass]

this is thread jacking at its finest

lets go somewhere else to discuss it i think, like the thread that was done a while ago about that topic.

and keep an eye on the VX cruisers as an option, there are a few bargains now and then

[KiwiBacon]

i think the point is more... there both still running and running well

keen to know your first hand experance on this before you start throwing wild accusations at wopass

Yep, run lpg into my diesel and it detonates violently.

Presume you guys all know the legality of such systems in this country?

[GotFlex]

Commodore? 3.8 V6 any body agree/dissagree?
Coons are cheap but its a Ford

[gimmemud]

Commodore? 3.8 V6 any body agree/dissagree?
Coons are cheap but its a Ford

Agree
Even better just the engine in a lux or cruiser

[wopass]

Commodore? 3.8 V6 any body agree/dissagree?
Coons are cheap but its a Ford

true that, i like the 3.8v6 commy as a tow wagon (SW) as they drive nice and have good road stability for towing, also have a good low down power curve which is great

[mercutio]

what happened to the Phatsun that was

[UBZ]

Commodore? 3.8 V6 any body agree/dissagree?
Coons are cheap but its a Ford

Found when using the work VN for towing that the boat and larger un-braked trailers seem to push the car around abit. Can be a bit un-nerving in the wet and down hill.
No problem at all with power.
The later model V6 Adventurer and V8 Avalanche tow very well. Can barely feel the trailer at all. But they weight almost 2.7tons.

[Heath]

I'm interested in this as well. Might swap my courier ute for my Dad's nissan safari (grand road) SWB. Diesel non turbo (or it will be when we swap the turbo and maifold to the LWB in his shed).

Any probs towing with SWB? Only going to be my vitara on a trailer so should piss in with towable weight.

Should I try and find a turbo for the other one and keep this one turboed as well?

This will be my daily driver so I want something cheapish to run round town (not that any car is, except them midget compacts) but with power etc to tow when I need it. Oh and the bonus of having a semi-shiney for road legal trips is a bonus also.

Comments?

[tgaguy1]

I'm interested in this as well. Might swap my courier ute for my Dad's nissan safari (grand road) SWB. Diesel non turbo (or it will be when we swap the turbo and maifold to the LWB in his shed).

Any probs towing with SWB? Only going to be my vitara on a trailer so should piss in with towable weight.

Should I try and find a turbo for the other one and keep this one turboed as well?

This will be my daily driver so I want something cheapish to run round town (not that any car is, except them midget compacts) but with power etc to tow when I need it. Oh and the bonus of having a semi-shiney for road legal trips is a bonus also.

Comments?

If you turbo the TD42, it will be more economical to run than n/a. So with more power and less diesel= win/win.

[wopass]

the safari is a good tow bus as well yea, the LWB is better/more stable towing heavy shit but the SWB is fine to, just a little twitchy at speed or under heavy braking with heavy loads... but you drive accordingly so its not really a problem.

i still say keep your eyes on T.M for a VX as they come up cheap now and then there are some bargians to be had at the moment to from what ive seen...

[2MEKE]

So far the Dmax is useing 15ltr/100km

How many km's was this averaged over? Round town, highway, towing???
Curious as I'm looking a couple of common rail 3rd gen Ram's.
Any reason you went for the Chev?

[mudzilla]

It's getting about 15ltr/100km, over 1200km everywhere , town/highway . Ive always liked Chev's, Dont like the look of the Dodge , do like the Cummins engine tho, Like the V8 , Love the Dmax.

[DaveM]

It's getting about 15ltr/100km, over 1200km everywhere , town/highway . Ive always liked Chev's, Dont like the look of the Dodge , do like the Cummins engine tho, Like the V8 , Love the Dmax.

Fark, thats slightly better than my RD28T

[Heath]

the safari is a good tow bus as well yea, the LWB is better/more stable towing heavy shit but the SWB is fine to, just a little twitchy at speed or under heavy braking with heavy loads... but you drive accordingly so its not really a problem.

i still say keep your eyes on T.M for a VX as they come up cheap now and then there are some bargians to be had at the moment to from what ive seen...

Any pitfalls to watch for with the VX (that is the 80 series isnt it?) Arent they the ones with the faulty big end bearing shells?

[mudzilla]

[/quote]

Any pitfalls to watch for with the VX (that is the 80 series isnt it?) Arent they the ones with the faulty big end bearing shells

There were issues with bearings but I guess most of them have been fixt or blown up buy now.

[wopass]

big end bearing shells arnt so much a problem, just a maintenance issue, every 100,000 km you replace them, same as the T belt.

some issues are, that i have seen,

check around the top inside of the chassis rail where the steering box mounts for cracking (have seen some cracked)

drivers seat mount fittings on floor pan at the back(have seen some break due to fat arse and slouch syndrome)

both easy fixes but if you can spot them on a potential purchase you could get a demon deal

thats all i can think of at the moment

[DieselBoy]

Yep, what he said.

I got mine with a certified 111,000k on the clock.

Replaced the big ends, the shells were ok, and te oil pressure wasn't bad, but they all had some pitting on them.

I broke one of the drivers side mounts (80kg fat arse and slouch syndrome plus rough terrain).

Mine also has some rust between the front steel inner gaurd and the firewall on both sides, dead leave's and dirt was sitting in the crevi's and holding moisture, so it started to rot. Didn't notice it when i was looking at the vehicle, and i havn't found another that has done the same. wasn't hard to fix though.

Also check under the carpets on the driver side floor for moisture. Can be blocked sun roof drain holes.

[DieselBoy]

BTW, my brother just piked up a 80 series, 1HD-FTE (24valve) for $15,000k with 158,000k on the clock. Its a nice rig.

His has a weep from the power steering pump, which is all i could fault it on. Can't wait to disconnect the EGR on it!!!!

Oh, also check the long side front axle seal, i have seen a few in the mid 100,000's that are starting to weep. Leads to a very gooey mess in the diff oil.

[skid]

Yep, what he said.

I got mine with a certified 111,000k on the clock.

Replaced the big ends, the shells were ok, and te oil pressure wasn't bad, but they all had some pitting on them.

I broke one of the drivers side mounts (80kg fat arse and slouch syndrome plus rough terrain).

Mine also has some rust between the front steel inner gaurd and the firewall on both sides, dead leave's and dirt was sitting in the crevi's and holding moisture, so it started to rot. Didn't notice it when i was looking at the vehicle, and i havn't found another that has done the same. wasn't hard to fix though.

Also check under the carpets on the driver side floor for moisture. Can be blocked sun roof drain holes.

and the passenger side too, its not hard to notice when there a big faaarking puddle of water sitting there.

if you do get one and it has a sunroof, get some wire and push it down the 2 drain holes at front of sunroof(both sides) and maybe a light blasting with an air duster. Mine has not leaked since and the underlay is finally drying out after a year and a half of ownership.

and everything else the boys have said, mine is a 91 with 319000 on the clock (definitely a lie) and the only bits of rust you can see are surface on the rear side windows.

bulletproof trucks (to a point)

get one and you wont look back

if ya don't believe me, then get hold of that shady Todd Charman and ask for a drive of his one.

SKID

[wopass]

BTW, my brother just piked up a 80 series, 1HD-FTE (24valve) for $15,000k with 158,000k on the clock. Its a nice rig.

His has a weep from the power steering pump, which is all i could fault it on. Can't wait to disconnect the EGR on it!!!!

Oh, also check the long side front axle seal, i have seen a few in the mid 100,000's that are starting to weep. Leads to a very gooey mess in the diff oil.

did he!!!??? that tinny bastage good work!

[DieselBoy]

BTW, my brother just piked up a 80 series, 1HD-FTE (24valve) for $15,000k with 158,000k on the clock. Its a nice rig.

His has a weep from the power steering pump, which is all i could fault it on. Can't wait to disconnect the EGR on it!!!!

Oh, also check the long side front axle seal, i have seen a few in the mid 100,000's that are starting to weep. Leads to a very gooey mess in the diff oil.

did he!!!??? that tinny bastage good work!

He's a cunning bugger, him and Dixie would get on well

The colour's not as pretty as yours though, and no lockers

[ToYoda]