Offroad-Express

well im going to kick off this weekend by thanking JAFA for my nice new high steer arms which i have now got fitted and they are primo and used my existing rods as they fitted sweet



and thanks to Scott at Lightning motorsport for the new ARB tree protector and cable damper

and am in the process of getting it all ready for next weekends winch comp

I started putting some switches in the Jeep to control the automatic. A well documented mod on the internet shows how you can modify the TCU to lock up the torque converter to help in those steep downhill descents, and to fix an issue with the 1st and 2nd gears sharing the same location on the gear lever.
So I got the first of three switches in and wired up, the first one turns the TCU on or off, so I can have a full manual with automatic clutch, or a full automatic.
Managed to blow the fuse one time when I got two wires back to front, but all sorted now.
Off tomorrow for a drive in the Orongorongo's

finally got a winch so spent today mounting it
T-MAX 10000 POUND







TEST IT TOMORROW

I went to the teams recovery event with turoa and mr o yesterday and today im doing more work on my guard chop and hopfully some wiring on the new engine , hopefully it will be ready for queens birthday weekend

fitted a pioneer cd player to the safari to fill the quiet bits inbetween auckland and wellington for the end of the month,
monsoon season has started up here, cold wet

Took my Mitsi Outlander through the Hunua catchment closed roads with the Clevedon Historical Society on Saturday - yes it was in 4wd

started saturday with a sleep in because all kids sport was cancelled (yeah)then had to cancel a fundraiser trip into the akas because the river was up .went to the rugby at the cake tin last night and got a bit hammered after which we stopped into the pub to catch the led zeppelin tribute band which was awesome.sunday had another sleep in (2 in one weekend ,miracles never stop)then decided to start putting my wagon back together .managed to get new heads on ,rocker gear all set up ,intake and headers on .took a few measurements for a new acc pump mount then decided it was too cold in the shed (bit of a softcock really)and now am inside in front of the comp with the fire roaring.heres a couple of pics of the progress on the rebuild so far http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn64/sig4x4/?start=0

Do i need to explane?

yes

coxsy wrote:fitted a pioneer cd player to the safari to fill the quiet bits inbetween auckland and wellington for the end of the month,:D

why........ dont you want to hear your wife talking about how great your truck is and you should do more 4 wheelin,more mods moneys no problem just get whatever you need......feck sorry was having a little daydream there ummmmmm yeah man bigass speakers too stop the drone in left ear...

went for a little play at rallywoods almost pleased with my truck good news didnt break anything this time.......

Spent Saturday & Sunday doing the NZQA 4WD Safety Course, in Christchurch, which Mike took.

Saturday morning doing theory, afternoon on the 4WD training course at Wigram. Saturday was quite cold and wet but still enjoyable. Sunday (today!) was spent at the Ashley River on the track and doing some river crossings. The weather was warmer (mostly) and certainly a lot drier.

Firstly an enormous thank you to Mike for his time and then for the use of his vehicle when it was determined that my Actyon Sports isn't quite high enough for most of Saturday's & Sunday's practical component of the course.

It is a great course for those wanting an introduction to 4WD driving and the safety aspects that one should consider. The fact that its an NZQA and mostly free (paid for by our taxes (see they can be usefully spent!)) is a bonus.

Speaking on behalf of all four participants I think we all learnt a lot and I know I drove in places that I wouldn't have thought I could - driving Mike's Surf helped heaps along with his coaching.

For those new to the 4WD driving I'd recommend this course and Mike as its tutor.

As my vehicle isn't (yet) tall enough for real offroad driving for the mean time I'll be doing "station runs" and other soft-road trips. If you have any recommendations for soft-road trips in the Canterbury region please post your comments. Thanks. Perhaps we can find a corner on this great site for posts recommending those sort of trips.

Headed up the Selwyn river for a blat. Had 8 trucks turn up. Found some good deep holes. And only got stuck once.

downunderxj wrote:... A well documented mod on the internet shows how you can modify the TCU to lock up the torque converter to help in those steep downhill descents, ...

can you share the link? Want to do this to my Prado - same basics.
CheersR

went for a little play at rallywoods almost pleased with my truck good news didnt break anything this time.......
no but jerry did coming to rescue you
the quiet bits are the lack of radio of anysort on state highway one

went and checked out the beach hop on sataday got all excited bout cars with v8's then came home looked in the garage and realised how much i love 4wding when i saw the cruiser siting there in all its dented glory

so bout 9 on sat night i decided to go sort out why my lockers keep turning off wen i get on funy angles found sum real crazy arse wiring that was swiftly removed and rewired hopefully they'l be sweet now

then since it was now midnight i decided to try get the heater fan workn and by 1.30am sunday morning i got it spining so went to bed and got up this morning and reassembiled my dash minus yet more excess wireing (i don't kno y but every time i look i find more and more wires that are goin to nothin

but just about have truck all ready for nxt wknd just gota put the winch horns on now and gusset the rear tow hook.

and next weekend its on!!

mike21 wrote:and next weekend its on!!

X2

had a practice session with one of my potential winch men on satday evening and spun the winch up in top gear at 3k rpm....chev sounds wicked at revs and winch spools pretty damn quick would be better if i had of gotten all the kinks out of the shaft and ballanced it as it vibrates a weee bit but should be sweet as long as i dont spool it that fast all the time

Where did it go?

I coulda SWORN I made a succesful post.
oh well, try again.

Anzac weekend turned out to be an expensive trip.

OOOO Woe is me!!

front differential housing and contents



pinion.



Crown Wheel

.

How the axles bolt in to the diff housing




Did I mention that I am not a happy chappy?

oh i kno that feeling!!

rowinz wrote:

downunderxj wrote:... A well documented mod on the internet shows how you can modify the TCU to lock up the torque converter to help in those steep downhill descents, ...

can you share the link? Want to do this to my Prado - same basics.
CheersR

Here are two links, both to Jeep web-sites. I am sure it won't be the same for your Prado, but with a bit of investigation I am sure you can find which wires do what etc.

http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAutoSwitch.htm
http://www.ilovejeeps.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11562

Good luck
Ian

Moriarty wrote:Where did it go?

I coulda SWORN I made a succesful post.
oh well, try again.

Anzac weekend turned out to be an expensive trip.

OOOO Woe is me!!

Did I mention that I am not a happy chappy?

Thats what stinkys one did.... and I think it was a pretty large warranty bill to replace the front diff and whatever else broke?

Witnessed the launching of a new Airline at Rallywoods

Crusier Air, where seatbeats are not an option, they are compulsory

My mechanically challenged mate turned up with his 4 Runner, helped him do an oil change, stripped and checked l/h auto hub, he needs manual ones if any one knows of any, refitted hub, helped him with oil and filter change, ok, I just watched that part Helped him fit a new battery, re-fitted the drivers door power window/lock switch, (any one got a spare, his is partially fried), then onto the rear door glass, it only went up and down when it felt like it, so stripped the door trim off, checked power supply, then back to switch, stripped and fixed that, but the switch is stuffed, again, anyone got a spare they wanna part with? The on to the sliding side glass widows, the tracks are stuffed, and the outer trim rotten....did what I could, but, once again....anyone got any of them too?? It is for a 1989 4 Runner/Surf, the one with the fibreglass roof....any help appreciated.

Then I managed to get onto my own 'cruiser....got the locker air tank out (I run two airtanks, one for tyre inflation, which also feeds lockers, it is fed from a converted aircon pump, and one that is for lockers only, with a small compressor to keep it topped up, it is set up with check valves so it always has pressure for the lockers, and cannot bleed back to the other tank), finished assembling all of the new airline fittings to replace the polyurethane airline with bundy tube, and relocate the solenoids to inside the inner body below the sliding rear windows, closer to the locker compressor. I want the electrics all kept in a nice dry place, hence the locker compressor and solenoids being above the rear wheel in the body cavity. Next, install all the bundy tube lines, and install the solenoids in the body cavity, and hook the whole lot up....hopefully this coming weekend.

curly12 wrote:Witnessed the launching of a new Airline at Rallywoods

Crusier Air, where seatbeats are not an option, they are compulsory

Thats got to be the photo of the year Went in to rallywoods was a great day and yes taz01 didnt break anything

curly12 wrote:Witnessed the launching of a new Airline at Rallywoods

Crusier Air, where seatbeats are not an option, they are compulsory

CRUISER AIR.......come fly with me ....

like feck i will

[quote="taz01]

CRUISER AIR.......come fly with me ....

like feck i will [/quote]

Well for those that are afraid to fly so high we have this option...........

went duck shooting down it southland, it snowed and was bitter cold all weekend but it was still great fun, just had to have a few warm up drinks after shooting.

curly12 wrote:Witnessed the launching of a new Airline at Rallywoods

Crusier Air, where seatbeats are not an option, they are compulsory

So what happened next ??

[quote="dazza85"][
So what happened next ??[/quote]

What happens on trips stays on trips..................

curly12 wrote:

dazza85 wrote:[
So what happened next ??

What happens on trips stays on trips..................

OK Is there a current photo of this truck ??
As in after that run !!
Is the spare wheel now protected from the environment by the back on the roof ...

air is not exactly uncommon territory for that cruiser