Paul’s esoteric meanderings

I recently had a custom exhaust system made and installed in my HZJ105 Landcruiser. Beaudesert exhausts got the job from their general good reputation, and as they could mandrel bend onsite, meaning less welds.

My cruiser needed some customisation done to clear the large aftermarket fuel tank and join to the AXT Turbo on the motor.

The installation didn’t go exactly to plan however.  Read more... (439 words, 12 images, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

1. 4hr estimated (took 8hrs)
2. Charged $1100 then came back for anther $100 (accounting error)
3. Wrong Muffler installed (louvered instead of perforated) – I only asked 3 times

I frequently see wiring diagrams for Driving Lights that just don’t work in many cars.

Toyota nearly always and Nissan often use a what is known as “switched earth” wiring for their headlights. They do this so that each headlight can have it’s own 12v supply and fuse, meaning in the event of a problem, you only lose one light.  Read more... (431 words, 3 images, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

• Connect terminals Tc and E1 of Check Connector (in engine bay) and remove the short pin (normally inserted in bottom right corner).
• Turn the ignition switch on.
• Depress the brake pedal 8 or more times within 5 secs.
• You can now read any DTCs on the ABS Warning Light, but if everything is OK, you get the Normal Code (on-off blink with 0.25 sec intervals).
• Revert Check Connector to normal.

Codes  Read more... (120 words, 3 images, estimated 29 secs reading time)

• 11=ABS Solenoid Relay Open or Short Circuit
• 31=Right Front Wheel Speed Sensor Signal Malfunction
• 32=Left Front Wheel Speed Sensor Signal Malfunction

Whilst my Mickey Thompson MTZ’s are on the best on-road tyre, they are pretty damn good offroad.

Their wear rate has been a little high so far, and they are vague on the bitumen, tracking and wandering a bit. It is improving as they wear down, but s straight line tyre they are not.

Here is a pic of them working over nasty stuff, mostly at 17PSI with a 100 Series Landcruiser and gear on top.

It’s fairly common knowledge that the OEM Toyota temperature gauge has a large “dead spot” in the centre of it’s range. This spot is deliberately engineered to reduce the apparent fluctuations and make the car appear to run at a constant temperature unless there is a significant problem. This works fine for most, but those of us that like to know what’s going on sooner rather than later, demand a little more detail. Many people fit an aftermarket gauge somewhere in the car, I figure, if the factory gauge is already there and can be made accurate, use it.  Read more... (758 words, 62 images, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

Landcruiser or Hilux overheating? Your factory fan clutch is probably under-filled and incorrectly set from factory. Fix this first and you may save a lot of time chasing issues.

(4 Runner or Tacoma in the USA)

The stock Toyota cooling system can sometimes be somewhat marginal. The suspicion for this falls on every component and modification in the system.  Read more... (1336 words, 17 images, estimated 5:21 mins reading time)

• Radiator (Size / Efficiency)
• Thermostat (Brand / Effectiveness)
• Water Pump (Flow, Cavitation)
• Radiator Cap (Quality, Pressure, Leaks, Recovery)
• Coolant (Freezing / Boiling points, Specific heat, Anti-corrosion)
• Hoses (Restriction)

I decided that my home made winch mount needed to be tested so I could trust it somewhat. I see from some of the conversations I am not the only one with doubts. The mount performed perfectly, although he synthetic winch rope broke.

The tests were all done on the first layer of the drum to give maximum tension. This also places additional load on the mount due to the increased height adding leverage.

Test 1 – Drag Car on Dirt (Wheels Locked)- Passed

Test 2 – Drag Car on Dirt Up Hill (Wheels Locked) – Passed  Read more... (330 words, 8 images, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

This just turned up with my rego renewal.

They are a scam, it’s so well documented I can’t even be bothered linking the hundreds of articles.

http://www.google.com/search?q=firepower+dans+data&rls=com.microsoft:*&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

Scammers, Charlatans, Scumbags, Liars, Theives, Con Artists, Rip Off Merchants, Fools and Money.

What next – Hyclone ads? I’ve got some magic fairy dust I would like to sell you…..

I frequently hear people talk about intake flows, filter restrictions and snorkels, but most don’t have any testing to backup their theories.

Here is the testing to blow some theories away, you’ll find out which ones.

 Read more... (136 words, estimated 33 secs reading time)

OK, oil analysis is neither simple nor my specialty. Here are the details from the last seven changes I have done, with an analysis at each one.

http://www.neuralfibre.com/paulfiles/Cruiser_Oils.xls

Oil Filter Pics Here

Technical info can be gleaned from links below or Google.

This analysis is not perfect or definitive. My motor is not factory and fuel system hasn’t been touched possibly ever (250,000km). I have changed multiple variables each time (oil, filter, driving style etc)

What I read into this analysis is  Read more... (257 words, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)

1. I need to try 10,000KM filter changes, 5000 seems to be nowhere near capacity of the filter

I had been told a number of stories about the differences between different filters for my Landcruiser. As they were contradictory, the only way to get real answers was to open them up.

I have been doing a program of Laboratory Oil Analysis with Castrol in conjunction with this to obtain some definitive information. None of these filters have run longer than 5000KM.  Read more... (570 words, 10 images, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

Sick of oil dripping down the side of your 1HZ motor every time you change the filter? My 1KZTE powered surf came with one, but my ’98 GXL cruiser missed out.

Actually the catch tray in the surf was better, as it had a hole and hose leading to near the sump plug, so whatever leaked, ended up in the bucket too. This one you have to clean out manually – I use a rag. Oh well, can’t have everything I guess.  Read more... (107 words, 1 image, estimated 26 secs reading time)

• Toyota Part Numbers are:
  Receiver, Oil 15674-17010
  Bolt, FR Oil Pump Cvr – 91511-J0820

Sometimes when you buy cheap junk, you get what you pay for.

A mate bought a brand new set of “TBC Corproation” Korean 235/85/16 muds the other day for $500 for 5. Sundown was their first trip out. The roads were bad, the Discovery fully locked.

In comparison another Defender without lockers did the same roads with some assistance. The Defender had a brand new set of Maxxis on it. My Cruiser had Mickey T MTZ’ s not pictured, here. Same roads, also minimal to no significant damage.

Tyre pressures on the Korean tyres were 22PSI initally, then dropped to 17PSI. All work was low range, generally 1st or second. There was wheelspin, but in the cheap tyres it was minimised as far as possible. The Maxxis copped more of a flogging due to not having lockers fitted to the car. Yes the rocks were hard and sharp, but the other tyres coped.

 Read more... (213 words, 12 images, estimated 51 secs reading time)

AGM Batteries, especially cheap nice cost effective Chinese ones don’t like heat too much. All Lead Acid batteries are subject to thermal runaway when charging and the design of an AGM is such that as it gets closer to fully charged the catalyst effect that stops it losing water produces plenty of additional heat.

The AGM construction has approximately 50% more lead in it than a normal flooded cell, and the electrolyte is not free to move around as easily as it charges. The cells are tightly packed with an adsorbent wadding leaving no room for movement.  Read more... (557 words, 12 images, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Toyota Australia imports them as a commercial vehicle. Even the Lexus is a commercial vehicle. This means no cabin filters. Ahh well, not much dust in Oz…..

Front AC panel with slot for filters

 Read more... (82 words, 6 images, estimated 20 secs reading time)

Back when I first bought the 100 Series I did something silly and broke the front diff. That was 15 months and 25,000km ago.

Last month saw me in Tassie for a holiday and gagging to try some of the more famous Tassie tracks. After the first decent circuit done and heading up a dirt road I hear and feel a noise – clunk clunk clunk about once per wheel revolution. I had heard a very faint noise 2 weeks before, but it was consistently only on deceleration and I had put it down to the new tyres.  Read more... (452 words, 15 images, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

As my 1HZ has an aftermarket turbo, and as I occasionally give it a good workout towing large loads, I decided it highly appropriate to fit an EGT gauge. This would allow me to see just how hard I was working the motor and reduce the risk of catastrophic damage from pushing things to hard. It is very possible to have extreme EGT’s with the resultant cracked pistons, head damage, cracked valves and yet have the engine temp read normal. Fitting the boost gauge and EGT would also open up further tuning potential.  Read more... (826 words, 7 images, estimated 3:18 mins reading time)