Finaly put my Feroza back on and off the road.:) (With pics)

[Mantamac]

About six months ago I did a few mods to my Ditzy to prepare it for a play day. Upon driving it out of the workshop the fuel pump threw its hand in so stuck it back in the workshop and ordered a pump. That was six months ago!
I had been far to busy with other projects to get to work on it, so I finaly pulled my finger out and hacked and tacked it.

Spec is now:
Front and rear winches,
Front and rear tube arches,
Rock sliders,
Roofrack/lightbar,
Raised spare wheel carrier and high lift mount,
Reverse camera to help see winch cable,
Yj rear springs,
Sway bar removed,
Modified front bumpstop landing plates,
Lowered front diff for better CV angles,
Welded front diff,
Wheel spacers,
7x16 wheels,
265-75-16 Insa Special Track tyres,
Pro Comp extended Shocks,
Dash mounted winch controls,
Extended rear bumpstops,
OMP drivers seat,
Twin Batteries with split charge,
240v inverter,
Cargo net on bonnet for holding recovery straps etc.

Here are a few pics.

[SimplyPV]

looks awesome! bet that cost ya a pretty dime...

[ferozamaniac]

Warning Crazy Feroza with double winches is on and off the road. Nice to see you again with the Feroza finally done. Any details on the engine? How you pull all thiw weight with the 1.6 litre? I like the bars you have around the car. Very good job i give you an A+

[HotFourOk]

Awesome work Mantamac!!

Do u have any details of diff drop? Did it lower CV angles greatly?

The barwork looks so nice mate!
Keep it up!

[MightyMouse]

What's the issue with CV joint angles ? Unless you wind the bars up then they are fine - and if that's what you have done then you have mostly bump travel and no droop.

This means that it will pick up front wheels very easily with a resulting traction loss.

The Feroza IFS basic design is limited in its travel but the CV joint angles are still ok - have pulled them apart and checked the possible angles.

Without going to a solid axle the only real option is longer control arms.
and Widetracks are no better - they use the same arms as the narrow so travel is the same.

I have longer control arms, steering gear, driveshafts, lowered ball joints etc etc and they don't go close to being a problem

[Mantamac]

What's the issue with CV joint angles ? Unless you wind the bars up then they are fine - and if that's what you have done then you have mostly bump travel and no droop.

I know exactly what you mean.
I have welded the front diff and fitted 32" tyres, so lifting a wheel isn't a problem but the result is that the forces on the CV's are far greater than standard. With this in mind if the CV's run at too much of an angle then they run more of a risk of breaking as the load is spread unevenly inside the CV cup. Not so much of a problem on the long CV, but the short one runs at a terrible angle when lifted.
As I run 2 1/2" lift YJ rear springs, this gives a 3" lift, even with all the extras fitted. The front suspension maximum lift is only about 2" and results in no down travel. I have removed part of the bump stop landing plate and re made it allowing the wishbones to travel more, so when lifted it still has a little down travel. Not much, but every little helps.
With all this extra lift, the CV angles were just stupid, so I lowered the front diff using spacers made from 2 1/4" solid round stock.
The CV angles are just as they were stock, but with the benifit of just under 3" of lift.
Its not the perfect answer to the IFS problem but it does help get me about off road.
Some of the sites we use are quite extreme and a standard height Feroza even on 31's will spend most of its time sat on its belly plate with the wheels spinning, so the extra lift was an essential mod really.

Paul.

[MightyMouse]

All true - one thing often forgotten is that the steering causes CV angle change also. Have a look at what happens on full lock - suspension changes are only part of the picture.

But on a related issue - neither of my local Daihatsu wreckers have seen a broken CV, worn ones ( usually failed and neglected rubber boots ) but broken ?

Has anyone actually broken them ? What actually went ? What were they doing at the time ?

[Mantamac]

All true - one thing often forgotten is that the steering causes CV angle change also.

I totally agree. Thats why they usually crack when on full lock and on the gas.

I've trashed an O/S outer CV.
On full right hand lock, on the gas and landed hard on the O/S front. It cracked the CV bucket and shattered the planetary gears in the diff.

I wonder if UK spec CV's are weaker than Aus spec ones? They have a bit of a Hairdresser image in the UK, so offroad longevity was probably a secondary issue when the ticked the boxes on the build sheet for the UK market.

Any pics of you extended wishbones for me to drool over please MightyMouse?

Paul.

[MightyMouse]

Can't see any reference in the manuals to different spec CV's so have to assume they are all the same.....

Was it a short side CV that broke ? Given the importance of the drive shaft
acting as a "spring" to absorb sudden shocks they are the most vulnerable.

Once again the widening process helps as the short side axle is now longer
and therefore springier which cushions the driveline....

This is a case of bigger is NOT better a mistake that beginners make when designing axles.

[Mantamac]

It was the short CV that broke.

Making it wider wasn't an option for me. The truck was getting featured in a U.K Off Road magazine and the deadline was Tuesday the 30th of Jan. I finished the truck at 6.00am on the tuesday morning having worked through the night and the photographer turned up at 7.30am!
The reason for the last minute rush was that the truck was in bits after the fuel pump issue and I had started to strip it with the intention of a Yota axle swap on YJ leaf springs. They wanted to feature the car as they saw it last on a Uk website, so I threw it back together and added the tube to a)Cover the tyres to make it road legal and b) to allow clearance for the 32 1/2" tall tyres when crowded up.

For now it does the job nicely. The welded front diff more than makes up for the limited droop, so I can still have a laugh with it whilst off the beaten track.

I dragged the other Fez into the workshop today to start ripping it apart in preparation for fitting the Portal axles and V8.
I'll post some pictures when theres something worth pointing a camera at.

Paul.