Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey all i have questions in regards to my ute. i aint no mechanik and trying to learn as much as i can in regards to basic maintenance. and yeah pretty much new to this game.

im planning on a roadtrip and in search of work for 5 months up to SA and NT, possible WA. i be driving on highways, unsealed roads and possible long tracks such as sandover highway, oodnadATTa, birdsville, strelezecki, tanami rd. gunbarrel highway is tempting but maybe not.

i bought a 84' LN65 manual single cab 2.4 turbo diesel clocking in at 290ks at the moment..... waiting for repair manual book via ebay. i believe it has a 2L engine on it, fitted from a surf. it has

1. 3" exhaust

2. custom made tube bull baR w/ 9000lb wArn winch

3. 35" x 12.5 muds (wranglers on the front/ bfg at the reaR) on 15x8 alloy wheels
- will be buying 33" AT for the trip.

4. 2" lift springs with greasable shackles on front

5. 2" body lift

6. brand new head fitted by previous owner 10ks ago.

i be rolling the ute 2 the mechanik for a basic service/ run through to see what needs attention. and i will send her 4 a major service b4 the trip. a friend suggested engine tuning.

so.... 1. what should i ask the mechanic 4 her 1st service?
2. what size rims should i look at for the 33s" ?
3. can the 15x8 rims fit on the 33s" ? im looking at buying steel
split rims.
4. there is a slight kink of gear as it moves from 2nd to 3rd. why ?
5. what is the purpose of the turbo timer besides acting as a kill switch and letting the turbo cool down b4 stopping ? the timer is set to 3 minutes at the moment.
6. the steering is slightly loose. she runs off centre at times. is it because of the 35s muds"? i know it will wear the tyre out running on tar. need sum mud action!


a friend will help me drain the oil completely from the sump, plus changing fuel, oil filters b4 the trip and amongst other things. not sure yet but will learn n find out.

and probably join a 4WD club to learn more basic and maintenance skillz.


cheeeeers

ed

mate, I have always done all the oils and filters when I have bought a second hand vehicle as you know where you are starting from, do the gearbox, transfer, diffs, all the filters and worth doing the belts as well, keep the old belts as spares

good luck

jezzat wrote: so.... 1. what should i ask the mechanic 4 her 1st service?
2. what size rims should i look at for the 33s" ?
3. can the 15x8 rims fit on the 33s" ? im looking at buying steel
split rims.
4. there is a slight kink of gear as it moves from 2nd to 3rd. why ?
5. what is the purpose of the turbo timer besides acting as a kill switch and letting the turbo cool down b4 stopping ? the timer is set to 3 minutes at the moment.
6. the steering is slightly loose. she runs off centre at times. is it because of the 35s muds"? i know it will wear the tyre out running on tar. need sum mud action!

cheeeeers

ed

1. Tell the mechanic exactly what you want to do with the car ie big road trip. If they're worth their salt, they'll check the relevant stuff.
2 & 3. The same size rims you are running now will fit the 33s. Don't get split rims!
4. A 25 yr old car with nearly 300,000 km? Expect a few niggles like this, it's probably nothing, just a worn synchro.
5. Turbo timer is as you said. Lets the turbo slow down before the engine cuts out and stops feeding oil to it. A turbo spinning at operating speed will not last long with no oil to it.
6. The mechanic should be able to rectify this. If not, get a wheel alignment done somewhere and they should find any faults.

As far as getting the engine "tuned", diesels are a lot more involved to tune properly than a little petrol. You need a proper diesel mechanic to do a proper job. If the motor doesn't blow a heap of smoke, it stays cool and economy is ok, then sounds like things are ok at the moment. Hopefully the right stuff in this area was done when the new head went on.

Also, they're not the best motor, these surf engines. They are import vehicles that were never sold here and consequently cooling systems and other stuff was not designed for our relatively stinking hot climate. This is why cracking heads and gaskets is a very common thing on this engine (most commonly caused by overheating). It would pay to fit an aftermarket temperature gauge as the factory one is pretty bad.

If it does crack a head again though, look for an aussie 3L 2.8 ltr hilux motor to fit in. Should go in relatively easily.

As for joining a club, go to plenty of meetings and trips first before you hand over the joining fee. Like clubs with most other hobbies, they get little cliques in them and unless you're part of the "inner sanctum", you'll miss out on the trips and shed days (which is where you learn maintenance stuff) that the little 'group within the group' privately organises. Anyway, there's plenty of internet forums around now that have trips organised regularly, have members that contribute worthwhile tech stuff and you can meet people without the fairly hefty cost of club membership.

those 2.4 engine crack heads no matter where in the world they are, toyota just didnt make a very good head. if you crack the head, rather than worry about an engine swap, just stick the 2.8 head onto it. it fits no probs and its stronger and has larger valves.

jezzat wrote: 6. the steering is slightly loose. she runs off centre at times. is it because of the 35s muds"?

Get them to check the drag link and adjust the steering box.
I did mine and it made a bazillion percent difference, especially on longer drives.

You should only need to run your turbo timer for 1 minute, tops. That's enough time for the turbo to slow/cool down. Any longer is just a waste of fuel.