Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I just went and bought the "mount and drive kit" from Marks Adapters $750 odd. For anyone that doesnt know its a kit that allows you to bolt your existing power steering pump, alternator and aircon compressor to the new engine.

Now considering there are only three items involved here you would think that it would be pretty straight forward, but no.

1. The aircon compressor when bolted to the adapter plates hits the heads of the engine, so consequently it needs a 10mm spacer on all 4 bolt holes plus there is no way that the existing aircon lines will fit at their current length, they will have to be extended.....mount and drive

2. The alternator is meant to slide over the ouside of the alternator bracket so that you can put the original Toyota bolt through and bolt it all together. The alternator bolt holes are the exact same width as the bracket so they cannot slide over each other, the bracket will have to be modified to cope with the decreased width. This is not even close to correct. Also the original Toyota bolt is larger that the holes in the bracket that it is supposed to slide through, so they will have to be drilled out to cope.

3. The power steering pump should line up fine, it actually looks good, only problem is that they forgot to supply a required 30mm spacer that is drawn in the instruction manual. I looked everywhere in the box and it definately was not in there so I had to make my own because I cant wait until they open on monday to get another one. They also close at 4pm every day which is a pain as well.

So 3 for 3, great work. This is for future knowledge and not a bagging session, I could not have made this kit and it does look like it is done well. I think they are about 90% there with these kits, but its that extra 10% that is annoying especially when asking on several occasions if there needs to be mods to the kit and being told no.

so nothing has changed in 10 years......................we did a 308 into an MQ and yet about the same. Was ok but not finished off well for the money it cost and had to redo all the brackets. We have never looked at doing another type of conversion after that

Sounds like they have QA issues at marks.

Did you or will you let them know about the issues.

IMO if they say s**t we are sorry pop in for a 20% refund, then they are a company that doesn't ignore their issues.

Cheers

Marks adaptors are experts and the only people to deal with, and the sun shines out there arse.
Well according to 4wd monthly mag anyway, lol

Did you speak with them about your problems before bagging them??? As they might have a simple solution for you

this is worrying as i'm about to buy an adaptor kit to be shipped to the UK. it's a bit hard to send something back that doesnt' work!

Dude on the melbourne list few yrs back had a 4skinner with a VS V6 conversion - I'll say it was the first one they had done at the time... but the after sales support was alittle bit to be desired from what he posted.

it was that far out with engine to radiator clearance he couldnt even fit a thermo fan.

Big Red Toy wrote:Did you speak with them about your problems before bagging them??? As they might have a simple solution for you

would also be interested to know this.

Where i am in Nz I know if 4 out of 5 marks adapter kits for 350 & 304 V8's into patrols that have been out of alignment and have had to have the faces machined. One guy contacted marks and they didnt want to know about it.

They were considering sending it back but buy the time you get it freighted back over there its easier to get the machining done.

sierrajim wrote:

Big Red Toy wrote:Did you speak with them about your problems before bagging them??? As they might have a simple solution for you

would also be interested to know this.

I would also like to know as well.

Very easy to discuss it on the forum however when your doing some what non standard modfications to your vehicle, and all that is wrong a few washers i think there has to be some tollerance, as when Mark probably did the kit the vehicle could have been slightly different.

How many times do you see 2 identicals vehicles so if you make a template off one obviously if there were some slight changes yes stuff wont line up hence you should use washers.

Anytime you use the word adapt in 4wd nothing is 100% so suck it up before you start ranting and raving on a public forum as next time you need help and if they read this your obviously not going to get the same treatment.

I disagree, If they make a bolt on and drive away kit you should be able to do this. Other wise you would make it your self or get it made.

And we are talking about brakets on a motor here, they have very small tolerances and should be able to get it right.

If it was made and theres differances in the motor from what they made it from then they should be looking at these things.

I don't agree about bagging a company on a public forum, but stateing plain and simply that it dosent fit I think is good, How are everyone else meant to know what these guys are like ?

I just think that now its monday and there open old mate calls them to sort out the problem and if he gets good service let us know.

Tangles

Did any of you guys actually read the entire first reply?

So 3 for 3, great work. This is for future knowledge and not a bagging session, I could not have made this kit and it does look like it is done well. I think they are about 90% there with these kits, but its that extra 10% that is annoying especially when asking on several occasions if there needs to be mods to the kit and being told no.

RUFF wrote:Did any of you guys actually read the entire first reply?

So 3 for 3, great work. This is for future knowledge and not a bagging session, I could not have made this kit and it does look like it is done well. I think they are about 90% there with these kits, but its that extra 10% that is annoying especially when asking on several occasions if there needs to be mods to the kit and being told no.

yeah exactly, now that its monday has he called them and were they helpful ?

If they are helpful in there back up service then I would still buy from them. If they didn't want to know about it then I wouldn't.

weeman wrote: so suck it up before you start ranting and raving on a public forum as next time you need help and if they read this your obviously not going to get the same treatment.

As Ruff mentioned read the first post before you start shooting of like a fu**n lunatic

I have only had one customer with a problem with marks stuff, fuel pumps kept on dying, but given marks dont make them you cant blame them for the issue, but hope that they will consider changing supplyer, apart from that I can never figure out the right settings for the match boxes and end up spending an hour on the phone with them getting it sorted had a hilux clock double ton HI DAN

munch wrote:

weeman wrote: so suck it up before you start ranting and raving on a public forum as next time you need help and if they read this your obviously not going to get the same treatment.

As Ruff mentioned read the first post before you start shooting of like a fu**n lunatic

Hey i'm not shooting like a lunatic, so you may wish to retract your comments. Yes i did read the first post, However would you appreciated level of publicity if this was your product or business in question.

Its not my business or I dont have any connection for it, but so many people like to rant about busines just because a couple of washers are missing.

Obviously the guy was annoyed which he has ever right to be as he needed more parts to finish the job, and was not told it was not necessary however by making a post on the internet about was it resolved? Will it make the supplier of the product change the way they do business pherhaps, however an email or a phone call could have addressed this.

its my opinion if you dont like i couldnt care less.

Geez I didn't think I bagged them too much or ranted and raved, just passed on some experiences, as honest as they were. No comapany is infallible, but when you are spending good money, surely you have the right to put them (or anyone for that matter) under the microscope. If they make a mistake, fine I can accept it as long as they fix it. I think it's unfair to call some of us lunatics though. The thing is companies are quick to take you money so why shouldn't they be under pressure to supply what they say they will. I am not specifically talking about Marks here, but generally.

In any case I hope they sorted out your problem. If it was an MQ conversion I could have sent you the drawings I sent to them to get the correct brakets made. Went thru the same issue with endless air. We sent the bracket back with a new set of drawings to do it correctly, for a GQ anyway.

I can understand Brian being frustrated at the last 10%, I've been there before.

cheers

when you are paying the sort of dollars charged by these companys there should be no last 10% it should be 100% or none at all

if we as the consumer wanted to have to mess about with the last 10% we would do it ourselves from scratch.

it is rediculous the number of times you hear of these companys selling goods that dont fit or need modifying

badger wrote:when you are paying the sort of dollars charged by these companys there should be no last 10% it should be 100% or none at all

if we as the consumer wanted to have to mess about with the last 10% we would do it ourselves from scratch.

it is rediculous the number of times you hear of these companys selling goods that dont fit or need modifying

to be perfectly fair and I am not saying this is the case or excusing stuff being wrong, but we all know stuff on vehicles changes somewhat even on same models in one year, you can engineer soemthing test it on a few cars, understand that it should be the same on all between x and x and something is a little different somewhere and throws it all out.

eg I sold some gear into china, the vehicles were 105s rigid axle made under liscence, supplied a bunch of stuff all fitted except the front suspencion, both the coils and shocks were different on these vehicles, yet everthing else on the vehicle was the same, and they were supposed to be exact per design made under licence

what do you do in this case?? in this case it will be custome gear on the next order

weeman wrote: ... so suck it up before you start ranting and raving on a public forum as next time you need help and if they read this your obviously not going to get the same treatment.

Who cares if its a public forum. I thought thats what this forum was about, building & wheeling & rebuilding 4x4s. If he experiences problems on the way and wants to share them, so be it.
Even if its a different conversion that some might be interested in, its still good to get feedback on a certain product/company, whether it be good or bad...

Get over the public forum politics crap. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. Nobody gets all huffy when a magazine does an honest review on a product, or a TV show does an honest review on a car. If companies want good reviews, they need to go that extra mile to get them. Not slack off "in the last 10%"....

good old marks acraptors good to see nothing has changed

I recently purchased a fj40 fitted with a 351 ford engine and c4 auto married to a 60 series transfer case with a Marks adapter. The fj40 had a nasty oil leak from the adapter area. With careful cleaning and inspection I decided the Marks adapter was porous. I spoked to someone at Marks in their technical section and their only answer was for me to purchase a new adapter. As being the second owner I felt that I couldn,t demand a replacment at no cost so I purchased one and fixed the leak straight away. In Hindsight it would have been good PR to replace the defective part as It was faulty since manufacture. This was the second time I've dealt with Marks over a manfacturing problem and the first was no different. I've had better service from Dellow.

Brought there $400 harness for a vr V6 engine after asking them about the chip they sell to over ride the security. They said all i have to do is plug in the body control module into there harness and use the stock key, the chip was only for people who didnt have the body control module.

WRONG... I still need the $300 chip

I intend to put all my diffulties into writing to try and explain all that went wrong and then discuss the issues with Marks adapters and see if anything can be worked out, even if it just means that they can get it right for someone else.

Thought you guys might be interested in my first post on the actual adapter itself in the Toyota forum

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=93933

I have since completed the mount and drive kit and experienced even more slight diffulties, I will eventually post with pictures everything that has happened.

Does anyone use Dellows kits? They've been at it in Oz longer than anyone else here (started with 4wd conversions) and I've heard only good reports about their conversion kits.

weeman wrote:Very easy to discuss it on the forum

Exactly why "users" come here .... to learn what can be done and understand the problems with such modifications, discussion on an issue after all is what makes everyones life that bit easier !

weeman wrote:however when your doing some what non standard modfications to your vehicle,

What the hell is a "non standard modification"
It's either a modification or its a standard fitting

weeman wrote:and all that is wrong a few washers i think there has to be some tollerance,

So when I build you a shed you wont be ringing up bytchin about the fact that we decided to leave a few sheets off of the roof !
or
you buy a new 4x4 and the dealer says not to worry cause this vehicle has no windscreen wipers fitted. you'll be OK with this ....... yes ???

We pay good money for a COMPLETE KIT, not good money for a half assed jigsaw puzzle.

weeman wrote:as when Mark probably did the kit the vehicle could have been slightly different.
How many times do you see 2 identicals vehicles so if you make a template off one obviously if there were some slight changes yes stuff wont line up hence you should use washers..

True....... there may well be a different brake master cylinder, perhaps even a diferent radiator outlet.......
But I'm damn sure that the bolt holes in the heads on the engine WILL BE THE SAME .... & to date I've NEVER seen an engine miss-aligned at the bellhousing face nor have I ever seen identicle engines with engine mounts in totally differing places !

weeman wrote:Anytime you use the word adapt in 4wd nothing is 100% so suck it up before you start ranting and raving on a public forum as next time you need help and if they read this your obviously not going to get the same treatment.

Touché


Kingy

sudso wrote:Does anyone use Dellows kits? They've been at it in Oz longer than anyone else here (started with 4wd conversions) and I've heard only good reports about their conversion kits.

I've used a couple of their belhousings in the past ....... broke both of them.

Structral design has been greatly improved since then so I've been told.


Kingy

[quote]Does anyone use Dellows kits? They've been at it in Oz longer than anyone else here (started with 4wd conversions) and I've heard only good reports about their conversion kits.

I brought an engine with a dellow kit second hand to suit a fj45 that had never been fitted and there was a machining mistake on the bell housing. I rang dellow and they took it back, made good on their mistake. To easy considering I wasn't the orginal purchaser and had no receit.

Hey fellas l would love to pass this question on to you's .ln relation to miss alingned holes or warpage in castings do you's realy think this a every day problem considering they use cnc machines ?????? every part ive recieved has been very good.And l always ask to speak with the manager if lm not satisfied with a employee's responses or answers

brian haines wrote:I intend to put all my diffulties into writing to try and explain all that went wrong and then discuss the issues with Marks adapters and see if anything can be worked out, even if it just means that they can get it right for someone else.

Thought you guys might be interested in my first post on the actual adapter itself in the Toyota forum

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/viewtopic.php?t=93933

I have since completed the mount and drive kit and experienced even more slight diffulties, I will eventually post with pictures everything that has happened.

If you have had such a problem, why haven't you rang to tell them about it!!!!!!!!!
Marks 4WD Adaptors can't fix any so called problems with there products if they don't know about it. So I suggest you stop bagging and start calling so that they can fix these problems you guys keep bitchin about.

Also make sure you have your facts right, cos most of it is bull s**t!!!!!!!