LJ70 Build Thread!

[Strick]

Cant see that option anywhere, might be because i dont have 15 posts yet.

Only Tigerz11, i have used some of their items and not had a drama yet. However i have read that their customer service was shocking for a time, however they accepted this and have been improving it.

If they copy those brands, it means its just as good in most cases which means its good competition for the once monopolized 4wd market in Aus?

I have read people winge about ARB and TJM just as much as Tigerz and Roo systems. Isnt competition good? Plus will mean better pricing and better, well made products across all brands.

(Oh and by the way i dont work in the industry, just enjoy it!!!)

 

[Ben]

Charles Vella the man behind 4wd Action magazine bought Tigerz11 and also has a financial interest in Roo Systems. When this happened a lot of big companies stopped all advertising in 4wd Action magazine aswell as the other 4wd magazines that express media publish.
The company I work for had been advertising in 4wd Action for many years and the amount of money we no longer pay express media group is a huge amount!

4wd Action promotes and pushes all the shitty products that those companies sell. The products are often exact copies of products that ARB and TJM have spent a lot of money on designing, testing and producing.

Anyone who goes into Tigerz11 and looks at the bull bars and roof racks for example, will see rust coming through the powder coating on the welds. The quality is shocking!

By buying cheap knock off copies from these companies not only are you buying inferior products that could very well prove to be dangerous, you are damaging the Australian economy!

I would rather buy something and pay more money for it knowing that its made in Australia and so is keeping fellow Aussies employed.

All the products that those companies sell are made in China not Australia.

If you have a problem with any of these cheap knock offs don't expect them to honor there supposed warranties! There is a facebook page that is dedicated to trying to get a replacement/refund from Tigerz11 for faulty products. One chap has been calling them everyday for months now and is still no where near to getting the situation resolved!

What Roo Systems did with one of our members 40 series LandCruiser was shocking, disgusting and dangerous!

Almost every other 4wd manufacturing business in Australia hates those two companies and last year they were banned from the Melbourne 4wd show. This years show is next month and I imagine they will still be banned!

I support buying quality Australian designed and manufactured goods which keeps Aussies employed and keeps that money inside Australia rather than it getting sent to China for their cheap, crappy, copied products!

My boss always says he doesn't mind people copying products so long as they improve on it and make a better product! Obviously there copying ARB, TJM etc. and turning out a poorly made Chinese copy!

Most people reading 4wd Action and watching the DVD's don't realize that 4wd Action has a financial interest in the crap there pushing, so they see people like Roothy saying "buy this its great." and are totally taken in thinking well if Roothy says its good it must be!

 

[Ben]

First day back at work today and its been a hot one at 43 degrees!

The rear bar we've been developing for the Grand Vitara has now been painted and fitted.





I particularly like the laser cutting on the jerry can holder.



I also really like the catch for the swing out spare wheel mount.







We also had the other 60 series in for a service. This one is a bit more modified than the 60 I normally run around in.





The roof rack off Frankenzuke has come back from the powder coaters so I fitted a light bar.





At 4pm when I finished work it was still pretty hot!



I brought the 2 hubs in so I could use the press.





First I pressed the genuine studs out of the hub with the broken free wheeling hub studs.





Next I pressed the milner studs out of the other hub, these are the ones that Chris and I had a right game trying to get them to fit. I certainly wouldn't ever recommend milner studs!



Then I could press the hub off the disc.







I find it interesting that the earlier LJ70's had 2 bolts also holding the disc to the hub and that the hubs were round, where as on the later LJ70 hubs the threaded holes for the 2 bolts had been done away with and the hub isnt round and has sections rounded out.



Earlier style hub.



Later style hub.





The genuine studs tapped in quite nicely.



I then finished them off on the press.





At 6pm when I went out after dinner to fit the hub it was still very hot in the garage!





My old FSM for the torque and pre load settings, spring scale and new oil seal.



My newish wheel bearings ready to fit into the new hub.



Needed to fit the race first.



I love this set, so handy!



Makes tapping bearing races and seals in squarely so easy!



Michael had recently bought a tool thats meant to make packing bearings with grease super easy.



First thing to do was to put some grease in the bottom of the chamber.



Bearing in and pushed down.



Seemed to work well, it pushed all the old grease out as the new stuff got pushed in.









Bearing greased and in, I could fit the new seal.





Other side.









Set the bearing pre-load.



Next I removed the old free wheel hub studs.





New super strength studs!



All fitted with plenty of thread lock.



The spare free wheel hub that I had is missing the middel bit so I need to swap the one out of my damaged one but my circlip pliers couldn't get the circlip off so I will take it to work tomorrow and use the circlip pliers there.



Tomorrow I want to get 2 of the 35"s balanced because last time I drove back on them which was from the snow trip it was almost undrivable. It was worse driving on the unbalanced 35"s than the 37"s which arnt balanced but drive really nicely.
For the next trip which is in a few weeks time we've got a 3.5 hours drive each way and I'm hoping if the 35 are balanced then the drive should be good.

I got a good price on the MSA drop down fridge slide but the shipping to freight it down from Queensland is expensive so I'm not saving as much as I'd have liked. Havent ordered it yet as still looking at other options.

A customer came in today who had a nice Hi-lux and in the custom canopy on the back he had a fridge slide I've not seen before that pulls out and tilts as opposed to dropping down. Looked OK.

It was made by a company called Basher and thats what was laser cut into the front of it, but a quick google search hasnt revealed much.

Thursday night I want to make the new rad cowl.

 

[Maverick]

"i hope you can, just needs to be reliable, many miles of dunes!

... Can you use those words together in the same sentence -- "LJ" and "reliable" ?

 

[Ben]

 

[Maverick]

I like the Bearing Packer Tool - I must get one

 

[stumog]

ben what size tube did you use for the Roof rack please do you have a idea of the weight of it?
thanks stu

 

[Ben]

I like the Bearing Packer Tool - I must get one

It is good but its not as mess free as I was hoping for.

ben what size tube did you use for the Roof rack please do you have a idea of the weight of it?
thanks stu

I will measure it for you today. Its the exact stuff I'm thinking of making a roof rack from myself as I want to keep it as light as possible.

 

[Strick]

Thanks for the reply Ben, I knew the mag bought the company. Interesting to hear thoughts from someone in the industry.

Any more info on the 60? Just bought myself a HJ61 with the 12HT! Great cars

 

[Chris]

I do remember those wheel studs Ben. They were a right sod to put in. We cracked a disc IIRC.

One thing I have been wary of is thread locking the flange studs in though. They really shouldn't come loose and after I have snapped two sets off completely, it made me think how hard it would be to get the stumps out if the were stuck in. I've really cleaned up the threads and put them back in nice and clean and greased so that I can drill them and use an easy out. Fortunately I haven't snapped another set since then.

Yes I like the grease packer too. Seen those before but never picked one up.

 

[Ben]

Thanks for the reply Ben, I knew the mag bought the company. Interesting to hear thoughts from someone in the industry.

Any more info on the 60? Just bought myself a HJ61 with the 12HT! Great cars

No worries mate.

Well the 60 that has come in for a service is an earlier one, 1985 I think my boss said. So its got orange indicators, no side repeaters on the front wings/guards, and the older style dash. The other 60 we've got is a lot newer, cant remember the exact year but it was one of the last ones, and is different from the other one for the reasons mentioned above. Both have the 12HT.

There good solid trucks and I've had 150 kmh out of the one! I find them a bit wallowy on the road though thanks to the leaf springs but they are great vehicles! Same size diffs front and back aswell, unlike the 80 where Toyota fitted an 8" Hi-lux/LJ70 size one.

I was talking to my boss today and he said when the 60 came out it was 10 grand dearer than the Patrol that had just been released, and the 60 is obviously leafs all round and drum brakes on the back. Where as the Patrol was coils all round, disc brakes all round, and a slightly longer wheel base so drove much nicer, but the build quality on the Nissan was no where near as good as the Toyota.

I guess thats why there are so many Patrols around. If/when I build a comp car I think a Patrol is a great base vehicle, I might just add a Cruiser body.

I do remember those wheel studs Ben. They were a right sod to put in. We cracked a disc IIRC.

One thing I have been wary of is thread locking the flange studs in though. They really shouldn't come loose and after I have snapped two sets off completely, it made me think how hard it would be to get the stumps out if the were stuck in. I've really cleaned up the threads and put them back in nice and clean and greased so that I can drill them and use an easy out. Fortunately I haven't snapped another set since then.

Yes I like the grease packer too. Seen those before but never picked one up.

Interesting thoughts on the studs Chris, fingers crossed I don't snap any as like you say they will be much harder to remove.

I've actually found that some of my studs were slightly loose when I came to remove the ones on the other side to fit the new super strength studs. I wonder if this slight bit of movement was enough for them to be able to snap.

The new studs felt like a much tighter fit when I was winding them in which was nice and I was able to get them really tight without fear of the stud shearing. The new studs shouldn't snap as there a hell of a lot stronger than the standard Toyota ones.

http://www.trailtough.com/index.php...ategory_id=51&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

 

[Chris]

Ben I like the sound of the super studs. Do you have any details on those that you could share? It's the 37's that are the problem I think. If there is any slack or movement in those studs then effectively the wheel gets a run up at them and they snap like carrots. Not an intrinsically weak part, but by upgrading everything else you move the weakest point to somewhere else I suppose. I have replaced my studs with HT cap heads for the time being. But they look like a proper solution. Packet sized too

 

[Ben]

http://www.trailtough.com/index.php...ategory_id=51&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

 

[Ben]

Interestingly trail gear also sell the ARP studs, but they also offer a No questions asked life time warranty.

http://www.trail-gear.com/hubs-and-drive-flanges

 

[Ben]

We havent had any pics for a while so..........................

I took the free wheel hub into work today and found some suitable circlip pliers.





Removed the center out of my old FWH.



I then discovered it was no where near the right size for the other FWH body that I had.



So I now need to source a new FWH.

After work I repaired the passenger seat out of Michaels 80. I'm not sure if this is a common 80 thing but the seat had developed an annoying clicking noise even when there was no one sat in it, and it felt a little bit loose.

After removing it we spotted the damage, so I brought it to work to weld it for him.



The metal around the captive nut had cracked and broken.



I covered the fabric and cushioning as best I could using plenty of wet rags and aluminium sheet.



I wound an old bolt in to stop any slag going in the hole and messing the thread up.



Welded.



And ground.



Hopefully that will last another 20 years.

Came home and decided even though I couldn't fit a FWH I could still fit the brake caliper, new brake pads, and get the 35"s on.







Brakes done the wheel could go on.



Despite the 10J rims having a huge -38mm offset the wheels only just clear on the passenger side, and the wheel weights would hit the track rod end.





I put one of the other wheels on that corner that didn't have any weights on the inside of the rim. If its not nice to drive I will get that wheel balanced and get them to use an adhesive weight on the inside of the rim instead.

Decided to change the rear wheels next and couldn't resist taking one of the drums off for a peak.





Lots of mud and the shoes were worn right down in one spot so they need changing.





Other side.



Same as the other side.



So I used the heated pressure washer in the back of Michael's van to give them a good clean out.







I hate drums and I really should get around to converting to rear discs.

For now I will get new shoes.

They haven't done too badly in that there cheap milners ones and they haven't been changed for over a year.

I received something in the mail today..................................



















Huge thanks to Crispin for sending it down to me, top man.

2014 club calender!

My boss has ordered me the MSA drop down fridge slide, so that should be here next week hopefully.

I could have got him to order me the Oz Tent bunker but I would have to pay freight and wouldn't have got a huge amount off retail price, but if I can wait a few more months until they do a big order I wont have to pay freight and will save 4 times as much as if I order now. So I will probably wait a bit longer, after all the whole idea of getting a new tent was for my Simpson trip because I don't want the hassle/time of setting up and packing up my regular ground tent everyday and that trip isnt till September.

Tomorrow I can use the workshop at work till 9-9.30pm so I'm hoping to get the radiator cowl built.

 

[clivehorridge]

Interesting stuff there Ben, looking forward to your rear disc conversion, I have the same situation on my 80 that has drum brakes on the rear .

I too received a calendar from Crispin today , thanks Cris!

 

[Chris]

I suspected that's where mine came from but wasn't quite sure.

Lovely.

C

 

[tonytoyota]

Hi can I get a 2014 calendar and wot is the cost of them thanks tonytoyota

 

[Bodhi]

Hi can I get a 2014 calendar and wot is the cost of them thanks tonytoyota

Dito

 

[Ben]

ben what size tube did you use for the Roof rack please do you have a idea of the weight of it?
thanks stu

20mm with a 2.5mm wall thickness.

Probably a bit small and thin really, but if I use it it will keep the rack nice and light and I don't plan on putting anything super heavy on it.