Yeah mate its usually only an hour here and there but I squeeze in every bit of quiet time I can.
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Yeah mate its usually only an hour here and there but I squeeze in every bit of quiet time I can.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Tapatalk 2
Here is an interesting comparison of before I put the new body mounts in and after. The rear bar used to touch the panelwork but now there is at least 10mm gap there so I have effectively lifted the car a bit. I can not stress enough how big a difference this has made to the overall driveability of the car, it used to clunk and groan around every corner and I could actually feel the floor under my feet moving around. The car is quieter, no clunks and just generally feels tighter and handles better. I would go as far as saying it is the best 400 bucks I have spent on the car.
Before:
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678609
After:
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678610
So now that I have the body blocks sorted out and the suspension working properly with all new bushes throughout the car is driving like it was new again, no pulling to the left, no wobbles in the steering wheel, it feels like it left the factory floor yesterday. Well almost...lol. So I could concentrate on a few other things. I put one of these on, 5 min job and it almost matches the paintwork perfectly.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678611
Then I got under the bonnet and started there, firstly I removed the dual battery tray and refitted the old turbo air filter box which is the standard box from the AIT kit back in the day, just uses a standard Falcon flat panel filter and flows quite nicely, biggest problem here was the air hose from the pre filter to the main filter is 80mm, which I couldn't find anywhere at any supplier in aus, had to order it from the uk in the end but all good. Also resealed all the joins with silicon while I was in there.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678612
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678611
Next up I fixed up some previous bush mechanics by fitting a few better clamps on my turbo wastegate exit pipe and secured the actuator rod properly.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342698522
No pictures but I rebuilt the clutch master cylinder, replaced the slave and then flushed and bled the system completely.
Then I headed inside and fabbed up a N15 Nissan Pulsar steering wheel to fit. How it was done can be seen here:
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...it-A-GQ-Patrol
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1341392007
Lastly, I got some stickers from ebay and slapped em on for a bit of bling, I think they help to break up the side of the car a bit.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1342678611
Thats about up to date now I think. Over the weekend I'm going to try and rebuild the power steering box by putting a seal kit through it, a genuine seal kit is about 60 bucks, I was going to upgrade to a GU box since it is leaking but I just don't have the funds at the moment and I don't think I will be going bigger than 33's so the original box should do the job. I'll try and take plenty of pics when I do it to try and help anyone else considering doing the same thing.
Well I got the shits with rebuilding the power steering box idea and bought myself a GU box off a member from here. I just finished cleaning it up and bolted it on, significant difference in size and weight thats for sure. I have also got a heavy duty adjustable draglink on order as I now require a GU tie rod end on one end and a GQ tie rod end on the other. I went for a roadrunner offroad one which should be enough, I don't go crazy offroad so didn't see the need for a solid chromoly version or anything like that, this one will still be significantly stronger than the standard unit and it will also allow me to convert to a pin to pin steering damper as well as adjustable when the lift comes. Pictures to follow.
nice rig bigmav, very tidy. im liking your rear bar and matching sliders. always good to see something different.
So got some more pics of progress, here is the new GU box beside the old unit, significantly larger and heavier than the old one. Notice the pitman arm in the GU box drops down a lot lower than in the GQ. This is because the draglink sits on top of the pitman arm on the GU and on the GQ the draglink goes on from underneath. This presents the first problem of the old GQ draglink not fitting up because you can't rotate the tie rod ends as they are fixed. Use a gu draglink was the first thing that came to mind but I was informed from reliable sources that yes it would fit but the draglink would eventually work loose on the gq swivel hub end because of a different taper. So the only proper way to solve it was to buy a heavy duty adjustable draglink with one gq tie rod end and one gu tie rod end to attach to the gu steering box. I ended up with a roadrunner offroad unit which included a multifit bracket to install a steering damper. Happy with it for the price.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344426341
New box painted up and installed. Fits like a glove.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344426341
New vs old, I really like the female type tie rod end it is much stronger than original and I can replace them as need be.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344426341
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344426341
Very impressive Bigmav, and to my inexpert eye, everything an improvement and everything done to a high standard.
Almost feel worn out just reading about it, esp with new Dad and Tafe on the go too. :-)
Thanks mate I'm trying to get the build right. I'd like to say I did it right the first time round but this is the second buildup on the same car so you learn from your mistakes I guess.
The good thing about a build is it will never actually be finished there will always be something we want bigger, better etc. This is why we love doing it. Nice looking rig mate. The 4.2 turbo stickers certainly add some contrast to that striking red paint.
Keep up the pics. Its looking good.
nice rig mate really making me think of a respray now
Another update for the weekend. Now that I have the adjustable draglink in and seen how they go about mounting a steering damper onto it I have been able to fab up my own simple bracket to allow me to put the damper between the panhard rod and the draglink as opposed to the original setup that went between the chassis and the draglink.
This is the bracket I made up and a couple of u-bolts to suit.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344767566
I then binned the original 1989 eye to eye steering damper and bought this new pin to pin one designed for later model GQ's. It's the new suspension stuff model, which is BIG! Apparently weighs about half a kilo more than a tough dog equivalent. Here is a comparison shot.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344767566
All done.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344767566
Lastly here is a photo of the panhard bracket that I made with the steering on full lock left showing the minimal clearance I have here. I will have to flex it up while on full lock to make sure everything clears, I may have to trim the bracket a bit more.
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1344767566
Next up, this week I'm booking it in to get the body lift, the long range tank and the conversion from 6 to 5 seats mod plated. Not sure but I may have to get the rear bar mod plated too.
What's the benefit to have the damper between drag link and pan hard as opposed to drag link and chassis?Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMav
I installed one of these on the weekend too, along with new HD adj drag link and new tie rod ends.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMav
[Tapatalk2 on Nexus7]
Well I'm no expert but I think it would take out the movement in both the panhard and draglink instead of movement in the drag link only. Nissan only kept the old setup until September 89 and then they changed it so the damper was between both draglink and panhard and they kept that setup to this day, so I reckon it was just a poor design to start with. My main reason for doing it was that I could easily do it by fabbing a bracket and I also really wanted to try out one of these dampers which aren't available in eye to eye so I thought I might aswell upgrade to the newer style. I'm happy with the results after a decent test drive it feels much better over the lumps and bumps in the road.
I made a visit to see David Metcalfe yesterday at his workshop and got the old girl mod plated. The turbo, bodylift, seating capacity change, long range tank, and the disc brake rear conversion is now all completely mod plated. All for a very reasonable price. Can't recommend David enough, a wealth of knowledge and all too happy to have a chat about all things four wheel driving, if you need something mod plated have a chat to this guy he knows his stuff. Very happy. I have no affiliations with his business either.
whats his business called mate?
Xtreme 4x4 sport. He is also a member on here. www.xtreme4x4sport.com.au
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Yeah david is a top bloke well priced on clutches for the TD42's as well. He is easy to talk to and always willing to give out advice.