Pimp my Patrol!

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You guys may remember this Patrol from Rocket55's great build thread. Well, I am now the proud new owner of Rocket's wagon and thought I should continue what he started. So here's my own build thread - Pimp My Patrol! :cool:

Comments, recommendations, suggestions, advice - always appreciated.

Disclaimer: I am an absolute amateur and have no real idea what im doing.

Wishlist

• 2" OME or 3" Flexi suspension lift (OME, SS, TD - still undecided). Decision made, went with 2" OME and ordered parts.
• 2.75" exhaust (Beaudesert or Redback - undecided). Chose Beaudesert
• Steinbauer Chip
• Fuel Manager Ready to fit
• Lift Pump
• EGT Block and Dawes Valve
• EGT and Pyro Gauges (Redarc)
• Scan Gauge II
• Pillar Pod
• Roof rack
• Cargo barrier
• 40" Baja Design LED Light Bar (Dont think I can justify the cost after looking at other light bars)
• Lightforce HID spotties (undecided)
• Stereo/ Reversing Camera/ GPS. Thinking digi-options double din head unit.
• Ipad/ Mobile phone RAM Mount Parts ordered.
• USB charging ports
• Chassis Earth Cable
• Winch
• Rear bar and tyre carrier?
• Rear LED work light/reversing light
• LED bullbar indicators
• Bonnet Stone Guard
• Dust Guard
• Redarc Solar blanket 72w
• Charging system for solar
• Water tank and pump
• Canvas Seat Covers (Sheapskin for the Mrs)
• ARB Touring Awning 2500x 2500
• Recovery kit
• High Lift Jack/exhaust bag
• Larger bonnet scoop or intercooler down the track
• RFI Antenna upgrade (one for mountain work, one for longer range)
• Fridge
• Learn how to 4WD properly
• Join a 4WD club. Joining Gold Eagle 4x4 Club

Camping/Touring List

• LED lighting for the awning
• 4WD Maps app for the Ipad - MudMap or HEMA?
• Figure out how best to use the roof rack
• Find a solution for the chainsaw (Space case on the roof?)
• Ditch the junk we don't need

05MAY15

The Canvas

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by skiman

• Learn how to 4WD properly

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Most important one on your list mate.



As for the rest, you need to ask your self, do you really need all / most of those and what do you intend to do with the Patrol ? Light touring here and there or you gonna hit the rough stuff every weekend ? Which leads to the next question, is there a budget? Or bottomless pockets?

join a club ,
what ever you bolt on the patrol make sure its needed.
Try to keep the weight down, weight will kill any 4x4.

My other 4by had roof rack,,, drawers and I must say hardly used them,
its all weight, but definitely buy a Fridge .
Do you have a dual battery system??

do your suspension last after you have kitted it out then
they can tailor a system to suit the mods you have fitted

Dont think you'll need a high lift an exhaust bag may be better but thats later on

Thought I would start off easy with a signature Patrol bonnet guard.

Bought from Kloster Parts in Newcastle $90. This was more of a pita to install than I thought, but I was glad to break the ice :)

Before

Attachment 57817

After

Better already!

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Might want to look at a larger scoop too
IMO I think they look awesome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hodge

As for the rest, you need to ask your self, do you really need all / most of those and what do you intend to do with the Patrol ? Light touring here and there or you gonna hit the rough stuff every weekend ? Which leads to the next question, is there a budget? Or bottomless pockets?

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That's a great question Hodge (and something i've been asking myself since I saw the price of some HID spotties. I came to the conclusion that I would keep an eye out for bargains, and wait till I came across a handful of times where I would have needed the kit (just to justify it to myself). So the wishlist is general. For example, I just grabbed a cargo barrier off ebay for $70 (rather than buying a new one for $500). Ill use that as soon as next weekend when I go camping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threedogs

join a club ,
what ever you bolt on the patrol make sure its needed.
Try to keep the weight down, weight will kill any 4x4.

My other 4by had roof rack,,, drawers and I must say hardly used them,
its all weight, but definitely buy a Fridge .
Do you have a dual battery system??

do your suspension last after you have kitted it out then
they can tailor a system to suit the mods you have fitted

Dont think you'll need a high lift an exhaust bag may be better but thats later on

---

Club! Great suggestion, thanks mate. Will see what's going on around Newcastle.

Roof rack - will definitely use it. Have a Mrs, kid and dog, no camper trailer (yet). Without the rack on my old XJ Jeep, we couldn't have gone camping (the way the Mrs likes anyway, lol). Want to go alloy to keep the weight down.

Has dual batteries already, so im gtg there.

Thanks for the good suggestions guys. Appreciate it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threedogs

Might want to look at a larger scoop too
IMO I think they look awesome

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HELL YES! Damn you threedogs. LOL. Added to wishlist.

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nice work mate!!! congrats on the buy! i got to drive that troll around the block before you took it off rods hands, hes a nice bloke and really looked after it! welcome to the forum, hope to see you around here regularly mate!!

what will fail first is probably the IC I wouldnt lash out on a larger one
as a tigged OE with slightly larger tanks will give you the benefits for $$$$
spent, and wont break the bank at $400 approx. I think from your Jeep you
do what most here do and find that remote spot, load up and go camping.
Cant go wrong IMO

A rear bar with swing away tyre carrier will protect your butt and keep the weight of the spare off the door
saving your hinges

Like others have said, join a club and try and minimise the weight you add as it is your enemy. I did well on the first and failed on the second.

Nice looking wagon mate, keep up the little bits and she will change before your eyes.

Haven't had much time to post lately due to work but have been slowly tinkering away with the project.

Removed the Uniden UHF radio and installed my Icom 400 Pro. Had to re-terminate some plugs and drill an extra hole to suit the smaller bracket.

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One thing that I dislike about the Icom is that you need to have the mic hook grounded for it to scan properly. This meant running another wire and fitting a conductive hook (which I wasnt keen for). So i checked for some mods and there was some mention about internally soldering the radio or the handset. Could not find any photos exactly what to do but after some probing I came up with this and it works! :smiley_thumbs_up: Forgive the dodgey soldering, I had to do it in my shed with a cheap portable iron. Also got around to researching how to remove that annoying long beep when you turn the radio on. Have subsequently ordered a programming cable off Ebay and acquired the software to make some long awaited tweaks.

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Next was the job to finish installing the LED front bar lights (same ones as Rocket55 had). The first was a royal pain in the arse because I went about it the hard way and tried to re-terminate a weather proof plug on the car. The 3 pin connector I got from Jaycar was shit and I wasnt happy with how the crimper was terminating the lugs. So i opted for a trusty solder joint and heat shrink that wont bear the effects of corrosion in an acidic muddy environment (at least not as much a connector would). Had difficulty snapping the damn thing into its housing after I mucked around with it, but Rod came to the rescue and told me how to do it :) First one took me 3 days, second took me 30 mins, lol.

Dodgey photo from the phone.
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I also finished attaching the rear dust guard. OMFG what a horse's arse that was. The instructions from Nissan were rubbish and I ended up putting it on my own way. Still undecided about this extra or what the benefit might be... surely they put it on there for a reason?

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And lastly, the tailgate extension which brings the rear door back so I can slide stuff out of the back without interference.

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Have also removed the rear seats and plan to pull out the associated seat belts.

Feel that I've really been tested with some hand skills this week and my patience has worn thin. I lost some screws, drove off with some tools still on the bumper, and generally not thinking straight. Every mistake has been a learning experience, I just hope the successes outweigh the hammer throwing. :rolleyes:

Now that I've sold my Jeep, it's time to start getting exhaust quotes, thinking about the suspension, and fitting the gauges so I can do the EGR Block and Dawes valve! :biggrin:

Oh, the Scan Gauge II arrived in the mail so I'd like to permafit that into the truck this weekend too.

Since putting in that tail gate extension, have been hearing an odd noise (like a click or a clunk) coming from the back door. Though I'd narrowed it down to the top latch but it's still there after being checked and greased. Need to sit back there whilst someone is driving to pinpoint the location. I haaaaate any kind of rattle.

Today mod was to install my Scan Gauge II.

I plan on installing the EGT and Pyro gauges into a pillar pod soon, so thought I'd better figure out how the cables run from the dash. I had no idea and after looking around the net for an hour, was non the wiser. Even looked in some Patrol manuals to no avail. Seems that when most people post a DIY thread, they just show the finished product... which kind of defeats the purpose of a DIY. So it was Threedogs and Megomonster to the rescue with some timely advice (Thanks guys!! :D ) and then some dutch courage to rip the A frame trim off.

Here's the A frame trim off after unscrewing the handle (i didnt even break it!). Plenty of room to route the Scan Gauge cable (and the other gauge cables in future!).

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Stuck my head under the dash, wrangled the Scan Gauge cable up and then tidied everything up with some zip ties. Have only got the Scan Gauge sitting there loose for now and will mount it with velcro onto a dash mat after the gauges go in.

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Spent 20 mins configuring the new Scan Gauge and reading the manual. Think it's going to be a great tool and trip meter!

For anyone who's putting one in and wants to know what the Diesel Type setting is for a ZD30, its type A.

Think ill pay a visit to Opposite Lock tomorrow and book in for the Beaudesert 2.75" zorst. :p

Happy Friday all - time to take the edge off the week! :1062:

Bought a new Miller cargo barrier off Ebay for $330 this morning! Stoked. Figured that would be a good mission for Sunday afternoon. Since i was working in that area, I pulled out the rear seat belts as well.

Had a hell of a time re-fitting the original cargo barrier screws because that damn nut plate under the grab handles slipped out. Took me an hour of solid cursing to get those two screws back in.

Dont ever remove these bastard things unless you absolutely have to.
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As it turned out, I didn't need to remove much of the trim in any case. You can access the rear belts by pulling the upper and lower trim a little.

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I hate working with trim. Always think im going to break something. Managed to do ok though and learnt a trick to remove the trim plugs and place them on the trim before pressing it back into place (rather trying to slide the trim back into place). Like so..

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With some help from the better half, we managed to jiggle the barrier into place, removed the extra steel traps that didnt fit anywhere, threw some washers in with the mounting hardware and presto..

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So much space! Just wanna fill it with camping gear and get away :)

Attachment 58102

Dog still unimpressed...

Attachment 58101

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skiman

Bought a new Miller cargo barrier off Ebay for $330 this morning! Stoked. Figured that would be a good mission for Sunday afternoon. Since i was working in that area, I pulled out the rear seat belts as well.

Had a hell of a time re-fitting the original cargo barrier screws because that damn nut plate under the grab handles slipped out. Took me an hour of solid cursing to get those two screws back in.

Dont ever remove these bastard things unless you absolutely have to.
Attachment 58097

As it turned out, I didn't need to remove much of the trim in any case. You can access the rear belts by pulling the upper and lower trim a little.

Attachment 58099

I hate working with trim. Always think im going to break something. Managed to do ok though and learnt a trick to remove the trim plugs and place them on the trim before pressing it back into place (rather trying to slide the trim back into place). Like so..

Attachment 58098

With some help from the better half, we managed to jiggle the barrier into place, removed the extra steel traps that didnt fit anywhere, threw some washers in with the mounting hardware and presto..

Attachment 58100

So much space! Just wanna fill it with camping gear and get away :)

Attachment 58102

Dog still unimpressed...

Attachment 58101

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What happened to the second row guys ?

Coming along nicely Skiman, won't be long and I won't recognise it anymore.

PS. Was it a miller or Milford barrier you got? The mounts suit a Milford barrier.

The rear cargo area seat belts I just tucked into the top slots, worked a treat out of sight too.
I have an Icom 440 with remote head, No drilling holes , the main part is mounted under the dash
and the hand piece is mounted on the centre console via double sided 3M tape.
Coming along very nicely.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rocket55

PS. Was it a miller or Milford barrier you got? The mounts suit a Milford barrier.

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Ahhh, you're right mate. Its the Milford. I think I'm going to try and find some shorter counter sunk bolts for the bottom straps. Those big knobs stick up under the carpet and cause wear.

Cheers for checking in mate. You raised the bar ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threedogs

The rear cargo area seat belts I just tucked into the top slots, worked a treat out of sight too.
I have an Icom 440 with remote head, No drilling holes , the main part is mounted under the dash
and the hand piece is mounted on the centre console via double sided 3M tape.
Coming along very nicely.

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You know, I did consider that AFTER I took the damn things out lol. In the end I justified it to myself as a learning experience, 2 less things that will rattle, and a 1kg weight reduction! LMAO

I like those remote units and have seen plenty installed. Think I'll go that way next time. I sat a lot closer to the radio when it was mounted that way in my Jeep. Heaps more room in the patrol and I have to reach over. First world problems lol. Will reconsider options when I start to run out of mods. My next radio upgrade will be a couple of RFI antennas (1 high dB, 1low).

Next mods on the list are the OCAM roof rack and exhaust and EGT and Pyro gauge.:thumbup:

Also got chatting with a guy who had a great patrol parked at Jaycar (as you do) and he asked if I had a fuel management system /water detection unit... I drew a blank & then he explained why he had one and the cost of fuel pump replacement! Sweet Louise.. I had no idea. Will add it to the investigation list. So many things to consider.

Is it a water separator style filter, do your homework
as I think some dont suit certain TD motors

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skiman

Ahhh, you're right mate. Its the Milford. I think I'm going to try and find some shorter counter sunk bolts for the bottom straps. Those big knobs stick up under the carpet and cause wear.

Cheers for checking in mate. You raised the bar ;)

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Thats what I did. Pretty sure they are just a 10mm x 1.5 bolt. I just took one out and took it into Bunnings and screwed it into one of the nuts there to get the size, then just bought 2 bolts to suit. About 40mm long I think, same length as the threaded section of the one you're using now :wink:

Nice. I'll add that to my weekend todo list Rod. Cheers mate.

Threedogs, was chatting to the nice guys at opposite lock this afternoon and they recommended a dieselcare water trap/ filter. Will give them a call tomorrow and ask about microns and flow rates.

Also spoke with dudes at ARB about a 3" OME lift kit. Did not expect a quote for "$3800 plus engineering otherwise it's illegal". :-O. Plus a comment that they wouldn't sell me the parts so I can do it myself! Dafuq?!

Hahaha ARB = Australia Ripoff Barstards.

Sorry mate, I shouldn't laugh. :redface:

Search for suspension on here, there's stacks of advice and options to consider.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skiman

Next mods on the list are the OCAM roof rack and exhaust and EGT and Pyro gauge.:thumbup:.

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check out mcnally gauges mate, i got one from them after Mudski suggested it. they do a real nice Boost and EGT gauge in one, the Boost is shown by the needle and the EGT is shown on a digital readout on the bottom of the gauge. i mounted mine on my steering column, and its real neat and doesnt get in the way of anything.

Cheers rusty nail (great name btw! ;) ). Those are nice gauges, but I've already ordered a redarc gauge pack and pillar pod from Mark at Extremelimits 4wd. He did a great package deal for me :D

Received my full length aluminium roof rack from OCAM Industries on Friday, so that's been my mission this rainy weekend. Took a week to arrive from Melbourne and everything was very well packaged.

Started working in the garage but realised the truck wasn't going to fit in there with the rack. Hasn't even been lifted yet, so it looks like i'll be relegated to the drive way for any future work :-|

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According to their video instructions, it should have taken me 1 hour. Has currently taken me 4! Just cant seem to get the last part of the puzzle right - the cover plate. This is the part that's supposed to hold the rack to the roof gutter. Am finding that due to the design of the cover plate they bite into the side of the roof gutter when screwed in! :furious:

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Also had to retap some of the screw threads in the brackets as they refused to accept the screws - mostly just full of paint. Makes the assembly frustrating.

A trip into Clark Rubber and $8 worth of flat thin rubber fixed the gutter issue. I added some thin protective rubber to mount between the plate and the gutter. :smiley_thumbs_up:

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Job done! Look forward to putting it to the test.

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Nice post mate and good tips too. Thanks for sharing.

By the way, how's the garage clearance now? :D

Looks nice mate!

Cheers guys. Yeh I'm stoked with it. Surprising what a difference the rack makes to the general appearance :)

Next mission is the pillar pod and gauges. Received them from Extreme Limits Offroad last week all nicely packaged and he even threw in a couple of stubby coolers :cheers:

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...015/05/307.jpg

Have to admit, this mod is making me a little nervous. Never played with boost tubes and under dash wiring before.

Haha nice work Skiman! Although it must be the day for it as my last bits turned up today.

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/...psgbb3pr8h.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/...psnw8ehqvd.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/...psmgu3drox.jpg

Managed to sneak in a little time on the truck this afternoon. Got the Redarc gauge wires through the firewall and started planning out how to run the wires in the engine bay. Getting them through that rubber bung on the firewall was a pain in the arse!

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Zip tied it all up until it's ready for routing and connection.

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Also took off the engine shroud in anticipation of putting the MAP spacer adapter in for the boost line.

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Still unsure how to connect the gauges to the Light Controller module - am considering a small terminal block inside one of the gauges boxes to keep it neat and then mounting the gauge boxes to the inside footwell wall with a big patch of velcro. More investigation (and time!) required.

Also have no idea which coloured wires run off the ignition, park and dimmer wires. :confused:

Gauge install continues this afternoon. Slowly but surely!

Today's mission - splice in the dimmer switch wires and mount the programmable push button screws to the pilllar pod.

4 bolts and a screw to get the bottom plastic shroud off.

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Next was the right hand side shroud with the dimmer switch in it. This pulls off with a little pressure from the bottom. Then it's a case of pulling the instrument cluster shroud out a little and then pulling the rest out.

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Here are the two wires I need to splice into to make the Redarc gauges dim. The blue wire and the pink wire.

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I've never done this before, so an autoelec will probably roll over in his grave somewhere. Watched a youtube vid and seemed like the best way to go. Cut the wire, add some heat shrink, wrap the wires longitudinally for mechanical strength, do the same with the wire to be spliced in, solder, check continuity, heat shrink.

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Be patient with solder so that it gets good flow and a shiney solder joint. Don't overheat, don't mess with it while it's 'wet'. Clean it afterwards. Heat shrink over the top, rinse repeat for the other side. I moved the joint higher on the pink wire so that the terminations wont be on top of each other.

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Check continuity from the plug terminal to the end of the wire on your splice connections to make sure you have good electrical connection. Then pray that it all goes back together like it was at the beginning! lol

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Lastly, i drilled two 7mm holes for the gauge switches into the pillar pod.

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This whole gauge install seems like a big job, and it probably is... but one little patient step at a time and ill likely save a couple hundred dollars visiting an auto elec, and learn something new!

http://puu.sh/i3t5m/13b8503524.jpg

Nice work mate! Some good pics I can follow when I get around to doing mine.

You're becoming quite proficient at this stuff now, soon there'll be no stoping you :)

Thanks heaps mate :D It's not without the pucker factor i assure you lol.

Great stuff Skiman, easy to follow mate. Thanks a bunch.

We'll done ski man!! Very well put together!! Just out of interest did your gauges go straight into the holes of your pillar mount? How well does your pillar mount actually mount? Do the holy shit handle holes line up? Only reason I ask is I used a double pillar mount from the same company & figment was pretty terrible!! Colour match was also pretty bad!! But at the end of the day nothing a Stanley knife won't fix & it is cheap so can't complain too much!! But just curious if you had to sand & trim or if everything just fit like it should of? Cheers mate!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dman2603

We'll done ski man!! Very well put together!! Just out of interest did your gauges go straight into the holes of your pillar mount? How well does your pillar mount actually mount? Do the holy shit handle holes line up? Only reason I ask is I used a double pillar mount from the same company & figment was pretty terrible!! Colour match was also pretty bad!! But at the end of the day nothing a Stanley knife won't fix & it is cheap so can't complain too much!! But just curious if you had to sand & trim or if everything just fit like it should of? Cheers mate!

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Thanks mate. :) I've only trial fitted the gauges into the pod. One was a tight interference fit and needed some manipulation to get in (but it stayed there when fitted), the other was loose and just slid in. The loose one will need some way to anchor the gauge in the hole... maybe a little Sikflex around the inside edge. Trim colour matched seemed ok at a glance and I havent tried fitting it with the grab handle yet - hopefully today. Will post an update as I progress. I have a full weekend to myself so hoping to make solid headway. Thanks for stopping by mate! :smiley_thumbs_up: