Pimp my Patrol!

[skiman]

Seems like slow progress, but I took my time today and kept on chipping away.

Today's mission was to wire into the 2A fuse holder onto an ignition power line and tidy up the power loom. Would have got more done but I ran out of heat shrink! Grrr.

Chose to run off the Ignition 2 power line as it ran to a 10A circuit for the aircon. Dug around on the circuit diagram and then went looking for a yellow and black wire (the power side of the aircon fuse). Removed the interior fuse and relay panel (which is held on by three obvious screws.

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Fortunately, there was only one yellow and black wire and it looked like a decent gauge, so that must be the power line. I removed the plug from the fuse panel and then checked that I had 12V on that terminal when the car had ignition on - which it did! All good. Used the same procedure as yesterday to splice in a fuse holder that will hold a 2A fuse.

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One thing I realised (a little too late) was that the fatter gauge wire would take more heat to solder properly. This meant that heat travelled up the wire and started shrinking my heat shrink! Still managed to get it over the joint in the end, but just thought id mention so others will know better. Wrapped the loom back up with eleco tape to keep it all neat and refitted the fuse panel.

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Then finished the fuse job by soldering the other end of the fuse holder onto the Redarc ELC light controller.

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Finally tidied up the power loom with some spirap because it was looking like a rats nest!

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Next thing I looked at was the park light power circuit (which is the last connection the light controller needs). Kicked myself because I probably should have done this whilst I had the fuse panel off! But after digging through some more circuit diagrams, I realised that the park light power line is the same blue with black trace wire that I wired across the dimmer switch previously. Confirmed this with the multimeter and was getting 12V when I turned the park lights on. Happy days! Here are the circuit diagrams if anyone wants them.

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Tomorrow's jobs...

1. Get some more heat shrink
2. Attach the power loom to the light controller
3. Run the sensor wires up to the A pillar
4. Run the internal and external temp sensors from the A pillar through to their positions
5. Trial mount the pillar pod and then fix the gauges in their final positions with some Sikaflex
6. Complete the vehicle connections from the dimmer, power, park lights and earth to the light controller.

7. Read up on how to change the major filters (air, fuel, oil)

[skiman]

Had the 2.75" Beaudesert exhaust fitted yesterday. Stoked! It's the first of the major engine mods that are planned. I got the high flow cat with mine and it certainly sounds throaty. The installers, Opposite Lock, had issues with a stripped bolt on the heatshield, so I guess they must have got the grinder out, because there was heaps of swarf left on the firewall when I was having a look at home! Not only that, but they found it too difficult to install my the oil pressure and water temp sensors for the Redarc gauges! So the gauge delay continues.

Exhaust difference - definitely feels a little more powerful and my scan gauge II was telling that the engine is running 2 degrees cooler.

Out of curiosity - does anyone know if the ECU needs resetting after installing a larger exhaust? Im not sure if the reduced back pressure, cooler temps etc would affect the fuel mapping and all the magic things the ECU does...

[LaughingBeagles]

Great info Skiman, keep it coming mate.

[skiman]

Big weekend of Patrol work. Gota say that i'm feeling pretty stoked that I managed to accomplish these jobs - especially when several of them were considerably out of my comfort zone.

The Gauges

Finished the wiring, looming and fitting of the gauges to the Pillar Pod. Turns out I didn't need the sikaflex on the inside because the steel clips that I thought were there to hold the cables down, were also there to keep the gauge mounted against the outside lip of the holes. /facepalm

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I removed the wadding from behind the old pillar trim and used it to wrap the cables and the top of the pillar pod. Felt this would help to prevent rattles and protect the wiring a little.

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The ELC and Boost adapter box were fitted up against the firewall with some velcro. The soft flexible side on the wall and the teeth on the back of the boxes.

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Next was the boost sensor adapter/spacer that sits under the MAP sensor

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And finally, the pillar pod with gauges went onto the A pillar. I had to modify the pillar pod by cutting off a corner so that it could fit in the forward section of the dash. Stanly knife and some sandpaper did the job. There was much swearing putting the grab handle back on. From what I could see, the pillar pod holes were slightly off centre and weren't allowing the screws to go in. Spent way too much time struggling and cursing before calling out to the Mrs for an extra set of hands. 5 mins later with some brute force it went in.

For anyone wanting to do this themselves. Make sure you fit the door rubber seal before you fit the pillar pod - otherwise, its a PITA to get the rubber lips into where they belong.

I hope to God I never need to pull that thing off! LOL.

Finally, it was hold your breath time and setup the gauges.

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The top one is red because the Oil Pressure and Water Temp sensors are not fitted (hence the gauge is reading an alarm state).

I opted for the additional temp sensors on my gauges. One for cabin temp, and the other will either be for the fridge temp (coming soon) or outdoor temp. The included instructions were good, but setting the gauge ID's for both was tricky. It looks as if the connected purple wires (communication link) are interfering when you try to setup the individual gauge options. Each gauge is supposed to have its own ID and this needs to be set before you can get into the other options.

Another thing that caught me off guard was the EGT sensor wire. They tell you how to wire the connector, but no what orientation it goes into the adapter box. Initially, my EGT gauge was reading 0 at idle. But after I took it for a spin, I guess it must have gone over the lower indicating level and it started showing the EGT's. Mine were showing a healthy 450 or less (all on flat HWY driving).

To finish this job, I need to work out how/who can mount the oil pressure sensor.

For the water temp sensor.. im thinking of using one of these

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[Bacho86]

Nice work skiman, thanks for the detail write up! Will definately be using this as a reference when fitting my gauges.

Any reason why you didn't install the redarc battery guages as well?


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[Hodge]

Awesome writeup mate. Mine is pretty much an identical setup, except I have the old Autron branded gauge.
One of my pillar holes is now just bare I will be watching with interest how you do you water/oil setup as thats what I'll be doing next.

[skiman]

Nice work skiman, thanks for the detail write up! Will definately be using this as a reference when fitting my gauges.

Any reason why you didn't install the redarc battery guages as well?

Thanks for the kind words mate, appreciate it

RE: the battery gauges, I've already got a couple of digital units sitting on the centre column. Previous owner (Rocket55) did the hard work on that one. As much as I like more gauges, I couldn't find a reason/need to install another one.

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Awesome writeup mate. Mine is pretty much an identical setup, except I have the old Autron branded gauge.
One of my pillar holes is now just bare I will be watching with interest how you do you water/oil setup as thats what I'll be doing next.

Thanks man. So you have no grab handle on yours Hodge? Im a short arse and really missed them when they weren't there. That will be even more the case when the 2" lift goes in, lol

[Hodge]

Thanks man. So you have no grab handle on yours Hodge? Im a short arse and really missed them when they weren't there. That will be even more the case when the 2" lift goes in, lol

I do mate. Here is a quick photo of my as I type this.

[skiman]

I completed my first servicing on a Patrol yesterday afternoon!

I had a diesel Hilux 20 years ago and had a hell of a time changing the fuel filter on that. Even the NRMA guy couldnt start it afterwards. So that part of the servicing was nerve wracking for me haha.

60,000km

Air filter was straightforward

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Oil filter was ok too. I used the instructions Rod gave me and it was relatively mess free. I didnt realise how much 8.2 litres looked like in my oil pan, and was lucky it didnt overflow. Note to self - buy a bigger oil pan.

This is the hose you use to drain oil from the little drain pan underneath the filter.

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Looks due for a change (and no i didnt stick my hand in the oil lol)

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Dont forget to put this little plastic piece into the replacement filter.

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After hours of reading forum posts about which oil, I decided on Penrite Semi Synthetic HPR Diesel 5 5W-40. I really wanted a full synthetic but couldn't find one that was highly recommended and met the manufacturers specs. Mobil 1 came close but it doesn't look good in some of those oil test articles I read. I based my final decision after reading an article that I think Chaz wrote.. (which i cant seem to locate atm, but will link when I do). Will see how the Penrite goes. Happy to listen to any recommendations you guys might have too.

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Last was the fuel filter.

Here are the instructions I used and after following this, I barely spilled a drop of Diesel and the engine fired up first go Below is my slightly modified version.

Fuel Filter

1. Remove the hose from the outlet side of the bulb and seal off to prevent dirt ingress and fuel spillage (this is the one toward the outside of the engine bay and goes to the filter). Disconnect this hose from the bulb end and leave the hose attached on the filter assy. Swap that hose to the new filter when it's removed for easier access.

a. Drain filter at side mounted drain port into a thin bottle, retighten drain. An old Windex bottle fits in there nicely. I couldn't get any fuel to run out, but I found out later that was because I didnt unscrew it enough. This step is redundant in any case if you're careful when removing the filter.

2. Disconnect remaining rubber hoses and seal off.
3. Remove filter mounting bracket by unscrewing 2x holding bolts.
4. Lift & rotate assembly to access bottom mounted sensor plug.

a. Carefully remove the wire retaining spring that holds the sensor plug in place.
b. Clean plug contacts.

5. Lift unit out & replace filters and swap out the hose from step 1.
6. Reposition unit to connect sensor plug.
7. Bolt mounting bracket in place.
8. Refit 2 off small return line rubber hoses.
9. Prime hand pump:-

a. Loosen fuel tank cap.
b. Squeeze hand pump bellows.
c. Block rubber hose outlet of pump with thumb.
d. Allow bellows to expand which will draw fuel from tank. e. Release thumb & squeeze pump bellows to check for fuel.
f. Repeat b,c,d until fuel appears
g. Connect this rubber hose to filter inlet.

For me, this only took 2 or 3 pumps by hand before fuel was flowing.

10. Prime filter:-

a. Squeeze hand pump bellows.
b. Block filter outlet with thumb.
c. Allow bellows to expand which will draw fuel from tank & push fuel through filter.
d. Release thumb & squeeze hand pump bellows to check for fuel.
e. Repeat a,b,c until fuel appears.
f. Connect fuel pump rubber hose to filter outlet.

11. Tighten all bolts and try an engine start.
12. If engine idles tighten fuel tank cap and go for a 10km spin to exorcize any more air.

I emptied the contents of the fuel filter into a container just to see what came out. Plenty of crap in there and no water.

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Also emptied the Provent tube and found this sludge. Better than in my container than back in teh engine!!

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Was first time emptying the Catchcan tube so not sure what to expect or how much, but was surprised to see water in there. Is that normal? Probably condensation, will keep an eye on it.

Lastly, I reset the ECU since it had new air filter, fuel filter, new exhaust etc. Not that the truck was running poorly, but I reckon this should help her run better

Here's the ECU reset procedure I used. Not sure if it's right, or whether it worked.. but I did have to re-enter the radio security code etc.

Reset ECU

1. Note your radio code and odo readings
2. Remove positive terminals from all batteries.
3. Step on brakes for 10 secs. Leave car to sit for 15 mins.
4. Refit battery terminals

One other thing, I have Scan Gauge II permanently fitted. It wouldn't turn on after the ECU reset for some reason. I fixed it by disconnecting it from the OBDI plug, starting the car, turning it off, reconnecting, and then letting it do its communication link setup again.

[skiman]

I do mate. Here is a quick photo of my as I type this.

Ahhh.. gotcha. Sorry mate, I misunderstood what you said.