Brace and Drill
 

Making the top brace mount:\

Cardboard assisted design...

section of 2" box section...

Many sparks later...

Test fit and prepare to drill a hole through the van.

M10 bolt and back washer...

Solid...

It's almost as if I spent many hours planning the swing rack or something...

Need to trim the lamp housing to a little bit to clear the brace but should fit no issue..

Smooth out the rough edges and bedliner spray...eventually.

Next is Jerrycan holders...

Need to get the Van going soon...
 

Had to get more cutting disks and MIG tips/nibs.

The carrier rack needed to get tacked/locked in to be able to remove the whole unit so the van can get moving again...

Which was holding me back from also getting the Stainless Steel exhaust pipe chassis hangers sorted out...job for tomorrow.

Making the 2 jerrycan holders cages took considerably longer then 1 would imagine and even longer again if they were perfectly square and right angled...but I'm just a dude in a garage. No clamp tables or the like...

Well got them done and spaced correctly to also be used as my recovery tracks holder...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLe71YjrUkI

Not sure if Muputrax is still in production...website 404.

Anyhoo got it all fully welded up now and off the van.

Well Hung
 

A day of making exhaust pipe hangers by adapting the hangers from the old exhaust system...Some scrap metal to fill in the spaces

all welds to stainless done in stainless...

Mild steel to mild...

Spritz of high temp paint...

Hopefully it will all go back together as intended...

Then its the start up turbo diesel whistle test...

Nice work.

ehh, given the limitations of the welder and the .9mm gasless stainless steel mig wire it's about as good as it's capable of...

It certainly behaves different to the .8mm mild steel flux core wire which I'm getting better at using...

The Blue Demon Gasless Stainless Steel wire requires all the amps my welder is cranking out and is still forms high welds and does not tolerate contaminants. which like to spatter/popcorn.

I still recommend the product and if they made it .8mm it might have performed better. 240v/160amp is just enough but more would be better...

I had to combine dissimilar metals with the hangers, So what ever welds resulted were more of just getting the job done and holding solid.

But considering its exhaust pipe I'm more concerned with function and longevity...

I'll tack the snorkel and getting finished buy a professional with a TIG welder...(when I get around to it) a job for another time.

Diesel Brainheart rebuild
 

It happened...


I got the bastard out.


taking it to a specialist for a full rebuild.


Much wallet pain to be felt...


However compared to modern vehicles its also somewhat cheap in comparison.

I was experimenting with WVO and diesel blends on my Deli that just clicked 250k.
For awhile i thought all was ok for about 1-2hrs of driving.

heading home up the range engine starts getting the hiccups and losing power...I just managed to get home and pulled into the garage...

I proceeded to change the filter...then the injectors. In the hope my 4m40T running woes were not critical. Well it was clatter-choofingly apparent my alternative fuel experiment might have pushed the old ZEXEL/Bosche pump to much.

So I went down the rabbit hole of removing the pump from its grip and opted to take it to my local diesel pump/injector service specialist, Which is North Coast Diesel Service


All they do is diesel injector pumps for over 20 years.

I called and told them my issue and they said "yep, bring it in"

Bit of chin wag later and a few days and my pump was ready...I also asked if they could give me a bit more poke on boost...with the response being "10%"...sounds good to me.

They also removed some Japanese winter spec coolant line gubbins so (simplified) with the final service price $1280 total.

I was told these pumps don't like bio fuels, I was informed the new seals were more tolerant of bio fuels, but they will not cover their warranty if bio fuels are used (1year/20000km)

Anyway I just spent the day putting it all back together with a drained tank and fresh diesel purged...flushed and primed the lines...Anxiety...turn key and vroom....relief.

I am yet to drive it and test the 10% boost. But hearing the engine run healthy again is all the confirmation I need to know the guys at NCDS know their shit.


Well I fired up the van in the garage hoping to bleed the air out of the coolant lines after buttoning it all up...
and it started chuffing again all kinds of colored smoke came out of the pipe.

I managed to unstuck the clutch and back out of the garage to clear the air a bit but it konked out again...

Multiple start attempts with long no fires and then occasional idle to weak idle...hit the pedal and get some revs but it would chuff up and konk out repeatedly...

Which implies a failed head gasket or cracked head all along....

In other words my injection pump was probably fine...so there goes $1280 in a puff...Nothing against North Coast diesel Service.

the problem was me and my path of reasoning.

So, I do have a head gasket spare...But I'm in again for time and bleeding knuckles with a set of head bolts and hopefully not a cracked head.

The oil is fine and level but there was some condensation when removing the cam cover and I did notice my coolant expansion tank level was dropping but also holding pressure...

Loss of compression is my only remaining factor after sorting out all the related fueling potential issues, which by all accounts and $ was resolved...

The joys of 25year old 4wd motoring...I wanted a vehicle to wrench on...I guess I'm in the deep end now.

Rule of thumb working on old vehicles. One thing leads to another. :wtf:

I learned this in spades after buying an '02 Civic from the city impound lot. Full front end work... CV axels, struts, both lower control arms, then got into the timing belt just for good measure. Found new OEM Honda belt and shiny new water pump in there, but changed the idler pulley and belt anyway :doh:

Then a few hundred miles later, realized it was going through coolant and overheating. The head gasket had to be replaced, so went ahead with a remanufactured head as long as it had to come out.

Along the way, I found used radiator mounting bracket, battery tiedown, and a couple of other "missing pieces". Why not ?

OK now it uses a bit of PS fluid, engine oil (oil pan leak?), and the transmission is a bit thumpy. But it starts and runs great otherwise :yay:

Such a good deal this turned out to be :lmao:

I kinda wish I never sold my 92 EG Civic...probably just needed a new feul filter, but I wanted to haul stuff and tow a trailer. Hence the 1997 diesel 4wd van.


It is what it is, I knew the risk, and was anticipating a money pit. Hence why I restored an old air cooled motorcycle as backup...but we'll forgo the multiple top end rebuilds with that project...

One of my brothers is in a 'burb of Canberra. They have an aging TDI Eos ragtop that's beginning to fall apart on them. He is talking about an electric conversion on an old '94ish 2WD Toyotalong bed Ute (22R). Runs fine, but $8+ USD per gal fuel is bothering him. Ya think!? It is his beach mobile (surfing), and garden construction project hauler.

They need to address the (her) Eos first!

I know about COL issues there. 4pack of beer is $25. Ouch

You can buy a Nissan Leaf for under $28k USD in the States, Same car is $62K in Oz.

He recently added a battery to his home solar system, so now they often have days where they use less than they push onto the grid. An electric car and a few more panels is looking like a good investment to them ! He is thinking about a Kia electric vehicle now, to replace the Eos.

The 4m40T engine is being cloned in china, so ironically aftermarket parts are somewhat cheap. It's actually found in plethora of china pickups/ SUV. So a set of injectors is less than $100AUD, a head gasket can be found for under $50 and a fully assembled new cylinder head is $500...How long they last is about as sure as a big bore kit for a CG250 does



If EV conversion kits were cheaper I'd love to got down that route but as for now an Indirect injected Turbo Diesel has got me grimed up.


https://ziptek.en.made-in-china.com/...hallenger.html

We have RAM pickups in Australia too now...lets just say after exchange rates and taxes you're looking at over 150k.

Because I apparently feel you guys pain.
07 Ural.
05 Jeep Wrangler.
79 Honda CX 500.
48 DeSoto.

May as well throw in the 70's VeloSolex mopeds for good measure. Whenever there is a hiccup, It's 'what fresh hell is this'.

I had a dollar shock when I was working in Oz, many years ago. I was getting a bit tired of 'Touhys New' and the bar I was in had good old American Millers' MGD, aka toilet water, on hand. Touhys was runing about $4AUD a bottle but the toilet water was $8AUD. WTF. Then it hit me that the toilet water was an import.:doh:

Who would have thought ,Cheesy would end up being an imported toilet water drinking snob ! lol .should of had a Fosters !

If you want a real Australian Beer buy Coopers.


Yes we have overpriced craft beers. the taxes in pubs are putting a glass of beer at $10...


I brew my own these days. Having lived in the Czech Rep for over a year all aus beer to me tastes like puddle water.