Some upgrades to old Groenie

Post by **pietpetoors** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:51 pm

It is almost time for her next birthday , so I decided to spoil her. I have not spent much on this old lady the past 6 years, so now is the time.

We changed the existing rock sliders to have an extra pipe. Got lots of complaints that skoonma can't get in because she could not step on da pipes. Got away with this excuse not to let her go with us for a while, but it was time to give in. We also added an extra plate at the bottom to prevent stone from damaging the underside of the doors.

Hilux-rocksliders.jpg: Hilux rocksliders; (119.25 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

Hilux-rocksliders-2.jpg: Rocksliders; (113.28 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

Then I had a new bumper built to accommodate our new bumper lights. And this time I went for the smaller, light weight 25watt LED Spots. I connected the bumper lights to be permanently on when the vehicle is switched on, ie. used as DRL. I suspect that they might be too bright for night driving, but will test them tonight. If that is the case I will have to wire them such as to not work when dims are switched on.

Hilux-front-bumper.jpg: Hilux Front Bumper; (106.69 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

Hilux-offroad-bumper.jpg: Hilux offroad bumper with LED Spots; (97.32 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

LED-bumper-light.jpg: Hilux bumper with LED bumper light; (91.54 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

Last (for now), but not least. I eventually parted from the old AirFlow snorkel which I fitted about 5 or 6 years ago and fitted one of our super strong Badger brand snorkels. This move left me truck with some scars, a hole or two in the fender, but our brand's connection between the snorkel and the air box is far superior to that of the old snorkel, so I am very glad I did it.

IFS-Hilux-snorkel.jpg: Snorkel on Hilux IFS; (88.27 KiB) Downloaded 1510 times

Next week Tuesday she will go for some new rubber. The make and model will be revealed next week. I am rather excited about this. I fitted Good Year Wranglers a while ago to get of the road noise. The road noise is gone, but I now get punctures like crazy. I do not even trust it to drive a normal, well maintained gravel road. So there is no ways I can keep them Wranglers.

After that she will get new front ball joints and Mikem torsion bars. She is squeaking like an Isuzu, so I must make a plan with those ball joints. I already have the Mikem leave springs at the back and decided that while they have to strip it to replace the ball joints, they might as well install Mikem torsion bars, so that the front and rear suspension are the same.

Post by **CasKru** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:57 pm

Lyk al te grand.

4x4BEES · Post by **4x4BEES** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:16 pm

Dit lyk awesome Pieter

chopper · Post by **chopper** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:08 pm

Very spoggerig

Mossienel · Post by **Mossienel** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:09 pm

Lyk netjies.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Froll · Post by **Froll** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:18 pm

Looking good.

Post by **Bugzy** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:20 pm

Baie nice Pieter, dit is bietjie windgat

Post by **george** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:49 pm

Netjies

Dit gaan jammer wees as daai squeaks weg gaan wees.Gewoonlik hoor ons jou al 'n blok weg

Sal interessant wees om te sien wat maak daai spots maak

grobbepj · Post by **grobbepj** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 8:16 pm

Jislaaik. Baie spoggerig!!!!

zepplin · Post by **zepplin** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:42 pm

The only thing missing now Pieter is a SAS!!

Post by **Mud Dog** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:21 pm

Looking great Pieter!

The squeak is more likely to be coming from the control arm bushes than from the ball-joints.

Used to have a Mazda B2000 that used to squeak like that, replaced the bushes to find that they weren't really worn, just dry .... the new ones started squeaking after about 18 months or so. Solved the problem by drilling, tapping the bush sleeves and fitting grease nipples.

ROOFER · Post by **ROOFER** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:07 pm

grobbepj wrote:Jislaaik. Baie spoggerig!!!!

Ek saam stem :!: :!:

Thunder02 · Post by **Thunder02** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:53 am

Looking great,i see how you have overcome the aerial problem,great idea

Post by **pietpetoors** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:17 pm

i see how you have overcome the aerial problem

You can actually get from a spare shop a special aerial which works on an angle.
It is just with our spare shop you need to order almost everything and I did not have the tie to wait. So I took the standard straight aerial and changed it into an angled one.

But just ask your spare shop, you do get a special angled on that will work better.

Post by **JohanM** » Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:07 pm

Pieter dit lyk nou baie netjies.

Het jy toe daai ligte getoets vir hoe skerp hulle is in die aand ???

Donkey · Post by **Donkey** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:43 am

Looks really awesome Pieter. Wow! I love the rock sliders and the front bar.
I just don't believe you gave into the pressure with your mom in law

, I have a beer crate if a step is needed for my mom

Post by **Pumba** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:22 am

Baie nice Pieter

Lyk nou sommer grand

Ek laaik daai liggies op die bumper... wonder of ek did in my ARB sal kan inbou

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:40 pm

So yesterday we got rid of the softy tyres and replaced it with something which you can trust on a gravel road and in the boendoes.

The friendly staff at Supa Quick, Blue Route in Tokai was the guys who fitted it.
Everything went smoothly. I must say I was impressed with their balancing machine, is amazing to see how easy balancing became with such state of the art equipment. Also the wheel alignment guy, he got it right, spot on, the first time where most other places normally battle to do the wheel alignment due to the ball joint spacers. They are just around the corner from Toyota in Tokai, behind the Midas. 021-712-5100 and Werner is the guy to speak to. (No, I do not know if it is the Werner from the infamous FNB ads).

This time I went for the Cooper ST Maxx. They are MUCH quieter than the old ST I previously used. I took the old ST off because I got fedup with the noise, but these are almost as quiet as the Wranglers I had on.
Guess now we will very quickly have to find an excuse to go to a mountain trail somewhere so that we can see if the grip is as good as the old ST was.
I am sure with the 3-ply Armor-Tek sidewalls they will be just as robust as my previous Coopers. They also have this nice "rut guard rib" which apparently help to deflect objects and provide for increased abrasion resistance in tough, uneven terrain and makes it looks more bold and robust.

: The place; cooper-st-maxx (3).JPG (130.43 KiB) Viewed 12792 times

: Before; cooper-st-maxx (2).JPG (135.79 KiB) Viewed 12792 times

: During; cooper-st-maxx (7).JPG (157 KiB) Viewed 12792 times

: After; cooper-st-maxx (14).JPG (150.29 KiB) Viewed 12792 times

: After 2; cooper-st-maxx (16).JPG (133.68 KiB) Viewed 12792 times

Thunder02 · Post by **Thunder02** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:43 pm

Lekker, and how does she drive

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:45 pm

Oh ja, Those bumper lights are too bright to use at night. Last night everybody flashed me and George was driving in front of me and he also said they too bright. So one will have to use them for DRL during the day and at night they must either be off or with your brights. They are too bright for dims and to weak for spotlights. To give you an idea, they are brighter than the bakkie's standard dims. But because they do not have a deflector, the light irritate oncoming traffic.

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:45 pm

Lekker, and how does she drive

Like a dream

Oupa Stig · Post by **Oupa Stig** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 2:57 pm

En ek dog die Coopers is soos BF's, mud of AT. Nie geweet jy kry allerhande ander weergawes nie.
So wat sal die verskil wees tussen jou ST Max en my AT3? Want die oi wat myne opgesit het het my nie eens laat weet daar's amder opsies nie.
Nie dat ek kla nie, ek ry meestal teer, en hierdie AT's voel beter as enigiets anders wat ek vantevore op gehad het.
En jy moet nou maak soos ek gemaak het en daai groen jam tussen die tread gaan afskrop, dit laat jou taaiers oud lyk....

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:10 pm

Jy kry verskillende modelle vir verskillende toepassings. Gaan loer onder http://www.coopertyres.co.za/ProductCategory/1/4x4

Jou A/T is geskik vir dit wat jy doen, meer teer as grond.

Toppie4x4 · Post by **Toppie4x4** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:10 pm

Hi Pieter, het jy die suspension lift gedoen op die hilux??

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:17 pm

Lank gelede ja, het voor ball joint spacers ingesit en agter 50mm langer shackles van Mikem wat 25mm lift gee.

Toppie4x4 · Post by **Toppie4x4** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:19 pm

Beoog ook om dit te doen, het jy die gewone standaard 15" bande opgesit of bietjie groter gegaan?

Post by **Family_Dog** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:18 pm

Shot Pieter, the Coopers are great tyres!!

-F_D

Post by **pietpetoors** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:07 pm

Ek het die 15" rims gehou, maar 31" bande opgesit.

Post by **Family_Dog** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 8:06 pm

Yep, that is my mix too, on all my vehicles. it's a good combo.

-F_D

Donkey · Post by **Donkey** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 8:26 pm

Coopers are my first love, had to try Maxxis when I was in the market and they were having issues of importing. Truck looks awesome, Pieter

Post by **JohanM** » Wed Jul 30, 2014 8:37 pm

Pieter baie nice daai bande wat jy op het. Moet ons nou bietjie op hoogte hou van die verrigting van daai bande. Sal dit my nuwe stel wil maak as my BF's klaar is.

ThysdJ · Post by **ThysdJ** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:28 pm

pietpetoors wrote: I fitted Good Year Wranglers a while ago to get of the road noise. The road noise is gone, but I now get punctures like crazy. I do not even trust it to drive a normal, well maintained gravel road. So there is no ways I can keep them Wranglers.

So it wasn't just me who experienced this... phew what a relief...

Are the Coopers reasonably priced? They do look the part...

Post by **pietpetoors** » Thu Jul 31, 2014 6:14 pm

You must phone around because all dealers can make their price and Cooper SA does not have a fixed suggested retail price.

The place where I fitted charged R3420.00 each , incl fitment and balancing, etc

Post by **pietpetoors** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 10:18 pm

Today I fitted some special, customized Escape Gear seat covers.

: Escape Gear

: Seat covers

ROOFER · Post by **ROOFER** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 11:53 pm

Looking very snazzy Pieter

stumps · Post by **stumps** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:57 am

Dit lyk great en is iets wat ek regtig nodig het. Mmmmmmmmm.

:idea::idea:"MAMMA ................. Ek weet my versjaarsdag is verby maaaaaaaaar............."

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Some upgrades to old Groenie

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