Let cleaning commence…

One more week to go before the 90 goes in a container to begin it’s journey to Sydney. A good part of the remaining time is going to be spent cleaning both the Land Rover and everything that is going in it as well as making a manifest and some last minute bits and pieces that we’ll no doubt discover as we start to pack it.

We decided to hire a hot jet wash for a couple of days to clean the underside off. Unfortunately the first one that arrived wouldn’t work and by the time we discovered that on Saturday afternoon the hire place was closed. This meant we had to wait until this afternoon for a working one to arrive but at least the new one seems to be doing the job. To give a bit more room underneath we used the challenge wheels/tyres of my competition Land Rover to drive onto. It’s nowhere near as dirty underneath as mine was last time but then it’s not spent any time sat in a peat bog !

Hopefully this time we’ll get through the quarantine inspection without any issues when we get to Sydney ! (Although I’m not sure I believe ANY vehicle will be clean enough to miss out on spending a few hundred dollars with their cleaning service)

Yet more wiring !

Isolation Switches

It seems at times that the amount of wiring in the 90 just keeps going up and up and up ! This last weekend I’ve had the dash apart again, hopefully for the last time before it ships…

I wanted to add a couple of isolation switches both for safety and also to ensure that the batteries will make it to the other side without being discharged. I wanted to add an isolator for each battery so they could be isolated individually. If nothing else this means I can leave the auxiliary battery disconnected so if the main battery gets left on during shipping we can jump start it from the auxiliary battery. Positioning the switches so they are accessible from both seats and at the same time reduce the risk of them being accidentally switched off took some thinking about and in the end we settles for a position next to the passenger seat. The main battery switch is an FIA type which has the extra contacts that I’ve wired in so that the switch will also kill the engine if turned off with the engine running.

iPad mount and map light

I have rewired the switches for the spotlights and the rear work lights – the rear work lights were connected to a Carling switch on the dash and the spotlights to the Land Rover spotlight switch. This was OK but didn’t give too many options for the spotlights and, as they are LEDs and can be left on for long periods without draining the battery, I wanted a switch that would allow them to be turned off, on only with main beam and on independently. To achieve this I changed them around using a Carling switch for the spots and the Land Rover dash switch for the rear working lights.

With the Dash apart I changed the iPad RAM mount from the seat mounting type to a universal mount on the dash. The seat mount is OK but tends to wobble around all over the place when you’re crossing rough ground, so much so you have to lock the rotation on the iPad. The dash mount takes up less room and will stop the annoying wobbling !

Australian CB Radio

I also added an LED interior light for the passenger area that works in addition to the factory interior lights and fitted the mount for the UHF radio (Australian CB radio), connected up the power lead for the radio and the aerial lead. I also got around to fitting the map light to the top of the dash. All in all a busy few days and lots of jobs “ticked off” the list in the process 🙂

Front end redesign

For Australia we felt we were a bit short of frontal protection, hitting a kangaroo at some point in our trip is pretty much a certainty and the radiator is a bit vulnerable. We didn’t want to go too overboard but felt that some extra protection would be worthwhile. We settled on adding a simple A frame to the top of the bumper that sits around half way across the exposed radiator area. With a bit of luck if/when we get a roo strike it will reduce the chance of any serious damage to the vehicle.

With hindsight we probably should have got a winch bumper with an A bar in the first place but didn’t really like any of those available. I had to call on the services of Patrick at Maddison 4×4 to bend up some CDS to approximately the right shape and I then made up some spreader/mounting plates that bolt to the top of the bumper using the existing bumper mounting bolts and a couple of additional bolts at the front.

I added an aerial mount to the A bar while I was at it but it wasn’t until after it was welded, painted and fitted that Pam pointed out we should have added provision for a sand flag mount ! Sand flags are a good idea regardless but they’re expected to be mandatory on the Simpson Desert routes for 2014. I might add a mount to it and repaint… or we might just end up using some tie wraps and duct tape !

While I had the drill out I also drilled the mounting holes for the front LED spotlight bars to mount to and connected them up to the wiring loom I’d already added.

Mounted and covered !

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last update and with about 5 weeks to go before the shipping date it’s been a week of checking and re-checking what needs doing still and that we are still on track both in time and budget. Fortunately, so far, it’s looking pretty good, let’s hope it stays that way 🙂

The Hi-Lift mount is done, painted and fitted, I got some M10 ring nuts as an impulse buy while perusing an online nut and bolt shop (as you do) and it turns out they are perfect as a way of securing the Hi-Lift to the mount and providing extra tie down points. With the design I eventually came up with the Jack is secured with a single one of these nuts and is held securely with no rattling. A second nut can be added to the foot for additional security but isn’t really needed.

Another in the long list of jobs I’ve been meaning to get around to was to make a cover for the ECU, or at least a cover for the wiring going into the ECU. Being behind the seat we’ll probably end up stuffing clothes, water, snacks and who knows what else behind the seats and there was always a danger that this would stress a wire or separate a plug so it needed to be a bit more robust.

in between rain showers and F1 coverage I ended up making 3 different covers, the first out of cardboard to use as a template, the second out of aluminium based on the template and the third because the first two didn’t quite fit right ! Third time lucky though and I’m quite pleased with the result, not too intrusive and covers all the important bits while allowing access to the fuse box and relays.

One other thing we’ve “ticked off” this week is the MOT test, the MOT is/was due to expire in March 2014 which isn’t ideal so we’ve taken it for an MOT 5 months early so it will be fully UK road legal throughout the trip (one of the requirements for use in Australia as a foreign vehicle). As expected (although always a relief !) it passed without any problems/advisories.

Hi-Lift Jack Mount – Part 1

Spent most of today trying to figure out how to mount the Hi-Lift and starting to fabricate suitable brackets for it. We had hoped to modify some “off the shelf” brackets but, having ordered them from two different online suppliers and having both of them cancel the order due to lack of stock, I was left with no option but to start from scratch.

As with all fabrication jobs it took ages to figure out how I was going to secure the jack and then, with that determined, actually cutting and welding the steel to turn the idea into reality. By the end of the day I had the “foot” end bracket put together and working and a pretty good idea of how the “rack” end bracket will look and be attached to the roll cage, probably a few more hours though before it’s completed.

Having now mothballed the ground anchor idea and the whole “move the front winch to the rear” idea we’ve also bought a set of chains for the Hi-Lift so we can use it as a hand winch – only for use when all else has failed I suspect as it’ll be hard graft 🙂

Traction aids and tent away

One of the restrictions that using a 90 places on us is a distinct lack of space to store stuff ! With the spare tyre on the roof (the only place that can go) the only place left for the MaxTrax boards to go is to mount them on the bonnet. I had toyed with hanging them on the sides, putting them on top of the spare tyre, putting them on top of the tent and so on but it didn’t really work.

The boards (there will be 4 of them, 2 shown in the pic) are a great aid for getting the vehicle moving, especially on soft sand, and as such they really need to be readily accessible when we do need them and quick and easy to stow again when we get moving. We bought a set of the official mounting pins for them from Australia (much cheaper than buying them in the UK and they were delivered within 3 working days – very impressed !). They hold the boards firmly and the boards don’t touch the bonnet at all. Obviously their position on the bonnet had to be carefully thought through – as far back as possible but far enough forward that the bonnet can be opened without fouling the roll cage !

We chose the purple boards as the colour kind of blends in with the pearlescent blue of the 90 which tends to take on a purple sheen in sunlight.

Last job on Saturday was to remove the roof tent for the final time before it goes in the container and with gale force winds forecast for Sunday and Sunday night the last thing we need right now is to have a tree land on it ! It’s currently sat in the living room, opened up, so we can clean it out thoroughly and give it a final check before packing it for shipping.

Intercooler Upgrade

Original TD5 Intercooler

After much procrastination we finally decided to get an intercooler upgrade a month or so ago. Due to the auto box oil cooler we had to get a custom one made rather than an off the shelf item which has led to time delays but it finally arrived this week. So my first job on Saturday morning was to get on and fit it…

The new intercooler from Ali Sport wasn’t a completely straight forward fit (when is it ever !) and I ended up having to grind away part of the near side bracket that holds the intercooler and modify the slam panel and anti-burst catch.

The mounting bracket was just touching part of the side tank and, although it would kind of fit, over time the two parts would have rubbed together and probably made a hole in the side tank. To make sure I got the angle grinder out and reshaped the bracket to give more clearance.

Uprated Ali Sport intercooler

With that done I then put everything back together and found that when I closed the bonnet the anti-burst catch was hitting the top of the intercooler, preventing it from closing. By bending the guide in the slam panel and some adjustment of the pin plate and the catch itself I eventually managed to get the bonnet to shut with the catch missing the intercooler.

A road test showed a noticeable difference in torque with the 90 pulling up the hills without the need to kick down or losing speed. So far we’ve both been impressed by the difference it’s made to the way it drives, probably should have done it ages ago !

New Propshafts

Both the front and rear propshafts have been on the “hit list” for a while due to the amount of play in the splines. On my competition motor I fitted a Bailey Morris heavy duty prop shaft after snapping a rear one and decided it was worth the extra money for the quality of the splines and the larger UJs so decided to go the same way with the 90. 2 propshafts along with 2 spare UJs for the spares kit arrived last week.

So, I ticked off a few jobs in the end this weekend – I added a foam rubber strip between the tyre rack and the roll cage at the front as it was whistling quite loudly above 40mph, all quiet now. I also fitted both new propshafts, fitted a new steering damper with relocation bracket to the steering drag link – removing the one from the track rod. In an effort to fix the annoying slight oil leak from somewhere around the transfer box I took the bottom plate off it and resealed it while changing the oil. I had a play with a number of ideas to try and mount the ground anchor somewhere and decided in the end it really is too cumbersome to fit in a 90 !

Sunday was spent doing a final fit and gauge calibration for the infamous battery and fuel monitor, in the afternoon we took it for a long run out to make sure the props and steering felt good and that the fuel gauge and fuel consumption was something like. All seemed good, the new propshafts have fixed the vibration we were getting on overrun, the steering wobble is completely gone and the spare tyre rack was quiet at all speeds 🙂

Just to prove that the battery/fuel gauge thing is actually fitted and working at last I even took a picture of it ! It sits quite neatly above the normal centre dash switches…

Working through the list…

With the impending “container day” now a fixed point on the horizon we’re working our way through the list of all the things we want to get done before then. The fuel/battery monitor is still a work in progress but in the final stages now at least. There is still a fairly long list of items other than that and, while the weather is good, I’m trying to make the most of it by getting some of the “outside” jobs done.

As fabrication jobs ALWAYS take ages to do I chose the biggest (I think !) remaining job to do first. We want to carry the second spare tyre (not mounted on a wheel) on the roof. We did try it on the bonnet but the amount it reduced visibility was unacceptable. To support the tyre and to allow other light items to be stored up there too we bought a small Thule roof basket. This sits just nicely in the front section of the roll cage. Mounting it meant making up some custom brackets to allow it to be bolted to the cage and it also needed a cutout adding at the back as the tyre is about 20mm too big to sit in the unmodified basket. It took a couple of days thinking, cutting, fabricating brackets, rethinking the design when it didn’t quite work etc… ! Anyway, the finished product isn’t going anywhere and also makes it easier to climb around on the roof as a bonus. We’ll put a vinyl wheel cover over the tyre and store some of the lighter spares inside the tyre – spare coolant hoses etc…

Having read through all the rules/regulation regarding shipping vehicles with air conditioning we’ve come to the conclusion that the various cons of the air conditioning outweigh the benefits so I’ve removed the air con components and pipes apart from the compressor. The extra leg room will be a benefit and the reduction in complexity when working on the cooling system and so on will make life simpler. We might replace the compressor with an idler pulley although I might have time to convert it into an air compressor as an alternative to the ARB for pumping up tyres etc… We’re not anticipating encountering stupidly high ambient temperatures with the route we have roughly planned out and if we do… well we’ll just have to suck it up 🙂

I finally got around to replacing the windscreen hinges and the door hinges too – the windscreen hinges were badly corroded and looked a mess, the door hinges – especially the driver’s door – had a lot of play in them and I’d previously had to adjust the striker to compensate.

The countdown has started

It’s been a busy few months but things are really starting to fall into place now with the official agreement from work for me to take the time off etc… The shipping date is more or less finalised so I now have a deadline to work to and that in itself has certainly focussed our attention on what still needs to be done between now and then !

Near the top of the list is the fuel and battery monitor as that will play a key part in the trip, giving a more accurate view of the current fuel status across the two tanks than we could hope to get from the standard gauge. The wiring for the unit is now completed in the vehicle, along with a bypass plug that allows the unit to be removed and the normal fuel gauge to work as normal. This should give some redundancy should the unit fail for some reason.

The monitor is on the second design and is now full functioning with just a few software tweaks needed and some calibration of the fuel levels. The auxilliary tank has been calibrated now and I just need to put the values into the software, the main tank is next to calibrate. I’ve calibrated the tank/sender in 5 litre steps so we should have a reasonable idea of the remaining fuel at any time if the sender unit stays consistent. I still need to decide exactly where the lcd display will be mounted, a 3D printer would be very useful right now to make a custom pod for it !

While calibrating the auxiliary tank we managed to get 57 litres into it before it started to overflow, 55 is probably a more sensible amount to put in but it shows how much you can get in, using a 5 litre jug.

Landy Travels

Up on the roof