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Unclejake

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Everything posted by Unclejake

  1. VIN number is no use and there's no stickers on the diff. The vehicle is behaving like an open diff, but perhaps there's a chance it's got a buggered LSD clutch pack in there? She's a 400.000kms old 1993 Nissan Atlas 4x4 F23... and there's not much online info for these trucks (also known as a Nissan Cabstar), but it's very similar mechanically to an early non-turbo Terrano or early Navara.TD27 non turbo and 5 speed. It's an import (came into NZ in 1995) with no factory VIN apparent. The NZ border VIN is on the chassis, and matches all the paperwork, but that's no use finding out axle details Given my location and lack of garage (or even a paved area) it'd be wonderful to establish if the vehicle has a worn LSD (so I can order parts in advance) without having to remove the brakes, axles and diff head just for a look, and then put it all back together again the same day without any improvement. I've just fitted some new free wheeling hubs (Navara) without issue. I need to leave the hubs in FREE as much as possible due to front CV angles, but I'm getting stuck at least once a day in one wheel drive so I want a tighter rear diff. I did try fitting Terrano automatic FWHs, but that turned out to be a major undertaking so I abandoned it. Does anyone have a genius idea for checking if there may be an LSD inside that rear housing without pulling the diff head out?
  2. WRT dibs: Most everything ferrous here gets fucked in a few years, and there's lots of money here (sadly not mine) so older vehicles aren't greatly valued WRT WoF/Rego/RUCs etc: Government, rental and major contractors (like Fulton Hogan) keep their vehicles legal. No one else much bothers. Police are more interested in stopping drink driving, encouraging seatbelts and dealing with violence than they are chasing down guys with blown headlights or bald tyres. Unfortunately there's a thief here at the moment so they'll be trying to catch him/her too. I may even start locking my ute.... My truck needs a bio-security check before it gets released from the port. Hopefully I'll get it tomorrow. They'll look for things like ants and perhaps bumble bees. Evidently there aren't any bumble bees here (although a few loners have been spotted from time to time).
  3. Chatham Island's Nissan population just increased by one.
  4. Correct. The FJ45 is on Chatham Island
  5. Personally, I'd just brush on some POR15 Chassis Coat (available online from Total Body Shop) and be happy. It looks sound enough that I'd drive it. There's an FJ45 sitting in a paddock nearby me too, but it's pretty had it and the owner probably wouldn't sell any parts (the freight would he hideous anyway)
  6. Keen as... but unfortunately absolutely zero free time so I can't soooorrrry darling. Would love to see you and meet your new man too. Let's do it on my next visit. You'll be pleased to know the angle grinder came out to provide tyre clearance. I just managed to retain the front steps, but only just. I'll lift the rear end once back on Chatham. That shouldn't be too hard there (I hope)
  7. Most of them drink either Speights or Tui... but the pub had pretty much run out of beer when I left last week. I heard the ship arrived this morning so there's going to be 300 4x4 utes lined up at the port to collect pallets of grog. Lol. Oh, in other news:
  8. If I can afford it I'll stash a few dozen Panhead beers in the cab, but apart from that it'll be loaded with tools. Unfortunately I don't have the amounts of money I used to have, so I can't leverage on the freight as much as I'd like to. I haven't been this broke since my early 20s, but I haven't been this happy since then either.
  9. I would absolutely love to keep those big tyres, but two of them are stuffed, there's no stock in NZ, and to keep them I'll have to cut off the front steps. Believe or not the steps are useful for getting in and out - so I'm going to a smaller tyre. You all have the most excellent taste though, but it's no fun being an adult for me Today's progress: Paint acquired, a new spraygun acquired (half way through the job I might add), the tray painted in POR15 silver top coat, and the chassis painted in POR15 chassis coat. I also seem to have overspray on my camera. Ha! Tomorrow's plans - try to get a few more mm of height out of the front right, hopefully underseal the cab, get the new tyres on, fit replacement grille, glovebox, cubby box. Four days to go. I got this
  10. On Friday I managed to lift the front as much as I could (which meant ripping off the upper bump-stops and removing the front shocks (too short) and stressing the shit out of the torsion bars), then I took the wheels and tyres from another ute I have parked up in the bush (a mission in itself). But yeah, but NAH! The wheels fit but the tyres are just too big. I could cut off the front footsteps and flip the rear shackles to get a bit more clearance, but time is short so it's going to have to be smaller diameter tyres. I just love balloon tyres so I am sad, but needs must. Smaller tyres it shall be. Hopefully they'll be here by Tuesday 2nd April I'm on the hunt for some longer shocks. There's some good info on TradeMe from an Australian supplier so that's probably who I'll buy from. They can send the shocks to me on Chatham whilst the Atlas is on the ship. Probably.
  11. I got this darling to Wellington late last week (after a hasty TM purchase)... and need to send it to a ship Friday 5th April for delivery to my new home in Chatham Island, so by goodness it's going to be done fast, rough and cheap. Immediate priorities are finding and fitting some missing parts (grill, glovebox etc.), raising the suspension as much as can be done with simple tools, smacking on some decent wheels, mud tyres, and if possible some paint on the chassis and tray. She's a 2.7 NA diesel so hopelessly slow, and I reckon the clutch is about to go, but apart from that she's OK for the money. 400,000kms, 4x4 and ~ $4k Five days and counting....
  12. ~ $5k including GST, but only to Timaru or Napier You wanna shag my ex? Already!
  13. I give up. I've bought a boring Jap 4x4 double cab from Auckland and am suitably ashamed. It was fun pulling big Yankee iron to bits (well sometimes it was fun), but it's going to take too long to get this mighty beast operational and I just can't wait three months to be mobile in my own wagon (having said that the PoS I did buy won't be here until the end of April) Fuck you AllTorque. You were right, but I'll never admit it publicly. LOL
  14. Yup. It was QAM I spoke to I'm also in contact with another dude who has a complete running engine (still in a vehicle). I await details and price from him.
  15. When it's in the too hard basket. P.S. Shipping a vehicle like the Chev here from Napier is ~$5k, so just by the fact that this one is already on the Island makes it worth more to me. That and that it's fucking cool, and fucked, and cool, but mainly fucked. It's the OS way brother
  16. I chatted to an engine reconditioner in Hasting this morning. A line bore (to straighten up the crankshaft tunnel) is about $1.5k plus shipping (so > $2k) so I'm now looking for another block. The re-builder may have a contact for one in Hastings (which would be easy). He'll let me know soon. There's also a short-block rusting away in a paddock here, with the pistons completely corroded to the bores. I better go have a look at it. There's a slight chance the bottom end could be OK. Who knows.... but it's off to a grubby, windy paddock for me. Again! LOL
  17. I wouldn't recommend waterblasting a block with the cam and lifters still in, but I didn't have any other way to get it cleaned so I spent 45 minutes pumping bore water onto a ute, then borrowed a petrol blaster and a hose. Gravity feed to the blaster wasn't the best, but at least the block is clean enough to see a bit better, but probably still oily enough not to rust much overnight. The blackened main caps tell a story of no bottom end oil flow and spun bearings. I am not sure which happened first. I reckon I'm going to order a set of gaskets, bottom end bearings, a timing chain and just slap it all back together.
  18. I don't know, but @$3.20 per liter I am unkeen on a petrol anything
  19. Crate motors are about $6-8k USD plus shipping, so they are an option. Just not a a particularly cheap one. It'll cost < $1k NZD to send the engine I have to and from the mainland from Chatham (including getting it from the port to an engine re-builder). I usually like doing things properly, but in this case I may just have to risk doing a slap together job here on the Island as the costs of doing it properly may be more than the truck is worth (and I still need to sort brakes, suspension and ignition system)
  20. Three of the five main bearings looked like this. It's the reason the motor was so tight to turn over, and probably caused by an oil line falling off a couple or months before the vehicle got parked. There's no blueing on the crank but the crank journal is slightly scored, as is the crank. The three mains that spun bearings are the three centre ones. These blocks are known to crack at the crank webs of the three central mains, but with a visual inspection I can't see any cracks. I'm pretty sure the bearings are original size (I need to look up the numbers to be certain) I'm off to find a 1,000 litre water container and a petrol water-blaster to try an clean the block up a bit more. The headgasket where the pre-combustion chamber had rotated shows milds signs of soot past the fire ring. I know the previous owner changed the heads some time ago. The engine bolts were either so tight I needed a trolley jack handle over a strong arm to budge them, or were finger tight. There was no in-between. Ha! I need to decide if I'm going to fix this properly (which means sending the disassembled long-block to either Napier or Timaru for a line hone, crank grind, head job and re-bore), or if I'll risk just chucking a fresh set of bearings at it (and not even bother plasti-gauging it) and re-use the existing pistons and rings. I'll ponder than over a beer later in the week
  21. They may be cracked, but then again they may not. We will see.
  22. If it looks like the engine is recoverable I might just splash out an a caliper rebuild kit too. Oh, and about a kilometre of brake line, some flare nuts, a few balljoints, a Pitman arm with a BJ that activates the drag link after less than half a rotation of the steering wheel, a hell of a lot of POR15 and about 100 other things. LOL Freight will be a killer, but stuff for these full-sized GM pick-ups is easily available and usually remarkably cheap (compared to Lexus bits anyway).
  23. By the look of them they can't drop down as the block would prevent it, but I haven't peeled off the headgaskets yet. Two of the pre-combustion chambers (thank you for identifying them) had rotated on one head. The other head looked OK, but it's all still filthy so needs a proper inspection once clean
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