kiwi_110

At some stage in the not-too-distant future, I'm going to have to do the head gasket on the TD4. OAT coolant seepage noted along the front joint between head and block but no oil or coolant cross contamination yet. It's done over 200,000 km's so I'm not surprised. What I want to know is, how can I tell which thickness of head gasket I need, so I can order one now and have it ready for when I pull the thing to bits? I know the TD4 gaskets have thickness identification holes in them. Can these holes be seen on a factory gasket in-situ? Where are they? Thanks, Ray.

Cool, thanks Western, I spotted the regulator in Microcat and wondered if that's what they meant but it only listed STC4768. I'll source one from Uk, even with GBP 50 airfreight, it will be cheaper than buying it from the gouging NZ dealer. Ray.

My Daughter managed to get the Freebie back to the dealer today for the Test Book recheck. They were able to clear the undocumented fault this time, but they've written on a bit of paper that it's still saying: "Low side fuel pressure malfunction OX1255 P2542 Low pressure fuel rail sensor" Then they've written "LR009732 $884.24" (that's about GBP 400 or so) The kid said they told her that's what it needed to fix it. Well I've just had a snorkel though the Freebie section of MicroCat and I can't find LR009732 as a part number, nor can I find any "fuel rail sensor" so I don't know what they're on about... Ray.

I'm using a 0-15 PSI VDO boost gauge and I plumbed it to the manifold using some spare air-locker line. The Toyota CT-20 Turbo I use in the 110 runs 10 PSI at max boost so I get a reasonable sweep from the needle. I put full set of VDO gauges (Air tank PSI, Volts, Boost, Tacho) in a Raptor Console I picked up at Billing '09. They are a good match with the originals and with better illumination. Ray NZ

Sorry, I didn't read your post properly, you left the GB in and pulled the engine, in which case I'm no help at all!

Did you sepperate the gearchange lever from the lower gearchange lever (ball) or did you remove the whole gearchange housing from on top of the GB before you lowered it? If the latter, then you may find it's been put back on slightly out of alignment. It may only take a couple of mm change from original position on it's bolts to put your selector out enough to make shifting difficult.

Honestly, the fact that you'll need a dual battery system coupled with the poor duty cycle offered by most DC electric compressors, you'd be better off with an AirCon compressor conversion. I have poly-air bags, front and rear ARB's, air jack and rattle gun all fed from an "Endless Air" aircon conversion with a storage tank. A rattle gun blows through huge amounts of air and I'll wager most DC compressors will struggle with the duty cycle even with storage. There's a realy nice tidy install of an Aircon conversion on a 90 in the Tech archive. He's got the pressure switch and even a cooling coil tucked under the wing. Wish I'd paid as much attention to detail. Yes, the ARB's want 90 lb and are solenoid controlled. Whatever way you go, have fun. If you install ARB's, you wont regret it. Ray NZ.

Thanks Ally V8, I'll follow up on those points when I go back for another check in a few days. Ray.

Ray M - Auckland, New Zealand, 01 TD4

Hi gang, recently had to replace the in-tank pump and hi-pressure diesel pump on a 01 TD4 Freebie. Just went to get the faults cleared at a dealer and it showed "Low fuel pressure" which they cleared, and "Undocumented Fault" which won't clear so the MIL is still illuminated. They said to drive it for a few more days and then get it checked again, in case the Low fuel pressure fault was masking something that it couldn't quite work out. Anyone else ever had a "Undocumented Fault" from testbook or similar, and have any ideas what it might be? Ray NZ

Hi all, my 1985 110 was originally a V8 LT-95 rig, then it had a nissan FD35 turbo 4 cyl diesel fitted, retaining the LT-95. I always felt it needed a fifth gear because the nissan seemed to be working too easily at 3000 rpm at 100kph. Last year I managed to get hold of an LT-85 "Santana" box (solid version) and 1.410 LT-230 t/case, both of which I rebuilt and fitted. Of course, all I got was an extra gear, with the final drive in 5th being exactly the same as the old 4th... So I did some calcs and realised that I needed to get a 1.222 t/case to actualy get the revs down or get more speed for the same revs. Over last christmas, I found one, with a short-stick LT-77 (ex RR classic I think) so I grabbed it, tossed the 77 in the back of the shed and rebuilt the LT-230. It needed a new main-shaft as the splines were triangular, so I shouted it one, plus a full bearing set, diff side gears, cross-shafts, cup washers etc. I cross-drilled lubrication holes in the mainshaft myself, it can be done with a carbide tipped 10mm masonry bit and a good drill-press. Yesterday I finally got around to fitting it and the result is quite pleasing. It's knocked 500 rpm off for the same speed in 5th so now it does 2000 at 80kph, 2500 at 100kph and at 3000 rpm she's doing 120kph. With the old ratio, I've had her over 130 k's easily with the motor humming at nearly 4000rpm so I feel she has a bit more top end now, not that I'll ever go there. The FD35 Turbo pulls like a train and seems to cope well with the taller gearing. I'm looking forward to better fuel economy and have already noticed how much quieter it is in the cab when cruising. Interested to know if anyone else has done a similar conversion? Ray NZ.