Our new BT50 GT
- Thread starter Millsy
- Start date
Suspension all done. Not too bad a job, had a few small issues with getting spring compressors to fit the Tough Dog front springs though, man are they thick! And cringeworthy amounts of tension required to get them assembled, but got there in the end. Have a small drivetrain vibration just under 20 km/hr, I think I will have to adjust the driveline spacer to get rid of it, but i'll give it a a few kays to settle in first.
For those interested, heres some numbers.......
Front ride height - (all measurements taken from bottom edge of rim to guard)
Before - 785mm
After - 845mm
Rear ride height -
Before - 795mm
After - 885mm
And some weights
OEM front strut - 7.8 kg
Tough Dog front strut - 8.9 kg
OEM rear shock - 2.76 kg
Tough Dog rear shock - 3.6 kg
OEM rear leaf - 23.8 kg
Tough Dog rear leaf - 29.5 kg
Total OEM suspension weight - 68.7 kg
Total Tough Dog suspension weight - 84 kg
Makes for a total weight increase of about 15.3 kgs, important to know as with all the mods, gear, and the van we shall be towing we will be getting up near GCM.
Anyhoo, on with the pics.......
Before
After
And a few various install pics
For those interested, heres some numbers.......
Front ride height - (all measurements taken from bottom edge of rim to guard)
Before - 785mm
After - 845mm
Rear ride height -
Before - 795mm
After - 885mm
And some weights
OEM front strut - 7.8 kg
Tough Dog front strut - 8.9 kg
OEM rear shock - 2.76 kg
Tough Dog rear shock - 3.6 kg
OEM rear leaf - 23.8 kg
Tough Dog rear leaf - 29.5 kg
Total OEM suspension weight - 68.7 kg
Total Tough Dog suspension weight - 84 kg
Makes for a total weight increase of about 15.3 kgs, important to know as with all the mods, gear, and the van we shall be towing we will be getting up near GCM.
Anyhoo, on with the pics.......
Before
After
And a few various install pics
Thanks Cruza.
Ride wise it is firm, however teh bar and winch still have to go on the front and the fridge and other bits are still to go in the rear. I expect it will settle down with more weight and a few kays. Initial impression is that damping over bigger bumps is better than factory.
On another note bar still has not arrived, supposed to receive word today on what it happening with it. The whole process and having to chase it when people don't call back is starting to irritate me.
First it was going to arrive just after xmas. Then it was going to be mid Jan. Then late Jan. Then last week it was promised that it would be delivered on Monday. No sign of it so I call Tuesday to be told 'not sure whats going on I'll call you tomorrow'. I'm not holding my breath for the phone call today! Starting to consider other options but they are pretty limited.
Its amazing, we ordered the van at about the same time as the bullbar, and it rolls off the production line within a couple of weeks, yet another company can't get some steel welded together!!
Ride wise it is firm, however teh bar and winch still have to go on the front and the fridge and other bits are still to go in the rear. I expect it will settle down with more weight and a few kays. Initial impression is that damping over bigger bumps is better than factory.
On another note bar still has not arrived, supposed to receive word today on what it happening with it. The whole process and having to chase it when people don't call back is starting to irritate me.
First it was going to arrive just after xmas. Then it was going to be mid Jan. Then late Jan. Then last week it was promised that it would be delivered on Monday. No sign of it so I call Tuesday to be told 'not sure whats going on I'll call you tomorrow'. I'm not holding my breath for the phone call today! Starting to consider other options but they are pretty limited.
Its amazing, we ordered the van at about the same time as the bullbar, and it rolls off the production line within a couple of weeks, yet another company can't get some steel welded together!!
Well, bullbar now supposedly on Monday, we shall wait and see.......
Another toy arrived yesterday, the reverse camera kit for Barry and the van. Obviously cant comment on its performance yet, but initial impression is quite good quality for the $$.
Heres the link;
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/33068847...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_8470wt_964
The only thing I was a bit iffy about was the black camera for the van, would have preferred white..............and the kit turned up with a white van camera! Win!!
And on another note, going to do the Jayco factory tour today, should be interesting! Unfortunately we will miss seeing our own van in production by about a week.
Cheers
Shane
Another toy arrived yesterday, the reverse camera kit for Barry and the van. Obviously cant comment on its performance yet, but initial impression is quite good quality for the $$.
Heres the link;
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/33068847...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_8470wt_964
The only thing I was a bit iffy about was the black camera for the van, would have preferred white..............and the kit turned up with a white van camera! Win!!
And on another note, going to do the Jayco factory tour today, should be interesting! Unfortunately we will miss seeing our own van in production by about a week.
Cheers
Shane
So, much to my surprise, the bullbar arrived on Friday. Got stuck into the install Saturday, quite a procedure, certainly a lot more involved than the 4 bolts on the old Pajero! On with the pics.......
It arrives!!
The bag of fun required to attach said bullbar to Barry
Chucked the standard parker indicators straight in the bin in favour of some LED's. Not before removing the waterproof plugs from them and fitting to the LED's so they plug straight into the loom.
Hawse and fog lights fitted.
Bumper removed.
Main bullbar support fitted.
Winch and control box fitted. Had to modify the wiring a little bit and the control box mount that TJM supplied had to be re-drilled to suit the Runva control box. All in all came up well and the control box and clutch handle are easily reached.
The finished product with the Narva Ultima 225 HIDs bolted on.
Overall very happy with the way it fits and looks, and glad I left it black and didn't get it painted/powder coated to match Barry.
Barry is also a lil bit more shiny today thanks to his introduction to Mr Meguires!
It arrives!!
The bag of fun required to attach said bullbar to Barry
Chucked the standard parker indicators straight in the bin in favour of some LED's. Not before removing the waterproof plugs from them and fitting to the LED's so they plug straight into the loom.
Hawse and fog lights fitted.
Bumper removed.
Main bullbar support fitted.
Winch and control box fitted. Had to modify the wiring a little bit and the control box mount that TJM supplied had to be re-drilled to suit the Runva control box. All in all came up well and the control box and clutch handle are easily reached.
The finished product with the Narva Ultima 225 HIDs bolted on.
Overall very happy with the way it fits and looks, and glad I left it black and didn't get it painted/powder coated to match Barry.
Barry is also a lil bit more shiny today thanks to his introduction to Mr Meguires!
Thanks for the kind words fellas. Barry is getting close to being modified to my satisfaction, really just the auto elec stuff to be done now.
The list looks something like this;
- UHF
- Dual battery system with overide solenoid
- Air compressor
- Wire driving lights
- Fit and wire LED light bar
- Fit fuse boxes under bonnet and in canopy
- Fridge wiring
- Canopy interior and stop light wiring - extra LED strip light in centre
- Brake controller
- Anderson plug
- Reverse camera
- Under dash 12v sockets for phone and GPS
- 12v sockets in canopy
- 12v power to trailer plug for van fridge
Still deciding where/how to mount switches. Toying with the idea of modifying the sunglass/spectacle holder to fit them up there.
I think that covers it. I shall keep the thread updated with pics as things get done.
Cheers
Shane
The list looks something like this;
- UHF
- Dual battery system with overide solenoid
- Air compressor
- Wire driving lights
- Fit and wire LED light bar
- Fit fuse boxes under bonnet and in canopy
- Fridge wiring
- Canopy interior and stop light wiring - extra LED strip light in centre
- Brake controller
- Anderson plug
- Reverse camera
- Under dash 12v sockets for phone and GPS
- 12v sockets in canopy
- 12v power to trailer plug for van fridge
Still deciding where/how to mount switches. Toying with the idea of modifying the sunglass/spectacle holder to fit them up there.
I think that covers it. I shall keep the thread updated with pics as things get done.
Cheers
Shane
Can do mate, however this is where it starts to get scary as to how many $$$ you can invest into a vehicle!
Let me start by saying that my situation would be a little different to most, as I am an auto electrician. I'm pretty competent mechanically as well as working with a mechanical workshop. This gives me access to parts and accessories at better prices than most, as well as a full workshop at my disposal, with the ability to carry out all installation work myself.
The build up of Barry has pretty much been a start from scratch arrangement, so the current total includes items that one would consider pretty essential for touring such as a tyres, fridge, recovery gear, handheld uhf's, air compressor and a couple of other items such as the canvas rear seat cover. All the accessories that we wanted to fit have been purchased, it is now just a matter of finding time to get the installation done!
The total including purchasing Barry with a few dealer accessories currently sits at $66400. If I wasn't in the trade and had just opened the cheque book for accessories the total would be closer to $73000. If I had paid full whack for someone to install everything for me add roughly another $2700. If we hadn't pushed so hard on our original purchase price of Barry and played three dealers off against each other we could have easily paid another $5000 for the vehicle.
So, to summarise, if we had just whipped out the gold card, not really cared how much it cost and I had no interest or ability in doing any of the work myself or any trade contacts, we could well be looking at a total nudging just over $80000.
I told you the numbers get scary when you add them up!
Cheers
Shane
Barry got his first service today @ 7000 kms, which is basically an oil and filter change. Nearly 10 litres of Valvoline Syn-Power 5-40 and an anti wear additive. Engine seems to be a little bit quieter at highway cruising speeds with the fresh oil. I'm not sure if Mazda fill with a run-in type mineral oil or the recommended synthetic oil when they are brand new.
I'll be doing my services at roughly 7,500kms as opposed to the recommended 10,000kms. Interestingly enough the Ranger, with the same motor, has 15,000 km service intervals. Maybe because Ford do capped price servicing?? IMHO 15,000 kms is a lot to ask of any engine oil in a passenger car. It would be interesting to see an oil analysis done after 15,000 kms to see if its really still doing its job.
Cheers
Shane
I'll be doing my services at roughly 7,500kms as opposed to the recommended 10,000kms. Interestingly enough the Ranger, with the same motor, has 15,000 km service intervals. Maybe because Ford do capped price servicing?? IMHO 15,000 kms is a lot to ask of any engine oil in a passenger car. It would be interesting to see an oil analysis done after 15,000 kms to see if its really still doing its job.
Cheers
Shane
Sensible decision. Oil costs a lot less than any of the parts it protects. I do oil/filter at 5-6K. Fuel filter at around 10-15K intervals (every second or 3rd oil change). Auto trans fluid annually. Cheap insurance. Buy drum of top engine oil and quality filters (but not OEM).
Millsy, what did the oil and filter cost, retail will do. 10k service cost us around $340 and I do not think they do much more than oil/filter anyway.
Any BT50 owners had their Nav upgraded yet. I have heard Ford have an Nav upgrade for the Ranger.
Geoff
Any BT50 owners had their Nav upgraded yet. I have heard Ford have an Nav upgrade for the Ranger.
Geoff
Cheers mate. Once I get all the wring and stuff done I think it will be pretty well setup. I did consider a long range tank, but until someone works out how to recalibrate the factory trip computer, a couple of jerries will do the same job for a lot less $$$. Only other thing I considered was an aftermarket rear bar, but already had the factory towbar and probably won't be doing anything too hardcore to warrant it whilst we are on our trip. Maybe in the future though when we have settled back down, along with some 'weekend' tyres (read; 33' muddies
) 7 seat capacity not needed for us, just me, the missus and the hound! I can live with the live rear end, and the drum rear ends these days seem to perform pretty well. I previously had a Paj, and although the super select was good, I think I only used 4H on the bitumen once or twice. Barry can shift into 4H on the fly, so that will do me for use on gravel/dirt etc.Todays work on Barry.........knock up a switch panel to replace the sunglass holder (which is useless anyway, its too small!)
Yet to be wired, all the accessory stuff will be wired up over the next week or so, starting to run out of time before we pick up the van!
Yet to be wired, all the accessory stuff will be wired up over the next week or so, starting to run out of time before we pick up the van!
That is very neat, Millsy. I believe the sunglasses holder can't be used as it gets too hot so close to the roof and the sunglasses melt and deform.
Quite a bit of wiring to run down. :wink:
Quite a bit of wiring to run down. :wink:
Thanks mate. I have a pair of Arnettes and a pair of Oakleys, neither go even close to fitting in the sunglasses holder, so no worries about 'em melting!
The wiring won't be too bad, it will all be switching relays so I can get away with using 2mm. Will probably use 2mm twin for the illumination and some 7 core for relay switching, nice and easy.
Cheers
Shane
Can you please come and work on the pathfinder???
Barry already has to much bling and the pathfinder is bare!!!!
Seriously Barry should be very happy as it seems Barry is getting all the attention recently
Barry already has to much bling and the pathfinder is bare!!!!
Seriously Barry should be very happy as it seems Barry is getting all the attention recently