Odie's GLX MN MY12 Build-up

[odie602r]

So next on my list of mods was the high pressure fuel rail limiter mod. If you've been reading this thread so far, you'll remember that the Triton is my first real foray into doing anything mechanical. So, as usual, lots of questions.....

After having successfully pulled of the EGT probe tap etc, my confidence level had certainly improved. The fuel rail limiter previously had sounded like a mod that was waaaay beyond my skill level, but now, maybe not??

After getting answers to the questions, and reviewing the step by step process from ChipIT and other members on here, I decided to give it a go. Slow and methodical, one bolt at a time - how hard could it really be?

Good news, the answer was, it wan't really that hard at all!

(click on photos to see full image)

Step 1:Battery removal


step 2: Intercooler hose and oil dipstick removal


Step 3: Removing the Throttle Body - a few other had mentioned that with this out of the way it's far easier to get to the fuel rail limiter. Was only 4 bolts, and whilst I didn't try getting to the limiter with the TB on, it was VERY easy with it off.


Step 4: Removing the EGR pipe - only two bolts at each end. Not too stressful


Step 6: Prep for NOT dropping the Bango bolt etc - quite a few people had mentioned it was easy to drop the bolt at this point - and having experienced that with the EGR blank decided it take preventative action ... the cloth worked a treat, because I did drop it and then simply picked it up off the cloth!


and with the bango bolt out...


Step 7: was a little nervous bending the tubing enough to get on a ring spanner, but gently does it and all was fine. Since I'd heard so much about the limiter being VERY tight (for good reason due to the high pressure of the fuel system), I decided to use an additional piece of pipe over the ring spanner (I think it was 19mm from memory). I've got to say, with the TB out of the way this was possible and made it dead easy to undo (and do up later) - no sweat, no grunting, no straddling the engine bay to get enough oomph behind it. It really made it easy.




Putting in the high pressure limiter and tightening was just as easy with the pipe lever - could easily get it tight enough.

To anyone planning to do this mod, I would definitely suggest you pull off the TB - it really opened up the area and made it so much easier to do.

Obviously did a reversal of the above steps to get it all back together, took it for a squirt afterwards to check for any leaks, then patted myself on the back for a job well done!

It certainly wasn't a difficult task, well, not after having sussed outwhat and how to do things, and then methodically working through. I placed each part I took off in sequential order on the garage floor so I remembered the order etc, which made it pretty much foolproof.

Oh yeah, there was the odd cable disconnect and cable clip to undo/redo as well.

Fuel rail limiter mod - CHECK!

Onto the next task .....

[odie602r]

The next mod was sorting out a drawer-type system for the tub/canopy. I wanted to obviously maximise the vast amount of space available back there, and make it a practical and usable system for both short camping trips, longer camping expeditions, as well as it being easily removable. Oh yeah, if it could be done, the Fridgeslide and the drawer system be mutually exclusive - that is, I could have one installed and not the other, ie
1. only fridgeslide in
2. only drawer system in
3. both fridgeslide and drawer system in

Why removable? My wife wasn't overly keen on there being a drawer system in there all the time, so removable was therefore a viable criteria!

I had checked out the commercially available drawer systems, and saw some great designs that I like (eg ARB and Black Widow), but I wasn't anywhere near as keen on the pricetag......

Also, my fridge (an EvakoolFridgemate 70L) is a bit of an odd size, and no commercially available fridgeslide was really the right length to properly secure it.

I also wanted to have a crack at doing something myself - a custom jobbie, you know. But I can't weld ... fortunately some others had built some drawers out of square aluminium tubing with great success, so I too headed down this path.

On to drawing up plans, and chatting to a few mates (who were fabricators) to get some tips and advice on my design, which in turn lead to several revisions of the plans, more chatting, more revisions - you know how it goes sometimes.

Anyway, I was originally looking to have one big drawer the full length of the tub on one side, with the fridge on the other. In the end, I decided instead to go in a slightly different direction, which so far has been a worthy option - more on that later.

SO, first step - the fridge slide. The 70L fridgemate is 1000mm long, and I really wanted the slide to full extend so that when camping or on the run, it was easy to get inside the fridge without having to lean across the tailgate. Managed to find a good pair on ebay that were 1000mm length and fully extendable, with a 200kg weight limit for a good price.

Next step after this purchase, was to take the fridge slide plans around to a mates place who is a fabricator and got him to knock up the framework from 50x50x3 mild steel angle. Then got it sandblasted and primed. Once this was done, I used a combination of stainless bolts and either tapped into the angle, or went straight through and used nyloc nuts. They were about 6mm size. I had to go quite carfully when tightening up the bolts for the inner frame to the actual fridgslides, as it was easy to get one part too tight which then affected the way the slide extended (ie made it more difficult)

I then painted it myself

[odie602r]

Next step was mounting it securely in the tub, whilst still making it easily removable.

I had managed to get a handful of these pre-threaded mounting plates from a local tyre centre - from memory they were originally used as child restraint points.

(click on photos to see full image)





The two outer holes are 8mm and the middle hole is 10mm. Probably about 4mm thick, maybe 5mm. Nice and sturdy. I was originally thinking that I'd need to have two bolts holding the plate to the tub (with the plate on the underside of the tub) and then the middle hole to secure the fridgeslide to. However, since I wanted 4 bolt-down points, that would mean drilling 12 holes through the tub, which I wasn't keen on...

After some questions on here, someone came up with the idea of using sikaflex to secure it to the tub, as all of the time there would be some bolt through the middle thread holding it in place (was that your suggestion Cowboy Dave? I forget now)

Anyway, that was a brilliant idea, and has worked perfectly. So, measured everything about 23 times before any drilling, and also had to line it up so that the bolt and hole went through a 'valley' in the tub liner, but also where this met up with a 'peak' in the tub floor, so that firstly the bolt on the inside would sit recessed in the tub line valley, and secondly I could get the plate to sit flush with the underside of the tub.

It meant that the bolts are probably a bit closer together than I would have liked, but the frame aint going nowhere. It's worked a treat and I'm really happy with it.









So, when the fridgeslide is not in the canopy, here's what it looks like (the bolt heads didn't quite fit in the valley of the tub liner, but a dremel-type tool soon fixed that ....):



In these photos they're not screwed all the way in, but they do sit completely flush inside the valley and don't obstruct in any way. Happy with that! Here's some that show this:



There we go, part one of the fridgeslide and drawer system complete. Then it was on to constructing the frame etc for the 'drawer' system.

[odie602r]

The frame system took me ages. I sourced the aluminium tubing from Metaland, it was 25x25x1.6, so slighty thicker and therefore sturdier than the stuff sold through bunnings (which is only 1.2mm thick). Also, I got onto a place called Flexliner (or Flexiliner) in Qld I think, that sold joiners etc. I decided to purchase all my joiners from them for one reason mainly - they had nylon interlocking joiners that also had mild steel tubing for reinforcement inside. For me, this was very worthwhile and has made the whole system so much more stronger and durable. The mild steel inserts were about 2.5mm thickness I think.

Cutting, measuring, cutting measuring, filing off the sharp bits - far out, it took ages. Anyway the plodding paid off, and it all came together nicely.

I decided against making up a drawer for the right side, and instead bought some decent 100L plastic crates on wheels from Masters instead. Two of them fitted perfectly in the space I had available, and pretty much used up all the space, so no wastage. Also, when at a campsite, I just need to carry the crates to the tent and not unpack anything. Working well for us so far.

(click on photos for full image)

Frame around the fridge:







9mm ply was used (got from a friend who got from a mill for $2 a sheet!) for the top, and any sides. It's only 9mm, but it's extremely strong stuff. Light, too.


Then carpeted with carpet from Bunnings:




As you can see, there is easy access to the sides via the removable lids, which I split into 3 parts.

And with the plastic crates:


Just realised I haven't taken any pics of how I secured the frame to the tub - I used a turnbuckle and stainless steel 4mm cable, and tied it down to the factory tie down points. On the front on each side you can see the angle - this bolts to the frame I made, and then sits directly under the ARB canopy frame. That frame isn't going anwhere. It's also dead easy to take out - about a 5 minute job. And, it's not too heavy and can be lifted by one person (it's just an awkward size and two makes it easier).

Now that it's in, my wife doesn't want it removed ....!

[Harro]

Mate what a great job , well done.

[odie602r]

Thanks mate, appreciate it. Not bad for an office boy!

My wife has baited me a bit though, something along the lines of 'it would look really professional if the plywood was all painted black' summer holiday perhaps ...

[Cowboy Dave]

Nice one mate. I was going to say the sikaflex wasn't my idea but then you called it brilliant, so maybe yeah I dunno...

That all came together pretty nicely, you must be well pleased.

[odie602r]

This might be common knowledge for most, but I'll add it for the novices like me...

When I drilled the holes in the tub to secure the fridge slide to (using those metal plates) I then completely coated the opening with Cold Gal to prevent rust. Then when using the sikaflex to secure the plates to the underside of the tub I firstly thoroughly cleaned the tub with wax and grease remover, then put HEAPS of sikaflex on the plate, so that when I placed it on the tub and then screwed a bolt into it from inside the tub it oozed out all around the edges causing a complete seal. Didn't want dirt mud sand or water sitting between the plate and tub ....

[Big Damo]

Nice job there Odie. The only concern I'd have is do you think there is enough ventillation for the compressor at the rear of the fridge?

It's great the way that it is so easy to pull out. Having said that, mine was going to be an easily removable system too but I ended up bolting it all underneath with about 8 bolts and it's looking pretty permanent now!

Keep up the great report on your mods.

[odie602r]

Thanks Big Damo for your comments.

Yeah, I'd read through a few other member's drawer builds and the ventilation issue was raised on most of those. I thought about it for a while, and came to the following conclusions on my design:
1. My 'drawer' system is completely open at the tailgate end, hence nowhere near as enclosed as a standard drawer type setup;
2. the middle divide is only about 1/3 covered, leaving 2/3 open, hence more air circulation possible;
3. The advantage of the Fridgemate in my situation is that it has a built-in cooling fan that switches on whenever the Danfoss compressor does - obviously with a fan it blows from one side, but 'sucks' from another, therefore the air circulation that I think 1 & 2 above provides is further enhanced by this fan.

So, I'm reasonably confident that there is plenty of circulation that can be accessed and moved around to keep things cool.

I think if the fridgemate didn't have the built-in fan, it may be more marginal.

I'll keep monitoring it though - and thanks again.

[odie602r]

Here's some pics of how I secured the 'drawer' frame to the tub - as I said earlier, it's not going anywhere .....

(Click on photos for full image)

Drivers side




Passenger side (the wood is there to stop the whole frame from being pulled over as I tighten it - seems to work well):




And here's a closer view of the 6mm aluminium angle at the tailgate end, that tucks up underneath the ARB canopy frame:

[odie602r]

Just realised that for those that have been following my build, and have a keen eye for detail, that the topic of my next mods posting has been prematurely revealed in some of the above photos ...

Any takers?

[salt36]

I am guessing lighting for the canopy or perhaps central locking......

Top job by the way

[odie602r]

Thanks Salt.

The lighting for the canopy is certainly a piece of the puzzle, nice one.

More to be revealed .....

[Big Damo]

I take on board what you say about your Evakool - I"ve got the RF60 and I guess that most firdges say to allow 50mm around the outside for ventilation - well the Evakools always have that don't they because the compressor compoartment is smaller than the outside diameter of the actual box....hmmmm maybe I won't need to worry about it after all..... and we have got one of the best insulated fridges on the market.

That system certainly isnt going anywhere with that engineering!

[Big Damo]

Oh yeh, I was thinking what a hardcore 4wd you've got until I saw the electric heater in the back!

[odie602r]

Oh yeh, I was thinking what a hardcore 4wd you've got until I saw the electric heater in the back!

um, it's um, um ....

[odie602r]

A good quality dual battery system was always on the agenda when we were planning our first 4WD purchase. So when the Triton became the item on the shopping list, prior to taking delivery, I pulled off the Red Arc Smart Start isolator (and associated cabling) that I had previously had installed on another car and got the local Mitsu dealer to put it on the Triton.

To keep it cost neutral for me I chose initially to use the cabling that the auto electrician used on my original vehicle. Unfortunately it was only 6mm twin, but at least it was something. It already had a cig plug and Anderson plug on the end of the 6mm twin, so I got them (the dealer) to instal it (see earlier posts where I covered this and have some pics).

I also already had a sealed lead acid (SLA) 120Ah Amptech D87L deep cycle battery that we use when camping (it gets plonked in the gazebo with the fridge etc. Anyway, this battery had the capacity I wanted, however when charging it emits an explosive gas (it’s hydrogen I think). I probably pushed my luck enough having it plugged in via the Anderson Plug in the tub for a few months, but I definitely wasn’t going to be putting it into the cabin!

So the hunt was on for a good AGM battery - and I ended up going with a Thumper Redback Extreme 120Ah. Good price, great features (well, it’s a battery with a positive and negative terminal and carry strap). For those interested I got it from here:

http://www.homeof12volt.com/shop/index. ... add31450db

Wow, that’s a long URL. Anyway, I digress...

Picked it up for $399 delivered with a Voltmeter chucked in too. Pretty happy with that.

Got the 6B&S cable - twin core too, which was great (a 10m roll, and also a 6m extension cord with anderson plugs each end, along with cable lugs etc from this ebay store (it’s the same place where I got my UHF from too - they’re worth a look). Oh yeah, also got some 4mm twin as well, to use for ....well, you’ll see shortly!

http://stores.ebay.com.au/autoelecau?_rdc=1

So, the plan was relatively simple:
1. mount AGM battery behind rear seat
2. 6B&S twin cable run from crank battery into cabin behind rear seat, along with 4mm twin to re-route the cable for the cig plug I previously installed in front passenger footwell, with both in 13mm split conduit
3. 6B&S cable run from AGM battery behind rear seat to towbar with Anderson plug (in 13mm split conduit)
4. instal second cig plug on other side of tub (right) near the tailgate
5. instal fusebox behind rear seat
6. isolate the anderson plug already installed in tub (it had been spliced into the cable with the original cig plug on my previous vehicle, and I wanted to fuse them separately on the fuse box)
instal some LED strip lighting in the canopy - using the existing light switch that came with the ARB canopy

The implementation of the plan wasn’t so simple.....

[DoubleD]

Great read Odie, you've done a top job!! I'm about to start a build
thread soon & will prob be picking your brains long the way!!

Well done.

Dan

[odie602r]

So, step one was to get the battery mounted behind the rear seat. Others had done it, some with smaller batteries, others with ‘odd’ sized batteries, so I figured your run of the mill 120AH job should be no different.

Well, there was a slight complication - seems Mitsu have changed the placement of the child restraint harness points - here’s where it is on my MY12 model:



Not being a fabricator I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how I was going to securely mount a battery to one mount ... also, placing the battery on top of this mount resulted in the battery top front edge pushing into the back of the rear seat.

So, I was thinking to just cut it out, then I would have the flat floor to mount a battery tray to, that I was planning to secure to the tub using 4 nutserts. Sounded like a done deal, except that:
should I sell the car later on then 1 of only 2 child restraints is obviously no longer there;
I would have 4 more potential rust spots where I drilled through for the nutserts.

But, the advantage would be that I would gain about 40mm of extra depth which would have meant that the top edge of the battery no longer touched the rear of the seat.

So, I’d decided on cutting the child restraint point out, and asked a metal fabricator friend to come around and do the deed with the angle grinder. Well, after 30mins of umming and ahhing he convinced me that there was a better way that didn’t involve cutting or drilling.

Must admit, I wasn’t overly convinced, but went along with his thoughts. Anyway, turns out it was a darn good idea!

Using some 50x50x3mm mild steel angle I had leftover from the fridgeslide, he made up a bracket, welded it to the battery tray, then bolted it through the jack mounting point, and then bolted it into the child restraint. Worked a charm!





I then edged in some pieces of wood on the right hand side to give it a little more stability. It works really well.

We then initially tried to use the supplied bolt-down system that came with the battery tray (like is used in the under bonnet system) but it just stuck out too far. So, ratchet straps it was. With two of them on that battery isn’t going anywhere.

this cam-style strap is what I tried first, but I couldn’t get it tight enough. The hooks didn't help I don't think:



I then picked up a pair of endless ratchet straps, and they worked brilliantly




The carpet is there to soften the impact on the rear seat (armrest) as it does slightly touch it. Fortunately it’s not noticeable or able to be felt when sitting on the seat.

So, step 1 accomplished - just took a couple more hours than anticipated! (what’s new ....)

[odie602r]

Great read Odie, you've done a top job!! I'm about to start a build
thread soon & will prob be picking your brains long the way!!

Well done.

Dan

Thanks Dan

I'm going into a bit of detail, mainly because I found detail from other people to be extremely helpful for myself, especially since I hadn't done this stuff before.

If it helps someone along the way then great!

[odie602r]

Onto the wiring ....

(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE FULL IMAGE)

Firstly had to get rid of the 6mm twin core wire that was on there, and replace with the 6B&S twin core cable.

Also had to remove the left rear wheel plastic mud cover (or whatever it’s official name is)

Here’s a pic with the said cover removed, and the wires already fed through:




I utilised the spare grommet first, for the 6B&S twin cable run from the crank battery to the aux battery, and the 6B&S twin cable run from the Anderson plug at the towbar to the aux battery:


The split conduit going through the vent thing is a couple of runs of 6mm twin for additional power sockets etc.

In hindsight I probably could have used more of the vent things, as the 13mm split conduit fitted through nice and snugly.

This picture shows where the cables enter behind the seat - need to take the trim off first (it’s one piece) - the top part needs to be pulled towards the centre of the cabin, and once that’s out, the bottom half needs to be pulled upwards.



Here’s a pic of the positive cable coming off of the crank battery to a manual reset 100A circuit breaker, before heading to the Red Arc Smart Start:


and this photo shows the circuit breaker a bit more (bit hard to photograph)


Here you can see where I connected the negative to the crank - as with all the connections I crimped


This one shows where I added another cig plug to the left hand side of the tub:


I came through the same hole as the ARB canopy lights install. I used 6mm twin

I mounted the fuse box and wiring for the power runs to this piece of 9mm plyboard - attached using stainless bolts and I just drilled and tapped through the metal - that part is kind of doubled over with the metal so the drilled holes weren’t through to the outside.



In that same pic you can see that the trim is back on, and the 6B&S I fed through the bottom and around the base of the tub.

I then fed through all of the accessory cables higher up, and cable tied them together behind the trim, and also to a couple of points as well to stop banging etc over the bumps!

Also in the pic you probably noticed that I had a piece of ply on top of the battery and under the ratchet straps. I ended up mounting the two circuit breakers on here (one from the crank battery run, and one from the towbar anderson plug run).

My original intention was to include them on the top board, but I wanted to keep that board as small as possible, and keep the wires as neat as I could. This was the best situation I could come up with at that point in time!

Here’s another angle (sorry, a bit blurred)




Managed to do it so that I can still get the spare wheel rod out without getting caught up in the wires...

I set up the fuse box so that there are separate runs for the left and right cig sockets (located at the rear of the tub just inside tailgate), the anderson plug that was wired up in the tub (near left rear wheel arch), and the cig plug I’d earlier installed in the front passenger wheel well.

To do this I needed to cut the original 6mm twin cable that the dealer installed for me, because I couldn’t get to where it had been spliced into due to it being behind the tub liner, and with the ARB canopies they are installed with a frame that sits over the tub liner such that you can’t easily get it off without messing with the seal. Anyway, it just meant more fiddling about.

I remembered reading that someone discovered you could feed a wire up through near the fuel filler pipe and into the tub - so this is what I did to directly connect the anderson tub run to the fuse box. I found where to feed it easily enough, but found it a tad difficult being able to get it through ... 45 minutes later I got it though!

I also used 4mm twin for the front passenger wheel well cig plug - figured I had heavy duty plugs in the rear already, so didn’t really need anything heavier. Just fed it through the split conduit with the 6B&S from the engine bay.

Here’s the anderson plug at the towbar - just double sided tape and some cable ties to secure it - unfortunately I didn’t get it as straight as I’d like...




probably not the best shot, but just showing that I followed the factory wiring looms for all wiring underneath the car:


And here’s where I put the voltmeter that I got included with the battery:






I also got a bit clever/fancy with the anderson plug in the tub, and wired up a 6mm twin run along my shelf system for the fridge:





Really happy with how it’s turned out.

One more wiring post to go ....

[odie602r]

I wanted to upgrade the lighting in the canopy too, especially since putting in the shelf system, at night time it’s impossible to see underneath the wings.

(CLICK TO SEE FULL IMAGE)

I went with some LED strip lighting, and stuck two strips on the canopy roof like this (same on the other side too)


and a strip underneath the canopy frame on each side


In this pic you can see where the wire comes from underneath, and I then Tee-d into the other wire (all 4mm twin)


As you may be able to see from the first pic, I connected it to the existing light from the canopy, and just took the globe out. Works a treat!

I used 5m of the stuff (one roll) - and bought it off ebay from the aussie blokes. This was their latest release led strip lighting, and in all honesty is probably a bit too ‘blue’ for me, but trust me it’s not as blue as these pictures make it out to be. One things for sure, it’s plenty bright enough!

Here’s some photos without the shelf system:







and with the shelf system back in:








Again, for an amateur having a go, I think it’s come up quite nicely! Needless to say, I can now see things in the dark quite easily ...!

[odie602r]

Forgot to show off a ‘feature’ of my shelf system earlier - for easier access to the wing area, I made the rear right panel removeable. Originally used screws, but then swapped it over to using magnets (from cupboard systems). The magnets are pretty strong, and require a good hard knock to get it off, so I think it should hold fine over rougher country (and has done so on the one 4WD trip I've done since installing it all). The size of the opening means I can fit two full jerry cans up and under the RHS wing - since I don’t have a long range tank, I figured having the option to carry 40 extra litres for only $40 ($20 per jerry can) was a good interim step!

(CLICK ON PICS FOR FULL IMAGE)






I have done one final additional/tweak of the shelf system, but that’ll come in another post - that’s enough for one day!

[4wd26]

nice- some good ideas that I'm going to steel.

I have an additional idea for you though.
the led strip lighting- add a strip to the canopy window below the stop light. when the rear window is opened it sheds a lot of light outside and into the fridge and when I prepare meals on the tail gate