Toyota Hilux LN106R

[boris mikilchuck]

Finally got around to finishing off the centrifuge and all is looking good so far. The larger oil return fitting at the base of the centrifuge (pictured above) seems to have solved the problem of oil build up. As far as I can tell the centrifuge is working as it should and I cannot see any oil leaks. At the moment its just a matter of driving around to see how it all goes. After about 4000 km I will have a look inside to see if it has collected any soot.
Below is just a few pictures of the final setup

 

[01Muzza]

We’re did you get your rear bar is it a part or did you get it made.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

We’re did you get your rear bar is it a part or did you get it made.

Hi mate,

My rear bar is not custom its an off the shelf unit manufactured by TJM. Mine is steel which is pretty rare as most of these design style were alloy. As far as I know they are no longer in production which is a shame. Honestly, its probably the best thing I have on this car it has taken some serious hits and has saved me countless times.

 

[Olelux]

Love this rig

 

[Olelux]

Your hilux looks in pretty good condition for one of the earlier ln106s , the single cabs are good for long distance touring with plenty of room in the back. Good to hear she is still purring. I love the 2.8s, they are so simple and reliable. With a bit of love and regular oil changes it should get up to 500k without any dramas (I know of one that did a million kms).

I was lucky enough to watch one while driving it click over to all zeros. And that was 7 years ago and it still going strong to this day. Original motor too

 

[boris mikilchuck]

I was lucky enough to watch one while driving it click over to all zeros. And that was 7 years ago and it still going strong to this day. Original motor too

Hi Olelux,

Thanks mate,

Can't really fault my old girl. Its been a great truck. Very impressive to hear of them doing over one million kays but i am not really surprised, these engines are so overbuilt they are only operating at 15-20% capacity non-turbo so will run for ages. In my opinion it all comes down to maintenance really, take care of them and they will go forever but neglect them and pay the price.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

Ever since I got the hilux the brakes have been pretty terrible which isnt overly surprising as the LN106 is known to have poor brakes. I checked my front calipers when I fitted the alloy rims and new tyres but have never paid any attention to the rear drums. It has always been in the back of my mind that I should probably do something about it but I could never be bothered and just focussed on other more important things. Now with this pandemic I thought I would finally tear them down to inspect the condition.

As I suspected the drums were pretty much rusted to the axle (all that salt water I drove through on Fraiser took its toll). I ended up beating the crap out of it with a mallet before it finally came off. The shoes were worn unevenly and there was a pretty big lip on the drums. The worst part was that the cylinders were leaking fluid everywhere and looked like they had never been replaced. Overall there was no real damage and it looked like a straightforward job.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

While everything was apart I decided to fit the rear steel braided extended brake line I bought ages ago which went on easily without any dramas. I would highly recommend fitting these even if you only have a 2" lift as the factory brake lines are not long enough and have a tendency to swell. With this all done I ordered some new genuine toyota cylinders and some drums/shoe kits off ebay.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

All the brake components were filthy so I cleaned them up and fitted the new shoes. Drums came and I am pretty impressed with the quality. Gave them a quick lick of black exhaust paint and fitted everything together. After bleeding the system and going for a test drive I would say the brakes are noticeably better, I suppose all the little upgrades and new parts does add up. One thing I overlooked though was the load proportioning valve. When bleeding the brakes at this valve I noticed a lot of rubber in the fluid which suggests the valve is probably stuffed and I highly doubt it has been replaced previously. oh well, that job can wait for another day

In the long term I will probably upgrade to a V6 surf master cylinder and booster but no point doing that unless everything else in the factory braking system is working 100% first.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

 

[boris mikilchuck]

If you have read my build thread then you are probably aware I went on a trip to fraiser island in December 2018. Although this trip was wonderful and one of the best things I have ever done, I would have killed for a canopy and 12 volt fridge

With this in mind the next thing on the list will be some mods more related to touring. While I never really intended to build up a touring vehicle thats kinda how things will probably turn out. The main reason is that these hiluxes are becoming quite rare and are an iconic vehicle so I dont really want to over modify or do anything that will devalue it. So tough tourer it is

With so many touring setups its hard to know what to aim for but I will keep it simple and probably go for a basic canvas canopy retaining the factory tub. Drawers are an obvious first step so I bought some Titan rear drawers and wings.

Stay tuned ...........

 

[typhoeus]

If you have read my build thread then you are probably aware I went on a trip to fraiser island in December 2018. Although this trip was wonderful and one of the best things I have ever done, I would have killed for a canopy and 12 volt fridge

With this in mind the next thing on the list will be some mods more related to touring. While I never really intended to build up a touring vehicle thats kinda how things will probably turn out. The main reason is that these hiluxes are becoming quite rare and are an iconic vehicle so I dont really want to over modify or do anything that will devalue it. So tough tourer it is

With so many touring setups its hard to know what to aim for but I will keep it simple and probably go for a basic canvas canopy retaining the factory tub. Drawers are an obvious first step so I bought some Titan rear drawers and wings.

Stay tuned ...........

If you look around, you might be able to pick up a fibreglass canopy for it. At least your stuff will stay dry, and maybe a little more secure

 

[boris mikilchuck]

If you look around, you might be able to pick up a fibreglass canopy for it. At least your stuff will stay dry, and maybe a little more secure

Hi Typhoeus,

Thanks for the suggestion. I am aware of the fibreglass canopies and think they are pretty good all round but I don't want to go that direction for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I can't fit a fibreglass canopy on my hilux because its fitted with a steel rear window protector which is attached to the tub thus preventing attachment. Secondly, I don't really like the look of the fibreglass canopies and they are also very common and I want something a bit different/unique.

 

[boris mikilchuck]

Started prepping the hilux for some touring mods. As someone who likes building things myself and on a pretty tight budget I figured I would make some drawers and wings out of plywood but after adding up the cost I figured it would cost about $800 minimum for the setup I wanted and adventure kings drawers are only about $550 so buying the Titan rear drawrers and wing kit was a bit of a no brainer. I know many people who have them and have only heard good things.

Next step was to prepare the tub for the drawers/touring mods etc. Sanded everything back and got myself some white Raptor coat. Having no experience with Raptor coat before I didn't really know what to expect but after using it I can say I am very impressed with the finish and how easy it is to use.

 

[typhoeus]

Started prepping the hilux for some touring mods. As someone who likes building things myself and on a pretty tight budget I figured I would make some drawers and wings out of plywood but after adding up the cost I figured it would cost about $800 minimum for the setup I wanted and adventure kings drawers are only about $550 so buying the Titan rear drawrers and wing kit was a bit of a no brainer. I know many people who have them and have only heard good things.

Next step was to prepare the tub for the drawers/touring mods etc. Sanded everything back and got myself some white Raptor coat. Having no experience with Raptor coat before I didn't really know what to expect but after using it I can say I am very impressed with the finish and how easy it is to use.

View attachment 67914 View attachment 67915 View attachment 67916 View attachment 67917

Did you roll it on? Im looking at doing mine too, but all over. The spray on jobs look really good, very fine texture

 

[boris mikilchuck]

Did you roll it on? Im looking at doing mine too, but all over. The spray on jobs look really good, very fine texture

I used the spray gun supplied with the kit at 50 psi air pressure and mixed the 1L of raptor with 237 mL of hardener because I wanted a rough texture. You can get a very fine texture if you use a normal paint gun but you need to use more hardener I think. You can also control the texture by increasing the air pressure or changing the amount of hardener mixed with the raptor paint. I have heard of quite a few people doing their entire cars with it now.

 

[Laingy]

Last weekend I gave my daughter a hand to install some Kings drawers (with 1 x fridge slide) to her work Hilux. She works for the emergency services so the build had to be specific, and strong. I always thought the Kings drawers were delivered in a flat pack, but ours came fully assembled, albeit the Allen screws and nuts were all loose, for a reason. From go to whoa it took us 2 hours, and a further 6 hours to cut and fit the skirts, tie them altogether and install marine carpet. Another 2 hours to fit all her work gear in, and voila, finished. The vehicle came with fitted rubber tray carpet, so we weren't allowed to drill any holes, which made things tricky, but utilising existing tie down points we were able to fit everything in, and when it comes to sell the vehicle on, about 1 hour is all that will be needed to remove the drawers and skirts, ready for the next vehicle. BTW, we used 19 mm Structaflor from a previous building project. Sorry if some of the pics are repeated. Old man syndrome.

 

[SFA hilux]

Hey Boris,
I’ve been enjoying seeing your build progress.
I’ve just replaced my steering j arm. The Hilux steering is doing my head in, do you have problems with your steering wheel changing it’s straight position? Probably from something bending, does your draglink ever touch your shock or your leaf spring? What is your suspension set up, eg soft and flexy or stiff, lift? Dropped draglink or straight?
Having a lot of trouble with my set up and would like to hear from some fellow solid axle Hilux owners. Thanks.

 

[typhoeus]

Hey Boris,
I’ve been enjoying seeing your build progress.
I’ve just replaced my steering j arm. The Hilux steering is doing my head in, do you have problems with your steering wheel changing it’s straight position? Probably from something bending, does your draglink ever touch your shock or your leaf spring? What is your suspension set up, eg soft and flexy or stiff, lift? Dropped draglink or straight?
Having a lot of trouble with my set up and would like to hear from some fellow solid axle Hilux owners. Thanks.

There is some info here

Damaged Pitman and Idler Arms

Hi all, I've just had a set of Pitman and Idler Arms on my '03 IFS V6 Hilux replaced because they got bent out of whack whilst wheeling. Any suggestions on any mods that may help alleviate this issue in the future? I'm currently running a Pedders steering damper which I'm open to suggestions on...

4x4earth.com

 

[boris mikilchuck]

Hey Boris,
I’ve been enjoying seeing your build progress.
I’ve just replaced my steering j arm. The Hilux steering is doing my head in, do you have problems with your steering wheel changing it’s straight position? Probably from something bending, does your draglink ever touch your shock or your leaf spring? What is your suspension set up, eg soft and flexy or stiff, lift? Dropped draglink or straight?
Having a lot of trouble with my set up and would like to hear from some fellow solid axle Hilux owners. Thanks.

Hi Mate,

Thanks for following my build thread. YES, I have had this issue even since I have had my car, the steering on the LN106 is very temperamental and I have had a few little issues with mine mostly related to excessive play in the steering. My steering wheel has changed position whenever I have done any work on the steering. I was able to align the steering wheel a when I replaced the tie rod by turning the wheel straight and adjusting the tie rod length to suit before aligning the wheels. My old tie rod was bent which is what was causing the issue. The steering wheel is still about 10 degrees clockwise which isnt so bad so I just live with it . My drag link is straight and it does not touch my shocks or leaf spring but it is quite common for the front drag link end to break when steering is at full lock at the same time as the suspension is at full flex, I have had this happen a couple of times. The first time it broke I replaced the drag link with a new straight one and the second time I just rebuilt the ends using a rebuild kit. My suspension lift isnt high enough to justify getting a dropped drag link. My suspension is about as soft and flexxy as you can get which is great offroad but I cant carry much weight without it sagging.

Hope I could be of some help