Ghosts 2008 D4D Auto build

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Yea, if I wasn't the person I am and like things for three weeks then upgrade I would have gone the 35w I think you will be very impressed with them! Plus you will get them for under a grand, which includes the complete harness, lense protectors and the lights, it's good my missus just says now just go with what u really want cause u will get the Sh@;s and want to change it later lol. I'm fortunate to be in a job which gives me a bit of spare cash which really helps with my addiction to spending money!

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

hilux Windscreen washer jets install (the easy way!)

Hi guys,

well decided its been atleast a week since i done something to the big white girl, so while i was in at toyota dropping off the other halfs hyundai to get some paint fixed i decided to stop by the parts dept and pick up some hilux washer jets, after some blank looks i got my point accross as to what i wanted (minus the clips for the bonet blanket thingy),
$43 later i was on my way..

Got home and proceeded to start to try and remove the clips from under the bonnet for the blanket thingy, got three removed without breaking them, but was getting annoyed at how long it was taking, so i thought i would approach it in a different way!, i looked at the new washer jets and noticed at the front and rear they have two push tabs that you are able to squeeze to help with removal... this is not possible without a lot of force or to do what i did :-)..

Tools required are:-

1x Long nose pliers (or any other pliers to be able to grip the washer jet)
a small step (for me vertically challanged)
the trusty old toyota screwdriver (or any other flat bladed screw driver)
1x rag or old shirt in my case to protect paint for on bonnet
1x small wire cutters

Parts:-

2x p/n 85381-0K010 (hilux washer jets)



Step 1:-
Grip the old washer jet with the pliers and turn left to right to slightly loosen the washer jet, you will notice now it should be slightly loose.



Step 2:- lay the rag (or shirt over your bonnet leaving just enough room infront so you can insert the scredriver under the front of the washer jet (the part where the water jets come from, take it slow here so you dont scrape the paintwork under the washer jet, luckly the washer jet has a rubber spacer between it and the bonnet so try and insert the screwdriver between the jet and the spacer, push the screwdriver in and you should see the front of the washer jet popp out,




Step 3:- grasp the jet again with the pliers and pull the front up, you will now be able to see the toungue that normally holds the front of the washer jet in, grab you wire cutters and cut this off (stops it re locking when you push it back in)




To be continued

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

washer jet install cont

Step 4:- insert the screwdriver into the back of the washer jet and push in again you will now see that the rear of the washer jet pops out, now you will be able to lift the whole washer jet out (with the hose still attached)






Step 5:- grasp the hose with the plyers (this stops the hose falling into the bonnet cavity and making things really hard!) grab the washer jet with your other hand and pull the jet should come free after a bit of force,


Step 6:- grab your new washer jet and push the barb into the hose and make sure it seats all the way in, then push the jet back into the bonnet hole until it clicks and walla one side is done, repeat all steps for the other side,

Total time 10 mins max!

much easier than removing the bonnet underlay!!

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Nice work Ghost. Couldn't be any easier following this level of detail. I think this will have to be my very next mod following your post!

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Nice work Ghost. Couldn't be any easier following this level of detail. I think this will have to be my very next mod following your post!

Thanks craig, missed a couple of pics but hopefully it does make fellow PP members lives easier :-) and the result is ofcourse 300% better than the normal prado jets! why they dont put them on as standard really throws me!

have a couple more mods soon,

next month the big white girl is booked in for her tinting, my turbo timer should be here this week, and hopefully i will actually save some cash and get the new arb bar put on next month along with a 3" exhaust system.... these last two are still a hopeful, as it depends on if we head to the coast or not! mackay is way to expensive to do either!!

[philski Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close philski]

awesome

+1 here. That mod is awesome!!!! The cable tie trick (popping up the front then feeding a cable tie in the gap before popping the back) works a treat and no need to cut the wiper jet so it stays in tact. search the forum for more info...

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Well things have been pretty quiet of late and I really should update with a couple of things that have been done to the big white girl.

A couple of months ago i received a nice heavy box, in it was some of AMTS top notch bashplates as my factory alfoil ones had taken a beating. The fit and finish of the plates are first rate! Thanks again AMTS 
Front shot bashplate





In the mail around the same time I received my Prado point stickers so of course had to mount one, have a spare just incase.

The tinting had also been put back for a couple of months... go to love unexpected bills... glad I did as I re shopped around and got it a lot cheaper at another place here compared to my first quote.. Got a nice and dark tint, much nicer to drive and hard for people to see in 
Today I also got to pick up another pressie, a set of AJ120’s sliders, After the freight company giving us a run around all is good , like AMTS, AJ does some fine work, having only just come off nightshift I was going to leave installing them until I had a sleep.......
Well that didn’t work haha couldn’t help myself I just had to install them, on my way home I stopped my supercheap and picked up some heavy duty axle stands and some ramps, been chasing both of these for a while and figured they would make life a lot easier with the install.... and also managed to jag a sale at supercheap so saved a few quid .

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

The old steps, still in good condition so I will put these up for sale shortly.


The old steps were easy to remove 6 bolts either side ( 2 in each mount) had both steps off within 10 minutes..
Girl with no steps, actually looks quite mean


I also decided whilst I had the steps off I would give the underside a good hit with my pressure cleaner, Whist it was drying I went into starting to unpack the new sliders, they were well packaged with plenty of padding, a couple of areas copped a couple of scuffs for heavy handling from the freight co whilst in transit no doubt, no stress I also grabbed some black gloss spray paint just incase . By the time I had carefully unpacked the sliders and touched up the few small scratches, the big white girl was pretty much dry, so on to the ramps she went for the fun part

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

After hearing the LHS takes the longest to install I decided to get the RHS fitted first. I placed the axel stands just under the sill’s front and rear adjusting to front stand higher to compensate for the extra height of the ramps, just high enough to help support the slider whilst I was manovering the bracket and u bolts into the holes. I also put some rags over the rests to stop them scratching the sliders. Both u bolts went in pretty easily, the rear one will require you to manipulate the heatshield to get the bolt through...

after I had put all the nuts on, it dawned on me that there was quite a lot of bolt protruding past the mount..... then I decided to grab the third u bolt that I had put aside for the LHS... well it turned out that there were two shorter u bolts and one longer one.... lucky I figured this out at this point and not when I got to the LHS and realised that I had selected the wrong one... Phew.. so pretty easy, out with the rear longer u bolt in with the shorter one.. Note:- to decide where the sliders were to sit in regards to being more forward or rear, I lined the rear of the slider up with the wheel arch, this gave a good reverence point to copy on the other side and it looks the neatest. This also seems to be the best place to align the LHS slider as it helps clear the chassis welds.) Started tightening everything up and making sure I alternated between top and bottom. I also used my torque wrench to nip all the nuts up to 40nm as a note with the front u bolt it pays to just ever so slightly trough the mount as its quite tight trying to put the nut and washer on. RHS is all done and looking good 
LHR

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

RHF

RHS Finished


Now on to the fun one...... the LHS and the rear mount... moved the axel stands and tools over to the LHS and starting setting up the same... this time the slider decided to slip off the rear stand, as I was manovering the front mount and u bolt into place the rear came crashing down right next to my head, lucky I was wearing safety glasses and had put cardboard down to stop the sliders coming in contact with the concrete.. Re put the slider on the rear stand and finished starting both nuts on the front mount, moved to the rear...

This is when I noticed the break line is in the way of the top bolt when it’s not inserted and decided instead of trying to muck around with it, to just unbolt the two break line supports, this made it heaps easier moving the line out of the way.. Just do not forget to put the bolts aside and to re bolt them up at the end!

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

I manovered the back L bracket into place and it stays put by the chassis weld just below it, which helps...

I put the bottom bolt through first, ( This is the longer of the two bolts) and put the spring washer and nylock nut on aswel. Just got them started enough to hold things relatively straight.. Then started to put the top bolt in...... this is where I ran into the same problem Trekrider did, the hole on the top mount is slightly to small with the powder coating, I got a small hammer and tapped a few times but it wasn’t budging, so instead of damaging the bolt, I decided the best was to remove the whole slider and give the hole a quick hit with a round file. This was by far the easiest way, (JUST REMEMBER TO TRY AND PUT YOUR BOLT THROUGH FIRST).

Then back to re doing everything... got to the top mount again and was having a hard time lining up the top threaded hole of the backing plate with the top bolt.... it works out that it really is best leaving the bottom bolt out and doing the top first, the axel stands will help. And I’m short so I was also able to wedge my knee underneath to help lift, this allowed both hands to be free... another note, use a torch!! It helps a lot!! I have a handy little kingcrome magnetic led one that is flat so had that next to my head... Once i got the thread started on the top bolt and made sure I wasn’t threading it, I went onto redoing the bottom bolt.. Once that was done, I started to torque the rears up.. this is when I noticed a gap between the mounting plate and chassis... I thought I had torqued the nuts up but it best to tighten the rears up to a point and then go onto the front as this helps pull both mounts in onto the chassis, once I did this and torqued all bolts up to 40nm the gap was completely gone. I also went to each bolt and drew lines over the nut and washer to easily visualise if they have loosened after a month or so.
LHF


LHR




LHS finished

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Extra width


I decided to take a before and after measurement to see how much clearance I had gained, from the sliders.. I measured from the ground to the bottom of the step
Factory steps No lift kit at all
LHS Front:- 31cm
LHS Rear:- 31cm
RHS Front:- 32cm
RHS Rear:- 32cm

With sliders
LHS Front:- 36cm
LHS Rear:- 36cm
RHS Front:- 37cm
RHS Rear:- 37cm
Thats a gain of 5cm either side, not to bad at all!!

Again I would like to thank AJ for his top work and patience with me pestering him when we were getting the run around with the freight..

Next on the list is the lift, ARB deluxe winch bar, and if I have room left above the prado in the garage a rhino platform roof rack.
Oh and after reading Sik120's build, i love those Procomps!!! but at $350 a pop from Oposite lock!!! yea..... riiight!! got a hold of a company in the states and can get 5 delivered for $1050us, but is a 60-90 day wait due to manufacture delays.....

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Today was a good day :-)

Ordered the new bull bar, ended up going the Oposite lock delux post bar, gets installed next Thursday when I get back next. Also ordered the new lift, ended up going bilstien/ kings combo, going to install myself, but to help with the ease of installation thy are assembling the front struts and springs for me.

And lastly my new transfer case guard rocked up, thanks Brian's!! Great product.

[Brains Find all posts View Profile Close Brains]

Today was a good day :-)

Ordered the new bull bar, ended up going the Oposite lock delux post bar, gets installed next Thursday when I get back next. Also ordered the new lift, ended up going bilstien/ kings combo, going to install myself, but to help with the ease of installation thy are assembling the front struts and springs for me.

And lastly my new transfer case guard rocked up, thanks Brian's!! Great product.

Good to hear Ghost, glad you like it, looks like you've got everything protected now. It's good to see you fitting all the gear from the members here on PP.

Paul

[Ghost Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ghost]

Always a fan of helping out the small guys, plus the products that amts, aj120 and yourself Paul are top notch mate, noting better than knowing they have actually been made by like minded people and a bit more personal. I'm stoked that the under side is fully protected now :-)...

More mods following... Just intone for the dry season an camping with the fam... My other expensive hobbie is riding a 400exc KTM....... That's cost me a few quid these last few days....