Thread: Meet my 90, and share the adventure.

Quiet day in the office means some play time out the back.
Here are some progress shots on the bracket, AKA "Dodgy bracket V1.0". She ain't pretty, but will do the job.
There was a few iterations, but the final piece was made from 2mm sheet, with a 5mm piece heated and bent into shape in the vise.
Finished with some cold gal paint and and some satin black in the coming days.


Rough shaping cut with the plasma at 25A. The swirling of the plasma jet created quite an angled cut, but a nice fine kerf. Nothing the grinder can't fix


Post welding. A few dags and rough spots, but fit for purpose.

I was using a 170A stick welder as a scratch start TIG on 80A. Probably a little too cold to get full penetration into the 5mm plate, but I was having difficulty with the arc wandering in places. Probably in part due to a contaminated tungsten and my general lack of skill

All tigged up, and ground down.


I know it's a sign of too much heat in the job, but.... 'Dat colouring


Mock up, after a few coats of cold gal. Need to lop a bit more off the top to get it to sit right.

Today I mapped out the placement of the winch solenoid on its bracket, and drilled the holes. I gave it a quick coat of satin black on one side the other day, but then decided to leave it until after all holes are drilled...

Using a paint pen, I marked the holes for the top wing mounting points, and the bottom guard mounting locations with the bracket on the vehicle.









Trial assembly: Rear




Front (will be facing engine):




With this setup, I will be able to have the winch wireless control permanently connected, and the wired hand piece easily connected if needed.
There is plenty of room for the winch solenoid box and associated cabling within the wing, and it is easily accessed via the removable port if needed. I will need to extend the motor ground cable and a signal wire from the winch motor to the new solenoid location, but that will be a simple task.

Also took the opportunity to clock the winch clutch lever to a more suitable location for the ARB bar.
Due to the bolt holes not lining up in the ideal location, I'm about 15 degrees off perpendicular.

Did a pull-down of the winch gearbox, and gave everything a good coat of fresh grease which will probably see it good for the next 12 months.







***hands too greasy to take more photos at this point***


...ready to put the cap back on.


Other threads have mentioned that when you mount the winch, you need to ensure that the drain hole is at the lowest point (on the winch motor side).



Looking at the brains trust: is this what a drain hole usually looks like?

I'm guessing this will just be a matter of removing the 2 bolts on the end cap of the winch, then rotating the motor housing? I really don't feel like disassembling the motor as most previous attempts at this have had me searching for the brushes and springs that inadvertently fly out...

Originally Posted by Toxic_Avenger

Other threads have mentioned that when you mount the winch, you need to ensure that the drain hole is at the lowest point (on the winch motor side).







Looking at the brains trust: is this what a drain hole usually looks like?



I'm guessing this will just be a matter of removing the 2 bolts on the end cap of the winch, then rotating the motor housing? I really don't feel like disassembling the motor as most previous attempts at this have had me searching for the brushes and springs that inadvertently fly out...

Doesn't rotate like the other end... There should be another further round...

Find the other one and Plug the one there with a dab of silicone

You saw it first...


I've modified the Ex box to have a double decker feature.
I feel it works better with the feng shui of the whole thing. And I'll also be able to keep the bus bars and other nasty wiring on the bottom, and the fuse blocks where they might be a little more accessible.




I've gone with some sheet steel painted satin black.
There is a piano hinge and some pop rivets to allow it to swing up and out of the way for access to the lower levels.
The latch is made of some 3mm aluminium angle which I've tapped and threaded for retaining some stainless M5 cap head bolts. The securing side of things will be managed with wing nuts.


The ex box is not square, and is a somewhat complex shape, so there has been a lot of measuring and laying out of the components before getting to this stage. Including a bit of a snafu with the holes for the wing nut latch (which are now slots). V2.0 may correct this...

What I currently know is that the highest component on the ground floor is a blue sea systems 250A bus bar with a cover at approx 78mm tall. I'll have 20mm above that, and 45mm of Baintech fuse block, leaving approx 15mm to the ex box lid (keeping in mind the nutserts which are in certain locations of the lid).

Over the coming days I'll be laying out the electronics on the ground floor and doing some wiring. I'm banking on a max 250A draw for the whole box, split between 2 fuse blocks at max 100A each with circuit breaker, and each accessory circuit fused to max 30A (as per Baintech's recommendations).

Main idea is to run 25mm2 wiring as the main feed to the bus bar, then I've got the option for tapping direct off the bus bar if needed (ie anderson plug, jumper cable etc).

More progress shots as they become available.

Double decker Ex-Box flap V2.0 is go!
Used the original (mark 1) which was square to tweak the new design.
Again, 1.6mm sheet steel, cold gal coat (pictured), and a satin black finish.



The Ground Floor Layout
The Blue sea Systems fairy delivered a bucketload of goodies, which I promptly began assembling into the ex box.

I created a template board using an offcut of pine, and marked out the inside dimensions of the ex box, taking care to mark out occlusions for the ciga socket and USB charging areas.



After I had it all laid out, I started cutting and crimping the cables to make the connections.


I traced the outlines of the components to the board...


Marked existing holes with tracing paper...


And transferred holes to the bottom of the Ex Box (taking note of the orientation.


Finished!

The relay output will feed the ignition switched fuse block.
The circuit breaker output will feed the 24hr 12V fuse block.

Doing the layout this way saved derping around in the ex box once installed in the vehicle. which I loathe to do in the middle of summer in this part of the country.

For the flap, I've marked out the fuse block positions ready to drill, but have run out of M4 cap head bolts to secure them to the sheet steel. I want to minimise sharp bits in the ex box wherever possible, save chafing and potential shorts in the future.

The more astute amongst you may have thought to yourself: "How is he going to get power and earth into the ex box?"
Once the ex box is in the vehicle, I'll pull across the electricals from under the drivers seat. I will then find the best place to install the through-post terminals for the main feed and earth return. These through-posts will help keep the ex box as dust proof as possible, while also being way neater than grommets silicone etc.


In other news...

The 400A T type fuse and holder for the winch has arrived, and just awaiting some time to get installed on the vehicle.

I've got all cabling for the winch and control box relocation ready to cut and crimp, again, just awaiting time to install.
The uber bracket in the above post, is also ready to install.

Next steps will be some kind of dual battery arrangement. But the project plan will probably begin with battery tray and battery selection before working out what space I have to work with.

More progress shots...

Currently bare on the front and rear, but plenty of room for accessories and switchgear down the track.



The shelf is raised above the circuit breakers on the bottom, with plenty of room to spare for wiring and clearance to the lid.



Plenty of room on the flap to upgrade to 12 circuit fuse blocks if needed ( the width of the flap was determined with this in mind).



I've made a aluminium angle 'shelf' for the flap to sit against, and tapped it to accept M5 bolts screwed from underneath. I use wing nuts on the top.




Nice and compact down below, without being too cramped.




Still have plenty of room to use proper connectors on the back of the Carling switch(es). Pictured is for the air compressor.


I'm happy with it for now, I'll wire in a anderson plug or other suitable socket for a fridge when the time comes.
The aim now is to get it into the vehicle ready for some 4 wheeling / camping after Christmas.


If anyone wants / needs any dimensions or parts listings used in this build (for their own personal use), shoot me a PM.

Time to get back into it!
Spent the last week and a bit doing the christmas thing.

Notable moments / trips were:

Mount sugarloaf, Lake Macquarie, NSW
Went for a wheel up Mount Sugarloaf, did a few lines along a track leading down to 'queensland gates'. I went from the top down, but didn't attempt the gates, instead taking the track back up[ the hill.
Those not familiar with the track can check out a video of some jeeps attempting it here (not my video):
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj6BXpF1Obo&t=4m57s[/ame]

The track:




There was another track nearby called Hub Hill, which was littered with smashed axles... not for me either




On the sugarloaf entry road, there is a few tracks to the side. I decided to test it out...

Suddenly a wild defender appears!

You use centre diff lock and low range, dealing tyre smoke and forward momentum. It's super effective!






Tin City, Stockton Beach, NSW

Did my first real sand driving. I'm not much of a fisherman, rarely swim, so beach driving was mainly to climb sand hills and derp around. Sadly, the interesting parts of the worimi conservation lands have been sold off to private enterprise (sand mining), or are locked for environmental reasons / aboriginal cultural sites. So not much of interest there other than lunch at Anna Bay up the other end.








Went with a mate with a twin turbo 4.2 GU patrol, and another with a civvie spec H1 Hummer (mil spec plus creature comforts).
The hummer was particularly capable, and was a great sight to see on the beach. Pro tip: the cockpit of the hummer is as snug as a defender! the driveline sits in a 1m wide hump within the vehicle, to allow max clearance underneath. With 37's stock, and portal axles all round, I'd love to see one of these on a more challenging track. Definately a capable rig worthy of it's heritage- amazing how similar the two vehicles are - it's like the defender of the USA (albeit with 3 times more engine, and a bajillion times more street presence). I actually pooped a little when I saw it in my rear vision mirrror.


Cotton-Bimbang National park, Oxley Highway, NSW

Did a sneaky overnight trip to the Maxwells flat camping area in the Doyles River State Forest. Did some driving along the Cells river in that area. Other than the recent rain and an imperial ass-tonne of leeches, it was a great spot. Plenty of areas for a secluded camp, nice streams, and fairly accessible tracks. Not for the serious track hunter though- you'd probably get bored. Stopped by 'the Hilton' cabin in the forest, I think it was featured in a 4wd action DVD once, it looked like Roothy had signed the eave of the structure (along with everyone else).


That's all the adventures I've had in the 90 up to today. Only damage sustained was a torn off mud flap at sugarloaf (this is the second one! 90's love to do this it seems), and a cracked safari snorkel top piece due to a tree in the wrong place on an increasing side angle.

Until next time,
Cheerio.