DIY Swing Out Spare Tire Carrier '4wd'
 

I've been trying to upload my DIY spare tire carrier on my van at the Delica club forums, but for some reason there a plethora of technical issues regarding the website....

So maybe someone here might find this interesting and or useful.

I have a 97 Mitsubishi L400 Delica Van 4wd.

Somewhat rare fruit over in the USA...but I am starting to see them get imported over there due to the 25 year rule...

Anyway over here in Australia they've been a JDM grey import.

However My method of design/engineering could be adapted to any vehicle.

So the criteria :

1)Running on 31's so don't fit under slung in the factory spare carrier. Free up space for a water tank in future...

2)Want to carry extra fuel 2x 25l shorty cans.

3)Mounting points for my recovery tracks..

4)Think I found a nook for a 2kg gas/propane tank...

5)And perhaps enough room for a fold down table one day...

I already have an existing towbar with a fixed ball and I am not exactly deep pockets...mostly lint lined. So buying off the shelf wouldn't achieve my goals and getting fabbed would cost to much especially in current economic times.

So putting my 160amp ebay welder to the test and burning through some discs and flappy sanding wheels along the way.

I went to my local Steel supplier and asked about getting tube bent...

He pointed me in the direction of precast bends....

then to make the structure function I needed 2 sections pipe...1 that fits inside the other...

So he helped source such pipe parameters...

40mm O/D was picked mainly as it matched the rest of the vans barwork. Yes i know the larger pipe is Gal...precautions are taken when welding...

I am starting with the lower base (U) shape which will seat on top of the current tow cross bar...

I had to grind down some of the inner support sections to fit inside the Bends for structural/strength support...yes this adds more weight but I don't want this thing to fail...

3 meters of 40mm gal and 1.8m of inner 32mm pipe plus the 2 sweep bends came to about $150aud total at the time.

When I read the subject line, I thought you were hanging a tire from a tree. Obviously not. Looks good.

is this what you were looking for Cheesy?
https://www.guidepatterns.com/ways-t...ire-swings.php

I'll tweak the title...

The title is fine.

Old motorcycle tires end up in my trees.

concept in practice
 

All coming together with the swing carrier.

1 side is the hinge with a fixed pivot made from the inner pipe.
the other forms the lock with a split section and the inner pipe forming a lock pin.

The points where the right angle bends are all reinforced with sections of inner pipe and pocket welds.

The tire mount is sourced from a factory Mitsubishi pajero/montero tail gate which has the same stud pattern and I am also using 15x7 rims from the same vehicle. I found the spare wheel mount online from a salvage yard.
So if you're inclined to make something similar you will need to procure a carry bracket to match your wheels...

Basic frame done now, might add another support strut to alleviate gravity force when swung out.

Still in thinking mode for the jerry can holders...also out of materials.

A little more progress
 

Just making some more sporadic progress on the spare wheel rack.

added threads from cut wheel down wheel studs.

the nut/washer/bolt is just another over engineer measure I need to weld another washer on the carrier arm section. But its primary function is to stop an easy lift off and keep elements out of the inside of the pipe...

Yes I drilled a couple of drain holes...

Sticking my DIY stainless exhaust attempt here.
 

The spare carrier is taking a backfoot.

I decided to attempt my stainless steel exhaust for the Delica van.

I've had the pipes, bends, resonator, turbo flange, band clamps and the flex joiner in storage for as long as the bike project...

Just didn't have the courage to attempt it welding skill wise...but the current exhaust is rotten so its a matter of putting what skill gained welding I have to the job at hand.

Paying the extra for push fit expanded pipe bends and fittings helped with alignment and made welding much more forgiving than but end joins...so that's my tip.

I just wanted to show what 160amp/240v gasless stainless steel welding wire can do...

Had to crank up the amps on the welder to 11. "its all she's got captain"
if your on 110v then I'd recommend a welder no less than 200amps..

Stainless steel needs heat for penetration and puddling.

Is it TIG fusion weld quality...heck no.

But its good enough for an exhaust pipe that wont be seen...yes.

Back To Stainless Steel
 

Having passed my XL185 custom header pipe and muffler tip apprenticeship.

And with the van getting a new alternator, while there was room in the engine bay it felt like picking up up where I left off on the 3" stainless steel exhaust system was due...

First was getting the old system out....not to much of a fight but I opted to cut it in half rather than attempt to undo the old flange...

Next was to see if my just guess, eagle eye on a half a chance, hope for the best with a pinch of luck dump pipe prefab would just bolt in and clear....

Well it did...but it fell short and the exit angle is a bit off... So Ive ordered some extra bends/extensions...

I'n not confident enough in making butt welds so opting to pay for slip over pipe fittings where pipe ends meet.

Prices have gone up...So I made the right move on preemptive material purchases...

Anyway its looking like a fairly straight shot to the rear axle with wiggle room. Just have to get the dump exit correct.

Also looks like all the original hangers should be reusable too...

Tail Pipe and tip
 

Still putting in time on the Van full exhaust.

Got the over rear axle and tail pipe to tip section arranged.

Started to finish the weld but my wire spool ran out...So ordered another 450gram .9mm blue demon stainless gasless mig spool...Which being a USA made product in Australian dollars now put a dent in my bank account.

Fairly certain once its done hoping the pipe will last longer than the van... and me come to think of it, so the whatever is spent now will pay for itself long term...

Going to be a while before the new spool arrives.

But I think I have enough left over pipe to mock up a snorkel.

And also the spare tire swing carrier could get a look see and I have some 2mm wielding sticks in the meantime while the van is out of action...

Lern'n to Weld Stick
 

First attempt at welding with stick.

Eventually figured out how to drift an arc and carry a pool.

Needed to use stick on the swing out wheel carrier for a more solid bead and weld penetration...

I'd call it well tacked for now need to add some gussets for torsional strength and an upper hinge mount/support.

But other than that the primary form and function is in place...

The swing rack can be removed when not required.

You’re a hoopy frood, too?

Don't worry Cheesy I wont recite any poetry...

Can't be any worse than Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings poetry.

I have read the books but my nostalgia resides in the BBC series...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zT-3aFPOM

I first learned of it through the BBC Radio series in the early 80s. Something to keep me from going stir crazy while working nights.

Brace and Drill
 

Making the top brace mount:\

Cardboard assisted design...

section of 2" box section...

Many sparks later...

Test fit and prepare to drill a hole through the van.

M10 bolt and back washer...

Solid...

It's almost as if I spent many hours planning the swing rack or something...

Need to trim the lamp housing to a little bit to clear the brace but should fit no issue..

Smooth out the rough edges and bedliner spray...eventually.

Next is Jerrycan holders...

Need to get the Van going soon...
 

Had to get more cutting disks and MIG tips/nibs.

The carrier rack needed to get tacked/locked in to be able to remove the whole unit so the van can get moving again...

Which was holding me back from also getting the Stainless Steel exhaust pipe chassis hangers sorted out...job for tomorrow.

Making the 2 jerrycan holders cages took considerably longer then 1 would imagine and even longer again if they were perfectly square and right angled...but I'm just a dude in a garage. No clamp tables or the like...

Well got them done and spaced correctly to also be used as my recovery tracks holder...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLe71YjrUkI

Not sure if Muputrax is still in production...website 404.

Anyhoo got it all fully welded up now and off the van.

Well Hung
 

A day of making exhaust pipe hangers by adapting the hangers from the old exhaust system...Some scrap metal to fill in the spaces

all welds to stainless done in stainless...

Mild steel to mild...

Spritz of high temp paint...

Hopefully it will all go back together as intended...

Then its the start up turbo diesel whistle test...

Nice work.

ehh, given the limitations of the welder and the .9mm gasless stainless steel mig wire it's about as good as it's capable of...

It certainly behaves different to the .8mm mild steel flux core wire which I'm getting better at using...

The Blue Demon Gasless Stainless Steel wire requires all the amps my welder is cranking out and is still forms high welds and does not tolerate contaminants. which like to spatter/popcorn.

I still recommend the product and if they made it .8mm it might have performed better. 240v/160amp is just enough but more would be better...

I had to combine dissimilar metals with the hangers, So what ever welds resulted were more of just getting the job done and holding solid.

But considering its exhaust pipe I'm more concerned with function and longevity...

I'll tack the snorkel and getting finished buy a professional with a TIG welder...(when I get around to it) a job for another time.

Diesel Brainheart rebuild
 

It happened...


I got the bastard out.


taking it to a specialist for a full rebuild.


Much wallet pain to be felt...


However compared to modern vehicles its also somewhat cheap in comparison.

I was experimenting with WVO and diesel blends on my Deli that just clicked 250k.
For awhile i thought all was ok for about 1-2hrs of driving.

heading home up the range engine starts getting the hiccups and losing power...I just managed to get home and pulled into the garage...

I proceeded to change the filter...then the injectors. In the hope my 4m40T running woes were not critical. Well it was clatter-choofingly apparent my alternative fuel experiment might have pushed the old ZEXEL/Bosche pump to much.

So I went down the rabbit hole of removing the pump from its grip and opted to take it to my local diesel pump/injector service specialist, Which is North Coast Diesel Service


All they do is diesel injector pumps for over 20 years.

I called and told them my issue and they said "yep, bring it in"

Bit of chin wag later and a few days and my pump was ready...I also asked if they could give me a bit more poke on boost...with the response being "10%"...sounds good to me.

They also removed some Japanese winter spec coolant line gubbins so (simplified) with the final service price $1280 total.

I was told these pumps don't like bio fuels, I was informed the new seals were more tolerant of bio fuels, but they will not cover their warranty if bio fuels are used (1year/20000km)

Anyway I just spent the day putting it all back together with a drained tank and fresh diesel purged...flushed and primed the lines...Anxiety...turn key and vroom....relief.

I am yet to drive it and test the 10% boost. But hearing the engine run healthy again is all the confirmation I need to know the guys at NCDS know their shit.


Well I fired up the van in the garage hoping to bleed the air out of the coolant lines after buttoning it all up...
and it started chuffing again all kinds of colored smoke came out of the pipe.

I managed to unstuck the clutch and back out of the garage to clear the air a bit but it konked out again...

Multiple start attempts with long no fires and then occasional idle to weak idle...hit the pedal and get some revs but it would chuff up and konk out repeatedly...

Which implies a failed head gasket or cracked head all along....

In other words my injection pump was probably fine...so there goes $1280 in a puff...Nothing against North Coast diesel Service.

the problem was me and my path of reasoning.

So, I do have a head gasket spare...But I'm in again for time and bleeding knuckles with a set of head bolts and hopefully not a cracked head.

The oil is fine and level but there was some condensation when removing the cam cover and I did notice my coolant expansion tank level was dropping but also holding pressure...

Loss of compression is my only remaining factor after sorting out all the related fueling potential issues, which by all accounts and $ was resolved...

The joys of 25year old 4wd motoring...I wanted a vehicle to wrench on...I guess I'm in the deep end now.

Rule of thumb working on old vehicles. One thing leads to another. :wtf:

I learned this in spades after buying an '02 Civic from the city impound lot. Full front end work... CV axels, struts, both lower control arms, then got into the timing belt just for good measure. Found new OEM Honda belt and shiny new water pump in there, but changed the idler pulley and belt anyway :doh:

Then a few hundred miles later, realized it was going through coolant and overheating. The head gasket had to be replaced, so went ahead with a remanufactured head as long as it had to come out.

Along the way, I found used radiator mounting bracket, battery tiedown, and a couple of other "missing pieces". Why not ?

OK now it uses a bit of PS fluid, engine oil (oil pan leak?), and the transmission is a bit thumpy. But it starts and runs great otherwise :yay:

Such a good deal this turned out to be :lmao:

I kinda wish I never sold my 92 EG Civic...probably just needed a new feul filter, but I wanted to haul stuff and tow a trailer. Hence the 1997 diesel 4wd van.


It is what it is, I knew the risk, and was anticipating a money pit. Hence why I restored an old air cooled motorcycle as backup...but we'll forgo the multiple top end rebuilds with that project...

One of my brothers is in a 'burb of Canberra. They have an aging TDI Eos ragtop that's beginning to fall apart on them. He is talking about an electric conversion on an old '94ish 2WD Toyotalong bed Ute (22R). Runs fine, but $8+ USD per gal fuel is bothering him. Ya think!? It is his beach mobile (surfing), and garden construction project hauler.

They need to address the (her) Eos first!

I know about COL issues there. 4pack of beer is $25. Ouch

You can buy a Nissan Leaf for under $28k USD in the States, Same car is $62K in Oz.

He recently added a battery to his home solar system, so now they often have days where they use less than they push onto the grid. An electric car and a few more panels is looking like a good investment to them ! He is thinking about a Kia electric vehicle now, to replace the Eos.

The 4m40T engine is being cloned in china, so ironically aftermarket parts are somewhat cheap. It's actually found in plethora of china pickups/ SUV. So a set of injectors is less than $100AUD, a head gasket can be found for under $50 and a fully assembled new cylinder head is $500...How long they last is about as sure as a big bore kit for a CG250 does



If EV conversion kits were cheaper I'd love to got down that route but as for now an Indirect injected Turbo Diesel has got me grimed up.


https://ziptek.en.made-in-china.com/...hallenger.html

We have RAM pickups in Australia too now...lets just say after exchange rates and taxes you're looking at over 150k.

Because I apparently feel you guys pain.
07 Ural.
05 Jeep Wrangler.
79 Honda CX 500.
48 DeSoto.

May as well throw in the 70's VeloSolex mopeds for good measure. Whenever there is a hiccup, It's 'what fresh hell is this'.

I had a dollar shock when I was working in Oz, many years ago. I was getting a bit tired of 'Touhys New' and the bar I was in had good old American Millers' MGD, aka toilet water, on hand. Touhys was runing about $4AUD a bottle but the toilet water was $8AUD. WTF. Then it hit me that the toilet water was an import.:doh:

Who would have thought ,Cheesy would end up being an imported toilet water drinking snob ! lol .should of had a Fosters !

If you want a real Australian Beer buy Coopers.


Yes we have overpriced craft beers. the taxes in pubs are putting a glass of beer at $10...


I brew my own these days. Having lived in the Czech Rep for over a year all aus beer to me tastes like puddle water.

brewing
 

I haven't had time to brew for a couple of years. I have a 10 gallon system, a cut out half barrel and 5 gallon soda fountain kegs. Pyrex carboys for collecting wart and also for the primary and secondaries...My mashtun is a Home Depot water cooler. I use gravity and muscle instead of pumps to refill the kettle with the extracted wart. I'd like to build a hand cranked elevator for this instead of using muscle, or a pump. Cleaning it all after the session is easy without all of that plumbing, and no electricity needed!

Here are a few pics from a Dry hopped darked Amber session. Nice caramel notes with a bit of charcoal flavor from the roasted barley. It was similar to a porter, damned good! It was a windy day, so I propped up shields to keep the flame steady for the boil.
Attachment 30748

Collecting wart through my homemade chillzilla (MOchilla)
Attachment 30749

And the sanitized primaries are filling...

Attachment 30750

Here is my MOchilla reversed flow chiller half made. It's refrigeration grade soft copper tubing within tubing and brass fittings (garden hose adapted for the cold sleeve). I like to brew in the Spring when the water from the city water system is COLD!
Attachment 30751
Here is an earlier pale ale I drank while brewing the darkened amber. Inspiration :)
Attachment 30752

And here is that pint glass about one minute later ;)


Attachment 30753

The Mitsubishi 2.8L i4 engine is an absolutely perfect size for a Turbo diesel. Even today (!), you can buy those Toyotas in Australia with the same size- Utes (Hilux) and the Land Cruiser. Awesome torque and 30mpg or more (~8liters/100km).

It is almost worth trying to find a used 4WD Mitsubishi with a worn out gasser in the USA and do the conversion. Almost.

You are lucky to have the original TD versions of Mitsubishi trucks in Australia. All of the peripherals and the wiring harness would be a nightmare to find in the USA and the wiring harness would be difficult to say the least.

You can see a first gen Toyota 4x4 in the background in one of those pics I posted with my brewing system. It was a rust-free vehicle I found in Arizona!

Then I found a first gen diesel Toyota and rebuilt the head. I had everything- intact wiring harness and cab, fuel pump and other engine peripherals, but NO TURBO! It was just too daunting. I ended up selling the diesel at a loss and eventually got a Ram 2500 with a cummins TD. But that thing got 15-16 mpg and much worse when I hauled a trailer! Yes, it could move a HOUSE, but I hardly ever needed half of that torque. I felt stupid hauling my 200lb carcass around in that massive truck. You see them everywhere here, most of them sparkling clean, tonneau cover, with one person in the quad cab :crazy:
The whole point of the i4 diesel in a pickup like the older Toyota Tacoma was to have a capable Ute that didn't spew so much CO2 and didn't cost so much to run. I sold the Ram and got a new Toyota gasser.

Enjoy the Delica. You have a real gem there :tup:
Attachment 30780

Yes any 20+ year old project vehicle is going to start showing its age and ask for parts offerings...If your the kind of person that anticipates such events then you get what you expect.


Being a monocoque chassis L400 and onwards...what kills them is rust...my van is basically rust free which made the purchase of a rolling project a solid choice. the older L300 toaster body uses the 4D56...I see them getting imported into the USA quite a bit due to the 25year import laws...early L400 should be exempt now too.



Also mine is a very rare 5 speed manual transmission...But 20mpg rolling a 2t hippo body around isn't bad


I do like like old Toyotas and Nissans, but so does everyone else so they are expensive.


The 4M40T was enough of a solid platform that Mitsubishi adapted it into the common rail DOHC 4M41...Not easy to work on and more expensive parts...
If I was going to do another similar period diesel it would be something with a ISUZU 4JB1T engine Like our Australian domestic Holden Rodeo ute/pickup...


I believe in the states you had the Isuzu Trooper...The 4JB1T and following 4JJ1* series of ISUZU diesel engines are all solid performers and a little less likely to have head/gasket issues like the Mitsi 4M40 engines.



You see a lot of built 4J engine on Thai racing skiffs.


Anyway being a diesel only 2 things can go wrong, feul delivery and compression. No ignition system.
and being a 4 banger SOHC only 1 head gasket and cam. In other words about as simple as wrenching on a van engine gets...

Ebay error in your favour...
 

So I bought a new 4M40T complete cylinder head from ebay. (made in China)


I paid $470 aud shipped which was the best value* aka cheapest deal I could find.


Scrolling down to the specifications it specified head+gasket+bolts.


I was a bit unsure as other listings around the same price were cylinder head only...


well I messaged the seller trying to confirm but either way it was the cheapest offer so I purchased it prior to a reply. (locked in the sale) I took a screen shot showing specific items listed...



I get shipping confirmation of 3 boxes.. So I'm like "Ok it was a complete kit for that price" Amazing!!!



Then I get reply from the seller "Sorry it was a listing error here is a link to the complete kit $800"


Errm I decided not to reply as Australian consumer law mandates listed items and prices are in the purchases benefit if mislabeled.



Now replacing a cylinder head kinda blows in the first place...but I'm not unappreciative when lady luck smiles in ones favor...

1 of these things is not like the others
 

Having slept on the van for a bit longer over the weekend and trying to distract the issue I wanted to unequivocally determine that there was a head gasket issue and not a fuel issue.

with a clean bottle and fresh diesel I bypassed all the fuel lines and set up a direct feed line to the refreshed injection pump.

Cold start the van fired up into life and began to idle about as good as serviced injection pump could...

eventually the diesel IV would run out but i repeated the top ups a few times and maybe there is air getting onto the lines but I am ruling out the pump.

On the 4th run up I filled the coolant expansion tank and started the van which resulted in a foam up...So I have no doubt there is a head/gasket issue.

I wanted to try a compression test but non of the included kit fitting matched the thread pitch...

However when I went to take out the glow plugs I could hear what I can only describe as a coffee peculator drip and steam fizzling inside the engine as it had now built up some temperature.

I looked at the glow plugs and it appears cylinder1 is sick.

however whether it was a fueling issue that might have caused the headgasket failure is a chicken/egg conundrum.

suffice to say I think the Van had a mid life crisis at 250000km hobbled home, sulked in the garage and decided it wanted a full comprehensive service.

The Head is definitely coming off.

However the #1 cylinder down is a bit more forgiving than a 2 cylinder cross over in terms of possible damage.

Looks like my week is fully booked.

A bit off color
 

Removing the manifolds I found the cylinder 1 exhaust gasket and mating surface a bit off color.

Low compression due to leaking gasket in cylinder 1 could be bad enough to prevent firing (diesel needs high compression for the explosion, of course). Yes, you probably do have a leak allowing gases to escape into the cooling system from cylinder 1.

My son's '02 Honda Civic kept blowing out the coolant over time and would begin to overheat. But it was not visible, going out the exhaust I guess. I never saw coolant on the ground. Fortunately, the engine revived with a remanufactured head/new gasket set. Lots of work, but it is fixable.

Head is Off
 

using the correct back sequence I loosened and removed all the head bolts..


None were particularly loose to the other bolt 9 came out damp and grimly.


However when the head slipped off nothing screamed out failure at first.


Looking at the head however were 3 cracks on the cylinder around prechambers. So the head is toast.


Other than the pointed out blackspot near cyl 1 from what I can fathom it looks to be original and general worn out appearance rather than a warp or overheat.


Nothing on the old gasket stuck out either...


Much cleaning and preparation next though I'm out of razor scrapers and earplugs to plug the bolt holes...

cylinders seem fine with visible cross hatching and no ring lip.
25years and 250000km on the original head and gasket is not bad for these engines.

Sharpening Japanese Iron
 

After making a few passes with a scraping razor blade to remove the bulk of the residual gasket material and a light once over with a scotch pad,

I remember seeing the use of a knife sharpening block to resurface the block on youtube... I belive it was Mighty Car Mods, Benny's Custom Works or the Skid Factory perhaps...all Aussies who collaborate occasionally.


I happened to have a sharpening block so gave it a go...


I have made multiple passes each time removing micro layer material...Cleaning the stone and the deck each pass...



At the stage where the deck is clean, there is some ingrained stain corrosion but the gasket sealing points seem all intact. The black spot cleaned up alright thought it looks like it seeped out and around the cylinder 1 ring...



Can't go too heavy or risk undulating the mating surface, but I think I'll do a few more passes tomorrow before considering installing the gasket.


I have to prep some ancillaries from the old head to install on the new head.


Also found some maker marks on the deck and pistons. So more evidence of originality.


All in all hopeful for a positive compression result.