Anyone know old 2LToyota petrol lumps (and towbars) please?

Hi,

Potential SIL has recently bought an old (83,YN65 3Y) but fairly well loved for most of it's life Toyota HiLux 4x4, 2L petrol with just over

100K miles on the clock.

He's just driven it back down from Scotland to Herts, admittedly fairly well loaded (and probably not very 'gently' knowing him) and it took a couple of litres of oil to take it back up to full (he /said/ it was on full before he left).

He also suggested (and I noticed when replacing the exhaust manifold gasket with him recently) that it's leaking a bit of oil and it looks like it's mainly around the clutch bell so I'm thinking rear crank seal?

So, assuming it's the problem and there's nothing else back there that could show similar, has anyone actually done that job on that vehicle / lump and if so what sort of job is it please?

Sorry the info is a bit scant but it's currently in Kent and won't be back till Sat night. I'm just trying to get a feeling re what it might be and how easy it might be to resolve (I recently swapped the gearbox on my MkII Escort based kitcar and it looked fairly similar under there apart from all the 4WD stuff. At least we wouldn't need ramps .. ). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. Talking of not needing ramps. He needs a towbar to tow amongst's other things a log splitter and whilst there is a rear bumper that looks like it could be a tow bar (as it has two two ball spaced and sized (16mm dia) tubed holes through it and is pretty substantial) it's currently a good 500 mm from the ground (with a reasonable load on board). Now I understand the guidelines say the tow ball should be between 350 and 420mmfrom the ground (vehicle laden, let's' say 385 ideal) so allowing for about 75 mm from the tow ball bolt centres to the centre of the ball that makes a drop plate to be around ~200 mm (8")? Not only does that seem quite a bit in general but complicates how you would fix any such drop plate (turning forces etc).[1]

I contacted one of the few Co's who can still supply bars for such (old) vehicles and the key dimensions of their bar seemed to tie up with what's on there now. They therefore suggested that the vehicle could have been 'lifted' bit if it has we can't see any signs of how (no lifting blocks, long shackles, monster tyres etc. A lifted body wouldn't affect the tow bar height as it bolts to the chassis).

We did get a quick look at what we believe is the next model of HiLux and it looked similar if not the same height.

Failing any luck here I'll get him to get back on some of the 4x4 / HiLux forums.

p.p.s. Being that old it doesn't need any type approval re towbars. ;-)

[1] I was considering two drop plates, front and back of the bar, spaced at the top by the towbar itself (85mm) and at the bottom by two suitable fabricated_from_box or turned spacers. Because of the extra height of the towball itself it it's only actually 'extended' about ~120 mm and whilst it might not look out of proportion compared with many other 4x4 type towing arrangements I'm wondering how it came to be needing such adaption?
Reply to
T i m
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We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Fit a drop plate with two arms running from the bottom of it to a place on the chassis legs. I've seen it done on many of these high towbars.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Hi and thanks, I think that's what we are going to have to do.

We went to an Arb show yesterday and there were quite a few Hi-Li (and other 4x4 trucks for that matter) but all the Hi-Li seemed to have either what you suggest or 'f-off_heavy' side plates, gussets and braces all contained within the same assembly.

Luckily (in a way) none of would be covered by the towbar type approval (pre 1st August 1998) but would (of course) still need to be considered appropriate (although how you could actually determine that I don't know).

I think tow bars are now included in the MOT but is that for /all/ tow bars do we know (inc pre type approval)?

If so I guess they would be looking to see they were attached soundly and be in god condition (not rusted away etc).

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

older vehicle tow bar mot check is just that it looks vaguely safe and is fixed on tight.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Thanks (and about all they could do I guess).

We still haven't actually done anything constructive about the bar (waiting on a phone call right now).

The big issue seems to be if this existing bar is suitable and the general consensus seems to think it's not (and I'd agree, 'as is' but that's not how we would leave it).

The thing is, if a 'production' towbar has a main cross member (that carries the ball) of 60x40x3mm, how would the existing bar of 75mm diameter, 4mm thick wall compare over the same length? In fact it's 'doubled up' at the mounting brackets so you have two x 74mm tubes welded together and when we took it off yesterday it weighted a tonne so is not just 'decorative'. ;-)

The current tube is bolted to the sides of the chassis using a very wide and contoured 8mm plate. The production towbar uses 60x60x6mm angle and whilst I can see that would be stiffer horizontally (side loads on the bar) it may not be as stiff vertically and certainly not as stiff all round as the existing plates with diagonal braces back to the chassis. Both bars bolt to the chassis using the same two bolts in the same two (existing) holes (x 2 sides).

The main problem is both this and the only production offering we have had so far (for that model) would leave the tow ball some 200+mm too high and any drop-plate that big would also need considerable bracing at the bottom. Some of the heavier 4 hole adjustable plates might be ok but they are also expensive and overkill for this scenario (he can't tow anything heavier than 750kg without doing an additional (and expensive) 'trailer' test). The log splitter he has is 350kg gross, as is the small trailer they have up there.

If he did go with the modded bar he would remove it if he sold the truck.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

you might be able to go for a smaller drop plate and raise the tow hitch on the trailer, sort of half each job. unless it is going for very long treks or have very large loads then it is very unlikely that even a large drop plate will give trouble, and even that scenario can be lessened by a large wire rope breakaway cable (which can also double as an antitheft device.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Hmm, whilst that's ok in principal there are rules regarding heights for both the tow ball on the towing vehicle and hitch on a trailer and could make it difficult if you need to use a different tow vehicle (and the Corsa now has a towbar). ;-)

True but I wouldn't want to risk it, even if they were just pulling stuff round the yard. However, with sufficient bracing it wouldn't be a risk at all and the $100 question is 'do I want to be faffing about making something /if/ I can buy something off the shelf and the answer is (within financial and time constraints) 'not really'.

If it were mine then maybe things would be different.

True.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. Is business so good out there right now people not need to make any effort for a sale? I just rang another supplier and (long story short) asked them if they could confirm the bar they were about to supply me presented the tow ball mounting holes at ~400mm below the chassis mounting holes. If they were able to do so we would be fairly sure this is the right bar for this particular vehicle / model and so worth us ordering it. They said (basically) that it would be 'too much effort for them.. What if we undo the box, measure it and find it's not ~400mm?" then I said it would simply mean neither of us had to waste any time sending it out then sending it back (as I had provide more than enough information to them and they seemed unwilling to do the same for me). Ho hum ..

Reply to
T i m

Stick a second hand adjustable plate on it, it'll easily handle 750kg, e.g.

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There's always old land rover ones around.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

We had considered them but ideally shouldn't need one /if/ we can find a stock bar to suite (and we may have).

Also, looking at that particular eBay one I assume the smaller bit carries the tow ball (at three positions or 2 if a 4 hole ball)) then that part can be moved up / down on the other part that is bolted to the vehicle. To do that it looks like you would need a fair drop plate as the bars with the mounting holes look a long way apart?

The bar we are looking at seems to have a fairly small ball mounting plate:

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The same people do an adjustable plate but you can't see what there is on the other side:

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Cheers, T i m

p.s. I guess it wouldn't matter on a Landy / 4x4 or when towing 'agricultural stuff but I have Witter rubber mounted tow balls on my cars and that keeps the trailer / hitch noise down (we used to tow dinghy's all over the country). ;-)

Reply to
T i m

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Ah, what's the original look like?

A lot of the cheap commercial ones have the same 4 hole mountings on either side.

I was wondering why you'd need that, but then it occurred to me that I only ever tow braked trailers, & they're inherently sprung, so no idea.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Well it's basically the same as that (long tube with two tab mountings) /but/ I think I can recall from way back my mate (who owned the truck) took what was a (very substantial and in fact tow bar sized material) 'bumper' [1] and welded two 16mm i/d tubes though it at towball spacing's (so as not to crush the tube). It joins to the truck rear chassis via two 8mm steel side plates, much as does the bar we are about to order. However, it doesn't (currently) have any other braces to resist side loads although they would be easy to fit.

Had there not been a commercial solution available I was going to see if there was anyone around with a plasma cutter (typical I backed my PortaPak as I have the gas axe kit) to cut us two new 10mm side plates to bring the bar down 200mm. Add the bracing bars and the job would have been a goodun.

But, whilst I'm happy that I could make this setup as_if_not_more robust than a 'production' bar and even though the age of the vehicle means the bar doesn't need any type approval etc, there is the peace of mind that comes with knowing I / we don't have to carry the can should something fail in the future, even if that solution is technically inferior.

Ah and I think they would fit the bar we are considering better.

'General noise'. Most trailers push and shove and you can often hear the hitch 'clonking' as it does so. Using an isolated ball takes all that away (on both braked and unbraked trailers).

Don't need them with the trailer we draw behind the motorbikes, too much other noise going on. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] But then he realised it was way too high and by then had it plastic coated so didn't bother going any further with it.
Reply to
T i m

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