My NT Platinum

[nj swb]

January 1st, my father and I piled into the Paj, and headed for Melbourne. Shortly after lobbing at Pickle's place, we did this:







Unfortunately, Pickle let slip that he was heading to Dargo, for a few days of R&R based at the Wonnangatta Caravan Park. Of course, we had to follow him.



Friday we did a little bit of light touring, out to Omeo for lunch, back via Hotham Heights & Dargo High Plains Road. A nice day's drive that gave my father a good idea of why I head over every year.

Saturday was better. Dave suggested we hit Haunted Stream, which is the track I wanted my father to experience - so I wasn't going to say no.







We turned off Haunted Stream Track at Stirling, and climbed Five Mile Spur to Engineers Road. Because we still had plenty of day left, Pickle suggested a bit of exploring on the way back, so we found Friday Spur Track off Baldhead Road (I drove past it twice... ), and then onto Mt Steve Track. We found a nice photo spot somewhere along the way:





This was quite a nice track; very narrow and overgrown in places, a couple of steep rutted section to blow the cobwebs out of the traction control, then onto Gidleys Track, Jones Road and back into Dargo.

The next day was up with the sun, pack, a quick round of goodbyes and begin the long drive back to Adelaide. I chose to head out via the Dargo High Plains Road and down the Alpine Way, simply because I love the drive.



And I'll be back again for the Australia Day long weekend.

[Pickle]

And I'll be back again for the Australia Day long weekend.

Lets do it again . Enjoyed the few days out......oh yeah got most of the pinstripes out .

[nj swb]

Lets do it again . Enjoyed the few days out......oh yeah got most of the pinstripes out .

I haven't bothered with the pinstripes yet - I figure I'll collect more in a couple of weeks.

I've been looking at my photos of that little climb in Haunted Stream - they make it look quite tame:



For the record, the Paj is essentially level at the top.

[nj swb]

Well over 2 years since the last update! What a slacker!

So, what's happened?

I took it back to the High Country in January 2014, and again in January 2015. It ate up everything I threw at it. But Shorty went back to the High Country in January 2016.

Why?

Somewhere back in this thread, I expressed disappointment with engine braking in low range, and commented that something needed to be done.

Well, I did something - the hard way. In August 2015 I broke my transfer case. See here for details.



Long story short, from other posts I've made on the forum:

Eight months after driving away, my NT finally drove home under its own power.

It now has a new (to me) transmission with Nomad heavy duty valve body, and a new (to me) transfer case with 3.15:1 low range. The new transmission in with new Penrite FS ATF, including a full system flush, and the engine received an oil & filter change while the mechanic was at it.

Impressions:

• A lot of sand came out from under the car at the car wash.
  
• A lot of leaves & other small bits of detritus came out of other nooks & crannies - the joys of spending months stationary under gum trees.
  
• The transmission shifts very crisply in high range - even the mechanic who sorted it out for me made the same comment.
  
• The flashing lights issue that I previously had in 2H has gone away - I guess the issue was caused by one of the switches on the transfer case, which were all replaced (new transfer had new switches).
  
• The NT rides and handles SOOOO much better than Shorty. (Duh!)
  
• Low range is very low. And it whines. But, so do the aftermarket reduction gears in Shorty.
  
• The nice crisp shifts in the new transmission become neck-snappers in low range.

I'm going to Jakem Farm on Sunday.

After Jakem Farm:

Scott, I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are on the new gear ratios.

Hi Steve,

Very happy with the new low range - didn't need to brake on the hills anywhere near as much as I used to, but I wouldn't say they're too low either. I was concerned that low first would be too low / too slow, but that didn't happen.

None of the tracks were really "fast enough" for low range to become too slow, so I had no trouble from that perspective either.

I'll keep them.

I guess I've been spoilt by the 55:1 reduction in the Shorty, because the NT's new 44:1 feels a little underwhelming in comparison. But compared to the factory 26:1, it's a definite improvement.

Of course, the new Pajero Sport has overall reduction of 43:1 (from memory - OJ?), so it looks like Mitsubishi may finally have figured it out!

By the way, I was wrong - OJ quite rightly pointed out the PS comes with 45.9:1, straight from the factory. Aftermarket gears in a Pajero is an expensive way to get the reduction that Mitsubishi should've been giving us from the beginning, and is finally giving to some.

Other than that, I've replaced the passenger side mirror for a second time (folding mechanism failed - it became weak, would fold in very easily and wouldn't drive back out electrically) and the rear fog light (that was cracked by the original owner - it only took me a few years...)

There have also been a few minor projects, one of which I'll post next.

[nj swb]

Going back a few years, I did a Simpson crossing in Shorty. Very early in the trip (2 days out of Adelaide) I decided to check my new paper air filter - and found visible dust on the "clean" side.

After I came home I decided to invest in a Donaldson Top-Spin for the top of the Safari snorkel, and used it for dirt road driving on subsequent trips.

When I bought the NT it came with an Airtec snorkel. The top of the Airtec snorkel, where the removable ram head sits, is on an angle (47 degrees from vertical, as best I can measure), so a Top Spin won't mount directly to it.

What to do?

I started with a phone call to an exhaust place, asking if they thought they could manufacture something for me. They very quickly identified that an off the shelf 3" stainless elbow would slot snugly inside the snorkel, and loosely inside the Top Spin. A hi-tech wrapping of insulation tape made the Top Spin a snug fit, and Mark 1 was ready to put into service.


Agricultural, but (as far as I know) functional.


Earlier this year I purchased a 3D printer, and have been learning. Somewhere along the way, I decided to make a cosmetic piece to cover the stainless, in the hope that it would make it look a little less agricultural.


Maybe a little less agricultural?

Somewhere a little further along the line, I thought "Why not make the entire adaptor out of plastic?" Well, other than Donaldson stating IMPORTANT. Mount on metal inlet tube only. Do not mount on plastic inlet tube.

What would they know? So I went ahead anyway. *

For improved appearance, I wanted the adaptor to sit outside the snorkel, but it needs to sit inside the Top Spin - so, as well as getting the adaptor to sweep through 45 degrees (what's 2 degrees between friends?) I needed the sweep to taper from 86 mm ID to 76mm OD. That was an exercise! But it all came together:



Installed:


I have a trip coming up, leaving next Friday, so I'll give it a test run. I don't use the Top Spin on the highway; I use the standard ram head to get wherever I'm going, then swap when I hit the dirt. So, if the plastic adaptor fails (and I don't lose or destroy the Top Spin) I'll have the stainless tube sitting in the back with the ram head.

Will it hold up? To be honest, I really don't know. It's made from ABS, which is widely used for car parts, but probably not for "structural" pieces - and they'd be moulded, not 3D printed. I've subjected it to an acetone vapour process which is supposed to improve the strength. Has it worked? If it comes back in one piece, I'll say yes. If it doesn't, I'll never mention it again.

* Edit: I now realise the "metal inlet tube" applies to the Top Spin HD, which is made of metal and listed at three times the weight of the all-plastic Top Spin that I have. I'm a little more comfortable with trying a plastic adaptor.

[SpanishForWhat?]

Hi nj_swb,

Nice to see someone thinking outside the box.

I have played with custom-making snorkels in the past using 75mm HDPE pipe from local agricultural suppliers and butt-welding the sections together. The result is very durable.
If your adaptor fails, perhaps this could prove a viable alternative as the HDPE is UV stable and very strong.
There is a variety of tapered reducers and adaptors available.

[grhyso]

Very interesting, I chose the air technology snorkel but in hindsight this little issue and how close it runs to the turbo are not ideal. Best of luck with it, if it works out maybe you can start selling them

[nj swb]

It works.

I've just returned from 9 days away with my father, and a number of others (I think the group peaked at 7 vehicles, and slowly whittled back down again - three of us drove out of Gawler Ranges yesterday).



The Donaldson & adaptor went on in Kingoonya, and was removed again when we hit bitumen near Iron Knob. About 7 days of travel on a variety of track conditions at a variety of speeds, and it held up fine. As did another of my mods, although my sand flag "clips" were a pretty comprehensive failure.

I think I'm also a clear winner in the "bone-headed decision" stakes, but somebody else has all those photos.

[twisted32]

You mean this "bone headed moment".....

image_34148.jpg

[nj swb]

You mean this "bone headed moment".....

Well, yes - the bone-headed decision that led to that moment.

[Scouter1]

image_34149.jpg

[twisted32]

It's ok, it came out.

Eventually.....

image_34150.jpg

[nj swb]

I can't thank you enough for your help.

Looking at the pic, it reminds me how frustrated I felt walking back through the puddle afterwards - barely ankle deep in the wheel ruts!

Over $60 / three visits to the car wash (with a twin pass under the Paj by my lawn tractor - which got bogged too ) and sand was still coming out. I pulled the rear wheels off to try to troubleshoot my non-functioning handbrake, but I couldn't get the calliper bolts undone - so I gave everything a good clean, sprayed appropriate places with RP7 and took it to my friendly mechanic.

I also need to have another crack at de-bending my Bushskinz intercooler plate - it's taken enough decent hits / deformed my intercooler that I'm leaning even more towards a FMIC replacement. Shorty has spoiled me too much, so until I learn to respect the NT's limitations, I'm probably going to keep whacking it harder than it really likes.

[spiderpig]

What brand side steps are they? Guessing a fair bit more solid than the factory ones?

[nj swb]

They're BushSkinz sliders, purchased from a forum member, and painted black by Pickle.