Contact's ML GLX

[contact]

i dont usually do this kind of thing, but im pretty happy with some of the mods to my GLX and thought id share them ... just in case someone else likes them and wants q&a.

started with a 06 3.2 ml glx 60000km, with:

arb bar
arb canopy
warn 9000lb winch
mitsu rear bars?
autronic cruse control

and 16x6 steelies with 205R16's not a good look!

[contact]

now its changed a little...



audio
draws
dual battery
wheels tyres
suspension
sump guards

[contact]

Audio:

Parrot 8400... groovy because of the blutooth, bluetooth audio streaming and you pull for face plate off and slip in your iPhone/iPod



and the trick...



sounds tops and is firmware upgradable ... like all things french great idea but not without some reliability issues!

[contact]

ive got to say i love my 'draws' ... even if i say so myself!

the only draw has a a cut up nylon chopping board screwed to the bottom so it slides sweet even when full...

2 sheets of ply a corner for jerry cans and recovery gear a slide for the 40lt engel (and the best thing the +20lt twozone fits as well!)

[gutters]

Love the rear drawer system contact, I'm in the process of designing something very similar to house the 80l Waeco and all my camping and recovery gear. How did you secure it to the tub??

[contact]

being a camper trailer family who loves remote and self sufficiency ive gone for a 100ah gel in the tray for a second battery, this complements the same in the camper.

ive got both a genny and solar panels so in the ute ive set up a 10amp simple (moriningstar) solar reg to hook up the BP 80w panels and the most awesome (in my opinion anyway!) dual battery isolator system from redarc. actually its a DC to DC 3 stage battery charger completely isolates the main battery whil giving the second battery a 'proper' three stage charge when the vehicle is running ... up to a healthy 20 amp charge



ive never been short of power

[contact]

Love the rear drawer system contact, I'm in the process of designing something very similar to house the 80l Waeco and all my camping and recovery gear. How did you secure it to the tub??

yeah i hate to say it but its tech screws... big ones!

hey its a glx and if it was meant to look pretty it would have had carpet and flares

can i put in another plug for the cutting board sliders, the ministry can even slide it full and its a pretty big draw!

[contact]

wheels and tyres are a bugger for a glx... ive gone NP pajero 16x7 alloys... 46 offset clear the calipers tuck the extra inch of width inwards... at this stage ive got 245/70 BFG A/T's ive had this tyres on my past 4 fourby's broken only by a run with BFG M/T's !! love these tyres but when there worn out ill be giving the KM2's a run in 245/75 a go...



the pajero wheels are always cheaper than triton wheels and generally easier to get too for some reason

ive been toying with the idea of 235/85 in a simex on a second set of wheels ... see how that goes!

[gutters]

I also rate the cutting board sliders, I used them in the rear drawer system I built in my old paj. Also used the teflon skids used for boat trailers on the big drawer that i made for our camper trailer, thats a bloody big drawer and is quite heavy and my minister can move that easily.

[contact]

airteck snorkel fitted up specifically for run up the cape... we only got to run up the bloomfield track as the cape was closed ... rivers too high ironically!

neat and cheaper fit up by the coffs harbour tjm shop...



a bit serpentine in the path to the airbox but i havent noticed any change in economy and performance

[contact]

had trouble with the rear window on the canopy... despite the arb protests 'weak as piss' imho...

in the wash up they fitted a film to increase impact resistance...

[contact]

wheeling in a local NP ... a little wet, usually pretty controlled but not this time...

youtube video (dont seem to be able to embed youtube ... is html not available on this forum?)

was a passenger down a hill and ripped off the sump guard... now have tjm's ones, front and rear they seem a little tougher!

[contact]

the sump guard going its own way lead to a suspension change...

the original wheel center to guard arch...

FL 545
FR 550
RL 620
RR 620

installed ultimate front struts and springs and rear shocks, left the stock rear springs in place...



result

FL 605
FR 605
RL 620
RR 620

not so good... some 10mm spacer rings had been included in the kit and the mechanic fitted them ... what he thought had to happen, i had no idea! so stripped out the struts and pulled the rings



and now

FL 585
FR 585
RL 620
RR 620

with 5mm creep in the steel and it should be close to perfect!

[salt36]

Looking good Contact

Is the Ctek necessary for solar panel charging ?

I am going to hook my panels up after I turn off the car and disconnect them before starting.......
untill I can afford a Ctek

[Joe]

Great write up contact. Keep it coming

[contact]

ctek?? my second battery has a redarc dc/dc charger (ctek make something similar i chose to support the aussie!LOL!)

the redarc and solar reg. run parallel to the battery i only hook up the panels when stationary so the redarc is not also attempting to charge the battery at the same time as the solar reg. thats what one of the anderson plugs are for...

what is necessary to charge the battery from solar is a regulator... ive not explored the possibility, but i guess it would be conceivable to plug a dc/dc battery charger to solar panels and charge the second battery after all solar panels are dc (generally 17-21volts which is well with in the operating range of the redarc at least). a heavy duty (20a) switch should then make the change between the two sources, cars main battery and the solar panels, easy... without the need for a separate regulator like i have.

i originally had this reg in the camper trailer but wasnt happy not knowing how healthy that battery was so i got a hot-diggity plasmatronics reg for the camper which tells me everything and rather than ebay the morningstar i put it to work in the back of the triton

ive spent amounts of time establishing the best way to look after different chemistry batteries and have come the conclusion that car alternators can not satisfactorily charge deep cycle batteries so while the old oil filled solenoid i ran many vehicles ago was rock sold reliable and the start battery was always good to go the deep cycle was never properly charged ... and this was evident in some of its performance. dc/dc multi stage charging is probably the best solution for charging a deep cycle battery from a vehicle electrical system (with the imho cavet!)

[contact]

recovery gear is important... it generally lives behind the back seat... 'flood damaged' arb winch gear (this has to be the only way mortal man can afford their gear!) and after the multi-repaired snatch gave up the ghost for a third time a new bushranger snatch kit, along with uhf antenna and first aid kit ... plenty of room behind the seat in a GLX n( the little black bag is a 'flimsy' tripod... you never know when you will need your tripod so this one lives in ute!)



arb portable compressor, along with staun deflators... these compressors are not cheap but i reckon they get the nod, especially when looked at over time



the winch solenoids are not really in a good spot on my bar, i might get around to moving them, but in the meantime the nasty warn plastic has been covered ... thanks wifey! check out the cobwebs on the hook! shows how little the triton gets stuck!



the latest purchase in recovery gear.... but all of a sudden can i be bothered getting a hawse and putting it on?? not sure about this ebay dynemma!



i usually carry the other recovery essentials, shovel and axe down the side of the draws chain in the back and have a couple of stihl saws ...if its been windy the 72cc and if not the 3xcc (you all know what these look like!)

[helicoptercow]

interesting thread... i never knew the tjm snorkel fed through the engine bay the way you show it.

keep the write up going, good stuff

[chick_magnet_0001]

hmmm how much was the tjm snorkel(part only, or supply and fit) if you don't mind me asking or pm me if u prefer

and how is the bracket on the front pillar attached to work with the door seal. flush button head screws?

[61rth]

Nice work contact, I like looking at other peoples electrical mods as this sort of stuff is a bit if a hobby for me, I am definately no expert though.

I ended up going the CTEK instead of the REDARC, mostly because of cost, although the top of the line REDARC is a pretty good unit with the display and everything included. I haven't installed the CTEK yet, but it is the D250s that has the solar panel input and is a 7 stage DC-DC charger. I beleive it does away with the need for the regulator. the downside is you can't jump start from it as it is designed not to need the heavy duty cables that are required for jumpstarting.

[contact]

the the tjm snorkel fitted was $570 (or there abouts) in any event it was a full $200 less than a safari... ive had safari's in the past but i could not see $200 in it + i like how the snorkel runs down the inner guard rather than outside it... as for under the bonnet i think ive seen about 3 different ways the airtec is installed ... no idea why that is!

another angle of the under bonnet..



on the A pillar ... thats what your looking at the wonder of tec-screws ... nice black ones!

the redarc i have is this one... i actually think for the $$ its very basic the display extends to a couple of red led's i think the cteck would do an excellent job and i considered it as it is cheaper and they do show solar hooked up (i recon the recarc could do panels too but i dont need to try it... other than to cut back on wires!) as an input.

i doubt any of these devices would jumpstart a car... but you cloud pull the deep cycle and jump off it in an emergency! one big benefit of DC/DC charging is the lighter gauge wire you can use to make the longer runs, the redarc will charge a 12v battery off 9v (at a lower current but will do it properly) so voltage drop is not mission critical .. my unit sees above 12v as an input so has some 'head room'

i also went redarc because the unit is silicone filled... not sure its 'waterproof' but is well up to under bonnet installs and can easily cope with a dusty ute! as for 7 stage v's 3 stage i think as long as you have a multi stage charger (that is boost, absorption and float) you will look after your battery properly, xantrax, cteck, redarc, plasmatronics and the other big names in 12v charging all have variations on the multi-stage charging system ... my plasmatronics reg. has about 5 charging stages, my xantrax 240v charger has 3 and the morningstar reg., the simplest of the lot, has 3 stages as well.

i think the days of the 'smart solenoid' or diode battery isolator are coming to an end, they dont do the job properly and many modern alternators and associated electronics are not compatible with these older style systems (the new parado is a good example of the way its going)

[contact]

i installed EGR plate.... and pulled it out again waaay too many limp modes, unsafe for use on the road was my thoughts

[tassie_ml]

good write up contact. would you have a pic of the teflon runners and how they fit under the draw?? cheers

[ultimate]

Nice write up contact. I got a bit scared when I read those first height measurements. Luckily you sorted out the spacers and got it sitting right

have you got any photos showing the whole vehicle?

[contact]

the 'wonder sliders'



cheap chopping board cut up with a hand saw... countersunk and thats it. i went across the box for 2 reasons, firstly to avoid serious tray wear in just two of the valleys and they act as a stop if the draw is heavy and your on a slope when the 'fall' into the gap between the gate and ute.



Brendan a couple of 3/4 shots in 'creative' locations coming... the driveway is way too sad! and yes i freaked when i first saw the set up was on the phone within hours! a strut strip down later and we're looking good ill set things settle for a bit then report back