campbeam

To me that is a very subjective statement. You will have to be more specific. Is the current ride too hard/harsh or too soft/bouncy. Is it a situation where you feel that you want to improve the handling without having to replace the original struts and springs. What is the odometer reading and what is your driving style? Personally, I like to apex the corners and curves.

Welcome to the Forum. Absolutely guaranteed you would have accumulated a few worthwhile tales. It should be an interesting project to get this Hilux running again after sitting for 20 years. Looking forward to reading your future posts and what you had to do to get it running again.

https://blog.amsoil.com/how-engine-sludge-forms-and-how-to-prevent-it/ After the oil sludge has formed, then it can accumulate around the piston rings e.g. the oil control rings. Proven recommended solution is to have shorter oil change intervals. Drive short distance, apply a short oil change interval. Drive longer distances then a longer oil change interval can be applied.

There is another thread about the oil change interval. Your recent experience gives you an insight into how quickly oil sludge can start to appear with short distance driving. You may not have noticed but my latest oil change interval was only 1,110 kms. I did top up the engine oil with approx. 100mls of ATF which has a lot of detergent additives. Engine oil was dark colour and looked to be very contaminated. Also the inner creases of the oil filter cartridge had a very noticable amount of sludge particles. Got a few thoughts about whether to start another thread about desludging with before and after pictures of the engine oil. At the moment, the new engine oil is a clear transparent colour on the dipstick.

In previous years, I have done an annual return trip between Brisbane and Wagga Wagga with an oil change before and also upon return, Certainly previous thought about doing an oil change before the return journey. I will just have to pre-plan and make it happen. No excuses because I have a stockpile of engine oil that has to be used and lots of filter cartridges.

I did take a picture or 2 and maybe a few seconds of video. Saved to the TF card but I do not currently have a card reader. Picture was of very good quality [according to my imperfect vision]. Definitely worth having. Last night at 9PM, I shone my LED flashlight down the oil filler opening in the valve cover and could see sludge at the end of the camshaft. Good excuse to go for a few day trips.

I did use the inspection camera yesterday morning and somewhat surprised that there is oil sludge present. Engine oil is already looking a darker colour. This afternoon I looked at the oil filter cartridge and there was a fair bit of sludge particles caught in the filter material. End result is that I did another overkill oil change procedure at 231250 kms on the odometer. I used the next oil in line to be used from my accumulated engine oil hoard, Castrol Edge 5W-40 which is full synthetic with their Titanium FST. Soon find out how well it cleans the engine internals.

There were a number of options of which country to ship from. I selected China which was the cheapest. Total cost was USD 42.54

There will probably have to be another trilogy of extreme oil changes with multiple flushes before "Sludgy" is fully exorcised of oil sludge. The inspection camera is going to be very useful to better assess progress to the desired final deep cleanse like new result.

Recently purchased an inspection camera mainly to check for oil sludge in the engine. Having a dual lens camera is quite useful being able to have both a side view and a straight ahead view. I also opted for the 2 metre cable. The unit fits nicely in the hand, the 4.3" screen is a decent size and the built-in rechargable battery is a useful feature. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002350018686.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dv94NHw P40 8mm Single Dual Lens Industrial Endoscope 1080P HD 4.3 " LCD Digital Inspection Camera WIth Hard wire for Car Engine Drain It came packaged in a cardboard box so will transfer it to a clear plastic lunch box.

0W will flow much faster and easier than 5W upon cold startup. This should potentially result in faster lubrication and reduced wear. As per usual, there are a few caveats in that the engine has to be designed presumably with tighter tolerances for the lower oil viscosity and that the oil molecules will be sufficient to prevent direct metat to metal contact. Ultimate guide for the recommended oil viscosity and oil specification is the vehicle's Owner's Manual. No direct experience [yet] with comparing the different viscosities. However, I recently noticed how diesel [viscosity of approx.2 and <3] flowed so much quicker than used 5W-30 engine oil.

John hit the nail on the head. Dealer/Distributor should have dealt with this disaster quietly, paid some extra a hush money and buried this from public view with a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Totally arrogant attitude has backfired badly with a legal ruling stating the poor build quality. General public can now make a more informed decision and boycott their brand. LDV Group is now owned by SAIC Motors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDV_Group LDV have cut costs at the expense of fit for purpose quality and their vehicle has not lasted the warranty period. Additional Rust proofing of the vehicle has also obviously failed and not been worthwhile. After watching the video, I had to laugh at their now exposed deceptive marketing. Pretty pictures and alluring words to part fools from their money. https://www.ldvautomotive.com.au/vehicles/ldv-t60-dual-cab-ute/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjZOr2rao8wIVg6-WCh0KDwInEAAYAiAAEgLzjvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds It is a total embarassment for the LDV Group and SAIC Motors. I can only hope that there is more consumer action to impact their bottom line.

Certainly not a good idea to overfill the fuel tank. I refill before the fuel gauge is indicating half empty but I am mainly driving on the weekends. Most likely time for me to top up with a 20 litre jerrycan this weekend. Petrol price in Brisbane will fall maybe the following week after this long weekend.

Main oil recommendation is to use a quality known brand full synthetic oil with the oil viscosity suitable for your engine. I usually start by looking at the Lube Guides for your vehicle for Penrite and Nulon then Castrol and Shell. These brands are usually available at SuperCheap Auto, AutoBarn, Repco and other retailers. I usually buy on special whatever full synthetic oil is suitable for my vehicle.

😁😁 I have previously posted that the girlfriend has been saying to me for 3 years that I was hard headed before I finally agreed with her. This is the approach that I decided upon for my own reasons. Definitely recommend to others to remove the front valve cover and give it a thorough desludging. In frustration, I almost gave up a year ago and tried to remove the valve cover but later discovered that I had overlooked one bolt in the middle. It also does not help that most of my regular driving is less than 10kms so that is ideal conditions for more sludge build up on an ongoing basis. Now that I have an inspection camera, I will be able to get a better look into the valve cover. It looks totally clean from what I have seen with a flashlight throught the oil filler opening. Almost there and a few 2 hour highway drives will help to get the final result.

Definitely annoyed. Lots more attention planned. In the meantime, I have done a few tips and tricks under the engine cover to help the desludging. "Sludgy" is now behaving herself and I rewarded her with a brief Italian Tune Up. Inspection camera has just arrived [still unopened] so will get batteries to be ready to use when I next drop the engine oil.

In the past few weeks, I have driven about 860km with some decent trips where the engine oil has got up to operating temperature for a decent amount of time. Last weekend I added about 100ml of ATF to the engine oil as an aid to get rid of any remaining sludge and help to deep clean the engine internals. A few days later "Sludgy" very unexpectedly blew some smoke on startup. Her way of annoying me to get some more desludging attention. This morning, I had another 2 hour therapy session with myself and "Sludgy" flushing the engine with diesel and then flushing oil. Existing engine oil [used for 860km] looked quite dark in the change pan has been reused and is now quite clear on the dipstick. Existing oil filer cartridge and housing were cleaned using petrol then air dried. Overall, quite surprised at the amount of oil sludge particles that were present. Planning upon doing a follow up check in 3 weeks so may end up recycling oil from my project vehicles to temporarily replace the current engine oil before doing another full overkill oil change.

What I really appreciate of a road trip is when you have the open road/highway very much to yourself after a breakfast at sunrise. You can just relax and cruise at a comfortable pace. Recently got a reminder of how peaceful and relaxing it is for me with deserted suburban roads and that was an early Sunday morning before 6AM.

I had a quick look at the reported figures recently. NSW cases are trending down and VIC cases are trending up. Pressure is on to get the population fully vaccinated to whatever target figure [80-90%] then let the "new normal" begin. In QLD, the "tounge in cheek" prediction is that we will head into a lockdown within a week after the NRL Grand Final on 04.10.2021 . Apparently, the ticket requirements have just got changed to be 2 jabs so you can attend. Personally, I will be seeking a medical clearance to confirm when I it will be safe for my 1st jab. Certainly expecting to have to be fully vaccinated. In the meantime, I will be getting my Aurion fully road trip ready in the next month. I am more expecting the QLD border to be re-opened with NSW after the Xmas school holidays. Then I will be doing my usual interstate road trip but avoiding the Easter 2022 period. I will definitely have to be in cruise/defensive driving mode knowing that there will be a lot of pent up frustration being released on the highways. That will then result in a stepped up Police and speed camera presence offering those involuntary invitations to make a govt. contribution. Remember and Do Safe motoring. Keep out of the way of those potential Darwin Award candidates.

Counselling, what counselling?😁 Actually I find your acknowledged OCD quite inspiring which nicely offsets my tendencies to use quick workarounds. Better to do the job once and do it right then have to come back and do it all again. Also having the right specialised tools makes tasks so much easier and enjoyable instead of being a time wasting frustrating exercise. Good quality tools are worth the $$$.

Welcome to the Forum. Can I suggest that you concentrate more upon enjoying driving your recently acquired Sportivo. This should give you the time to consider the areas for improvement and personalization plus be realistic about how many $$$ you realistically want to part with. If you do some Forum searches then you should find recent posts about what upgrades and modifications are going to be most recommended. I have also found that doing Google searches can produce more targeted results. Personally, my focus is upon preventative maintenance and safety related items. Therefore, I concentrate upon having a good set of known brand quality tyres suitable for my driving requirements. If your choice is a specific performance tyre e.g. Michelin Pilot 4S then determine what size tyres are available and suitable for your Sportivo. You may need to increase the wheel size. My choice is a touring type tyre with superior wet braking performance to fit the existing standard wheels. Next focus is upon the brakes particularly the brake pads. There are posts from Forum members about which brands of brake pads that they recommend. I am currently using Bendix Premium brake pads and have both the Hi-Q brand brake pads and Remsa Ultra Ceramic brake pads in my eBay Watchlist for future reference. I have also got braided brake hoses in my eBay Watchlist as an upgrade. Next focus is upgrading light bulbs and cleaning headlights and glass. I have upgraded the original halogen headlight bulbs to LED ones which are direct plug n play replacement design. A few members have recommended the STEDI brand for LED bulbs so a Forum search will locate their posts.

Excellent idea for long term ownership and avoid any future issue of burning oil because the rings have got clogged up. Precisely what I thought was the underlying reason for your question. I am guessing that you are intending to get the engine oil up to operating temperature then using some decent mechanics gloves and being very careful just do a drain and fill.

I have got a more basic serpentine belt kit which did the job for me. However, I can see the benefit of spending the extra $$$ for a more comprehensive kit. I previously acquired a set of 6 extra long spanners with zero offset from Trade Tools. Got the 8mm size but missing 11mm, 20mm and 21mm. The extra 7th spanner makes your selected kit that bit more comprehensive. The extra length does give you more leverage for undoing those bolts in restricted spaces where you may not be able to fit another tool. I do have a separate 24mm ring spanner that I picked up from a clearance bin at either SuperCheap Auto or Autobarn. It is my goto spanner for the refill bolt on the side of the Aurion's auto transmission. More than likely I picked it up to complete a larger size range not realizing at the time that it was going to be so handy.

You should know better particularly if the fuel pump is located in the fuel tank. 8 years is a good run for that battery. You would have a good idea of how well the battery is holding its charge. SuperCheap Auto and others will have batteries on discount in the next few months especially for Xmas, Boxing Day and Australia Day.

You have a new vehicle under warranty. Definitely use the oil viscosity recommended in your owner's manual. Be very careful about what you read on the internet. Past posts are not necessarily relevant to your recent modern Toyota engine which would be manufactured with tight tolerances and specific lubrication requirements. Have a look at the Penrite Product selector for your specific vehicle. https://penriteoil.com.au/product-selector#/ General concensus of opinion on this Forum is to use a known brand quality full synthetic oil and the correct oil viscosity for your vehicle's engine.