Dave's "S200KYS" Jimny 'laner Build...

Dropped Zanfi's Products from my webstore... didn't work out, I won't go into it on the forum, save to say that they don't ship quick enough for my usual levels of service...

Their products seem ok though, so it's best if anyone wants something they order direct from www.Zanfi.it ...

Dave

S200KYS wrote: Impressed with the front light bar too... Never used it in the wild yet as we don't generally 'lane in the dark...

Which light did you get mate? It looks about a 30"

It's this one, from JimnyBits - www.jimnybits.co.uk/shop/electrical/ultr...light/prod_1252.html

So 21" with 18 LEDs in...

Nice as it's the same width as a number plate -

There's a smaller one in the back bumper as a reverse / worklight too!

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationI got this one, Half the price of the Jimnybits one and over three times the power, And fits perfect between the headlights.

03/01/16 - Took me a while to get back to this... I eventually re-welded and re-fitted the old pitman steering arm and bolted the panhard rod back into it's original position to be able to go greenlaning with the rest of "our little group" a couple of times, and then Christmas got in the way of spannering... it's busy in the shop and especially the Post Office over the festive period, and of course family life comes first!

But, with Christmas and New Year out of the way, and a collection of shiny parts in cardboard boxes from various suppliers, I got back to it today...

I decided to ease myself in gently by starting on the back...



This was my existing setup on the back... a JimnyBits adjustable panhard rod, sitting in a JimnyBits-supplied FTS panhard relocation bracket... all very good kit, but with the fix for the front panhard / steering drag link clash, also came a rear panhard rod... so I also ordered a Zanfi +80mm rear panhard relocation bracket to match the front one...



Dis-assembling the old setup, and measuring the old FTS panhard bracket in order to advertise it for sale when the new one went on... 50mm.



With it off, comparing the old with the new... +50mm 'v' + 80mm



New bushes into the new Rockwatt made stainless steel rear panhard bar (to match the front one, more on that later...) A vice, a squirt of grease and a 27mm socket...



And then the insert sleeve in the same fashion...



I'd already translated Zanfi's Italian fitting instructions, so knew what I was doing...

An 8.5mm drill bit first to open the holes on the standard bracket to take some bigger bolts than the FTS bracket.



The Rockwatt stainless steel panhard rod mounted into the chassis end...



And, after a bit of fiddling the Zanfi bracket goes over the original axle bracket and gets bolted in place, and then the adjustable end of the new panhard rod slots nicely into the top of the Zanfi bracket...



With a few (supplied) washers to pad the mounting bush into the slightly wider than stock top of the bracket...



Then the new Rockwatt stainless steel panhard sits nicely parallel to the rear axle...



I did think of having the panhard rod powdercoated, but figured it looked better in bare stainless

Here you can also see where the Zanfi panhard bracket also picks up the radius arm bolt as another anchoring point.



Next, a new Rockwatt bump stop spacer and a Bits4Vits replacement polyurethane cone bump stop went in...



View from the rear...



And then the other side's bump stop spacer and poly cone installed...



Although I used a 75mm Rockwatt bump stop spacer, you can see the cone is a little shorter than the original (which can also be used with Rockwatt's bump stop spacers), so that the overall length was only a bit more, as I've gone from 29" to 31" tyres...

Then... I stopped for a cup of tea...

...and then quickly got back into the garage to start on the front panhard... as you can see, it's a bit special as it has a kink in it... more on that in a minute...

The bushes went in the same though...



Using that 27mm socket and vice again...



And then the adjustable end again...



And so, this is how I'd left the front end in the intervening period since this saga started... The JimnyBits adjustable panhard rod bolted into the stock panhard bracket, albeit with the new Zanfi bracket left on top of it, and the original pitman steering arm welded up and refitted to get me out and about on a couple of 'laning trips with the rest of "our little group"



Now then, comparing the 'original' (JimnyBits) panhard rod (black) against the new Rockwatt stainless steel custom-made* panhard rod with a slight kink in it to get around the clash from running the Zanfi drop pitman arm with the Zanfi front panhard relocation bracket...

So, having removed all the existing parts... yup, time for another cuppa! And then back out to start reassembling...



That's better! the Zanfi parts now sit alright together (I must point out they ARE designed for left-hand drive vehicles, and they are not used to our right-hand drive Jimnys!) thanks to the Rockwatt stainless steel panhard rod with a kink in it so that the pitman arm (or rather the tie rod end connect to it) does not foul on the panhard rod...



Closeup!

And there you can see how the panhard rod now sits parallel with the axle, and the pitman arm, despite having a 75mm drop to it, sits freely above the panhard rod without fouling on it...



View from the front before going out for a test drive in the dark...



Plenty of room for everything to articulate without fouling...!!!

Many thanks to Rockwatt for coming up with the solution!

If you need anything custom-made such as these panhard rods to get round a glitch on your 4x4, have a chat with Richard "Rockwatt" Wattam on - richard@rockwatt.co.uk or 07921 222635. (+44 7921 222635)

Box of bits just turned up from the BIGJIMNY Store...



Ready for a front axle rebuild, as my diff is leaking around the seal to the axle, and a general engine service...

Front Disks, Sealant, Engine Sump Gasket, Oil Filter and Spark Plugs ...

Along with what I've already got in stock -



From BigJimny and JimnyBits...

New bearings and seals everywhere...

Time for some TLC...



I'd noticed a few drips of oil from the front axle, and could see it was coming from the diff to axle seal... So, after the new stainless steel kinky front Rockwatt-made panhard rod was fitted, and the new Zanfi panhard rod bracket (adapted to fit a right-hand drive) was fitted, and now worked happily with the Zanfi dropped pitman arm on the steering box - many thanks to Rockwatt! I thought it was time to address the leak...

You can see the oil in the bottom of the plastic tub.



Front axle guard off, and it's got a mixture of oil and water in it...



Oooh, that's been doing it's job then?! Lick of Hammerite before refitting it me thinks?!



Hmmm, that's strange...? I thought I'd start by removing the filler plug and poking a finger in to gauge how much oil I'd lost... but when I did, the oil flowed out?

Ahhh, a mixture of oil and water emulsified filled my catch container



Ah, yes, with the diff guard removed, it's clear to see there's been quite a weaping of oil from the diff, and water going back in the same way I assume...



Time to start stripping then... off come the brakes, as my mechanic mate had commented they pads were getting low when he was last laser aligning the front end for me...



Hubs off... plenty of mud in with the grease too... so it's a full strip and rebuild, new seals and bearings everywhere!



Hubs off and around to the local friendly garage to press the old bearings out and the new ones in... meanwhile, I started cleaning all the old oil and grease out...



Ah, yes, after sausage chips and gravy of course!



Diff cleaned out and faces cleaned ready for refitting soon...

Whilst I was getting some engine oil from my local oil specialists "Caldo", I asked them what was the best gunk to stick in between the two faces of the diff-to-axle seal, as I usually use standard (plumbing) mastic, and they said to contact my local agricultural engineering firm* and ask them for some Loctite "Strawberry Jam"

*As one of my neighbours and regular customers in my convenience store runs such an establishment I gave him a ring, unfortunately he was out and one of his staff took my call, and thought I was taking the mickey out of him, or someone was pulling my leg... "Strawberry Jam?!", he said suspiciously... Anyway, later that day, on his way home, my neighbour dropped me off half a tube of Loctite 510 for me to seal it all back together... sometimes refered to in the farming community as....... "Strawberry Jam" ?! :woohoo:

I'll also be using new bolts and spring washers and some thread lock as well!! No point taking chances of it leaking again!

More soon... no time to do it for about a week :S

S200KYS wrote: Time for some TLC...

I'd noticed a few drips of oil from the front axle, and could see it was coming from the diff to axle seal... So, after the new stainless steel kinky front Rockwatt-made panhard rod was fitted, and the new Zanfi panhard rod bracket (adapted to fit a right-hand drive) was fitted, and now worked happily with the Zanfi dropped pitman arm on the steering box - many thanks to Rockwatt! I thought it was time to address the leak...

You can see the oil in the bottom of the plastic tub.

Front axle guard off, and it's got a mixture of oil and water in it...

Oooh, that's been doing it's job then?! Lick of Hammerite before refitting it me thinks?!

Hmmm, that's strange...? I thought I'd start by removing the filler plug and poking a finger in to gauge how much oil I'd lost... but when I did, the oil flowed out?

Ahhh, a mixture of oil and water emulsified filled my catch container

Ah, yes, with the diff guard removed, it's clear to see there's been quite a weaping of oil from the diff, and water going back in the same way I assume...

Time to start stripping then... off come the brakes, as my mechanic mate had commented they pads were getting low when he was last laser aligning the front end for me...

Hubs off... plenty of mud in with the grease too... so it's a full strip and rebuild, new seals and bearings everywhere!

Hubs off and around to the local friendly garage to press the old bearings out and the new ones in... meanwhile, I started cleaning all the old oil and grease out...

Ah, yes, after sausage chips and gravy of course!

Diff cleaned out and faces cleaned ready for refitting soon...

Whilst I was getting some engine oil from my local oil specialists "Caldo", I asked them what was the best gunk to stick in between the two faces of the diff-to-axle seal, as I usually use standard (plumbing) mastic, and they said to contact my local agricultural engineering firm* and ask them for some Loctite "Strawberry Jam"

*As one of my neighbours and regular customers in my convenience store runs such an establishment I gave him a ring, unfortunately he was out and one of his staff took my call, and thought I was taking the mickey out of him, or someone was pulling my leg... "Strawberry Jam?!", he said suspiciously... Anyway, later that day, on his way home, my neighbour dropped me off half a tube of Loctite 510 for me to seal it all back together... sometimes refered to in the farming community as....... "Strawberry Jam" ?! :woohoo:

I'll also be using new bolts and spring washers and some thread lock as well!! No point taking chances of it leaking again!

More soon... no time to do it for about a week :S

What happened to that stub shaft?
looks like rust?

Hmm, mud I think, but haven't started cleaning them yet though...

You don't want to stick the diff in too heavily Dave as you have to get the bugger out one day. Normal RTV is good enough and can still be tricky to get the diff out with. I don't know what Suzuki use but it's pants.

I've had to help mates get diffs out of SJ's and Land Rovers and with no bolts in and a good whack with a rubber mallet and a fat Essex lad (me) hanging off of them, they still sit glued in place defiantly!

Strawberry Jam might be better on a tractor mind!

Kirkynut