Started pulling down my Zook this week getting it ready to do a trip through Indo and beyond.

The body has 280kms on her however the engine is a G16B and I am told it only has 130kms on it so will be leaving that mostly alone. It runs nice and sounds really good.

There are some noises coming from the gearbox, changing in and out of 4wd can be a bit of a challenge and the clutch is playing up a bit at weird times so will need to suss this out. Other than that she runs nice

Plan at the moment is to keep it as simple and possible

Overhaul gearbox
New clutch
Clutch cable
Transfer case overhaul (maybe)
New belts
New spark plugs
Sump and Rocker gaskets
Diffs (possible overhaul)
Diff locker (maybe)
New rear brakes
Re spray manifold
Fabricate a winch holder for bulbar
Winch
Re spary bullbar
PVC snorkel
Fabricate sidesteps
Fabricate rear jerry can holder and bumper
Custom draw system
Custom roof rack system
Re spray body
More to come as I uncover or get a bright idea's



Meet the Rig. She is a little rough but has a lot of heart. Over the next couple of months she will be a transformed to adventure status ready for dispatch. Yewwwwww!!!



A little cramped in my old man’s garage but its free rent while I get this little beast ready for the task ahead.



First order of business is to get the gearbox out and see if I can find out what the noise is



Doesn't take long for the workbench to fill up



The inside of the transmission is a pretty sight



This is the input shaft. It connects the clutch to the gearbox. That indent on the tip is meant to be smooth. Pretty sure that’s got something to do with the noises I was hearing. Unfortunately, not the most common part to get hold of. Bugger!!!

Couple of comments , dont overdo the roof rack and loading , are you thinking RTT ?

In view of the wear on the primary pinion check out clutch friction plate for adverse wear.also support bearing/bush in rear of crank .

These are a very capable small 4wd, but load is the biggest enemy to them
so minimizing on unnecessary items is a good move , diff lock and winch unless you are intending severe conditions is probably a bit OTT . A good hd MT tyre would be a good option in view of the previous comment.

Look forward to seeing the transformation

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Current : 2007 Mowag Bucher Duro 6x6 Motorhome , 2006 Sedici 4x4, 2007 Range Rover supercharged

Got to love an old SJ. Here's mine today; needed to pop to do a little job so threw some tools in the jeep and took a cross-country route

Attached Thumbnails

 

good little trucks, very capable, but as above, their strength is their weight. load it up too much and you lose all your benefits. Also, stability on these is a big issue (hence the big scar on my head!) so avoid loading up the roof.

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

Hey Tacr2man, Big Yellow Tractor and Moggy 1968

Cheers

Great pics!

Any excuse to take her for a spin ay Big Yellow Tractor

Moggy 1968, where are those photo's taken? How much weight did you have on the roof when it rolled?

Yeah I have had a lot of comments about keeping the weight down. The GVM is 1350kg so will definitely keep it under that. Currently it weighs 1000kg with me in it and half a tank of fuel. So I have to keep my weight under 330kg, hopefully well under that.

Tacr2man, definitely not overdoing the roof rack loading, cheers for the heads up. I had wanted to put a RRT on it but after doing some research I decided to drop that idea. Only items on the roof will be a couple of surfboards, small tool box with some spares and a swag. I'm thinking 30-40kg tops. I will be replacing the clutch and spigot bearing so no probs there.

take it you are based in OZ , when you finish the gearbox treat it to a full synthetic oil , handles the heat a lot better. Cambelt if you haven't changed
and know the mileage , worth changing , also these engines if they don't get the engine oil and filter changed regularly , can block the feed to cam resulting in it trying to grind its way into head , as they run direct in head without shell bearings.

i had a couple of Zooks when i lived in WA , did the nullarbor in a vitara with trailer camper one time.

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Current : 2007 Mowag Bucher Duro 6x6 Motorhome , 2006 Sedici 4x4, 2007 Range Rover supercharged

Great little truck, I met a geezer in Spain who had just come back from Mali in a little long wheel base version that he could sleep in!

enjoy

Love them.... More capable and reliable than most 4x4's....

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Facebook " Kevin Heike " come and say Hello as we travel around the world.

Photo's are in the Mauritanian Sahara. Didn't roll it on this trip. I rolled the first one I owned, which was pre widening the wheel track. had 5 people in a soft top one and it fell over at about 30mph on a fairly mild bend in the road!

we had 60ltrs of fuel on the roof for the trip and it destroyed the roof gutters indecently quickly off road, so we ended up having to distribute the cans amongst the other cars. This is the roof after I had hammered it back into some kind of shape so I could put some lighter stuff up there, but you get the idea!

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

Added to the above recommendations I would change the waterpump. doesn't cost much but potentially catastrophic if it fails. Bits you take off, if they aren't too heavy, you could take as spares, at least you'll know they fit!

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1990 Landcruiser H60. Full rebuild completed 2014

G'Day Stuxtttr and Overland Tonka

Cheers guys!

Tacr2man, Yeah mate doing all the belts. Will get some top grade oil for sure. I plan on servicing her regularly so all good there. That's awesome you did the Nallabor in a zook. Yep based in Oz for another 2months

Moggy 1968, Wow, the Sahara would have been a great trip! Ive got a rack that spans the length of the gutter so don't think I'll run into the roof rack issues you had (Will post some pics shortly) I'll be under 40kg as well. Will do the pump, thanks.

Cheers

SZ

After a lot of hours in cyberspace and stacks of phone calls to local wreckers I couldn’t find one Australia shop that had an input shaft! Not even second hand one unless I wanted to buy the whole gearbox. Suzuki could order one from Japan but it would take 4 weeks and $$$. Back to the information highway and I found a helpful fella on a Zook forum that directed me to a online store in the US of A that has the part I’m after. Yewwww! Ordered and on its way.



Time to start the rear bumper with jerry can holder. All the bits and pieces meccano style



Next I removed the existing bumper to use it as a template



Cutting up and cutting out the 3mm 100x50 steel RHS Bumper rail



Slicing the back of the corners to help bend it around for a round finish



Shinny



I had to cut out the back of the bumper to weld the inside of the weighty swing arm hinge with some reinforcement. The cut out bit went back on and sealed up



The rear bumper is starting to take shape now

Good skills mate !

Cheers bud!

Still a rookie welder but getting the hang of it

The other end of the swing arm hinge



Jerry cube with swing arm



And assemble



Some old fashion blacksmithin’ to bend up the wings to fit into the wheel flares



Wing welding



Adding a piece of flat bar to mold around the Zooks sweet behind



Lock and load





Almost done! I had to ditch the original lights, they were to bulky so ordered some LED's which are on there way. After that, a lick of paint and it's finito!



And look what rocked up in the mail….