After selling my trusty XG, I have just acquired a 98 XH manual with the Tradesman option. It's in great nick but already I'm wanting to do some upgrades and I was seeking some advice. However, as with everything I don't grow money trees so anything I could have a crack at myself would be good: my first purchase was the genuine repair manual.



Here are a few questions-

I was considering the DEV 1 Mock kit, is there anything else similar worth considering?

To suppliment that, K&N panel or boxed pod filter?

I saw some people swapped intake manifolds with the EF/EL. Is it worth it and is there anything particularly difficult about the job?

Which model is the interior similar to? It seems a bit all over the place so I'm finding it hard to source stuff that will fit in.

Finally, since it has the 1 Tonne option, the guys at the tyre shop said I have to use light commercial tyres due to the load rating of the ute. Does this mean I am stuck with big tyres and small wheels forever? What are my options for making the wheel situation a bit more presentable?

Thanks in advance for any replies and sorry if there's heaps of questions, it's cause I want to know heaps!

No sorry. QLD purchase.

my first car was an 98 manual xh ute, that thing was the bomb.
i reckon you should dump it on some nice rims,

and as for the engine, why not do the simple stuff? eg.
exhaust,
intake,
and such things like that.

i was gonna put ghia leather seats in mine, and i think there was alittle modding to do.

xh utes are just bits of el's and ef's arent they? lol

i'll be watching with interest mate

YES!!! A man with some intelligence. This will become the most important part of your toolbox.




There a many options if you want to increase power. The Mock option is one, but is not a favourite among most members, and is quite pricey. Look at cam upgrades from Wade and CMS for a performance boost, along with extractors and a 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust.



Some swear by the K&N panel filter. Others like myself find the std box with a quality std panel filter works just as well. Boxed pod filter also has it's merits.



I can recommend this totally. Was one of the best upgrades I have done. Mid range torque is much better with the BBM manifold. As suggested, check my thread, or PM me for more info.



Do you NEED to carry one tonne? If so, then yes you are limited in your tire choices. If not, your choices are wide open.

Cheers
BenJ

Yeh, what BenJ said.

even if its a one off thing still gonna be fine with regualr rims and tyres. i towed my xb wagon (lot of weight on the hitch) about 300km on my 18's lol probs not the best thing for them but still held up no worries.

As the other blokes have said if your not carrying a tonne don't stress, I'm an apprentice sparky and my ute is always loaded. I have even towed a 2300kg scissor lift with it all on 17" elgts and toyos. You will be surprised what a regular tyre can do just buy good tyres.

I am a fan of the jmm gear. I think its good quality and reliable, thats all I will say without opening a massive can of worms. Having said that for what you want and your location. I would just look on ebay for a set of paceys and a sports exhaust. As for intake, I found a de-ribbed Ba airbox with a pod inside to be good value for money.

Parts:
Interior is el seats with xg door skins and dash and in the manuals the pedal box is unique to the xh.
I believe that the wiring and drivetrain was different between the 2 series. I think series 1's got all early e-series wiring, e.g. no bbm and ed style motor, ef front. Where the series 2 got the el/hybrid motor, bbm, el front. But don't quote me on that.
I know for sure the front rotors are el the rear are eb.
Oh, you will probably snap the spare tyre winch cable as well. It's a sealed unit and a POS, don't replace with the ford item, it will keep happening. Hilux winches are adaptable.

Have Fun
Ben

Thanks for the info everyone, certainly lots to think about. I think the first upgrade will be the exhaust, so I'll search around and see what I can find for a 2.5 inch system. I'll see how it responds to that and maybe look for the intake manifold after.

I reckon the XH's look sick on the BA XR8 wheels, but I'd want to lower the ute if I went that way. In doing so, I'm sure that in the first hour of driving I'd find all these places/entrances/driveways I don't have enough clearance for and having to drive a bit of dirt often I might keep the ride height the same at this stage. There's an XH I've seen with dragways and not lowered and it looks cool.

Only thing is the tyre guy said that unless I went to the hassle of getting the suspension 're-certified' then I MUST put light commercial tyres on it as it isn't classed as a passenger vehicle, whereas the standard XH is. I rarely will use the full towing and loading capacity, but I don't want insurance/police problems if I am supposed to have a certain type of tyre on it and don't.

Maybe I'll lower it, get suspension 're-certified' at the same time and find some XR8 rims as they seem pretty cheap at the moment and take the bull bar off at the same time. I lose a few practicality elements though.

Slowly getting throught the easy stuff, new steering wheel and gear knob, adjusting the gear column so its closer, checking all the wiring is ok and not going to catch fire, re-trim centre console lid, got a free roll bar off a BA that might fit with some adjusting. I'll post pics when it's done.

Thanks again for all the advice, it's cool to have interested people around.

True, but I can think of a few people who would rather agree with the mechanic. Sadly they probably work for insurance, police, RTA, etc.

Nice looking ute, I've gotta say I somewhat agree in that regards to sticking to the legal side to keep out of trouble.

Just something to be aware of with those wheels you've mentioned ba xr8 rims, you do realize you have to get aftermarket copies in pre au offset by the way.

Just out of curiosity what size are those wheels, and also when you say tradesman options, what were they?

rip the "1 tonne" badge off, and anything else obvious to the fact that its got the "tradesman option", then it will look like just another normal ute to the insurance companies?

http://www.geocities.com/falconfacts/fa ... alcon.html
That's actually not far from fact - in this case, add AU as well.
Are there any optional tyre types listed on the placard inside the drivers door?
All up you have essentially suspension wise, the Outback ute setup - 6 leaf rear, load sensing proportioning valve, and the outback 15" steel rims (some specsheets say alloy ???). You might even have a hydratrak diff. I doubt you would be limited to that setup - the XR's ran 16" alloys, etc.
You'll have a hybrid engine - search 'hybrid' on here if you don't know the significance, as this will determine your cam choice should you change it, or you can change the cylinder head to a pre 98 one.
And yes, a BBM does make a fair difference over the log manifold.

Get an AU Console up in that ! Then your drinks will be safe !