Long Range Fuel Tank

Hello

I have had a BD tank in my Prado for about 18 months also - no issues so far - was wondering what was your problem?

Cheers
Greg

I have a BD steel tank on my BT50, fitted at the Melbourne factory. It developed a crack on the bottom, a year out of warranty, at a point where one of the internal baffles is welded to the floor.

I'm in Sydney, they're in Melbourne.

They were prepared to give me a replacement plastic tank at a discount if I could get to Melbourne but a trip to Melb and back at my expense wasn't a reasonable proposition. I had to get it repaired at an engineering shop that is also a BD fitter. BD weren't prepared to assist with the cost of that. Warranty ends when warranty ends, they said.

Nothing much I could do about but suck it up.

My problem with my Brown Davis tank was a leaky weld, outside of warranty.

They were extremely helpful and fixed it at no cost to me. They are in Melbourne and I am in Canberra.

same problem, two extremely different results, wonder why?

When I owned X240 Great Wall I wanted to fit a long range tank. BD would make on but it would have cost over $1000 all fitted. I found this company in Geelong Ballistic Engineering. He makes fuel tanks for Boats etc. I have a link to the post I did :
https://4x4earth.com/forum/index.php?threads/long-range-tank-manufacturer-in-geelong.35914/

Might worth a phone call

Hello Chris
By the look of the oil stain and it's position just outer of the spring pad, it appears you may have a crack in the axle tube itself. If so, it happens just outside the spring pad. I can't message you so posted here. That area cam be reinforced by wedge shaped plating after to spread the load after the crack is rewelded. A few have cracked after loaded rough off road travel.
Is there another reason why oil staining is there?
If the axle tube breaks then it becomes a tad more serious from observation of other similar unusual leaks. Finding the broken axle shaft and wheel is fun in the bush.
mydmax

Thanks mydmax. I left home in May last year for my annual get out of the Melbourne cold. Because of covid restrictions I was away longer than usual and only got home 2 weeks before Christmas. I have access to other cars so do not use the D-max much when I am home. The D-max is due for a service by Isuzu after which I always take it to my 4X4 specialist where we check everything over and prepare it for the next trip. That was good spotting from the photo and I agree with you that it very much looks like the axle tube is cracked. This is not uncommon on D-Max's. I am aware of this issue and have seen it before on other D-Max's, and as I can get to about 3.4 tonne when fully loaded (Lovells GVM upgrade) it is not surprising that this has happened. I will throw a bit of money at the problem and I am sure the D-Max will be as good as gold.
Thanks again.

Chris
That is really good you are aware and onto it, hope all goes well with the fix.
Cheers

Is repairing that side a long time fix? what about the other side,? Carrying the weight mentioned would have me thinking about upgrading the housings, or carry less weight, or buy a bigger truck!...lol.

Cheers Axle.

AXLE
Done properly, two tapered wedge fillers at the top extending from spring pad to outer housing and also applying a half tube underneath and through the U bolt area, welded to the original axle housing IS an upgrade.

I'm in a similar position as Chris WRT my BT50 - upgraded to 3500kg. A small crack appeared in the horizontal seam in the axle tube near the circular weld on the rear of the diff housing.

Took it to an axle and diff specialist - he builds axle housings and diffs for competition off-roaders. Attached is his bracing, done both sides, plus there was a circular weld inside that was basically little more than tack welded. He welded that right around.

RMD

Buy something thats built for the purpose you require, Not a upgrade at all , it will keep busting at the weakest points everytime.

After years around earthmoving equipment, you get to learn.

Cheers.

Axle,
Yes you can buy something much much heavier and earthmoving equipment is generally heavy by design. Franks repair/mod is neat and spreads loads sensibly, very similar to outer axle mods where cracks happen. Often it is the actual welds which are slightly undercut which allows a crack to develop. Often seen in mass production. Why not simply repair it as it, was/is, almost ok for the purpose but not quite. Buying something else would be far greater cost, not a problem for some though. If there is a formula for people to apply to enable buying something unbreakeable then that would be good to see.

RMD

It depends how much repairing your prepared to do, OK if the problem doesn't reoccur, if it does there's nothing more painful,. its then most people look for a alternative.

Really it just gets down to over loading Woes.....AGAIN.
!
Anyway this conversation could go on forever and dont forget Toyota have the formula for the unbreakable!
; ))))))
Cheers Axle.

Hi RMD. I have seen other D-maxes with this issue but do not know what the owners did about it. I believe its caused by bad corrugations and big pot holes when the axle hits the bump stop. I have searched the various forums for solutions and preferably pictures with no luck. Do you have any pictures or more detailed instructions?
I try to keep the weight down, but I am usually travelling for 4 or 5 months each year (7 months in 2020) so it is not easy. As for getting a bigger vehicle, I like the D-Max to much to give it up.
If you have any pictures etc. you can post here or email me. My email address can be accessed from my profile. Cheers, Chris

We were pulled up for dinner & some repairs to one of my companions canopy, at Well 9 on CSR, back in late July, ‘19, when a 4x4 tilt tray came past with a Dmax on the back & missing a near side rear wheel assembly. The snapped axle housing was immediately apparent.

Then, some weeks/months later, there was a thread about the owner’s woes on his trip & some follow up info.

I use a 50Litre red plastic tank in a similar place to what Bob used. Don't need it every travel distance and have a Car fuel injection pump and diesel filter to get fuel out of the tub and into the filler via a hose. That hose is long enough to deliver to another vehicle if required or to top up Cvan diesel heater tank. Far cheaper alternative and it can be removed when not needed.
Cheers

Poly tanks are a good option, and I’ve got a couple of poly diesel tanks(and an 80L water tank) from Enmach Industries in Bundaberg. Their range of tanks appears to have been reduced lately, but I understand they do custom tanks as well.

View their range on website here. Also available on eBay at their site called Ballistic4x4.

Bob