L31 Extreme Budget Build

[L31MaxExpress]

Man, you can't post crap like that without links! The cheapest I've been able to find female terminals is $11 for 25, and I'm almost out.

For the uninformed, Packard 56/59 were the standard automotive terminals for decades before everything went weatherproofed metric. They're still used on lawnmowers. They can carry more current than most other terminals you normally find - 48 amps, but they have no weatherproofing. The proper crimpers are usually around $150, but if you hunt around you can find them as "cheap" as $80.

This place sells just about any pin or connector body you could ever need. Their search function works pretty decently as well.

Delphi 56 Series Terminals | Custom Connector Kits

Delphi 56 Series terminals in stock. Orders placed before 2pm PT ship same day. Free shipping to the US on orders $25 or more!

www.customconnectorkits.com

The ratcheting crimpers I have were $40 ($45 now) came with the die set to crimp them. 04B attachment is the one that crimps both the wire and strain relief on those stepped terminals in one single crimp. Mine probably have 2,000 crimps on them now and they are working great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08DRCRRCQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

[L31MaxExpress]

This is the quality of crimps those IWISS crimpers delivered when I was first learning how to mess with the various crimps. I have also discovered those open ferrule crimps. Strip the wire, insert it into the open barrel and crimp both the strain relief and wire in one crimp. The wire will snap before you pull the wire out of the crimp. Smear a little dielectric grease on it, slide the heat shrink you put on the wire over the joint before you crimped it and shrink it down. The heat shrink will force the dielectric grease into all the seams and crevices. It now has a solid, weatherproof connection that will last you for years.

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[L31MaxExpress]

The thing I need to find is a quality bitumen in a spray for a decent price to reseal those connectors. I feel I will seal all the connectors in the thing. The HVAC blower relay, blower resistor, and headlight connections were all left open since 1987 and need the connectors and connector bodies replaced due to corrosion. I will add some bitumen sealer to all of them after to try to add some corrosion resistance.

 

[Scooterwrench]

bitumen?

 

[L31MaxExpress]

bitumen?

It is the stuff you find on vehicles that seals off the older open wiring connectors and seals your ac/heater box to the firewall on 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s stuff. Modern butyl tape is similar. Kind of like a black tar that resembles hardened candle wax. Before they had the plastic poly wiring harness loom they actually used cloth with bitumen/asphault on it for the harness looming.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

This is what the bitumen spray looks like when you coat the bulkhead connector with it to seal out moisture that would otherwise quickly ruin your connections and connectors. It looks scary but lacquer thinner eats it off easily merely soaking the connecter in it for a few hours or overnight. The lacquer thinner disolves it right off and out of the connections without hurting the harness or plastic connector bodies.

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[454cid]

I kind of assumed that stuff was poured in warm/hot on the back side of the connector.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I kind of assumed that stuff was poured in warm/hot on the back side of the connector.

It may have been from the factory. Years ago we had a recall at Nissan on the older, late 90s Frontiers and Xterras. Corrosion getting into the fuel pump connector causing the engine to stall. You inspected for corrosion, corrected it if found and resealed the connector. The recall kit had a weird one time use plastic manifold with a straw attached to it. You laid it over the wiring connector snapping it in place and hooked the straw to a can of the bitumen sealer and shot it in.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Looking at MSDS and CAS number, I just found a suitable looking replacement. It showed up in a google search for Bitumen Spray. It is a rubberized bitumen spray using methyl alcohol as a thinner to make it flow and spray. Alot cheaper than what I remember the cans of stuff from Bosch costing. As Derick at VGG always says, I'll be dipped. Now it has me checking if inexpensive rubberized undercoat is the same stuff.

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[L31MaxExpress]

Also turns out 3M 3584 is even cheaper and basically the same exact stuff. A $13 can covers 20-25 sq/ft. That is a lot of connector bodies that can be sealed up. This stuff is all basically Asphault, mixed with Toulene and Methanol with Propane and Butane used as a propellent.