JohnnyDrama's 120

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

Hi all,

I've been mostly a lurker on PP since I bought my 120GXL D4D back in 2009. Originally bought it with no 4x4 Goals at all - we got it for it's touring capability and it's .. *cough* soccer mum capabilities. As time went by I slowly tried a few more things in it to the point where I'm now about to head off on my first PP trip; across the simpson.

Early on - the only real mod I'd had done was to put a nudge bar on just so i could mount some spot lights. Other than that - it's been largely stock. The real mods only started in the last 12 months or so. I've tried to do as much as i can myself in an attempt to learn about the car but on a scale of mechanical capability I'm no AJ120 / ##########.

Big thank you to all the people who have posted over the years - i've gotten a heap out of the forum.

TJM Nudge Bar
Lightforce Striker 170's
Pirelli Scorpion ATR's
Optima D34 Dual Battery with RedArc isolator
Prodigy P2 Electronic Brake Controller
Homemade False floor in rear with fridge slide
60L Engel
BFG A/T's
Cargo Barrier
TJM T13 Winch Bullbar
TJM / Airtec Snorkel
Billstein + Kings 2" Lift Combo
Uniden UH7760
RFI CDQ 5000 Black Rugged 5dbi UHF CB Antenna
Brains Transfer Case Guard

Pictures to follow

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

This was one of the primary reasons for the Prado - towing a trailer full of 12'x15' tent plus associated gear wherever we were going. Back then in 2009 we did Qld a few years in a row to get away from the SA autumn weather.... This photo was taken somewhere in SA on the way to QLD ... too long ago to remember details. I can still remember thinking how amazing it was that I couldn't feel the trailer on the back (later replaced the ridiculous looking falcon tyres on the trailer for some LT's of a bit more manly profile)And here she is in full stock trim without a single modification. This was in the rainforests in behind Coolangatta region.Fair time later but still relatively stock form driving through Wombat State Forest - it was this trip along with a Beach trip through Coffin Bay National Park that really got me into 4WD'ing. In the instance of Coffin Bay - was lucky enough to get talking to our next door neighbour in the the caravan park who wanted to go do Coffin Bay but was reluctant because they were by themselves. I was reluctant because .. well .. I was / am a noob - so was lucky enough to tag along with the nice people from Ballarat with their Hilux and had an absolute Ball. Also showcased one of the true strengths of the prado: 4 kids (2 in boosters), 2 dads, and 9 hours out driving around with a bunch of fun. I was hooked after that....

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Fast forward again ... still relatively stock at Saunders Gorge .. never could get the camera to show angular perspective



Again - still stock at SkyTrek 4WD tour just north of Wilpena Pound. This was just after they'd had to shut down part of the track. While I enjoyed it as the driver - even I had to admit there was a LOT of just dirt road driving for looong time without a lot of 4WD'ing. Well worth doing - but prepare the family for a long day and there wasn't anything extreme... Amazing part of the country though

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

By this part of the time frame I'd had the Optima D34 Battery installed as a secondary with RedArc isolator, and also the Electronic Brake Controller + an Anderson connection at the tow bar. We'd upgraded the tent for a 2010 Jayco Swan Outback at this time. Got this done by an AutoElectrician as I didn't really want to have a crack at anything as serious as brake controller and cabling all the way to the back. We'd been using esky's for the most part up till now so picking up the 60L Engel made going away so much better - not to mention - I had cold beer with me everywhere I went during the week!

So... enter my first real project. The false floor + fridge slide. I didn't have the $ for a professional job so was inspired by some of the posts on here. My only concern was a huge hunk of wood breaking lose in a collision so i used 2 layers of Ply glued and screwed together with a overdone method of locking down - thinking back i think it was 15mm structural Ply or thereabouts. I used two layers so i could recess the main holding bolts, but also to recess some sliding bolts to lock into the tie down points.

I removed the 3rd row seat anchors and got some matching high tensile bolts that fitted so i could bolt down into the seat anchors as well as leverage the tie downs on the corners. Covered it all with some marine type carpet from the local carpet shop.

In the end: I would NEVER do this again. With the amount of money I burnt through stuffing around + the time it took me to fumble my way through I reckon buying a professionally done solution would have been a much better plan ... but hey ... it kept me entertained for a few weekends

The mostly finished wood section. I used a spade bit to recess the 8 bolts before final fitting



The recessed slide bolts that locked into the factory tie down points (pre final fitting)



Finished product with fridge slide and my quality assurance assistant. I got the fridge slide from a local engineering mob in Adelaide -thought I'd give a local small mob a chance. In the end - my take on it is well made but poorly engineered. Would stick to a major brand name next time.

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

It was about this point in time some jerk decided they needed a GPS really bad ... but not the cable ... or the windscreen mount. Nor did they need the $1500 Engel that was sitting in the boot ... numpties. Although the car was in the driveway and I was outside within about 30 seconds of the window being smashed so in their defense they were in a rush ...




After fixing the window it was off to Loveday 4WD park. And the Prado really amazed me. Still stock apart from the BFG A/T's, and with saggy 4Yr old suspension which had done a heap of touring + had pulled around the Jayco Swan; and it got through stuff that I really didn't expect it to. Of the obstacles I tried I got through the vast majority and only really failed on 2. Those I failed were mostly through a lack of balls or a fear of damaging body panels more than actual vehicular ability.



It's this point in time when you realise that the GXL Option Pack with Traction Control etc was the bargain of the century. All those airbags, plus the ability to just keep crawling along and pretend you've got lockers ...

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

In the National Parks behind Merimbula. We went to Merimbula for 2 weeks around new years of 2013. What a bloody fantastic part of the world, and the NRMA caravan park is one of the best we have ever been to.

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

Now for some real mods. The TJM T13 winch bullbar and Airtec Snorkel.
I went for the TJM bullbar because i actually preferred the aesthetics, and i could get "non-rated but sort of rated painted red recovery tie down shipping pionts" that fitted alongside the bullbar. Went with the colour coding despite some serious fears of the paint being a different colour due to 4 years of sun on the car vs the bullbar. In the end - you can tell they're not the same colour but they're close enough that it's better than the standard black. I'm happy with the bar - but - after fitting my UHF antenna - I REALLY DON'T LIKE how TJM designed the mounting points. All the structural braces are right around the mounting hole in the bull bar so it's a PITA tightening the bolts.

I wanted the airtec snorkel because I liked how it looked a little bit streamlined compared to the alternatives.



I'd also fitted the cargo barrier by now

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

Suspension Time !!!

With the PP Simpson Desert trip coming up I didn't want to be dragging my rear fuel tank up and down every single bloody sand dune. Enter PradoPoint sponser WholeSale Suspension; they had a free shipping sale on so figured the time was right and pulled the trigger on the bilstein + Kings 2" lift combo. Went for the standard springs. Got some really good advice and service from Jason and the kit all rocked up in a timely fashion.

With the able assistance of my brother who knows how to screw a screw, and .. bolt a ... bolt ... we got to it. The job was made much easier by all those awesome guys who shared their experiences on pradopoint before us: "standing on the shoulders of giants" and all that ... All work was constantly monitored by the workshop foreman to ensure a high quality



Not really much point in showing before / after photos - it's been done to death already. But in case anyone is interested, here's a shot of the extended sway bar link pins that come with the Wholesale Suspension Kit



The only real challenges we had were accidentally popping a grease seal on one of the tie rod ends when putting it all back together ... Don't ask .. it was my fault. Took it in to W.E.B Suspension on the monday to get a wheel alignment and the put in new Tie Rods for me. Didn't cost anything ridiculous.

All up - the job took us WAY longer than expected. 3/4 of a carton, a half bottle of Bonded Beam and 2 steak sandwiches. Oh .. and about 10 hours. (we also started the diff breathers)

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

And next - the UHF + Antenna. Got them online via ebay which ended up being from Prestigecom.net for what i thought was a really good price. I went for a Uniden UH7760 - mainly because it had the controls in the handset, and it was cheap (the mods leading up to the Simpson trip were adding up) and a RFI CDQ 5000 Black Rugged 5dbi antenna. Around the same time also picked up a Tyredog TPMS off Ebay for about $150.

Mounted the head unit here:



Thanks to WizudofOz's posts tipping me off to the useful mounting point. His thread with detailed pictures and explanations can be found here: http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...hlight=ANtenna

Figured these pipes (AC Piping?) were a good spot to tie down the excess cabling to keep it all neat



The foreman had had a gut-full by now

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

This is it all in place with the heater duct back in place



and it all finished up with the kick panels back in place and the cabling tidied up. I used the opportunity of having everything pulled apart to tidy up the Brake controller cabling that I had done for me, and also to "permanantise" the cable for the ScanGuage



And that pretty much gets me up to speed.

I've ordered in a 100L rear foot well water bladder from flexitank. Have a Rhino Pioneer Platform going on in the next week + Foxwing awning plus much much more

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Non-Prado stuff

And here's some non prado stuff. After a recent seperation i found myself with too much time on my hands a ready supply of bourbon, and the internet. No - it's not what you think.
For some reason i suddenly decided my 4-D maglite wasn't bright enough.

Enter this beast. It's a drop-in LED replacement fitting from Malkoff in the U.S - the Malkoff 3-4D dropin. It's good for 700 Lumens and is a Cree XM-L2 LED (not that that means anything to me) What does make sense to me is the warning on the installation instructions that it'll burn your freakin eyeballs if you look at it. It is VERY bright - but you do lose most of the beam adjustment. Its kind of semi locked into a spread beam.



At the same time - i got sick of the kids flattening my expensive D-cell batteries so bought some AA -> D Cell adapters. They take 2 x AA batteries and house them in a chassis the shape of a D-Cell - so you can use good, efficient AA rechargeables instead of buying D-Cell batteries. You don't get quite as long a burn time out of them but you get the same volts, brightness etc, and you can recharge.

Oh Yeah, the Makers Mark told my my current batteries and charger were lame so I ended up with what is supposed to be the shizzle nizzle of rechargers and some good quality batteries. Don't ask for $ please.

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

Transmission Cooler

Because it was initially bought as an around the city type car which the wife would drive mostly we bought it as an automatic. A few beach runs, plus the dunes at Loveday had the Scanguage reading 100+ degrees for the transmission fluid so before the Simpson trip i thought it'd be wise to put in a cooler.

Went to 4WD systems at Holden Hill for the work and I'm very happy with what they did. I didn't want to trust myself with something as critical as this - could see me on the top of a dune on the Simpson with transmission fluid bleeding everywhere. They installed a 30,000 BTU cooler all done and dusted for around $600 which was way cheaper than Toyota quoted - surprise ...

Interestingly - they completely bypassed the radiator loop in the install. They left all the radiator pipework in place and cable tied up so that if the cooler ever got punctured, I could clip the ties, and just plumb the original OEM cooling lines back in place. I initially wasn't sure if this would then leave me with under temp ATF in cold weather but it seems to be fine - hangs around 60 - 70 degrees in town once up to temp, and I kind of like the fall back plan for when trouble strikes.

A fair bit of the cooler fits in behind the fan too.

[Smithy - 120 D4D Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smithy - 120 D4D]

Nice build-up johnnydrama! Some nice photos of the prado at work too.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Johnny have you got a link to the Cree retrofit for the mag light? The mag light makes a good cosh but not much of a light compared to the LED options.

Edit: don't worry, found it.

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

I think they hand make the LED dropins so they will show up as out of stock. Tick the box to get notified when they are back in stock. For me i think i waited bout a week. Freight cost was absolutely horrendous but it was packed up really safely.

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