Glen's 95 series Prado getting broken in

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Hi Glen,

10 months, thats a joke! Probably installed by an apprentice that pressed them in by the inner race, or a cheap nasty chinese bearing. Can you see the brand on the bearing?

Also poor form from SPC. Looks like a dog of a job without a press!

I see you use Cable Ties to hold your caliper up. You seem to do a lot of work on your car yourself, sacrifice a coat hanger and cut two lengths and make two 'S' shapes with more of a curve on the tail ends with the two pieces. Put one end through one of the bolt holes of the caliper bracket and hook the other over the Spring or UCA. I used the same two I made for years when I was a Tech and still using them to this day. Saves wasting cable ties!

Well I'm unable to prove who's to blame, but I have little faith in the installer. The bearings are from Repco, with warranty - they replaced the parts, and should be refunding the labour cost soon

Thanks mate; that's a great tip regarding the brake calipers. I'll definitely do it next time

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Is the inner steel collar free to turn when the arm is bolted on or is it firmly clamped against the chassis mount? If the latter is true it would be important to install the arm as it would sit on level ground, so the bushing isn't being stressed 100% of the time.

Either way though, 10 months is pretty poor show considering the OEM ones lasted +10 years.

The steel collar is bolted in very firmly, so yes, the tightening and correct torque must be applied with the vehicle resting on the ground in it's natural position. SPC have assumed this is where things went wrong with my vehicle, but it's part of the instructions, and I remember very clearly doing it that way.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

[Serg_49 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Serg_49]

Hi Glen, just read through your modifications. Have the only thing to say, you're the man!!!! Your Prado looks fantastic. Found a few very interesting ideas for my Prado. Here in Russia at the place I live in, we have slightly different offroad from what you have(can see a few videos on my youtube channel My YouTube channel, here are some videos from Russia), and almost no restrictions from goverment side on modification of our 4x4s.
Right now I am thinking about moving to 33" and I want to try it with only suspension lift... I have a question for you. Here in Russia australian 4x4 gear seems t obe the best of what you can buy. So I am looking for suspension mods, especially for springs. And I think that nobody rather then australian man can tell what is the best brand from australian suspension. I already have Tough Dog TDC971 for my front(it will be installed with 25mm spacers between coil-overs and frame) and I am still thinkig about rear part. Tough Dog maximum lift for Prado is 40-50mm with TDC973H. I am afraid that it wil not be enough. So I am thinking about 2" front springs from Nissan Patrol(we know it as Nissan Safari). Right now I have stock Patrol springs installed, they work just great for Prado, but for my future mods it is not enough. Do you know if anybody tried to do this? And sorry for my English, it is not my native ;-)

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

Apparently 40 tonne of pressure was not enough to remove the bearings, it had to be cut out with an oxy.

Holy moly! 40 tones couldn't budge it? Did they remove the snap ring from the knuckle before pressing? (don't answer that)

Did you get before an after measurements for the coil packers? I'm guessing you got another 10mm yeah?

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Hi Glen, just read through your modifications. Have the only thing to say, you're the man!!!! Your Prado looks fantastic. Found a few very interesting ideas for my Prado. Here in Russia at the place I live in, we have slightly different offroad from what you have(can see a few videos on my youtube channel My YouTube channel, here are some videos from Russia), and almost no restrictions from goverment side on modification of our 4x4s.
Right now I am thinking about moving to 33" and I want to try it with only suspension lift... I have a question for you. Here in Russia australian 4x4 gear seems t obe the best of what you can buy. So I am looking for suspension mods, especially for springs. And I think that nobody rather then australian man can tell what is the best brand from australian suspension. I already have Tough Dog TDC971 for my front(it will be installed with 25mm spacers between coil-overs and frame) and I am still thinkig about rear part. Tough Dog maximum lift for Prado is 40-50mm with TDC973H. I am afraid that it wil not be enough. So I am thinking about 2" front springs from Nissan Patrol(we know it as Nissan Safari). Right now I have stock Patrol springs installed, they work just great for Prado, but for my future mods it is not enough. Do you know if anybody tried to do this? And sorry for my English, it is not my native ;-)

Hi Serg,

Thankyou for the praise! I've subscribed to your channel

I found that upgrading from 32's to 33's improved off road ability a lot, so it's well worth the trouble in my opinion.

I've been running 2" ARB/OME suspension for about 3 years now, and it's never let me down. Unfortunately I cannot offer advice on alternative brands, because I have not tried any other brands.

For the rear suspension, the common solution for more than 2" lift is 80 series springs and coils. There's a few people on this forum who have that setup. It does gain height, but I think we've been able to confirm that it does not offer increased articulation. For some further reading on 80 series and OME options, head over to this 4runner page - but remember that the 4runner is a lighter vehicle, so when they say 3.5" lift, expect 2.5" instead: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...tion-faqs.html

I'll be researching different options for the rear soon, because I also want to upgrade them. Unfortunately however, I haven't had the time yet

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Holy moly! 40 tones couldn't budge it? Did they remove the snap ring from the knuckle before pressing? (don't answer that)

Did you get before an after measurements for the coil packers? I'm guessing you got another 10mm yeah?

Hey Mate,
I did measure the front quickly and it seemed 10/15mm higher, but that's without the bash plate, so not my official results yet Maybe this weekend. Also, I'll have to visit the MX ramp one day to see if it has impacted articulation

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

Are you replacing the ball joints too?

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Are you replacing the ball joints too?

Nah... I considered it, but they didn't seem to have any movement, so no point. I have some steering rack bushes arriving soon though, so that'll be next, which would mean all front end bushes are new I just wonder how long they'll last with these damn tyres.. MT vibrations and poor balance cause a lot of wear on all these parts

[Serg_49 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Serg_49]

Hi Serg,

Thankyou for the praise! I've subscribed to your channel

I found that upgrading from 32's to 33's improved off road ability a lot, so it's well worth the trouble in my opinion.

I've been running 2" ARB/OME suspension for about 3 years now, and it's never let me down. Unfortunately I cannot offer advice on alternative brands, because I have not tried any other brands.

For the rear suspension, the common solution for more than 2" lift is 80 series springs and coils. There's a few people on this forum who have that setup. It does gain height, but I think we've been able to confirm that it does not offer increased articulation. For some further reading on 80 series and OME options, head over to this 4runner page - but remember that the 4runner is a lighter vehicle, so when they say 3.5" lift, expect 2.5" instead: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...tion-faqs.html

I'll be researching different options for the rear soon, because I also want to upgrade them. Unfortunately however, I haven't had the time yet

Ok, started to read through 4Runner thread. But you know what I found interesting? I just tried 80's springs. They are much longer then my Patrol's springs, but rod is much thiner. I will attach photo there you could see the difference. It is at least 100mm longer, but when I put it on Prado this spring really sugged. The height with 80's springs is the same as with stock Patrol's springs + 25mm spacers. But 80's springs looks too soft for me. So for me personnaly Patrol's springs are better. I think 2" light load springs from Patrol could be very good for Prado. Question is just where to take them to try

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

[MDST Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDST]

What I missed! Not have much time for anything!

Bad news on light racing UCA´s. Makes me wonder if it's worth installing them or sell them and stay with the OEM ones.

Cheers