Getting Organised.

[dooguss]

Good morning all jsut thought i'd ask a few questions on what else i should need to do to the prado before we head of to the cape. Work so far over the last few weeks has been ARB diff breather extentions, and safari snorkel, today shes in getting recall mounts on the bullbar done and winch cradle fitted. Over the weekend Leanne took it down for tyre rotation and to ask if the cooper st's needed replacing before we head of and was told the tyers are still good for another 20000kms so to those with cape expierence is that going to be enough good tread for the conditions. The question I'm struggling with is to replace the 4yr old TJM shockies now or do I buy new 1's and put them on, or just carry them as spare but the last thing i want to be doing is stopping on the side of the road replacing shockies.In the next month it will be back to ARB for rated recovery points and a winch installed,and then a full service in May before we leave.

So I'm wondering is there anything else i need to be looking at doing before i go and i'm asking other myswaggers that are going or have advice what are you doing to get your vehicle ready??   

[hen]

Hi
I've go a old 95 model triton that has done 27000 odd km on it. Gone through and replace all wheel bearing, diff bearings, uni joints and repacked my cv's.  I have done diff breathers, gear box breather, new  heavy torsion bars so that most of my running gear is re con. I hope to have no trouble with that side things I don't if  the doors can fall off as long as the wheels don't.
Pete
Nahh, never broke down yet
Jayne

[Malcur]

Hi gregnleanne, I've also got a Prado. I am looking at diff breather extensions & front recovery points. Did you get the diff breather extensions done or was it DIY, and how much? And how much for the recovery points?

Mal

[dooguss]

Hi Mal
          it was an ARB kit cost me $68 and $150 to fit  they ran out of time in doing the transmission 1 because they cant find it might have to come through the interior of the car. Recovery points were $100 wont know on how much because they have to pull the radiator out to drill another hole and fit them so i can tell you more in a week or 2.
                                                           Greg                               

[Malcur]

Thanks, Greg.

Mal

[jetcrew]

Greg,

As far as the shockies go ,get them checked and if they are stuffed replace them. No point taking new ones up as spares ,because if one fails and you only put one new one in it may well take a hidding if the compressions are better than the other one or 3.(ie your 1 new one will cop a flogging.

You would then need to change both on front/back.

if and I say if they are a bit tired then fit the new ones and take 2 old ones as spares just in case.

I am in the same boat at present thinking about shockies mine have done 80,000 and a few trips to weipa in that with the boat on so I am also thinking of replacments ,done here at home rather than on the side of the road up there or worse.

Suspension is what keeps the tyre on the road and on theses roads good susp can not be over stated. Infact I would put new shockies on before i spent money on other things that may or may not be used the shockies WILL be used and very harshly. When you pull we pull up at Archer river wrap your hand around your front shockies(don't) but what i'm saying is that they will be too hot to touch as they have worked hard absorbing the corros and keeping the car under controll.

When the corros start to cause a bouncing effect and it builds up then the shockies are the only thing keeping your wheels on the ground.

If they are 50/50 the $500 on 4 new shockies will be money well spent. Like I said you will like most of us spend much more than that on stuff you will never use.

But like I said get a good asses of thier condition ,but make sure the persons knows the envirionment you will going in to, as cape york is the high end of operating envirionment for shockies and 1 trip up there will submitt your suspension to years of normal use in 2 weeks.

I'm not a suspension expert or anything so please take my opinions as just that my personal opinion ,check with more suitable qualified people for more expert opinion.

Jetcrew

[rodsswag]

You have been reading my mind Greg.
My suspention is the last thing for me to sort out and is going to get done this week. 
Other than that bull bar, winch, diff breathers, recovery points and a bit of side protection is all sorted out.


Rod......

[VKPrado]

Hi Mal
          it was an ARB kit cost me $68 and $150 to fit  they ran out of time in doing the transmission 1 because they cant find it might have to come through the interior of the car. Recovery points were $100 wont know on how much because they have to pull the radiator out to drill another hole and fit them so i can tell you more in a week or 2.
                                                           Greg                             

With regards to the recovery points, only the bottom two bolts need to be removed and the top two loosened to drill the hole out a bit bigger (can not think of the size right now). Not a big job at all. If you wanted to see how it is done have a search on Pradopoint.com and it should shed some light on it.

[Frostd]

Gregnleanne, having done the Cape last year and following on from what Jetcrew said, I would put new shocks under the tug. You said they are 4 yrs old. Time to replace.  The roads up there will test any vehicle and its components, espiecally the shockies.  I put an entire new suspension system under my 02 Patrol, with a 2 inch lift and new shocks.  They worked a treat. 

[dooguss]

Thanks for your input Jetcrew,Frostd and Rodsswag  i was leaning towards new shockies before we leave but you words of wisdom have probably put the nail in the coffin so to speak on that topic i;d prefer to have something new under me  not really have to worry about it  then to go the whole worrying.                                                                                                                                       Vkprado i did read that on pradopoint as i told ARB thats what they had to do to put the new recovery points on but they didnt listen to  me so when i went to pick the car up 3 weeks ago they told me i had to rebook to have them done because they ran  out of time as they didnt realise they had to remove bolts from the radiator, but thank you for your help.

[McGirr]

Just wondering how everyone is progressing on their preparation.

This is where I am up to....

For the cruiser:

I have air bags to put in

Cargo barrier to install

UHF radio to buy and install

Roof rack to buy and install


For the camper :

Double nut the ubolts

Check wheel bearings

Buy spare u bolts , nuts , bearings , split pins etc

Attach quickfist clamps to mount shovel

Find small pieces of timber to use as a base for the bottle jack , jockey wheel etc


Other stuff:

Buy weber baby q and pizza stone

Update recovery gear

Write up list of food to take

Pre pack camper with containers

Check kitchen and cooking gear

Buy new camping pots and pans

But the main thing is working out how much alcohol to take including what cocktails I will be making.

May have to leave some of the food out. 


Just some advice I take enough meat etc to last me till Seisa then I buy from the abattoir or the supermarket. They have nice hot chickens and groceries.

Fruit and fresh veges etc I carry in a foam box in the cruiser.

Bread I buy is whole meal , a good brand, and suck the air from the bag and wrap in foil and newspaper. The bread lasts a week doing that.

Mark

[disco1]

  My old girl is a 1995 model 4x4 van, air con is a joke never used and the shockers are two years old, diesel motor with 138k
  bullbar snorkel, toyo tyres about 10k when i get to Cairns and fitting rear wheel carrier, front recovery points, roofrack,diff/gearbox
  breathers, second battery, not dust proof and not to mention the odd oil leaks and rattles.
  Not fitting a winch or diff lockers.

  Mauri 

[jetcrew]

Well I got a little more organised today..

Had the rear locker fitted and finished off the cargo barrier and divider set up. Tomorrow I have a camper job in the morning then I will attempt to finish off the kitchen and fridge slides.

Not also got some 4.75T d shackles from ARB $15 each and they had a box full... good price I thought Gal finish too.

Jet

[Symon]

I am sooo far behind in the preparation for this year.

Things I've done -

Fitted new diff breathers

Thing I am yet to do -

Fit the new 33's
Work out some way of carrying the two spare 33's
Overhaul the winch
Get some bar work done
Fit the water tanks
Overhaul the alternator
Replace the steering damper
Replace the steel winch rope with plasma rope
Fit a third battery for the fridge (no camper this trip)
Major service

I'm sure there is more ....

[McGirr]

Symon that's not like you 

Mark

[dooguss]

Winch is fitted, dvd player for the kids fitted (thanks daz) breathers are in, snorkle is on in a few weeks new tough dog going under her and 2 new st maxx;s on the back. Then in June a major service and the car is ready. Camper is sorted made a new mudflap and installed under the tool box to try and save the paint work and stil looking for the right water tank fittings for spares, so all and all just about ready to go. I keep looking at all this stuff leanne keeps buying and thinking where the hell is it going to fit.

[jetcrew]

Oh yeah ..you reminded me symon .

Alternator overhauled this week also , went from a lazy 13.2v to 14.2v much happier now.

But bad/good news is I think the clutch ,master and slave cyld just got added to my list. I am having nightmares where I hope in the car and push the pedal through the floor. With nearly 300K on the clock and the fact that I am only using the very top end of the pedal. I think it will be good insurance to get it done before I go. And a new Rear Main seal while I'm there.

One good thing about these trips is that it forces you to do the things you would otherwise neglect if not going away.  At least thats what I tell myself.

Jet

[jk]

My pilot stopped in today from Warwick,........ he's got it all organised  ,...... 6 x new KM2's on the V8 Cruiser Ute ( 2 x spares ), new front Pro Locker to match the one in the rear, Water pump for the tap/tank, rear under body draw custom made and fitted to carry all the recovery gear and dirty bits and a full Toyota Service.............she's ready to roll 


Bring it 

The Winch Bitch 
jk

[McGirr]

My pilot stopped in today from Warwick,........ he's got it all organised  ,...... 6 x new KM2's on the V8 Cruiser Ute ( 2 x spares ), new front Pro Locker to match the one in the rear, Water pump for the tap/tank, rear under body draw custom made and fitted to carry all the recovery gear and dirty bits and a full Toyota Service.............she's ready to roll 


Bring it 

The Winch Bitch 
jk

JK I give you at least half a day before you tell Mick to move over and let you drive.

If Mick becomes the winch bitch he will drown in half the creeks. For those people who have never met Mick he is only 4 feet tall 

Mark

Mark

[jk]

He's the Captain this year mate and I'd never deprive anyone the thrill of driving the OTL and the rest of the Cape York adventure, but if he should fall foul of American Honey Fever then I guess I could put in a few hours behind the wheel   

[Symon]

Do you have to tie blocks to his feet so he can reach the pedals?

[McGirr]

Mick has a big booster seat so he can see over the windscreen.

JK I can see you pouring American honey on his cereal !!!

Mark

[Symon]

Well yesterday has not been good to my wallet.

Popped in a 3" exhaust system into the cruiser, the turbo spools up pretty quick now! - $1300
Asked the guys to check the brakes while it was up on the hoist as they felt a bit weak.  Yeah, well.  4 x rotors, 4 x wheel bearings, new pads all round and 2 x flex hoses - $1500
Like my wife, the cruiser also wanted new boots - $1900

Ouch.  On the upside I like these boots...





Bring on the cape!!

[blackcat]

took my car in to get the brakes checked yesterday, need new rotors and pads on the front, rear rotors need machining and new pads, $680, getting that done tomorrow.

[Frostd]

Symon, that truck of yours should be unstoppable on this trip to the Cape.   There should be no excuses for any stoppages . Good luck.