Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Thanks guys!

When the engine is hot and off, I can 'flick' the fan about a quarter turn, so I guess I need to refil that viscous coupling fluid stuff!

I've got to do the timing belt soon, so I'll replace the water pump while I'm in there and see how that goes.

Thanks! 2000 Prado V6, so it's the viscous fan. OK, I'll try the 'turning by hand when hot' thing tomorrow BTW, what would cause the heater to take so long? I think in the past, once the engine was hot the heater would blow hot air within seconds of turning it on.

Hi guys!

Yesterday I noticed my temperature running a little high, while stopped at the lights. I turned the heater on, and it took maybe a minute before hot air came through. Also, once I got moving the temperature came down quite quickly, but started climbing again when I stopped.

There seems to ...

Hi all!

I accidentally got 2nd hand wheels (and tyres) with the wrong offset, so they sit too close and rub the brakes. Are some sort of spacers / longer studs an option? I don't know anything about those.

Cheers!

Nat84 wrote:it maybe the throttle body the air by pass valve on it

Hmmm... Could you elaborate on that?

I monitored the warming up this morning. It took about three minutes of idling for the condenser to start to feel warmer.

Ok thanks! I'll try starting the car on the driveway and seeing how long the condenser takes to warm. I would have thought it would take a km or two to start warming up... How quickly should it warm?

On gas. I'm always driving on gas.

Hi all!

I've got a bit of a strange problem with my 2000 V6 prado on LPG. Sometimes the engine suddenly cuts out while I'm driving. I usually wait about 15 seconds, then crank the engine over for about 6-8 seconds before it starts again.

It always happens in the morning, as I'm slowing down ...

Well, I found a wrecker selling the steering knuckle assembly / stub axle thingy for $100, so I put that one in and it seems to be good. Yeah, after a bit more shopping around I found the bearing kits were around about $175 - $200 each! I don't think they need to be changed too often, I'm up to 225 ...

Ahhhh, I can't find my Gregory's manual for my Prado...

My front wheel bearing needs replacing. Would it be cheaper and easier for me to 1) replace the whole steering knuckle (or is it called the stub axle??) with a 2nd hand one, 2) just change the bearings, or 3) replace a smaller assembly than ...

Has anyone tried this q-bond stuff on softer plastics? I haven't found a good way to repair plastic mounting brackets on things like headlights, wheel arch flares, etc, where there is a fair bit of stress on small cross-sections.

The q-bond documentation says "Suitable for use on wood, aluminium ...

Thanks chunks! Maybe I'll get back under there and stick some loctite in there...

I called the part supplier and they said that is the biggest washer that is supplied to them, so that's what they stick in the kit, and to re-use the old one. Hmmm. The old one is gone.

I just replaced an inner rack end (the ball joint thingy between the steering rack and the tie rod, hidden under the boot) on my Prado. Between the rack and the inner rack end is a special washer, with two tabs on the inside diameter that match up with a slot on the end face of the steering rack ...

Hi! I'm considering buying a crashed car with airbags deployed. I haven't worked with them before, so does anyone know around about how much it would cost to buy the units (2x front), and is installation difficult? Thanks!

Thanks for the info. Based on what I can find on this forum, I'll go with Lovells... I got them for $270 for both.

Other prices I found:
KYB was $250 for both
ARB $212 ea
Dobinsons $290 for both
Tough Dogs $200 ea

r0ck_m0nkey wrote: One major thing you have to remember is the upper ball joint. It's you're biggest limiting factor of down travel. You'll max it's limits out before any aftermarket strut.

I was thinking along those lines, ie that the travel limits would be set by components other than the strut / spring combo.

Hi!

I have a prado with 2" lifted springs in the front, and I need new struts. Being IFS, I'd assume that the up and down travel limits haven't changed. Does that mean the strut geometry would still be standard, ie I should shop around for struts that would suit a standard prado?

(KYB's for $250 ...

Thanks for the tips! If it's going to cost much I'll give it a miss... I'm hoping that it might be really cheap out there! I've heard that the diff housing will need some mods for it to fit.

I don't know much about it, but I'd like to try getting a factory electric diff lock for my 95 series prado (I heard that some Jap models have them, but they weren't imported here). I've a friend over in Japan who could try sourcing one from the wreckers (assume he doesn't know cars), and I'll be ...

START with silcon in the fan clutch - 2 tubes, 10,000 grade. Toyota ONLY sells it. It's a 30min job. Add to what's there, don't drain it.
If that doesn't fix it, then start down the harder paths.


I hope this isn't a hijack...

I've a 3.4L v6 prado. I've done the 2 tubes of silicone oil, but ...

GUte wrote:If you do plug the sidewall (I've done many) do not ream it.
Only ream tread area.

Al.

What if the hole is too small for the plug to get in??

Ok, fair enough. Yeah, it is a big job if the tyre has to be removed from the rims. I was hoping for some sort of 'insert really small plug from outside' solution which I guess doesn't exist, so I'll probably go with the ream - plug approach.

BTW, I hear mention of ARB's tyre repair often. Is it ...

take them to a tyre shop and they will fix them up

they braze them somehow :?

Someone did take them to a tyre place, and I heard they were going to charge something like $30 - $40 a tyre to fix... I don't know how they were planning to fix 'em... so he didn't get them fixed.

Maybe we'll call ...

A few nights ago someone put holes in the sides of 5 tyres (two vehicles belonging to my friends). Not very considerate. Anyway, they are really small holes, as if they pushed a 2mm nail through it. I could plug them, but then I'd have to ream them out first. Are there any other ways to repair the ...

Dunno if this will help, but... I've got LPG and the sub tank light flashes when I'm running LPG, i.e. with the sub tank switched off. I asked around here, and apparently it's just letting me know that the main tank is missing.

Yep, it was about $10.10 a bottle.

I cracked the thing open and put one bottle's worth in. How am I meant to know how much should be in there?

Thanks, sounds better than getting another clutch!

I think the viscous coupling in my fan (V6 3.4L prado) isn't working too well. I heard that I can crack it open and top up the oil (or whatever is in there)... does anyone have any more details on how to do that or where to get the 'oil' from??

Thanks!

Hi, I've got a 3.4L V6 prado with a 2" body lift. The air intake is something like this: [Air filter box]-[rubber hose A]-[Some other unknown box]-[rubber hose B]-[intake manifold]. Now there's a kink in 'rubber hose A' due to the lift. It seems like it is fairly restricted, so although I have been ...

I tried to build my sliders lightweight, but I think I made them a bit too lightweight and they have started to break the welds near the chassis (where the bending stresses are the highest)... Besides design shortcomings, this was my first welding project since school!

Here are some pics (before ...