Outer Limits 4x4 Board

PRADO SERIES 120 does any 1 have one with a bull bar and winch as ive heard that they can get a vibration from the steel b bars causing the chasis to crack has any 1 heard or had this problem

I think my dad's may be a 120 series, has no winch but does have a steel b/bar. To grab it and shake the bar, the whole car moves like any other but on the road it wobbles, but noticably more on the outer edges of the bar and strangley enough, the driving lights show no movement when they are on either.

His is due for a service soon so he is going to get them to check the mounts/chassis when its there.

Its a desighn fault with that vehicle (120 series)
Chassis rails a very close creating large wing sections on the bars which then in turn wobble, hence the gap left when fitted with bars. both major bar manafactures have had problems with this vehicle.

I told dad that if it really bugs him, we cut off the outer bars and get it re-powder coated for about $150.

I am having the same drama, it shudders, and so does the bonnet.... Toyota genuine bar, never been in an accident... :(

The Prado has very large and soft body mounts, which attributes to the soft quiet ride. This causes the body to move by a large amount when driving (around 50mm each side). It is this movement that you can see, which makes the bull bar appear to move, as it is attached to the chassis.

For this reason it is important to have a gap between the bull bar and the body to ensure that the bar does not hit the gaurds during flex. You can see this when you flex a prado on one side, with the gap in the bullbar will be quite large on one side, whilst being close on the other, even though the gaps are even when the vehicle is level.

Toyota used to fit smaller firmer body mounts to the front when fitting the factory bar, which minimised this effect. Later on they decided that this may attribute to the body cracks around the firewall and gaurds and they discontinued this. Consequently Toyota have now decided that the body cracking has nothing to do with the fitment of bull bars, or other accessories, as there have been cases of standard vehicles also having problems.

Rut . wrote:The Prado has very large and soft body mounts, which attributes to the soft quiet ride. This causes the body to move by a large amount when driving (around 50mm each side). It is this movement that you can see, which makes the bull bar appear to move, as it is attached to the chassis.

For this reason it is important to have a gap between the bull bar and the body to ensure that the bar does not hit the gaurds during flex. You can see this when you flex a prado on one side, with the gap in the bullbar will be quite large on one side, whilst being close on the other, even though the gaps are even when the vehicle is level.

Toyota used to fit smaller firmer body mounts to the front when fitting the factory bar, which minimised this effect. Later on they decided that this may attribute to the body cracks around the firewall and gaurds and they discontinued this. Consequently Toyota have now decided that the body cracking has nothing to do with the fitment of bull bars, or other accessories, as there have been cases of standard vehicles also having problems.

Holy crap... Well, the prado goes much better on the beach than the hilux.... so they are worth it.

thanks for the feed back guys