Hello. I'm Prepping a 95 for a year around Africa.

[simon forbes]

Hi, my name's Simon Forbes

I'm new to the forum (and fairly new to forums generally - sorry if I don't know the protocol straightaway)

I'm preparing a land cruiser 95 2001 3 litre diesel for a one year tour of africa mainly on back roads but also off road in game reserves etc.

I'm wondering what's the best way to avoid damage to the underside of the vehicle from rocks etc. Two possibilities seem to be:

1 Adding plates to the sump gearbox transfer box etc.

2 Jacking up the suspension a few inches (with the obvious disadvantages)

The cruiser will have two occupants and 450kg of weight in the back (equipment, supplies etc)

I'd be grateful for any advice on which would be better or any other mods that people have tried.

Thanks in advance

Simon

 

[MarkW]

Hi Simon, welcome to the forum.

The 95 is a pretty good choice for an overlander, its what I use mine for . Does yours have all the original underguards still? there should be 2 metal under the engine and sump and then 2 plastic protecting the gearbox and transfer box. If these are in good condition then you don't really need much more with careful driving

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Welcome to the forum, as Mark says the 95 is a good choice especially with the D4D engine.
Great intro by the way, the type we like. Keep us informed with pics as well.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Hey Simon, Welcome to the forum. Personally I would jack up the suspension anyway. The more clearance you have the better in Africa (although as you say there are obvious disadvantages so don't go crazy!). We've got a 40mm lift kit on ours and that was fine.

Any idea of your route yet or are you still in the planning stage?

 

[simon forbes]

Hi Simon, welcome to the forum.

The 95 is a pretty good choice for an overlander, its what I use mine for . Does yours have all the original underguards still? there should be 2 metal under the engine and sump and then 2 plastic protecting the gearbox and transfer box. If these are in good condition then you don't really need much more with careful driving

Hi Simon, welcome to the forum.

The 95 is a pretty good choice for an overlander, its what I use mine for . Does yours have all the original underguards still? there should be 2 metal under the engine and sump and then 2 plastic protecting the gearbox and transfer box. If these are in good condition then you don't really need much more with careful driving

Thanks Mark,

There's a plate under the engine and also the petrol tank seems to have one. Not the gearbox/transfer box though. I'll look into getting the others replaced.
I expect I'll have a few more questions when I get on to the wiring/leisure battery setup.

All the best

Simon

 

[simon forbes]

Hey Simon, Welcome to the forum. Personally I would jack up the suspension anyway. The more clearance you have the better in Africa (although as you say there are obvious disadvantages so don't go crazy!). We've got a 40mm lift kit on ours and that was fine.

Any idea of your route yet or are you still in the planning stage?

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your advice, I'm inclined to give it a bit more clearance too, although I believe the cv joints don't really like the steeper angle.

The plan is to ship it to Cape town and then basically it's a big figure of eight route to avoid the dodgier countries before shipping it home from Cape Town a year later.

All the best

Simon

 

[Bert]

Hi Simon. Looks like a marvelous plan you have there, good luck. There should be two engine under cover plates at the front, the photos I've attached are off my '97 95 series Prado so should be the same as yours I think. Regards, Simon

 

[MarkW]

If you can find the missing plastic ones for a decent price they do a decent job but could easily be replaced with a sheet of metal to deflect anything that gets thrown up

 

[Chris]

Raising the underside of a Colorado isn't really something that you can do in a big way. For every 1" of tyres you add, of course you only get 1/2" of lift. With the limits on tyres sizes, you soon run out of options before they rub. 255.85.16 will generally give you max lift without rubbing. You can put a suspension lift in, but that doesn't lift everything much higher either before you run into CV angles as you point out and then you need a diff drop kit. So you can do a mix of both but that starts to get expensive and messes with the car. Given that the 95 is a great vehicle to begin with, I'd go with extra protection underneath to protect it from the odd occasion where you may have an Ooops moment. I had the full length ASFIR plates on Lil Blue and they really covered all the dangly bits as well as making the underside much more snag free.

Not sure if Trev sold the plates that were on there when he scrapped it. Hey, Trev ......

 

[Trevor]

Yep, I've still got the front and middle plates............and the rear diff guard too. All available via PM.

 

[Dave_S]

What Chris said. Its more a question of longevity than off road performance IMHO.

Upgrade where you need to, leave stock otherwise.

Or buy a 80 ;-)

 

[Chris]

Upgrading the suspension is something I'd most certainly do and that will in most cases give you some lift because that's simply the nature of replacement kit. You will be carrying quite a bit of weight and in places hitting some rough terrain so having dampers and springs rated to cope with the oscillation and heat build up is important in preventing failure, naturally.
Just thinking about the ASFIR plates, they were for a SWB. The front one will fit but not sure about the back one.

All the same, I'd deff go with full belly plates like those. Peace of mind at a stroke.

 

[Gary Stockton]

x2 on ASFIR plates - they are solid. And also on a mild suspension upgrade - at least to heavier load springs (+50kg front and +200kg rear) - you will catch the middel-mannetjie already on the dirt tracks in Bots, Zim and Namibia - no sense in dragging your arse through it all as well, or nose-diving under braking into the side of the track ....

Good luck on your travels and prep work - a lot to be done. There are some really top suppliers in Cape Town, so have a look to them as well, as the £:Rand is a bit in your favour. Whatever else you do on bash plates and suspension, please make sure you attend to the cooling system if this is not a D-4d motor ... far too many horror stories of cooling system issues on the 3litre td once in the boonies - you just do not need that stress, especially if stuck in remote parts of Bots or Nam or Zambia or Zim where you are far from help and parts may not be easy to get.

Have a look at landcruiserclub.co.za if you haven't already for loads of help and support when in sunny SA.

Have fun

 

[Bob]

Or buy a 80 ;-)

Watching this with interest. The 95 is a very tough truck in fairness, IFS has its place, despite what the 80 loyalists might say!

If you baseline your truck to a good level with bushes, ball joints, UJs, and underbody protection, then it'll take you pretty much anywhere. (We must remember that many people crossed Africa in Peugeot 504s and w123 Mercs on crappy road tyres)

 

[Shayne]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your advice, I'm inclined to give it a bit more clearance too, although I believe the cv joints don't really like the steeper angle. Simon

A 2 inch suspension lift is very common on the 90 series , the only broken cv joints i have come across were from people who either tried to go more than 2" or from those who fitted a front locker .

 

[Andykdj95]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your advice, I'm inclined to give it a bit more clearance too, although I believe the cv joints don't really like the steeper angle.

The plan is to ship it to Cape town and then basically it's a big figure of eight route to avoid the dodgier countries before shipping it home from Cape Town a year later.

All the best

Simon

 

[Andykdj95]

Hi Simon
I also have a 95 which I'm preparing for Africa
It's also a 2001 d4d, have been adding bits for about a year now lol. Even down to a ctek split charger for a fridge. I'm actually in Cape Town now as my move is going to be permanent and I'm here for 2 weeks sorting a few things out. Will be good to keep in touch for information like shipping especially, have you looked into this yet? I'm planning to leave UK in December, what about you?