Who is doing what maintenance today?

[clivehorridge]

Well, it isn't being done today, but I've just ordered a Pedders lift kit from the trusty folk at Rough Trax...... Hoping it does all it say it will do on the tin, as she wallows a little on corners at present. Almost excited

Oh Bert, be exited.

If you're replacing all the bushings as well, it will transform the ride, like a new truck... IME

 

[Bert]

Oh Bert, be exited.

If you're replacing all the bushings as well, it will transform the ride, like a new truck... IME

Good day to you Clive. Ok, I admit, I'm a little more excited today. The new shocks should be with me by lunchtime Regarding the bushings, they are not in the pipeline right now, but I can see that some of them need attention and I plan to address what I can some time in the not too distant future I hope. Can you offer any advice as to which ones how? Or are there existing threads on this marvelous forum somewhere that you can point me in the direction of?

Regards,

Simon

 

[clivehorridge]

Good day to you Clive. Ok, I admit, I'm a little more excited today. The new shocks should be with me by lunchtime Regarding the bushings, they are not in the pipeline right now, but I can see that some of them need attention and I plan to address what I can some time in the not too distant future I hope. Can you offer any advice as to which ones how? Or are there existing threads on this marvelous forum somewhere that you can point me in the direction of?

Regards,

Simon

The question of which bushes to fit seems to be a matter of preference Simon. I went with OME poly bushes, but over the years since fitment, I'm tending to revert to OEM bushes.

There's a train of thought that the poly bushes give a harsher ride and as a consequence actually add more stress to suspension components. I'm not particularly convinced either way, but what I have concluded is that the castor angle on my 80 series has been an issue. You won't be affected by that on your Prado I guess, but if you do mainly asphalt with occasional off-road, you'd probably appreciate retaining the comfort factor of rubber bushings.

 

[Bert]

.... the poly bushes give a harsher ride and as a consequence actually add more stress to suspension components.....

I've heard something similar and it seems logical.

 

[Shayne]

Good day to you Clive. Ok, I admit, I'm a little more excited today. The new shocks should be with me by lunchtime Regarding the bushings, they are not in the pipeline right now, but I can see that some of them need attention and I plan to address what I can some time in the not too distant future I hope. Can you offer any advice as to which ones how? Or are there existing threads on this marvelous forum somewhere that you can point me in the direction of?

Regards,

Simon

I went for Whiteline bushes from Roughtrax mainly because they were the only alternative to superpro (other than genuine which i assume will cost a million pounds ?) that i could find .

I can't say if they are actually the best choice but with the Collie axle mounts being a known weak point i figured they need all the help they can get .

Search the web for broken mounts and you will usually see pretty coloured bushes attached which might help you draw your own conclusions .

As for how to do it - prop up the frame , pull the wheels off and unbolt arms . Its not a fun job but its not complicated either .

 

[Bert]

As for how to do it - prop up the frame , pull the wheels off and unbolt arms . Its not a fun job but its not complicated either .

Hi Shayne. I love uncomplicated jobs! In anticipation of easy jobs, I've been spraying my current shocks with penetrant spray over the last few weeks hoping this will greatly assist with their removal. Regarding weak axle mounts, is this down to corrosion or just poor engineering?

 

[MarkW]

Poor engineering then corrosion. Mine broke with standard OEM bushes but it was rust that killed then.

I've used whiteline bushes on the back of mine, been on for 3 years, mostly mileage has been on my Morocco Trips and they are doing well.

An advantage with the whiteline ones is you don't need a press to fit them

 

[Shayne]

This is me upsetting the Mrs again

The hoops are sleeved with steel which needs to be removed to make the new bush fit . I found it very easy to crease the sleeve by tapping an narrow wood chisel in then remove the blade from a hacksaw loop it through fix it back to the handle and cut the crease .

Two bushes had been changed before and i can only guess a lamedrover mechanic did it using i know not what method leaving bits of the old sleeve to rust in solid

I left these to soak in a solution i have that is very similar to acid brick cleaner .

Prop the axle either side and where it meets the prop shaft and other than that you need a 17mm and 19mm socket and spanner . The socket won't fit on the lowest bolt behind the shock so you will need a bit of scaffold tube or something to give you enough leverage on the spanner .

 

[Omoitsurugi]

Detailed the interior, before I bought the truck it was definitely a work horse. there was tone of dirt and oil (human type) caked on the seats and carpet. going to have to take the whole carpet out, repair the rust under it (not much but there is some.) gonna have my hands full with body work over the next year or so...

 

[Bert]

This is me upsetting the Mrs again
View attachment 113462
The hoops are sleeved with steel which needs to be removed to make the new bush fit . I found it very easy to crease the sleeve by tapping an narrow wood chisel in then remove the blade from a hacksaw loop it through fix it back to the handle and cut the crease .

Two bushes had been changed before and i can only guess a lamedrover mechanic did it using i know not what method leaving bits of the old sleeve to rust in solid

I left these to soak in a solution i have that is very similar to acid brick cleaner .

Prop the axle either side and where it meets the prop shaft and other than that you need a 17mm and 19mm socket and spanner . The socket won't fit on the lowest bolt behind the shock so you will need a bit of scaffold tube or something to give you enough leverage on the spanner .

Cheers Shayne. I like your style. Reminds me of when my Dad used to have half an engine block parked on the kitchen table, pistons in the sink!

 

[Rob Cowell]

I went for Whitleine bushes from Roughtrax mainly because they were the only alternative to superpro (other than genuine which assume will cost a million pounds ?) that i could find .

For future reference Febest do OEM like bushes. You may struggle getting them from a UK supplier but they are postage free from their EU shop based in (I think) Lithuania. I've been moving over to them having been distinctly unimpressed with the hard orange Milner ones. I have a feeling Toyota only sell the whole arms for the 90 (and 120), and not seperate bushes.

 

[t1pper]

For future reference Febest do OEM like bushes. You may struggle getting them from a UK supplier but they are postage free from their EU shop based in (I think) Lithuania. I've been moving over to them having been distinctly unimpressed with the hard orange Milner ones. I have a feeling Toyota only sell the whole arms for the 90 (and 120), and not seperate bushes.

I have used Febest bushing for my 100 and they are really nice quality, I also have got some brake caliper pistons from them and a few other bits over the time, never had any probs and the postage is prompt too considering they are in Lithuania.
Toyota did not sell any bushes seperate from the arms (iirc) for my 100.
I have used poly bushes for the steering rack as I like the feel of the postive steering way better than the rubber originals IMO.
However I have used poly bushes for the rear axle set up and they are a bit unforgiving, I have had one broken torsion bar on the back axle but in fairness I tow alot so maybe that is partly to blame.

 

[Shayne]

Cheers Shayne. I like your style. Reminds me of when my Dad used to have half an engine block parked on the kitchen table, pistons in the sink!

And you need a torque wrench that goes up to 145NM for the lower control arms , upper and panhard are 86NM

 

[Bert]

And you need a torque wrench that goes up to 145NM for the lower control arms , upper and panhard are 86NM

Now that is useful to know. Thankfully, a torque wrench was on last years birthday present wish list......

 

[Rob Cowell]

And you need a torque wrench that goes up to 145NM for the lower control arms , upper and panhard are 86NM

Can you get a torque wrench on the upper arms on a 90? Particularly when you're supposed to torque them with the car sat on the wheels, ie not jacked up.

Also, learn from my mistakes. Don't reuse the factory nuts. They have ridges in them that should bite into the brackets when you tighten the bolts in them. If they come lose the arm will move and the bolts will ovalise the holes in the brackets. And you will be sad. Nylocs work fine as replacements. I have threadlocked Nylocs to avoid any possible sadness.

 

[Shayne]

I used the old nuts because the nut shop was shut when i started putting things back together and while i can't remember exactly which some were torqued from the bolt side because it was the only way to get the spanner on , getting past the 3" exhaust was the biggest nuisance .

I did some humming and harring over whether or not it being jacked up made a difference and ultimately decided not because the holes are bolt size and you are crushing the mount against the steel bush sleeve which can only sit where it should be or else the bolt won't go through .

Time will tell Rob i am not confident enough in my diy to fit and forget so it will be revisited with the torque wrench more than once over the coming weeks and new lock nuts might replace the old yet .

I'm off right now for the first test drive as the wheels are finally back on .

 

[Bert]

Also, learn from my mistakes. Don't reuse the factory nuts.

That is a good heads up, cheers. Fortunately I work in a metal work company with stores full of bolts of every type so now I know, I can sort some decent bolts out.

 

[Shayne]

Just back and can't really feel any difference , maybe a little less body roll i think .

Out of personal choice i covered the bush , sleeve and bolt with red rubber grease as its waterproof not harmful to rubber and wet , might prevent rusting for a while .

 

[Bert]

Just back and can't really feel any difference , maybe a little less body roll i think .

Out of personal choice i covered the bush , sleeve and bolt with red rubber grease as its waterproof not harmful to rubber and wet , might prevent rusting for a while .

Hi Shayne. We should be putting them in sometime next week. Quite looking forward to it now I have them. Just waiting for my wheels to be recoated then hopefully get some new tires on too. It's like Christmas has come early for Bert.

 

[dellboykev]

Had an oil leak at the back of the engine so i changed the rear crank seal, put a new clutch in and changed the oils in the gearbox ant transfer box today. Not too bad of a job the bell housing bolts are quite easy to get to when you jack the front of the engine up but that gearbox is bloody heavy!