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Hi Guys,
Thought I should share with you a problem that developed after lifting the Prado Grande. I have put in a 2" lift front and rear, using AMTS's very good shim kit plus all the other springs and shocks needed.
While towing my Kimberley Kamper in the Vic High country my drivers side rear airbag burst as I was doing a U turn on a dirt track. I left the Kamper safely and drove on the bump stops to Benambra where a very helpful mechanic put the Prado up on the hoist to inspect what went wrong. His thoughts were that I had hit something and badly bent the lower drivers side rear mount and that that had caused the airbag to kink and get pinched, ultimately leading to the rupture. I said that I didn't recall an event like that but accepted that as a probable cause.
A new airbag was ordered in and arrived 2 days later (a mere $460), was fitted to the straightened mount and off I went to pick up the camper. Two km. after hitching the camper on, the new airbag burst. We limped back to the mechanic and again he inspected the damage - exact same thing. This time he could see the the suspension geometry was wrong - by using the shim with the lift, the suspension force was no longer straight up and down but angled ever so slightly backwards causung the drivers side lower mount to bend under the heavy weight of the camper and all of our gear and the bashing around off road.
This time he welded a small steel plate from the back of the diff. housing up to the underside of the problem bracket and a small stay onto the frontside of the bracket to stabilise the whole thing. This has worked very well with no further problems for the rest of the trip.
If you look at the airbag mounts on the rear diff housing you will see what I mean about the potential for failure on the drivers side - the passenger side is as solid as a rock due to a different housing configuration.
This is not me having a go at the lift components - they all work well - but when the suspension is truly loaded then the potential for failure is very real on the drivers rear.
In total it cost me $1150 parts and labour plus 7 days sitting around. The other problem was that the ECU had shut down the airbag pump and it took hours to get it to re-boot. You might consider this mod. if you are planning a trip with a heavy load. Hope this can help.
Regards,
Bruce.
(ps - I have to say that the mechanic Rick was a bloody champion!!)
Thought I should share with you a problem that developed after lifting the Prado Grande. I have put in a 2" lift front and rear, using AMTS's very good shim kit plus all the other springs and shocks needed.
While towing my Kimberley Kamper in the Vic High country my drivers side rear airbag burst as I was doing a U turn on a dirt track. I left the Kamper safely and drove on the bump stops to Benambra where a very helpful mechanic put the Prado up on the hoist to inspect what went wrong. His thoughts were that I had hit something and badly bent the lower drivers side rear mount and that that had caused the airbag to kink and get pinched, ultimately leading to the rupture. I said that I didn't recall an event like that but accepted that as a probable cause.
A new airbag was ordered in and arrived 2 days later (a mere $460), was fitted to the straightened mount and off I went to pick up the camper. Two km. after hitching the camper on, the new airbag burst. We limped back to the mechanic and again he inspected the damage - exact same thing. This time he could see the the suspension geometry was wrong - by using the shim with the lift, the suspension force was no longer straight up and down but angled ever so slightly backwards causung the drivers side lower mount to bend under the heavy weight of the camper and all of our gear and the bashing around off road.
This time he welded a small steel plate from the back of the diff. housing up to the underside of the problem bracket and a small stay onto the frontside of the bracket to stabilise the whole thing. This has worked very well with no further problems for the rest of the trip.
If you look at the airbag mounts on the rear diff housing you will see what I mean about the potential for failure on the drivers side - the passenger side is as solid as a rock due to a different housing configuration.
This is not me having a go at the lift components - they all work well - but when the suspension is truly loaded then the potential for failure is very real on the drivers rear.
In total it cost me $1150 parts and labour plus 7 days sitting around. The other problem was that the ECU had shut down the airbag pump and it took hours to get it to re-boot. You might consider this mod. if you are planning a trip with a heavy load. Hope this can help.
Regards,
Bruce.
(ps - I have to say that the mechanic Rick was a bloody champion!!)
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