Is the 150 showing any signs of cracked inner guards

[Richoson]

Brains any update from Toyota on the crack?

Richo.

[VXWesty]

It's a valid theory Amts. I reckon Mr Toyota would try to shoot it down

[Dusty74]

Sounds like a reasonable assumption to me.

Just putting 2 and 2 together... I'm wondering if the cracked inner guards have anything to do with the 1500rpm vibration/rattle?

In the engineering world, vibration leads to fatigue of material, which in the presence of micro-cracks or foreign objects in the sheetmetal, leads to cracking. Usually, to dampen vibration, we would add additional mounting points (to increase the resonant frequency) or add weight to reduce the amplitude of vibration). Would it be that the sheetmetal is vibrating in one of its resonant frequencies at the cruising RPM of the D4D?

And all this really has nothing to do with the weight of bullbars and dual batteries and Toyota is just playing smoke and mirrors?

[rob_macca67]

Personally, I don't believe the Bullbar has anything to do with it..... There is a lot of people out there that have Steel B/bars and Dual batteries that have not experienced any problems (yet) and I don't know why it happens to some and not others.....

[Dusty74]

That's not the bar moving, it's simply highlighting the amount the body moves compared to the chassis.

[Warnsie]

Does the cracking of inner guards really have anything to do with the extra weight of a second battery etc?

When I drive on some pretty messed up roads I can not keep up with the wobbling and shaking of my ARB bar? The amount of flex and movement I get in my bar can not be good for the rubber mounts on the chassis, and that force must get transferred elsewhere- which could be the result of fatigued weak points.

Maybe we all need to rethink about how suited heavy bars are for modern vehicles these days with all these safety cells etc. I am trying to remember the last emergency 4wd vehicle that had a steel bar, they all have plastic smart bars now.... Maybe they know something we don't?

[Warnsie]

Does the cracking of inner guards really have anything to do with the extra weight of a second battery etc?

When I drive on some pretty messed up roads I can not keep up with the wobbling and shaking of my ARB bar? The amount of flex and movement I get in my bar can not be good for the rubber mounts on the chassis, and that force must get transferred elsewhere- which could be the result of fatigued weak points.

Maybe we all need to rethink about how suited heavy bars are for modern vehicles these days with all these safety cells etc. I am trying to remember the last emergency 4wd vehicle that had a steel bar, they all have plastic smart bars now.... Maybe they know something we don't?

[rptdprado]

The problem is it is happening in a short time frame (less than 2yrs) and under conditions that I would not consider extreme....That's the problem. One person on here hasn't done anything really extreme in road conditions (ie: heavy corrugations) and has a proper ARB battery carrier and a smaller battery and they recently found the beginnings of cracks on the RHS inner guard.
I could understand cracks developing after years of driving, etc. That I could except, but not what's been reported with the 150 series. I had plans of replacing my N70 battery with a smaller one but now I'm rethinking that idea and leaning more towards installing one in the rear, but only when on trips. For the rest of the time I'll rely on the existing but with the help of a Enerdrive Low Battery Cutout (LBC) 12v-80amp to hopefully prevent a flat battery where I can't start my car

Ok thanks for the explanation - its a worry then if it's happening
so soon without excessive off road driving, will check my 150.

cheers

[rob_macca67]

Photos in my Rig Build. Post #81

.... post added

[rob_macca67]

Hi rwo,
My 90 series suffered minor cracked inner
guards so would expect the same on the 150.
As stated previously this should only
happen under prolonged extreme conditions
over a number of years. Mine was fully
equipped with steel bull bar dual batteries etc. Like
most things be aware of it and if it does occur, the fix is not
such a big deal.
One thing is I think given all the worry
about this, the inherent chassis of the Prado
is very solid - I can vouch for that recently.
Regards

The problem is it is happening in a short time frame (less than 2yrs) and under conditions that I would not consider extreme....That's the problem. One person on here hasn't done anything really extreme in road conditions (ie: heavy corrugations) and has a proper ARB battery carrier and a smaller battery and they recently found the beginnings of cracks on the RHS inner guard.
I could understand cracks developing after years of driving, etc. That I could except, but not what's been reported with the 150 series. I had plans of replacing my N70 battery with a smaller one but now I'm rethinking that idea and leaning more towards installing one in the rear, but only when on trips. For the rest of the time I'll rely on the existing but with the help of a Enerdrive Low Battery Cutout (LBC) 12v-80amp to hopefully prevent a flat battery where I can't start my car

[smakb]

Yep.... AGM's aren't cheap... any chances of posting some pics of your battery setup in the rear??

Photos in my Rig Build. Post #81

[rptdprado]

Has anyone seen or experienced the cracking in a 2011/2012 model or is it just the earlier 150's from 2009/2010?

Hi rwo,
My 90 series suffered minor cracked inner
guards so would expect the same on the 150.
As stated previously this should only
happen under prolonged extreme conditions
over a number of years. Mine was fully
equipped with steel bull bar dual batteries etc. Like
most things be aware of it and if it does occur, the fix is not
such a big deal.
One thing is I think given all the worry
about this, the inherent chassis of the Prado
is very solid - I can vouch for that recently.
Regards

[Gordon]

Yeah okay you mob. I get it, big cities little prices. Next time I'll preface my shoppers' hints with "for those of you who do not live within 300km of a capital city..."

[Kowolski]

Why would you buy one of these when u can get a 100ah Bosch S4 Calcium battery for $160?