Hi Guys,
I know there is a billion different topics on this, but mine seems to be different.
I'll start from the beginning.
I bought my 2010 Prado Kakadu in December 2016.
It came to me with a 20mm lean in the rear to the right (drivers side).The front was within 10mm.
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 755mm DSF: 745mm
PSR: 805mm DSR: 785mm
I wanted to lift it 2" so I spent a lot of time trying to, 1. Figure out what to purchase and 2. Who could/would fit it for me.
I am in Bathurst, NSW and we are hard pressed for any really experienced suspension experts....
Through this forum, I came to the finding that the best value for money for me was to go a Bilstein 2" Lift (front struts and springs, rear shocks and Airbag Man Airbags (2"))
I sourced the parts (minus airbags) and went looking for a place to fit them.
I found a place who was willing to give it a go, gave them all the relative info re KDSS etc and crossed my fingers. They said they had had a few Kakadu's in and knew what to do.
It took all day for them to fit the front struts and rear shocks. (They set the front Bilsteins on the top height spring seat setting.)
They completed a wheel alignment and handed over the keys.
Initial ride was stiff and firm. I still had to sort the rear height out when I got home.
I measured the height when I got home:
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 805mm DSR: 785mm
Added 10mm spacers to the brackets of the rear sensors both sides and measured the hight
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 825mm DSR: 820mm
In order the get the correct rake, I added more spacers: 20mm Spacers
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 850mm DSR: 845mm
But I still had a lean of 15mm on the front that just annoyed me.
I decided to let it settle over the next 5,000km.
They came and went of normal driving. I decided to go speak to the workshop who fitted them and they pretty much wiped there hands of it and said its not that bad and its my problem.
I had a good look at the setup and was convinced they out the wrong spring on the wrong side. As the springs had D/S written on it and was on the P/S side.
I did a bit of reading here again and found most peoples fix was the bleed the KDSS system. So I decided to do this and see what happened.
I carried out the process as per instructions and this was the result:
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 810mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 835mm DSR: 865mm
So I was back to a 20mm lean on the passenger side front and a 30mm lean at the rear. Something is up with this.... I spoke to the parts supplier and confirmed that the Kakadu Springs supplied are sided and need to be fitted on the correct side.
Because no one will touch it and charge an arm and a leg to pull a strut out, I decided to swap them myself.
After removing, I made sure I could not see any other markings on the springs regarding the side label. I was still convinced it was wrong and after re-fitting the struts on the right side, put everything back together, It appeared it had worsened and swap sides...
I rang Dobinsons to get some advise and spoke to Dandenong, they have lifted many Kakadu's apparently. They were really good about it and assured me we will get to the bottom of this.
They got me to check the height of the front without the rear on the ground. So I jacked the rear up and just had the front wheels on the ground (Balance Test) to see what the front was like without the rear interfering. The front was within 5mm of each other. They told me it appears that the there is an unbalanced issue with the rear airbags (possibly KDSS as well) and that I needed it to be checked by Toyota as they are still the factory units.
The car is now at Toyota to check the standard Airbags are working/not working correctly.
Only time will tell...
****UPDATE****
So after getting it back from Toyota, and fitting ABM 2" Lift Airbags it sits as this: (they performed the KDSS bleed method numerous times and could only manage this at best)
In Neutral Height
PSF: 810mm DSF: 825mm
PSR: 810mm DSR: 825mm
Other than the obvious 15mm lean, it all seems OK.
My only gripe (other than the lean) is that is seems overly harsh in the rear, like the rear is locked (KDSS).
My question has now evolved:
Is my rear KDSS seized? It appears to be worse if you switch the the suspension switch to normal or sport settings. The Soft setting seems to be least harsh.
But I don't understand why this can even be as I have replaced the shocks and airbags.
It also seems to be intermittent. At certain times it feels OK (albeit stiff, but still comfortable) but then it sometimes is so unbearable!
After speaking to Bilstein, they assure me it should be like riding an armchair so if its too harsh, there is an issue.
Finally, Toyota mentioned that the front height sensors were missing from the top of the struts and is throwing codes in the system as it can't work out the front height. I know this as when the lift kit was fitted they removed the front and rear shocks and didn't fit front sensors back as they don't fit on aftermarket shocks (of course)
Is this potentially my issue? Does the KDSS need those front sensors? As I don't have them anymore.....
I know there is a billion different topics on this, but mine seems to be different.
I'll start from the beginning.
I bought my 2010 Prado Kakadu in December 2016.
It came to me with a 20mm lean in the rear to the right (drivers side).The front was within 10mm.
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 755mm DSF: 745mm
PSR: 805mm DSR: 785mm
I wanted to lift it 2" so I spent a lot of time trying to, 1. Figure out what to purchase and 2. Who could/would fit it for me.
I am in Bathurst, NSW and we are hard pressed for any really experienced suspension experts....
Through this forum, I came to the finding that the best value for money for me was to go a Bilstein 2" Lift (front struts and springs, rear shocks and Airbag Man Airbags (2"))
I sourced the parts (minus airbags) and went looking for a place to fit them.
I found a place who was willing to give it a go, gave them all the relative info re KDSS etc and crossed my fingers. They said they had had a few Kakadu's in and knew what to do.
It took all day for them to fit the front struts and rear shocks. (They set the front Bilsteins on the top height spring seat setting.)
They completed a wheel alignment and handed over the keys.
Initial ride was stiff and firm. I still had to sort the rear height out when I got home.
I measured the height when I got home:
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 805mm DSR: 785mm
Added 10mm spacers to the brackets of the rear sensors both sides and measured the hight
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 825mm DSR: 820mm
In order the get the correct rake, I added more spacers: 20mm Spacers
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 815mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 850mm DSR: 845mm
But I still had a lean of 15mm on the front that just annoyed me.
I decided to let it settle over the next 5,000km.
They came and went of normal driving. I decided to go speak to the workshop who fitted them and they pretty much wiped there hands of it and said its not that bad and its my problem.
I had a good look at the setup and was convinced they out the wrong spring on the wrong side. As the springs had D/S written on it and was on the P/S side.
I did a bit of reading here again and found most peoples fix was the bleed the KDSS system. So I decided to do this and see what happened.
I carried out the process as per instructions and this was the result:
(In the Normal height position)
PSF: 810mm DSF: 830mm
PSR: 835mm DSR: 865mm
So I was back to a 20mm lean on the passenger side front and a 30mm lean at the rear. Something is up with this.... I spoke to the parts supplier and confirmed that the Kakadu Springs supplied are sided and need to be fitted on the correct side.
Because no one will touch it and charge an arm and a leg to pull a strut out, I decided to swap them myself.
After removing, I made sure I could not see any other markings on the springs regarding the side label. I was still convinced it was wrong and after re-fitting the struts on the right side, put everything back together, It appeared it had worsened and swap sides...
I rang Dobinsons to get some advise and spoke to Dandenong, they have lifted many Kakadu's apparently. They were really good about it and assured me we will get to the bottom of this.
They got me to check the height of the front without the rear on the ground. So I jacked the rear up and just had the front wheels on the ground (Balance Test) to see what the front was like without the rear interfering. The front was within 5mm of each other. They told me it appears that the there is an unbalanced issue with the rear airbags (possibly KDSS as well) and that I needed it to be checked by Toyota as they are still the factory units.
The car is now at Toyota to check the standard Airbags are working/not working correctly.
Only time will tell...
****UPDATE****
So after getting it back from Toyota, and fitting ABM 2" Lift Airbags it sits as this: (they performed the KDSS bleed method numerous times and could only manage this at best)
In Neutral Height
PSF: 810mm DSF: 825mm
PSR: 810mm DSR: 825mm
Other than the obvious 15mm lean, it all seems OK.
My only gripe (other than the lean) is that is seems overly harsh in the rear, like the rear is locked (KDSS).
My question has now evolved:
Is my rear KDSS seized? It appears to be worse if you switch the the suspension switch to normal or sport settings. The Soft setting seems to be least harsh.
But I don't understand why this can even be as I have replaced the shocks and airbags.
It also seems to be intermittent. At certain times it feels OK (albeit stiff, but still comfortable) but then it sometimes is so unbearable!
After speaking to Bilstein, they assure me it should be like riding an armchair so if its too harsh, there is an issue.
Finally, Toyota mentioned that the front height sensors were missing from the top of the struts and is throwing codes in the system as it can't work out the front height. I know this as when the lift kit was fitted they removed the front and rear shocks and didn't fit front sensors back as they don't fit on aftermarket shocks (of course)
Is this potentially my issue? Does the KDSS need those front sensors? As I don't have them anymore.....
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