Torn between a 1997 3 Door and a 2001 5 Door

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Hi guys and gals, sorry to bore you with my little issues. Ever since deciding to downgrade from a 5 Door 120 to the 90 series, I have been searching for the right car. Well, another one popped up, a 76,000KM full option (Leather sunroof, cd, 3rd row seats, etc) 5 Door Auto. I already made the commitment to buy the full option three door manual with 121,000KM! Everything being equal, which one should I go for? Are there any distinct advantage of one over the other in terms of performance given that they both have the 3.4L engine?

Thanks.......

[McBAIN Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close McBAIN]

short wheel base could be handy for offroad..... but on the flip side, long wheel base gives you a fair bit more space!

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

I am thinking of buying both, this will still leave me with a surplus from my 120 series. I will probably keep both for a couple of months and see which one I keep. The 3 Door requires more work given the mileage and the interior, but I agree that it would be better off road. I need to take it for a test run to test the gearing ratio, if it is too short, I will sell it given that you need both the torque and high RPMs to get up those dunes!

Cheers.

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[Hi guys and gals, sorry to bore you with my little issues]

Yes, your right.....

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Done with purchasing the first one! a 2001 5 door 7-seater 3.4L with 76,000 KM's on the clock, not much for a Toyota and six years, luckily the guy never used it off road, I know him personally. The 80K service is coming up and a complete fluid change all around will be the first thing I do... Interior is in excellent shape, leather, sun roof, the works. Is it easy to remove the third row seats? I also think that the antenna motor is acting up, I though car manufacturers stopped installing these 20 year ago :twisted: Pictures will follow soon, just gime me a couple of days to clean her up :wink:

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Done with purchasing the first one! a 2001 5 door 7-seater 3.4L with 76,000 KM's on the clock, not much for a Toyota and six years, luckily the guy never used it off road, I know him personally. The 80K service is coming up and a complete fluid change all around will be the first thing I do... Interior is in excellent shape, leather, sun roof, the works. Is it easy to remove the third row seats? I also think that the antenna motor is acting up, I though car manufacturers stopped installing these 20 year ago :twisted: Pictures will follow soon, just gime me a couple of days to clean her up :wink:

Congratz on the purchase... look forward to the pics, now on to the 3 door

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Just found out that I have a problem with the electrical antenna's motor on my 2001 Prado? I thought manufacturers stopped using this silly device a Looong time ago, I guess I was wrong! Does anyone know how to access this motor?

The whirring noise appears to be coming from driver's side in the fender well! I would like to access it and see what is causing the noise, it could be either an alignment issue or something thats loose.

Thanks.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

To access the aerial...
From Gregory's manual.

6. Working in the right hand wheel arch, remove the scrivits and screws retaining the splashguard to the mudguard. Lower the splashguard from the vehicle and support it using a string.

Hope that helps...

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

It sounds awfully tough to get in there, how would one remove the motor for inspection then? What a strange place to fit an antenna motor, all this could have been avoided by simply using a short bee sting antenna! How can a team of engineers screw up something that is so logical is beyond me.... I will try to access it, but I am already having doubt and contemplating a visit to the stealership :evil:

[slug Member Find all posts View Profile Close slug]

So Baz, are you still looking at getting both vehicles? What sort of things are you planning to do with them? Just day trips on the weekend or do you want to do some camping/touring?

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Got my second one yesterday. I plan on using the 3 Door 97 for the rough stuff while keeping the 5 Door for commuting and day trips with the family.... Both are in great shape with only the body work to contemplate repairing (dings/scratches/etc.) luckily, the owner of the 1997 babied the car, so I actually have more confidence in it

Upcoming for the three door:

- Full 120K Kilometer Service at stealership (the car had a full dealership service book, which I plan to continue doing)
- Timing belt and water pump
- re-align side step
- Clean the interior
- Removing unnecessary after market decals
- Buy new mats

For the 2001

- Oil change service - Done
- Order missing part for side step
- Clean leather and interior
- Repair electric antenna motor (Have no idea how to do this)

I hope it is not too difficult to post pictures here, I will do this this weekend.

Cheers.


I am already thinking of an ARB lift, the 3 door will be my mule. If I tire of having both, I might sell the 5 Door, make a nice profit and then buy an LR3 for the wife, I am scared sh*tless of reliability issues though, that is why I stick to Prados :wink:

[slug Member Find all posts View Profile Close slug]

Sounds like a plan to me!!

Its be nice to have 2 vehicles with their own purpose so one doesnt get int he way of the other!

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

Well, I found out that the 3 Door has quite short gearing for a 5 speed. At 120 KPH, I am a hair below 3,000 RPM. I am concerned because with short gearing, it may mean that I have to change gears mid way thru an ascent! Can't try it now, it is nearly 45 degrees outside! I might try and find somewhere real close to do some testing.

Another issue, the 3 Door does not have any serious underside protection! There are some plate sunder the engine, tranny and the fuel tank, but the middle section is completely barren, the transfer case is completely exposed! Can I order some bash plates from somewhere? Will the transfer case be damaged if it is only sand duning and not rock climbing?

Cheers.

[BAZPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BAZPRADO]

The RPM for the 5DR at 120 KPH is 2,500 RPMs, I assume it has taller gearing because it is a four speed.

Just found out that I need a new antenna motor, I was pretty mad because I can hear it working, so they may not be telling me the full story, it is the stealership, so, why should I be so surprised; they quoted close to USD 225.00 for the complete job, that one, I did not see coming! I should have know when it gave all sorts of noises before I bought it! I will just pull it up manually and keep it up until I decide to keep the car for sure and I have more cash to throw around.