PLAYDOH'S 120 D4D build up

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

Did someone spill cordial on the carpet or did you take looking for spare change a little too far???

heh heh.. Well we found my missing SD card that had last years photo's so wasn't all in vain. Bit of water was spilt in the front foot well, so to be on the safe side I took it out to be dried out properly, and it was a good time to give the carpet a vac.

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

Got a little bit excited when I spotted my photo in ARB 4x4 Accessories photo competition Facebook page this afternoon. I've got into the top 25 for voting.

I submitted this one as a last minute decision...

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

Just gave you a vote in the ARB comp! Good luck!

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

Thank's Madkore, I've been pestering friends and family on Facebook and on two other 4WD forums. So hoping I'm in with a good chance of winning.

On another note, I managed to catch up with another friend who also has a Prado 120 and we were talking about bull bars and under guards. He had his ARB bull bar fitted in QLD, mine was done in Darwin. His inner guards were just cut and tucked up under the the inner lip of the bull bar under side deflectors. His plastic guards just sit in there and he has had no issues with them coming out and rubbing on the tyres.


As I mentioned earlier in my thread I was a little un-happy with how the finished job was done and sent and email to the ARB installer saying it looked rushed. I got a reply:

Thanks for the feed back on the fitment of your Sahara Bar, the reason why it is cable tied and not bolted is due to the body being bolted to the chassis
Through rubber blocks and does move (you may have noticed the bar appears to be wobbling) the Bull Bar being bolted directly to the chassis has no movement and we have found that bolting the plastic wheel arch trim directly to something that moves DOES NOT WORK. (It breaks the trim and in turn while driving pushes it against the wheel and tears them off completely, no one wants this to happen)
Rest assured the guard being cable tied is completely fine

Anyway since then I've gone through a packet of 20 cable ties which have either broken from heavy wind on the highway or have been snapped on 4WD trips. My issue is I do them up tight they snap, I do them up loose they still end up being broken. I've fitted the biggest cable ties that will fit through the holes. I don't believe cable ties are a long term finish to the fitment of the bull bar. So should I fix the job and get it done properly or should I take it back and risk having them make a worse job of it.


Finished job on my friends Prado, also looks neater. IMO


My bull bar where it looks like they used a chainsaw to cut the guard then added some cable ties.


Also interested to hear how other Prado owners had their inner guards attached/fitted up with their ARB bar. Are you having any issues?

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

Mine is cable tied and I haven't had any issue. Mind you, I don't think the roads in WA are quite as bad as NT...

I think Andrew (AJ120) came about his own solution as he was not happy either - have a look through his rig build up. Mind you, everything seems to look average compared to the stuff he comes up with.

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

Finally got around to putting in the Hilux fan spray washer jets.... dang I wish I got round to this earlier.....

I used two tools, Toyota pliers from your tool kit in the door and a small electrical screw driver flat head.


I bought my washer jets from Toyota in Darwin, lucky me I got a parts interpreter who used to work at the Holden dealer when I was a parts picker as a young lad. So $22 washer jets for me, maybe its the going rate but they showed up on the computer at $30 plus when he first looked them up.


Anway grab your pliers, put them east west of the 4WD over the old washer nozzle and lift it slightly(I wasn't worried if the were damaged as they are not going back in) slide the screw driver in on the front of the nozzle so you push the plastic clip in, you will then find the front pops out, then repeat this at the opposite end and you have them out. You will find the sorta wanna slide out towards the winscreen because of the angled connection on the jet and the way the hose comes in.


I then used the pliers to hold the rubber hose while I twisted off the old nozzle, put the new one on and pushed them back in.. Done in less than 10minutes with no need to pop the bonnet and play with the bonnet clips or sound deadener...

Old left V new on the right.

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

Noticed the other day when the Prado was parked with the front wheels turned that the lower bush on the strut "looked" to be on its way out. Anyway I figured I'd check it out later when it was parked on the concrete wheels straight.

I've tried running a cable tie through each side, the passenger side I can get the cable tie through but you can feel resistance. The drivers side once wrapped around I could lift it up and down slightly more than the other side and the bush does not "look" to be as perished or as bad??

Anyway I've got some pics interested to hear opinions, if its just normal or does the bush look to be end of life?? I would say the suspension is just over a year old now and has done less than 20thou k's all up. I also understand that this bush is taking all the spring load and weight of the front. Anyway I can't just drop into the suspension shop to have this looked out so weighing up making a trip into town to have it sorted out??



passenger side

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

Bunch O gear to fit up to the Prado, thought I'd ease back in to it with seat coverss first..... NOPE... nek minute I'm swearing at the POS MSA seat covers... :shock: does anyone else have these? I couldn't get them to fit right and I put it down to bad build or batch or something....

Anyway here is the gear, seat covers, ARB bash plates, progressive bump stops for up front, and dual battery management system with solar input.



So I've moved them around stretched the fitted them a different way but the hole just does not match up to allow the seat belt lug to sit upright unless I have it fitted how it is now, making the hole useless... :x


Not going to try any harder this small stitching is the only thing holding this together...


Anyway up next I'll attempt the bash plates, followed by battery management system

[Kezz120 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Kezz120]

Hey mate, how are the KL71's holding up for tread life? How is the handling on-road? Looking at getting the KL71's for my next set just interested in other peoples opinions of them! Cheers!

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

Small updates:

Dual batteries were sorted out before our Binn's Track Adventure a few weeks back now. Other additions were finally installing a UHF. And I upgraded my rear coils to a set of C59-327 to allow for towing our camper and a bit more weight, when this was done I also had the front raised onto the next ring up on the strut and had the leaking shocks replaced under warranty. Prado is all good riding like new again and a little higher.

On previous jobs fitting up the bash plate looked to be an easy job, but once in the workshop it was quickly evident they weren't going to fit without more spacing or major cutting. Upon requesting a refund at ARB it was confirmed cutting and grinding was required for them to fit. So no bash plates on Prado as of yet.

Basically unless I space the bash plate away more it will not fit, as it is now it is hard up against the diff bracing rubbers and bolt you can see in this picture, this basically forces the rear of the bash plate away from the chassis.


Here are you can see the rear raised sections that should meet up with the chassis they do not.


Next up the front of the bash plate is attached like this if it was to work, it uses super long bolts with crush sleeve spacers, unlike the old one that fits flush against a chassis brace which has plenty of threaded and drilled out holes. The way I see it its first bash against a rock or tree something it will be forced back and bent.

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

Mounted the unit up front out of the engine bay to allow it to stay hopefully cooler and having air running over it.


Super Charge gold secondary All Rounder, I've got a cable running from this battery to the fridge in the back.

Hey mate, how are the KL71's holding up for tread life?

Tyres are going well, plenty of OFF road work as well as highway driving, still with no punctures.

I'm working in Arnhem Land in the NT but I've done Cairns and up North QLD and back, Alice Springs and Yulara, Binn's track, Gregory NP and many trips in Arnhem Land its self with no isuues. Then there are my normal trips to Darwin and back and they are going well. I figure if I got two years out of them I'd be happy and I'm past two years worth now. The main surprise is they have not go noisier as they got older and worn, if anything they are a little quieter that or I'm used to their noise now.

They have chips and scratches and what not, but no lugs are missing, they have also worn really well, but I put that down to looking after tyre pressures. I think I have rotated them front to back about three times. I'm not sure if I'd get them again or not, but mainly out of want to try another tyre, but I wouldn't discount them as a good all rounder tyre they have handled really well on the road both wet and dry weather.

[Smithy - 120 D4D Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smithy - 120 D4D]

Small updates:

On previous jobs fitting up the bash plate looked to be an easy job, but once in the workshop it was quickly evident they weren't going to fit without more spacing or major cutting. Upon requesting a refund at ARB it was confirmed cutting and grinding was required for them to fit. So no bash plates on Prado as of yet.

Basically unless I space the bash plate away more it will not fit, as it is now it is hard up against the diff bracing rubbers and bolt you can see in this picture, this basically forces the rear of the bash plate away from the chassis.


Here are you can see the rear raised sections that should meet up with the chassis they do not.


Next up the front of the bash plate is attached like this if it was to work, it uses super long bolts with crush sleeve spacers, unlike the old one that fits flush against a chassis brace which has plenty of threaded and drilled out holes. The way I see it its first bash against a rock or tree something it will be forced back and bent.

Mine fitted just fine after inserting the front spacers. The plate its a hard fit against the chassis, but no gaps between the bash plate and mounting points. Happy to post images if you want. There its a bit of flex in the plate as you tighten it all up.

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

The plate its a hard fit against the chassis, but no gaps between the bash plate and mounting points. Happy to post images if you want.

Thanks for the offer, I returned it and got a refund on money. Plus I didn't like how the front bolts up anyway.

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

Woh... been over a year since updates.....

Well, latest is a roof rack, I've picked up a Pioneer platform from made by rhino. Seemed pretty low profile and has plenty of bolt on gear to go with it.

I've been a little heavy on the Saturday lawn sales of late and need extra carry space... Plus you know camping an stuff..

Anyway since I had the rack on order thought I might as well add some light so got a 37" single row light bar as well to bolt up. It came with all brackets and a wiring kit so I'll probably tackle that tomorrow.

[HugoStiglitz Member Find all posts View Profile Close HugoStiglitz]

very nice mods and pics PLAYDOH,

I know you just installed the roof rack and light bar but how do people go with Light bars mounted on the roof, do you get much glare back from the bonnet?
specially on a white vehicle?