Fido666's 150 Kakadu

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Looks great Corrine!

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Yeah I'm pretty happy. I got to play 1st year apprentice today too, got sent to Bunnings to buy a long weight LOL.

It's actually harder than it looks to trick those sensors, the hydraulic swaybar keeps wanting to control things. There was a bit of experimentation to get the right mix of washers on each side, couldn't just whack the same number in each side.

Sorry for dropping dirt on your pristine garage floor ####, souvenirs from the Wombat Run LOL.

If Jasen happens to be reading this thread, just letting you know I'm glad I had the Toyota towbar on the back, I think it saved the Kaka's bum from some damage on the last off-road outing, found a bit of evidence to suggest it did anyway. It might look a bit ugly and decrease departure angle a bit but it does provide some good protection underneath.

[Bawky Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bawky]

Thanks for the posts, looks great!

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Thanks for the posts, looks great!

Hi, if you wanted to give me a call, I can help with some advise.
Do you still have my number from last p.m?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I absolutely hate working under a car after it has been playing but it is perfectly ok to give it to someone else to work on before cleaning!

[Sydneydude Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sydneydude]

Looks bold! Look forward to getting my new springs fitted. Hope it will be going to be disstress free.

[ctkelleymd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ctkelleymd]

Awesome Look! May I ask a potentially dumb sounding question? Did your vehicle have rear springs or just the factory air suspension? I ask since I have a NZ market VX Limited and just started the suspension upgrade (with plan for PolyAir bags) when I got the call it has no rear springs (to contain the Polyairs). The crew called Australia ARB and were told we have a totally different model (I have assumed its a variant of the Kakadu--I got it used for a deal but it has all the kit and KDSS, just no rear springs). It may be we get a right hand drive Lexus product from the states so it has just air suspension and the smaller fuel tank (no auxillary).

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

No rear springs CT, just the factory airbags. I'm not sure what the VXs here have other than I know they have KDSS.

I believe Airbag Man do replacement airbag kits for the Kakadu that may suit your application.

http://www.airbagman.com.au/lightvehicle.html

I guess it depends on how much lift you want, I just went for the sensor trick option and kept the factory airbags.

[Nakor Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Nakor]

Fido - love this thread and your others on tyres.

Great to see how your built up your kakadu. Looking at different option to build mine at present and think I will follow your setup for the Dobinsons springs and Bridgestone D697 tyres.

Just one question - now that your springs have set, would you know what's your final lift is compare to out of factory model?

Also just checking that the only thing you end up doing for the rear suspension was to set some Airbag sensor spacers once your springs were used?

Cheers
Vince

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Hi Nakor,

Just be aware with the Dobinsons springs is they come in different versions even within the KDSS grouping. Which ones you choose depends on how much weight you have over the front and how much height you wish to gain. Mine are supposed to be 40mm lift but I seem to have gained a bit more but some of that is what I got back from the height lost to sag in the factory springs after the bullbar went on.

Unfortunately I can't tell you what the original factory heights were as when I bought the Prado the bullbar was already on the front, I am the 2nd owner. I did a quick measurement in the dark last night on the driver's side and both the front and rear were level at about 810mm, my airbags were on the "N" setting.

Yep, only thing done to the rears was the washers under the sensor mounts after the front springs had some time to settle.

Edit: Went back through the posts and heights for the front before the springs were installed were 760mm (L) and 745mm (R), after they were 825mm (L) and 810mm (R). Surprisingly the springs haven't settled much but I'll re-check my measurements in daylight.

Measured on the "M" setting the rears have come up from 805mm (L) and 773mm (R) to 845mm (L) and 823mm (R). Will get "N" position measures for you tomorrow but I know the R is at around 810mm. The difference between the 2 rear heights is all part of that wonderful KDSS lean but at least now it's less than before we tricked the sensors.

[Nakor Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Nakor]

Thanks for the info. You gain a bit of lift there which sounds great. Not planning to gain too much myself but enough to compensate the setup of the winch/bull bar.

Checking your mods you have a 12000 winch. Is it steel cable?

Planning to set an ARB sahara bull bar so not sure how it compare in weight with yours but just planning for a 9.5k winch in Spydura Synthetic Rope to gain a bit of weight so might consider springs a bit shorter than yours if available.

By the way, did you have a mechanic in Melbourne that set that up for you or did you set this up yourself? I am still shopping around to get everything fixed together so would welcome recommendation if you have any...

Cheers

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Checking your mods you have a 12000 winch. Is it steel cable?

It has Dynema Rope, less weight than steel cable.

Planning to set an ARB sahara bull bar so not sure how it compare in weight with yours but just planning for a 9.5k winch in Spydura Synthetic Rope to gain a bit of weight so might consider springs a bit shorter than yours if available.

Yes there's a set down, the model C59-724 that might suit a bit less weight up front. The Dobinsons catalogue can be viewed online here :- http://www.dobinsonsprings.com/catalogue.php

Just remember you have no rear springs with the Kakadu, only the front ones.

By the way, did you have a mechanic in Melbourne that set that up for you or did you set this up yourself?

############# who posted earlier in this thread fitted them for me, it's way beyond my skills or tools. If you PM him for his number I'm sure he'd be happy to discuss suspension options over the phone.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

I need to correct something I posted in post #1. I said my rims had been powdercoated black as that's what I assumed had been done. I was speaking to the place that did the work for the previous owner (Advanced Alloy Wheel Repairs in Moorabbin Vic) and they said they only paint rather than powdercoat.

I've been quoted $180 - $200 to get my spare rim painted to match the others, not sure if that's expensive for painting, I know powdercoating is a lot cheaper. I want to get the rim painted so I can put another D697 on there and do a 5 tyre rotation, at present it still has the original factory Grandtrek fitted.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

I just had a look at the pic in post #59 and it looks like I have a slight leak in my transfer case, there seems to be a bit of an oil stain there. That pic was taken about a week ago, had been wheeling about a month before that. Is that normal?

[Sydneydude Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sydneydude]

Hi Corine,

On Friday, I had my front springs - Dobinsons C59-726 - fitted and guess what? I'm suffering the annoying KDSS lean of 25mm. The workshop tried to open the KDSS valves but were hesitant to experiment too much with the KDSS.
Whilst the suspension feels much much better, the lean is not acceptable in the long run. It surprises me that the lean occurs although the Dobinsons springs have different lengths right and left like the factory springs.
Im confused as to which solutions really have proofed to work, I guess a spacer of 6 or 10mm on the driver's side could fix it?
(Over the past few weeks, I have experienced that one question leads to another that leads to another question, to another question etc.)
The car is now a bit nose up and my head lights seem to annoy upcoming traffic. In order to get the car level at the rear (40mm lift) I understand that the lift of the rear can be done by putting washers to the sensors, but does that not compromise the wheel travel available?