prado suspension

Matt,

I have an RV Prado 98. I got about 45K from the original suspension with a reasonable amount of offroad use (30%). I upgraded to King Springs and Bilstien shocks. I have now got over 75K on the new setup and it is still going strong, even with more offroad use. If you are going to change the springs I would recommend going with a 2" suspension lift. It will give the vehicle better approach and departure angles for the off road sections, and with slightly stiffer springs it takes a lot of the boby role out of cornering.

Cashy

Gee whizz I don't know what you blokes must do to your vehicles but I'm on my second Prado - first did >200,000k and this one >150,000k and never had to touch the suspension on either!!- do lots of off road work too.

Matt, quick question about King Springs for your Prado. I have a Prado, and have been thinking about upgrading the suspension too as the rear has "settled" with age. I have had a look at the Kings Springs catalog against Prado, and there are springs against "low" and springs against "raised", but none against "std". To get "standard" height Kings Springs, are you intending to get them specially made or do the "low" ones restore the vehicle back to standard height ?
Rgds,
Mal58

Matt,
As per Cashy, my '97 Prado RV6 suspension lasted about 50,000 km (constant bottoming out etc.. even with "town" loads). I went for standard rate springs that rased the vehicle by approx 2" - they were from Ultimate Suspension (I think). At the same time I put Bilstein Monotubes on the front and rear. All that was required was a 1-off camber adjustment to cope with the increased height. The result was a 100% improvement.
I had a problem with the rear shocks however when they overextended (and broke) in the Vic High country (they couldn't cope with the extra wheel travel). I had the rear shocks replaced with "ToughDog Foam Cell's" and have no problems at all. The front shocks didn't bottom out however (had them measured on the hoist). The ride is magnificent even after 145,00 km.
My usage pattern was similar to yours say 70% road an 30% dirt.
Cheers
Stephen J.

matt, i remember hearing from someone with suspension problems with his prado. this fellow worked in the motor trade and when he mentioned problem to his local toyota man during a service was told toyota had produced replacement package for know fault in this area. might be worth checking as fellow said hasn't had any problems since.