Prado - is it a good deal..

[tacklesharpe]

Well have sold the old hilux and been looking around for something a bit more comfortable and faster

I have taken the following for a test drive and must say the 1kz motor has certainly got some herbs compared to my old 5L however not very familiar with prado's off road.

Most time will be spent as the old girls runabout and will be mine on the weekends - majority of my use is farm tracks, cross paddocks etc and river bed travel ie Rangitata tahr hunting so need a bit of clearance etc.. Pretty carefull with my vehicles also.

So -
1996 Prado TX
5 Seater
ABS brakes
Air bag(s)
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Central locking
Electric mirrors
Electric windows
Overdrive
Power steering
Roof racks
Towbar
Turbo
202000KMS (cambelt just done)

Now needs tyres and such so also comes with the following extras at my request

New set of Kumho KL71's which equates to 32's I think
Snorkel
Two Year Drive Sure warranty
2000ruc
new warrant
3 month rego

All up 16k

Think the standard price is 14500 without the extras so tyres are 800.00, snorkel is 250 fitted and warranty is 400 odd or somesuch.

Thoughts please ta

Cheers
Sharpie

[mylux]

We got a 96 Prado and man it's got some power.
Great wagon for towing the caravan, drives nice on the seal and on the gravel
The ground clearance on them as standard is pretty poor, altough ours has running boards.
We go up the Rangitata every now and then (Usually the Lawrance) and there is now way I'd take the Prado as ours is standard, and it's the wifes.
I reckon they would be fine for a bit of casual wheeling but when it comes to boulder hopping or other harder stuff I reckon they would need a fair few mods.
Others may disagree.
But that's my 10 cents worth anyway.
P.S where do you get a set of tyres for $800 and fitted snorkel for $250?

[mylux]

Sorry should have clarified.
The reason I wouldn't take ours up the "Rangi" is cause of the ground clearance and the fact the river crossings can be deep(not good for all those electrics)
The boulders in that riverbed are a reasonable size and there is no real formed track up there, it's just rock hopping.
Sure if I didn't give a sh!t about smashing the underside to peices and all the electrics getting wet I'd have it there in a heartbeat.
Just my thoughts. Richard.

[Jerry]

Mine is a 96 as well, good for long trips etc, reliable. great in the wet coz its permanent 4wd. I run a 3" rage exhaust on mine. Mine is a road truck only, ABS gets confused sometimes on gravel road altho this can be bypassed with a switch (get an auto sparky to do this)

weak points are centre diff lock, heads are known to fail 200-250k (Genuine heads are cheap)

[Cleary]

1kz's tend to crack heads, so it's REALLY important to regularly check the condition of the radiator, keep the coolant in good condition, change the oil and filter regularly (goes for any diesel), and a lot of guys fit EGT guages to monitor the critical heat levels. You can also consider fitting an intercooler.

They pull well but they put out heat as a by-product of the power and that means they crack heads.

96 and up Prado's hold their value well. They are comfortable on road, tow well, but less capable offroad with the independent front suspension.

An equivalent age and mileage Bighorn or Discovery would prob be quite a bit cheaper.

[DaveM]

What would the differences be between the later shape '96 and earlier '95 shape (engine wise)
Although they run the same motor, are there big differences in output?
Do they run the same auto box?

Sort of OT, we are looking at both atm


Cheers

[haydgq]

1kz's tend to crack heads, so it's REALLY important to regularly check the condition of the radiator, keep the coolant in good condition, change the oil and filter regularly (goes for any diesel), and a lot of guys fit EGT guages to monitor the critical heat levels. You can also consider fitting an intercooler.

They pull well but they put out heat as a by-product of the power and that means they crack heads.

96 and up Prado's hold their value well. They are comfortable on road, tow well, but less capable offroad with the independent front suspension.

An equivalent age and mileage Bighorn or Discovery would prob be quite a bit cheaper.

Its a 96 TX so it will be the factory Intercooled 1KZ with the bigger radiator etc and they dont have the same cracking head issues as the older non-intercooled versions, it might still happen but its def not as common as the import and nz new non-intercooled 1KZ engines anyway.

[Cleary]

Its a 96 TX so it will be the factory Intercooled 1KZ with the bigger radiator etc and they dont have the same cracking head issues as the older non-intercooled versions, it might still happen but its def not as common as the import and nz new non-intercooled 1KZ engines anyway.

That will help. Factory intercooled is a good way to go.

[tacklesharpe]

Cheers all

My old lux was IFS but the only thing I needed to do to that was chuck on a set of 31's and it had all the ground clearance I needed. Pretty carefull driver off road and last time I went into the Lawrence(up to the Hermitage) didnt touch a rock at all.

Was hoping by slapping in a 2 in suspension lift, along with putting on the bigger tyres and removing the runner boards etc would give me close to the lux clearance?

Mine is the intercooled one and I did notice the radiator was pretty massive compared to an older model surf I took for a drive last week?

Dont tow anything so not to sure if the tranny cooler is required, are these an easy mode to do yourself?

Cheers again
Sharpie

[SMOKEY]

Sharpie, I have a 96 TX Prado have had it for 16 months got 86K's on the clock and paid $23k for it, real tidy and very pleased with the way it drives. Before the Prado I had a 92 2.4ELT Surf, the Surf was used for the odd Hunting trip( river beds and high country tracks) and apart from the odd ding and scrap got me there. The Prado apart from the odd farm track probably won't go off road how ever I do tow a 15ft caravan and heavy trailer with it. The Prado is a lot more refined on road than the Surf, more power, auto good for towing ( I have fitted an extra cooler ),comfort and visibility much better and even with bigger motor and full time 4WD fuel economy is 700+K's per 75Lt's, the only place the Surf was better was the way the rear seats fold down, there is more usable space in the back of the Surf than the Prado. As for off road ability Rockhound has one the same that he has done a few modifications to and on a recent river trip was very pleased with it's ability, give him a PM.

THE SMILE WILL STILL BE ON YOU FACE LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN.

FITZY.

[rokhound]

Yep My POS actually surprized the hell out of me on the wedding trip. Admitidly there was nothing to difficult about the trip, on the way back my passengers where giving me some stick so i poin t it at reasonable banks and drop offs where I was sure we would fail, but it flew up, on one of them a decently set club truck Patrol has 3 goes at it after we had just done it in one.

The ctr diff is utter shit in these and I have alreday blown one to bits. Mine has 2" body and 2" suspension lift and 285/85/16 BFG mud terains on it. Bitch to get in and out of as a daily but still drives pretty good. Bigger tyre affect economy though. Mine has 240 000 kms on it now and was due to be retired (given to the mrs) last week as I had a brand new Hilux on the way. But I have cancelled the new truck as Chch streets are not a good place for a brand new car at the moment.

[tacklesharpe]

Cheers again fellas

The research of the Prado I have done does indicate a bit of fragility in the diffs or what have you as you have indicated

So - Bro has offered me his 2004, SR5 with 180ish kms on it that is tempting?? Whats a good price your recon for one of these

Cheers
Again

[pizzle]

Hi Sharpie, I had 99 GLX in aussie, was a V6 Auto though. Had a 2" lift, some good 265*75*16 (equiv to 32"s I believe) rubber, and a snorkel...all the rest of the mods were camping related (cargo drawers, rooftop tent, long range tanks etc). I kept it well serviced, and in 2010 covered 45,000km in it, 10,000 of which were offroad (Cape York, Moreton & Stradbroke Islands, Glasshouse mountains, across the Simpson Desert twice, Birdsville track, etc etc) and I never had a single issue, it drove fantastic on the road, and the coil suspension made it a pleasure offroad. For deep water crossings i used a tarp across the bull bar, and even with water up to the door handles, I had no water inside. Wouldnt hesitate in recommending one to anyone! Great wagons..would insert a pic if i knew how! haha

Jase