Offroad-Express

Hi all. Discovered this site and decided to join despite living on the other side of the world. I have a 1993 Prado (KZJ78) and am really struggling to get certain parts here in the UK as this is a very rare model and most suppliers only list the LJ78! I would appreciate any info or help on this vehicle as I have never had an owners manual! At the moment I am trying to source some decent shock absorbers and a clutch kit - I am only able to get them from Toyota UK at ridiculous prices. I am sure that I can get better shocks than the standard ones and surely one of the big clutch companies does a clutch kit for this model (LUK, Repco etc). If anyone has part number or any useful info at all - I would be really grateful!

Cheers!

Bill (WJW) will be a fountain of knowledge for you on these, as he has one and has done about everything you could ever do to one on his (Including replace the motor 2 or 3 times... )

The shocks will be replaceable as a standard prado item - I am (mostly) certain that the KZ prado is a pin bottom eye top standard shock that you can get from most aftermarket suppliers - Rancho, KYB, Koni, Monroe... the 2.4TD Prado has the same front suspension I think...

Clutch, try checking about the 3.0 litre turbo diesel Toyota Surf clutch kit - I would think it will be similar/the same since its the same motor.

Welcome aboard. Good luck with your parts search... if all else fails you should be able to get something out of NZ shipped to you, but I'm sure you will find what you need there with a little more digging.

Steve

Assuming yours has the 1KZ-TE, that motor came out in various landcruisers and hiluxs. Take the gearbox model number and engine model into your local aftermarket clutch specialist and ask them.

If you still have difficulty after trying them, post the gearbox model number, engine model and chassis model and I'll see what I can dig up. Won't be this week as I'm away, but can have a look next week. I suspect I'll be able to find other vehicles that had the same gearbox/motor combo.

Shocks, Supralux is onto it, various after market suppliers do them. Rancho are available in the UK and they make ones that fit.

Thanks so much for all the very useful info so far! I did some digging today and it seems that I can get ironman shocks - has anyone used these and are they as good as the equivilent Ranchos or OME? I am still on factory shocks and the ride is terrible. Also could anyone tell me if the steering damper could be to blame for juddering between 110 and 120km/h? I have had the wheels balanced and can't think what else could be causing it. Ironman do a replacement damper as well so if these are good products, they could solve my problem. Slowly but surely I'll get the beast back up to scratch! It was a bit neglected just before I got it!!

I've had some huge problems with Ironman stuff in the past... mainly springs... personally, I would find something else... you must be able to get Monroe over there.. go for a Monroe Adventure shock - good quality, good ride (firm shocks tho, if you prefer a softer ride then use the Monroe TDT)

The vibration will most likely be something in the driveline, check your UJs for any sideplay... does it have a one or a two piece rear driveshaft? check the rubber hanger bearing in the middle if its a 2-piece... could be worn.

Steve

Okay - will keep looking. Part of the problem is that these companies don't list my cruiser and give up when they can't find it. It would be useful to have part numbers - loads of the companies list the KZJ70, does anyone know if they share any suspension parts? The same problem applies to the clutch - I can get one for a KZJ70 but am not sure if it will fit - mine is a 1KZ-TE whereas the "70" i think is a 1KZ-T? I am coming close to pulling out whats left of my hair!

Because mine is an full jap import, there doesn't seem to be any UK equivilent model.

I would be prepared to order some Rancho stuff or OME from across the sea if its worth the extra.

When you look at using parts from other models it gets complicated. If my sleep deprived brain is working right, alot of the parts from the 70 and 71 series fit, except suspension as the 70 and 71 and leaf sprung and the 78 is coil sprung.

Unfortunately the KZJ78 isn't well documented. I've had to guess about parts alot of the time, take photos etc.

Toyota should have access to the full parts list though. You need to find a friendly one that will swap information for beer. Although once I get the parts catalogue from here working:

http://www.yankeetoys.org/Docs.htm

If its the same as the one Toyota uses, it has exploded diagrams of the parts and how they fit

That looks great! Gonna have to get my head around the cd-burning instructions though!

It seems that OME shocks are available here - if anyone knows which ones fit the KZJ78, it may save me a load of explaining as they are not in the catalogue. Can anyone tell me if I need to replace the springs at the same time as the shocks? My vehicle is only going to be doing light off road stuff at this time and a lot of on road driving. I am mainly looking to improve the overall handling and drive quality.

Also, my cruiser has done 200k kms now - would it be beneficial to have the injectors reconditioned or is it a waste of money?

Sorry for all these questions! I have a years worth of frustration to deal with!!!