Builds '97 VZJ95W to Canada - Ontario - Misc Blathering on (1 Viewer)

[billblyca]

So everything worked well for the last 100km - Phew

Doing some searching, next time I will be sure to get a kit with an Aisin kit with TKT-007 pump which does not have the bypass.

I will use the 2x6 pine breaker bar (Have to find a rafter to store it )

Did the front diff with a real 12mm hex driver found at a local shop - the fluid was very clear compared to what came out from the rear - I would say the last owner(s) never put it in 4 wheel drive. First change of the synth engine oil came out at 5,800km as well.

The only thing left is
a) Transfer case fluid change
b) Spark plugs
c) Spark plug wires
d) MAF clean
e) The last big thing tie rod driverside - There is still a 10 or 15 thou 9 o'clock 3 o'clock rack with no 12 o'clock 6 o'clock wobble - I was just going to do the inner - But at $49 CDN from Rock for each inner and outer I thought, heck I will just swap all of the right side - I may just farm that to my regular mechanic for now.
f) Oil spray - I went for a spray when all this C-19 stuff started but they were only doing undercarriage not drill and spray to the other pannels - Now with the heat, it is the best time to do the spray for spread of the rustproofing so will probably get it done in the next week

The first good trip of 700km is being planned for the Canadian Civic holiday. We have a small 1/4 acre plot on Manitoulin island and want to go up to scope it out to build a cabin in a couple of years. Mainly a 200' driveway cut that has to be made on public land to get us a driveway.

 

[billblyca]

So just rolled over 15,000 today - 2,500KM with the new belt and water pump - Not a drip yet (Fingers still crossed but I think it was done right)

The Tie rod was done by Mechanic as I was tired of wrenching - Bought both the inner and outer - He just did the inner and he said it was a Bear to take off as the pictures illustrate - He charged me $80 to swap it - Looks like a bargain.

Got the inner tie rod from Rock for $ 60ish inc tax and shipping.

The 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock backlash is now gone from the right side.

 

[billblyca]

The Battery had let me down 3 times - The 3rd time after just running the flashers for 15 min.

Brought it to Parts Source (Canadian version of Autozone) and the battery was checked - 30% - It was toast

The date on the battery was 2011 so it certainly had a good life.

The parts source private label is made by East Penn which seems to have good reviews - It was $215 CDN.

I installed it but it looked real short - Silly me the (what I thought) was the warehouse stacking top, was really the booster tray - Figured that out after I went back for a lift tray and the fellow brought out the tray that was sitting in the back of the truck.

This battery has a 4 yr full replacement warranty as far as I can gather.

 

[billblyca]

I did some LED experimentation. LEDs in the OEM sockets work well - Knockoff T5 and T10 twist in's are s***e...

For the key ring I had to massage the plastic housing of the LED to fit.

I did the Temp control in blue but will switch it back to green this week as it is a little too gaudy after a week starting at it.

Also the front running lights changed out a 5050 bulb array in a T10 socket to something like a 2412 chip LED soldered 2 in a teepee

 

[billblyca]

Had an issue where the truck needed 3 to 4 seconds of crank to start after a run of injector cleaner.
Swapped out the fuel filter and am back to the1 to 2 second cank to start timing

It looks like the old filter was original with a 1992 date code.

Replaced it with a Wix filter which felt of a similar quality by weight and finish to OEM - Time will tell.

As the truck was oil sprayed for the upcoming winter the area with the filter needed a replacement shot of goopy rust proofing as the fuel spray washed some off.

 

[billblyca]

Just spun over 123456Km this week - Did not get a pix though.

Time to get a spare Geolander on the same hub so I was cruising Kijiji and market place for a rim I could refinish like the others with no luck. So off to the junker..

This pair was out Ottawa way and the two got to my door for $84ea inc taxes and shipping - The replacement Geolander was $212 to my door with taxes.

The wirebrushing for the flat and non conscealed parts was pretty straight forward - The small nooks and cranies were problimatic until I found a scotchbright ball on the end of a dremel spindat in a Kit I cot n sale at Can tire - It worked ducky - I still have a little more sanding to so before the shot of etching primer and the hammertone Pewter before mounting the Geolander. The Geolander should arrive Friday or Monday.

Now focus turns to drawers and roof rack.

Managed a deal with work for 6 weeks unpaid in 2021 and 8 or 9 weeks in 2022, adding on top of my 4 weeks vacation, so I can get these trips done and still work n our place on Maanitoulin island and the house inNicaragua.

This will give us the time to do James bay in 2021 and Labrador loop in 2022 ending in Tuk in 2023 - Labrador and Tuk will probably have a towed home built teardrop.

 

[billblyca]

Rim sanded, primed, painted - And I have an extra hub cap to boot. Have to see if it fits on the spare carrier - Tire place says the Geolander will be here Monday or Tuesday.

I have not been able to find a Prado (Operators) manual yet but I assume rotation would be like the right most illustration.

 

[billblyca]

3rd row seats removed and rubbing my chin on drawer configuration.

Will most likely run a platform across the existing seat bolts with side ports that can bolt in / bolt out.

There is a youtuber, Xplorer Steve, who has a Gen 3 setup I am using as inspiration.

There will be a 2nd portion which will bridge the 2nd row (seat removal) for big trips like James bay and HVGB Labrador
Was thinking to do a door fold-down kitchen tray, but am now leaning to a full pullout kitchen drawer that will swap out with a day-to-day nicknack drawer when not camping. I have picked up 4 Coleman Naptha stoves over the past month (all below $30) and the big beefy 413 has the vote so far as it can hold a griddle - a 425 I got for $20 is in the best shape. I am still looking for a single burner that will tag along for time where a 3rd burner will be needed.

Above the drawer, below the platform will be a pullout 3/4 sheet table

 

[jnadaf]

I am following your drawer build.
Does your Prado have a cruise control?
Any plans on the shocks & springs?
I am in the GTA will like to swing by sometime if that's fine with you.
I have a 2000 Prado, 3.4

 

[billblyca]

I am going to get back on it tomorrow if it is as nice tomorrow and it was today. -4 and sun was very comfortable.

Do not have a garage but a small tool shed so most of the cutting I have to do outside in the great white open.


Shocks and springs - No really - This ol girl will be overland only really not a rock crawler. The shocks are 25 yrs old so I would not suspect them needing changing in the next 2 or 3 yrs but shocks feel fine and we will not load the truck by more than 300lbs for Overlanding (I hope) . We will be drifting into semi-retirement in 2022/23 so runs out to Labrador, BC the US south west et al will be the main tasks for this truck. We also have a house in Nicaragua that we are building, but this truck is not allowed into Nicaragua because of the RHD - Even though Prados are a staple on Nicaraguan roads. To make the regular trips back and forth there I actually have my eye on a Sienna AWD with the 3" lift kit sold out of the US - It would give us the cargo space, the height, the stealth and the reliability for thse trips.

Drop by - Sure - Also you should check out our Canadian Prado page - Only about 11 of us so far - You can hook up with me by messenger Canadian Landcruiser Prado Owners Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/955704984931592

I also need to drop in on My old Pajero that sold 13 months ago and went to a fellow in Brampton - If I go to see him first I can drop you a line as well.

 

[billblyca]

So after a long cold winter, I got started on the drawers...

Tomorrow is install of the plastic slides in for the slide out table. I will also be making the left pull out able to do a 45 to 60deg swing out.

Then the side shelves.

 

[billblyca]

I did get the slide out tables done but as the 3rd lock down started up here - and a good bout of rain, work slowed.

Lumber prices are just F'n goofy but it is time to get it finished.

The side shelves will be MDF so it may not as be as much of I price shocker I think for sheets.

 

[billblyca]

Another development is the Prado is getting a stable mate.

I always assumed that I would have to have a parallel vehicle for the inevitable large services and the odd time the Prado breaks (23 yr old trucks break no matter who made then)

I did the run around looking at sub $10K (about $7000US) Frontiers, Tacoma's, Rav4's even toyed with an AWD Sienna

Then I got hit with the siren call of imports again ... This time Korea.

The Hyundai Galloper is a knock off of the Montero/Pajero and was built by Hyundai one generation behind the (at the time) current Montero/Pajero. Knock off may be a bad description - It was made under licence with Mitsubishi prints.

So 1998 - 2003 (Galloper) is pretty parallel to the Gen 2 - 91 to 98 Montero Pajero - Owning a Pajero for 15 yrs I was smitten.

Most for sale are $1500-1700 (Poor) $1700 to $2100 (fair) $2100 to $2700 (Good to excellent)

This fellow popped up and I bit ....

[VIDEO]


It is in essence a 4D56T and Left Hand Drive. Unlike the Prado, this one can be driven to our house in Nicaragua and the Galloper was sold into Nicaragua so I can mule back OEM parts from Nicaragua when we visit. No Right Hand Vehicals are allowed in.

The truck is scheduled to be on a boat May 10 and should be in my driveway late June to early July.

 

[billblyca]

So back to the Prado and the camper back build

An awning is needed and I wanted a 270 deg to cover the cook slide out in the back. Ran across this one on Youtube university.



While we do have Lowes and Home Depot up here their selection and pricing are not as good as in the US wo I had to mish mash it from suppliers.

The paint poles came from Walmart @$29 each , The 1 1/2 Aluminum angle was $40ea the 1 1/2 flat stock was $20 and the 1" flat stock iron was $9 - The Tarp was $35 So about $290 Canadian so far. The angle and the tarp came from the Canadian equivalent of Harbour Freight, Princess Auto. With taxes to would be about $310 ish (That is how you pay for "free" health care )

Exchange on would be about $240 US equiv so far.

I think I have some 5/8 ID heater hose and some conduit, just have to find it.

The ARB bag can be bought up here as well - So when all done the Canadian version will be about $300-

The roof rack is also being cobbled together now - Pretty sure it will be Superstrut painted in bed liner.

Oh yea - And Gordie the Galloper hits the Docs in BC on June 13

 

[billblyca]

So of course to mount an awning you need a roof rack. A few YouTubers I have watched have galvanized Superstrut used for the rack.

It looks well suited with good mounting arrangements with all of the holes and excellent strength. The weight is high though, mind you that could be offset by the plethora of holes that could lead to mounting arrangements to save bulk of a basket.

Right now I am humming and hawing on whether to have strut upon strut as opposed to struts butting together. I am leaning to strut upon strut so only the 2 rails need to be there permanently and the rest of the structure will be fastened as necessary. I also can not envision removing a super/uni strut from the roof in one piece and not damaging the truck or me

I picked up a can of flexidip from Habitat a couple of years back and painted up a bit of leftover for a test of adhesion and durability. It looks to be cheaper than bed-liner. but I will change to bed liner if the test fails. Of course the final product will be black Flexidip with a splash of red here and there.

The roof rack will hold simple things such as the awning, a 4" Tube for fishing poles and other tarp poles, maybe a few pelican cases if they come up cheap and some simple recovery "stuffs" (Shovel, axe, maybe a pair of ramps) and maybe water and a Jerry can. (15 or 20L)

Interestingly A) The rails are not level B) The rails are 1" wider at the back vs the front. The Struts will have some 60A rubber sheet (On the way from Amazon) to both buffer the rails and shim for a bit better level.

 

[billblyca]

So the squeal pins started to hit on a 1590km jaunt up to Manitoulin island - Got around to changing the rear rotors Saturday

The odd thing was they were so difficult to remove - All of the other 90 series youtube videos (mostly Aussies) gingerly removed the old rotors and slid on the new ones - For mine, I had to break out the crowbar to pry them off even after the M8 bolts got the rotor past the axle.

Parts used were Raybestos

RAYBESTOS 96929FZN Rotors - Exact fit - exact copy to my eye.

RAYBESTOS MGD606CH Pads - While close to JDM (see photo above) they do have some dimensional differences - They did fit in and the hardware included fit exactly.

Gave the rubber bits a zap of AT-205 and the slide pins a smidge of grease and the threads a squeak of anti seize.

Front brakes will be done before the snow flies, but with probably less than 25% on the fronts it will fail (with my luck) on a -25C day in January so get them done now.in the 30C heat.

 

[billblyca]

Just a note on the Raybestose pads


THEY ARE CRAP

Moan and groan all the time - I should have took Scotties advise and gone with the Akibono and I think I will but once I get the Galloper on the road - One last thing - The licence plate lights.

 

[billblyca]

Wow - Almost a year since I posted last.
Rolled over 162,000 end of July (100,000 miles) - Took the truck off the road for a couple of weeks as I attend to bland service tasks with the Galloper on the road.

The rear parking brake looks like it lost a spring, causing the grinding noise that I was almost convinced was a failing bearing. Also, have a valve cover gasket kit I would like to get in place before the snow flies.
Remarkably uneventful run - But hey it is a Toyota.
Now I get the daily driver reliability of the Prado and get to play with the Galloper, and the cost for both was far less than one, rust free, 4Runner, LX450/70 of GX460/70 with anything less than 250,000km up here in the Great White North.

Picked up a tent (RTT) over the summer, built a chuck box and just finishing off a 270 deg awning and a 1KW LiFePO4 battery that will split duty between the 2 trucks. Now that Covid is over, and Semi-retirement is just over the horizon (Feb 2023) let the overlapping begin.

The truck at work this week - Rack made from Unistrut - The Prado will use the OEM rails for the tent.

 

[billblyca]

Update

This April passed 3 years on the road and now at 181,000km (75,000 km by me)

There is a muffler hole that is acceptable now - But soon will need a muffler swap out. It looks upon first glance the muffler itself is the same as a 4 runner, but the piping is different - Humming and hawing on a stainless custom - Did the same on my Pajero back in 05 and the exhaust system was still pristine and clean when I sold it in 2019 - Expensive but it lasted. Hope to keep the Prado as long so should do the same.

Did a trip to Miami in January and Dayton last Friday (4,400km and 1,110km respectively) and yielded 14.7l/100 and 13.7l/100 - The 1l /100 difference is due to tire pressure and speed. To Miami I kept up with the 70mph of the US highway system - To Dayton I kept to 60 to 62 (yes I was THAT slow guy ) and upped the tire pressure to 38 from 32

Other than that is has been very uneventful - There is a hiccup from time to time that I have narrowed down to Overdrive and up hills. Will swap out 2L of AT fluid from the pan this week and again 3 or 4 weeks from now to see if that clears up.

The oil sprays (once in spring and once in fall) have kept the chassis free of rust but is a mess to do service on the underneath of the truck.

Updated the sticker log for states visited (below) and will probably take this truck or the Galloper out to western Canada in the summer - Banf -Jasper - Yoho et al for a month.

All in all - save for the stupid insurance rate - it has been a very good truck and would not think of doing the same again (well third time)

 

[billblyca]

It is amazing how fast time gets away from you.

I drained and refilled the transmission pan in '20 and '21 but it looks like I missed summer '22 and - Yep - You guessed it it was down a quart - Well this being a Metric truck it was down a liter . So I did the pan drain and refilled with Dexron - at 2l in it showed low, put in another liter and took it for a short spin - Truck is happy and like most things Toyota, when something is not right you first have to be sure it was not something YOU did wrong.

Air filter also had Aug 2021 written on it - Being 2023 and 180,000k replaced that too. I must have been absent-minded in 2022...