I have found with all eight JDM's I have brought in to date everyone of them had been maintained strictly by their OEM manual mechanically. It would seem that in Japan the maintenance is a definite priority. This has taken some of the stress out of buying straight from the auctions.
Land Cruiser Prado 90 RZ Import & Refresh (and maybe build...)
- Thread starter apexwerks
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- #42
It's a total change from the BMW's I'm used to.... there's not a used BMW in America (at least not that I've found) that didn't need extensive attention before they were roadworthy. It's a pleasant surprise...
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- #43
The bull bar and winch went in Monday night... what I'd read was a couple hour job was more like 5 hours for me. Probably would have been faster if I weren't solo and hadn't got stuck on the headlights for at least an hour. As best I can tell, some of the 90s have traditional H4 wiring for the headlights, and some have the older Toyota style that *look* like H4 but are switched ground with a single hot, vs. the standard H4 arrangement of single ground and two switched hots. It took an embarrassingly long time with a voltmeter and bench testing my headlights to figure out that there wasn't a problem with the Philips I bought. The good news is that this problem has been solved before, and I can get a pre-made harness with a couple of relays that's plug-and-play.
Anyway, back to regularly scheduled programming... the only truly hard part of the job was hoisting and aligning the bumper. Well, that and the captive nuts on the winch. Otherwise, it was pretty plug-and-play.
Anyway, back to regularly scheduled programming... the only truly hard part of the job was hoisting and aligning the bumper. Well, that and the captive nuts on the winch. Otherwise, it was pretty plug-and-play.
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Dam that's a cool one.
The bull bar looks great!
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- #46
Thank you!
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- #47
Next, suspension! Found time last week to install the Dobinsons lift. Dobinsons is the only one (in the States at least) that specs different springs for the SWB/LWB and diesel/petrol variants. They were a little pricier than OME, but it's worth the extra to have springs that are spec'ed for the vehicle.
As others have reported, getting the rear shocks out was a massive pain. The passenger side wasn't too bad, but I ended up having to break the shaft on the drivers side to get it out. New springs and shocks going in were pretty simple.
Front was equally simple...
LBJs have no play, control arms and end links look to be in good shape. Also pulled off all the damage multipliers while it was in the air.
As others have reported, getting the rear shocks out was a massive pain. The passenger side wasn't too bad, but I ended up having to break the shaft on the drivers side to get it out. New springs and shocks going in were pretty simple.
Front was equally simple...
LBJs have no play, control arms and end links look to be in good shape. Also pulled off all the damage multipliers while it was in the air.
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- #48
Got it aligned, mounted the 265/75r16s and we were off to the off-road driving class. The 90 did great... There were a couple of spots where I really wished it had the e-locker, but there wasn't any trail or obstacle in the class the 90 couldn't handle. Plus we ran the A/C nice and cold all day and stayed plenty comfortable.
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- #50
Thank you! I wish I had known you were interested... would have been glad to give you the stock bulbar. Although shipping to BC would probably be more than a new ARB in any event...
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- #51
Up next was a trailer hitch. Being the cheap so-and-so I am, I went to the pick'n'pull to see what they had before I ordered one. They had 3 3rd gens in stock, and the '00 had the hitch still on it. The better news was that it was a Toyota accessory hitch.
Measured the holes and they lined up perfectly. Took a wire wheel to the worst rust, hit the rest with a rust converting primer. Two coats of gloss black automotive paint and it looked like new. Mounted it up and... whoops.
Suppose it makes sense that the 4 door 4Runner has more "junk in the trunk" than the SWB 90. The holes line up perfect, but the hitch would double as a step. The good news is it's just 1/4" mild steel with 1/2" holes for the mounting bolts. Where there's a will and a drill press, there's a way.
Had to get creative propping the other end of the hitch in the vise on my workbench and clamping the other end on the press, but made it work. I moved the holes as far forward as I was comfortable. Lined up great... still sticks out about an inch farther than I would like, but it's good enough - especially figuring that it cost $14 and some elbow grease.
Measured the holes and they lined up perfectly. Took a wire wheel to the worst rust, hit the rest with a rust converting primer. Two coats of gloss black automotive paint and it looked like new. Mounted it up and... whoops.
Suppose it makes sense that the 4 door 4Runner has more "junk in the trunk" than the SWB 90. The holes line up perfect, but the hitch would double as a step. The good news is it's just 1/4" mild steel with 1/2" holes for the mounting bolts. Where there's a will and a drill press, there's a way.
Had to get creative propping the other end of the hitch in the vise on my workbench and clamping the other end on the press, but made it work. I moved the holes as far forward as I was comfortable. Lined up great... still sticks out about an inch farther than I would like, but it's good enough - especially figuring that it cost $14 and some elbow grease.
Thanks for this thread. Spent a couple hours at a junk yard trying to remove a trailer hitch, but the rust won.....for today. Nothing I can't overcome with a grinder on the next visit. I have a LWB coming and have ordered the headlight buckets and will be ordering the Philips you recommended. Do you recall which harness you got? I was going to try and order in advance of the truck arriving so I can be ready to go. Thanks.
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- #53
I ended up buying this one: Headlight H4 Relay Wiring Harness For Toyota 1995-97 Tacoma 1988-95 Pickup H6054 | eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/333633781689
They all seem to be about the same, but I can say that one worked fine, shipped fast and was cheap enough it wasn’t worth the time to make a harness.
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- #54
Well, the truck has ended up sitting for about 6 weeks. I had some work travel and then came home and got sick, and the poor Prado didn't move. More updates to come, but I did finally get the truck moving under its own power last night.
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- #55
Quick update…. Got a few electrical things buttoned up in July. It’s always funny to me how the things that seem like they’d take forever (like a lift) you can knock out in a few hours, but the things that seem like they’d be a nice easy couple hour’s work (like wiring fog lights) end up taking a week. Sometimes it’s life, sometimes it’s weird complications, but the easiest things some times take forever.
First off, got the driving lights installed. I really want the ARB Solis 36 set, but just can’t justify the price. I mean, those lights are more than the set of tires on it! Started out thinking I was going to get a set of no-name clones, but the reviews were so spotty I didn’t want to put the work into installing them to find out they leaked or crapped out in a month. Hella has a set of ValueFit LEDs that are reasonably priced and have great reviews. Plus there’s a real company behind the warranty… so I picked up a set of these. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the housings and the connections. Plus, they’re bright!
They have a DRL in the bottom of the unit, which I ran to switched power, and then replaced the switch that came with the unit with a Toyota fog lamp switch.
Got my CB installed as well. Replaced the Japanese head unit with a single-DIN Kenwood deck, and then installed a single-DIN CB with a front speaker underneath it. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
Finally, on @JDM Journeys recommendation I installed an Idle Up switch. @ToyotaMatt came through with the right switch, and it fit perfectly. The connector was right there behind the dash panel, and it plugged right in. One click of the rocker and idle jumps up to about 1250 RPM, which is really nice when I’m trying to get a quick warm up or have increased load. I also ran the harness and switch for an ARB compressor, but haven’t yet figured out where I want to put the unit under the hood.
First off, got the driving lights installed. I really want the ARB Solis 36 set, but just can’t justify the price. I mean, those lights are more than the set of tires on it! Started out thinking I was going to get a set of no-name clones, but the reviews were so spotty I didn’t want to put the work into installing them to find out they leaked or crapped out in a month. Hella has a set of ValueFit LEDs that are reasonably priced and have great reviews. Plus there’s a real company behind the warranty… so I picked up a set of these. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the housings and the connections. Plus, they’re bright!
They have a DRL in the bottom of the unit, which I ran to switched power, and then replaced the switch that came with the unit with a Toyota fog lamp switch.
Got my CB installed as well. Replaced the Japanese head unit with a single-DIN Kenwood deck, and then installed a single-DIN CB with a front speaker underneath it. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
Finally, on @JDM Journeys recommendation I installed an Idle Up switch. @ToyotaMatt came through with the right switch, and it fit perfectly. The connector was right there behind the dash panel, and it plugged right in. One click of the rocker and idle jumps up to about 1250 RPM, which is really nice when I’m trying to get a quick warm up or have increased load. I also ran the harness and switch for an ARB compressor, but haven’t yet figured out where I want to put the unit under the hood.
the idle up switch looks sharp !
fit form function all there
so ...
your 90 series was all ready roughed in / pre wired for one ?
you can't ask more there !
thanks again for letting me assist you
kindly
matt
what are he other 2 un-used horizonal knock-outs for in your 2nd photos lower RH side ?
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- #57
Finally got the title!
It took a little over 7 months from remitting full payment for the Prado (January 19) to receiving the title (July 26). The communication from Dylan throughout was excellent, and it was certainly convenient to have one person handle all the steps in the import process and get clean WA state title in the mail. The process of titling the truck in NC couldn’t have been easier…. Bizarrely, I didn’t even need to have the vehicle inspected in the great state of NC. It went from Japan, to VA, to NC with a WA state title and nary a formal inspection came between me and highway speeds.
All that being said, I’ll probably take more control of the process the next time I do this.
We have had a great summer already in the Prado… it’s been a hoot to drive.
It took a little over 7 months from remitting full payment for the Prado (January 19) to receiving the title (July 26). The communication from Dylan throughout was excellent, and it was certainly convenient to have one person handle all the steps in the import process and get clean WA state title in the mail. The process of titling the truck in NC couldn’t have been easier…. Bizarrely, I didn’t even need to have the vehicle inspected in the great state of NC. It went from Japan, to VA, to NC with a WA state title and nary a formal inspection came between me and highway speeds.
All that being said, I’ll probably take more control of the process the next time I do this.
We have had a great summer already in the Prado… it’s been a hoot to drive.
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- #58
Yessir… the connector is already there, plug it in and the ECU acts like it’s been waiting for it. I’ve been led to believe that all the diesel 90s are pre-wired for the Idle Up switch from the factory, but have no way to confirm.
I have no idea what those knockouts are for…I was planning to 3-d print a clip for my CB mic to go there, but haven’t gotten that far yet.
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- #60
The Prado has started having intermittent low power and throttle response issues. It happened a couple of times early on in my ownership, where I’d give it throttle off idle and nothing would happen. The Prado would eventually creep up to ~2k RPM and then power would come back, and it wouldn’t happen again. Then it happened at higher RPMs, where I’d give it throttle at 80 kmh or so and again nothing would happen - no response whatsoever. Over our trip to the Blue Ridge last weekend, it started happening very frequently. Idle would get very rough, almost to the point of stalling, and then the Prado would not respond to throttle inputs at all. But, if I shifted out of gear into either neutral or park, idle would rebound and the truck would respond to throttle inputs normally. Put it back in gear, idle would plummet and the truck wouldn’t respond.
The fact that the behavior changed based on gear selection, and was completely intermittent, made me think it was not a fueling issue. I did some research and found that the 1KZ-TE frequently has ECU issues… There are several threads over on the Hiace forums about the issue. Pulled the ECU out this afternoon, and have to praise Toyota here. The last time I did this on a BMW it was an hour-long affair with many skinned knuckles. On the Prado, it’s 5 minutes and 4 screws.
Quick disassembly, and lo and behold several capacitors have leaked electrolytic fluid on the board.
The good news is that components are cheap as dirt… a full set of upgraded caps including shipping was less than $15. There’s a guy locally that will do small electronics repair jobs and has a good hand with a soldering iron. As soon as I get the caps in, it’ll take him a few days to replace them all and then we’ll see if this solves the issue.
The fact that the behavior changed based on gear selection, and was completely intermittent, made me think it was not a fueling issue. I did some research and found that the 1KZ-TE frequently has ECU issues… There are several threads over on the Hiace forums about the issue. Pulled the ECU out this afternoon, and have to praise Toyota here. The last time I did this on a BMW it was an hour-long affair with many skinned knuckles. On the Prado, it’s 5 minutes and 4 screws.
Quick disassembly, and lo and behold several capacitors have leaked electrolytic fluid on the board.
The good news is that components are cheap as dirt… a full set of upgraded caps including shipping was less than $15. There’s a guy locally that will do small electronics repair jobs and has a good hand with a soldering iron. As soon as I get the caps in, it’ll take him a few days to replace them all and then we’ll see if this solves the issue.
