MisterF

Indeed they could have been "speeding" and may have wondered why everyone was passing them. My wifes car over reads by 3 kmh and my 4x4 is over reading by 5 Kmh, mainly because we spend more time in my vehicle then hers, and I asked the company to calibrate the speedo by 5 + Kmh

If nned be, you can go up one size in your tyres. I had a speedo that over read by 12Kmh and fitted 275/17s on my VX Prado V6. Now the speedo is 100 % accurate and is in line with the GPS reading. I once had the misfortune to drive a god damned awful Commadore in Melbourne as a hire car. The speedometer was over reading by 15 Kmh . I wondered why we were going so slow and all the traffic was passing us. Hooked up the GPS to find when I was at 110, the speedo reading was 125Kmh. I guess that the manufacturers deliberatly make the speedomoters over read to avoid people getting fined.

Sean,. can you tell me the make of car or 4x4 that you drive, and also what make of HID lights you have. This information may help me to see what the problem is.. There are good HIDs and some pretty average HID lights as well.

Hi Sean. I have a set of Hella HIDs on my 4x4. The light output is 4500K and its been measured up to 3/4 of a Km, using a measuring device that can measure the approximate light output in terms of distance. On the left is my 180 degree spread/pencil beam, and the right hand side is my long range pencil beam. My headlamps are 130/100w lamps and using them alone are brilliant. The HIDs are a bonus in that oncoming vehicles in the remote areas of WA can see them and tnhey immediately go to low beam. As for the shadow or blackness is something I have never experienced, so am not sure why you are having this problem. Suggest if you know a good Auto Electrician , take the vehicle to them and get the lights checked and focused. If that doesnt work then maybe the HID globes maybe Halogen . Have seen people conned into buying used HID driving lamps, only to find out they have been scammed.and the lamps are Halogen.I cant remember what the legal requirements are in terms of light output is , but have seen the big Lightforce HID lamps and they are out of this world. Cant fit them on mine as the bull bar is too small to fit them. I prefer driving at night owing to the light output and the distance they shine.

The red one is the live wire to the battery and the black one is the earth wire. Are these lights, driving lights, or actual headlights ?? If they are headlights there is a special a special way in which they are installed and best left to an Auto Electrician. If they are additional driving lights then wire the red one to the headlights and then earth both black ones to some suitable place . I did an HID conversion on my 4x4 and ended up with multitude of problems, which required the help of an auto sparky who fixed the problem. Hope that helps.

Have heard good and bad about Maxxis. Taxis in Perth used to use them, but see they are running what ever they can get. About ten years ago, I bought a set of SIMEX A/T tyres which hace the exact same tread as the Maxxis A/T. The worst damned tyre I have ever used. For starters theywere out of round, so they replaced all four of them. Same problem again, so took them to a tyre company who were able to find the high spots and gently removed them till they were perfectly round. Quiet on the open road, but down side was the number of small stones that were stuck in the block tread At 18,000Km there were worn out. Then bought Goodyear MTR ( Maximum Traction Radial ) and despite the noise on the open road , off road were brilliant. When the MTR`s were worn out, found out that they had produced a different patten and were grossly over priced. Never seen any 4x4 with those tyres on. A buddy of mine who is in the 4x4 business, recommended the Geneyral Grabbers over the ProComp A/T, which was what I was originally after. Fitted the Generals and have never looked back. I dont do hardcore off roading anymore , occasionaly sand or beach driving up north and as far as Geraldton. and not a single problem. Wouldnt touch any other brand unless I had a second vehicle designed for hard core off road work. One buys what one likes and thinks what they want from a tyre. The General Grabber`s are made by the Continental Tyre and rubber company which make tyres for the likes of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes -Benz and so on. Buy what ever tickles your rib cage.

Hi There. I have a Toyota 4x4 and fitted them with the new General Grabber AT11 and have had brillirant mileage from them. They are a US tyre with deep tread and plenty of sipes to drain water away.The side walls have rim protectors on them , which saves the rim in the vent of a bump. My son has a Prado running the same tyres, and he has done over 80,000 km with no problems at all. I have done around 35,000Km on them and the tyers are half warn. They are extremely quiet and very comfortable to ride on. We both run our tyres at 36 PSI, which is good and comfortable. On sand etc 15 psi works well. I got my second set ,which are locked away and paid $210 per tyre. Those were from Bob Jane in Perth, but have no idea what price they would be in your neck of the woods. Before you go and spend big Dollars on Mickey Thompson and other brands,just ring around and see who has the General Grabber A/T 11 , and who .offers the best price. Hope that helps.

Hi. Just read about your set of wheels. Havent seen one of these Toyota`s in years. As for parts, I think you might have a battle on your hands with regard to spare parts. Suggest you try E-Bay and wreckers. As for rust, not many panel shops want to get involved and try to fob you off that they are to busy etc etc. Try some of the Toyota dealerships and see what happens, but be prepared to pay through the nose. Dealership spare parts have about a 2000% mark up and have found Ebay to have everything I needed. Let me know how you go.

Hi Folks. How many of you own a 2008 and earlier model D4D engines. How many are aware that the injectors and the seals can and often do catastrophic damage to the motor ? Coming back from Geraldon after the Christmas break we ( Wife and self + mother-in-law) left on New Years day. The following day, our son with his family were coming down on the 2nd Jan and outside Leeman the motor let go. Thick black smoke and then a cloud of of blue smoke followed by a loud knocking from the motor. This is at 11.00 pm at night. To cut a long story short we jumped into our car and sped all the way to Eneabba and then brought them home. The Prado was delivered the next day to the Toyota dealership in the northern suburbs of Perth. Its now the middle of March and Toyota Australia have denied that there is a problem with those engines. Really ???????????? Dont they read the articles about the number of diesel Prados` that have blown engines caused by faulty injectors and or seals. Toyota Australia offered him $2500 towards the cost of getting the engine rebuilt. What an INSULT !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why is it that Toyota UK, NZS, and RSA have acknowledged the fact that those injectors are faulty and all of the above countries have replaced the entire engine with either a rebuild of the exisiting engine or a new out of the box motor. But no, Toyota Australia vehemitly deny there is a problem.A far as we are concerned the car can sit there for the next five or ten years until Toyota get their act together.. As you can see from the photo I have uploaded tbere is the hole in #4 piston and a crack across the rear.

Before you go to great lenghts replacing everything, get a pressure tester and then pressurise the system and that will definatly reveal the source of the leak. :D

For a little extra the VX Prado is the way to go. The GXL that I test drove didnt set my hormones on fire, rather the opposite. Seats were not that comfortable and the brakes have a very spongy feel.

Hi All. I maybe the oldest member on this forum and currently own a 1990 October built 4runner V6 with manual transmission.. I bought the vehicle as a means to an end as there were no station wagons that really grabbed my attention. Just so happened that a family member had bought a V6 4runner , basically for the same reasons I did. So, when I went for a ride in it I decided that this vehicle would suit my needs admirably. So went out and bought a demo model which had 769 Km on it. It came with an alloy bull bar side rails and steps, plus a pair of Hella 100W driving lights. The vehicle has done 1.13 million Km and havejust completed a two year off the chassis /body rebuild and a new paint job. The interior has been re-upholstered in light grey velour and new plush pile carpets fitted. It had a hard life to begin with and then fitted a Detroit locker in the rear,removed the rear stabiliser bar and fitted Lovell HD Shockabsorbers at the rear, and medium ones on the front. . This meant I had far greater rear end articulation to aid traction. I am currently looking at fitting ABS brakes to the vehicle and reverse sensors. The original motor lasted for 800,000 km and eventually got rid of it and fitted a Prado 4.0 litre V6 with Auto . The head lamps have been converted to HID and the Hella`s have gone into the cupboard as new Hella HID lamps fitted.. The 4runer is now used as a long distance cruiser and does very little off road work. When I get the time I will post a photo of the old girl in all her new livery. Cheers dears MisterF

Having been a mechanic by trade and a business owner now retired, I am still of the opimion that its related to the throttle . Does your vehicle have throttle sensors on the accelarator pedal and the sensors on the the throttle body. I had a 2008 Nissan Patrol with the 3.0 lite turbo diesel. Aftter about a year I noticed and felt that nearly every time I wanted to pull away from the traffic lights or overtaking, the engine would cut out then cut back in. Caused me no end of angst. Sold it for a V6 Prado, only to find that Nissam Japan had found the cause of the cutting out problem and recalled all the models that were affected. Took a day and a half to fix each cars problem. However I am more than pleased with the V6 Prado.

I have an inkling that the throttle cable ( From memory am not 100% sure ) is sticking. I had the same problem with my 4runner and replaced the entire cable. Probleem solved If you have non genuijne totota floor mats, this can cause a few issues with the accelorator peda,l or clutch pedal sticking to the floor mat. Check that the loud pedal when fully depressed is not sticking for a few seconds. Its annoying to say the least, but worth a try. If that doesnt help, suggest a new throttle cable, and that should be the end of your problem.