To all Prado Guru's

Hi Skippy
Wondering if you know of any situations where this hass occured with diff damage.
Would be interested on the in and outs of it if you do.
Thanks
PeteS

There is a guy in our club that has blown 2 diffs in the high country and once at beachport on Australia day 2006,
I know once in the hi country it broke as the wheel came down and he still had the front lockers on, not sure the second time and in Beachport he did a reverse snatch recovery. A million of 4wd'ers would have seen it on the back on the tilt tray coming back to Adelaide. I'm not putting Prados down I love them, I'll try and get the photos on all 3 breakdowns and send them to you if you what, I won't put them on here. He did have ARB diff locks in the front and rear. The gear are cut differently in the prados and it is a weak point. He also did damage to the transfer case at the same time I believe. This guy took the Prado places others wouldn't go.
There are people that might have had them for 10 years and have never had problems but they might not take them off road either, truelly off road.
As I said before I do love them and I might buy one when I retire.

Hi Skippy
Would really appreciate the info & pics. More interested for my own sake and general knowledge of limits etc.
Some of the guys on "pradopoint.com" have had rear diff problems and some have/are putting diff lockers on which they hope will rectify the problem.

Are you are a ExplorOz member? If so could you send me a message re the pics.
If not I will give you my email address.
Thanks
PeteS

I thought that the practice of reverse snatching should be avoided in any vehicle? I know it's sometimes unavoidable but still that's what I've been taught!

Cheers
Scoey!

Scoey,

Thats exactly right. A reverse snatch should ideally not be done in any vehicle. The crownwheel to pinion gear mesh is not designed to be under full load in reverse. Even tractors are the same. A lot of people are not aware of this and therefore have dramas.

Cheers
Dave.

Is not widely known but without being a huge issue it seems there rear diffs are a bit weak. My Sisterand BIL blew theres when it wasnt that old (maybe a year) Was fixed under warranty

Thank you Glenn. :-). don't tell them you drive a Patrol or they won't believe you either. :-)

That's amazing Glenn .... 6 in one club .... is it related to the type of driving your club does perhaps - after all anything can be broken if it's abused enough. There have been no failures in my club but we aren't "hard core" drivers if you know what I mean. We've had outback trips including the Simpson and many high country trips so we're not just shopping trolleys. I'd be most interested if you would describe the situations in which the diffs failed so that I and others can perhaps avoid such a failure in future. Thanks Glenn

I'm with you Andrew, I'm in a Toyota Club here in Melb which has literally dozens of Playdoes and have heard or seen nothing with Playdoe diffs, suspension on the Grande, yep! diffs on 100 series and 78 / 79 series, yep! but no Playdoe diffs.

That's timely information. I'm in the process of deciding between a GU or 79 tray. I didn't realise to 79 series Toyotas had weak diffs. Cheers, Paps

I should have said front diff's Paps, do an archive search for details.

Two rear 120 series diffs at Rover park
One rear 120 series diff at Crystalvale 4WD park
One front 90 series diff at The Springs 4WD park
One front 90 series diff at Imbil state forest
One rear 120 series diff at Clubs drivers training
A club member complied a list of Pajero and Pardo (mostly Pardo's) so he could send it to Toyota to prove that they do have a problem with was in response to him speaking to Toyota about the high number of diff breakages and of course Toyota denying any problem with their diffs.
I will see if I can get a copy of the list.
Glenn

were there any TD failures?I wonder how much has to do with the 190kw in the 4.ol 120 series

LC,Thanks for your input. A few Q's, have you got lockers? Have you heard that they might help diffs?(air or auto lockers) What does "light rear foot" mean?

Thanks Phill

Phil,

I got lockers which were fitted only a couple of weeks ago..
Oops.... I meant light right foot. LOL.

Mine 2 years old 50 000 km and plenty of off road with no dramas. No lockers.
If you look at yahoo.groups/prado and you will see photos on there of rear diffs breaking. Too much flex of the pinion in the rear. Air lockers will help especially when one wheel is in the air and then it comes down. You will have to become a member to access it but well worth it. It doesn't cost.
My opinion is raised suspension but soft so it can flex and keep wheels on the ground. Example Lovells and Bilsteins is a very common set up on lcool.
120scruiser

How did you fit the 245 in it is too long without cutting ito the Chasis?