1996 Prado with the wobbles

[jakerster Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close jakerster]

Hello,

This may be blasphemy but I don’t really do any 4wd in my Prado. It is quite a comfortable ride on long drives to Melbourne and getting downhill mountain bikes back up the mountain again.

Anyway I believe I might need to have the rear shocks replaced as when I drive on road at over 60km/h and hit a series of high frequency bumps/rolls the rear end starts to get rather skittish, bouncing and wobbling around.

I got my father to look at it and he said it needed new shocks and something about rubbers on the panhandle (he isn’t sure what it’s called, some sort of strut in the rear).

If I need new shocks what do I replace them with and what should it cost to get them replaced at a reputable suspension shop. Is there such a thing as a pan handle and is it likely that there are some rubbers worn out in the rear suspension?

I am in Canberra by the way.

[jcas24 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close jcas24]

Re: 1996 Prado with the wobbles

I sure he would be talking about the panhard rod, it locates the diff in the middle of the vehicle. The rod mounts to the chassis on the drivers side, and the diif housing onthe passenger side. If the bushes at the mounting points are worn it would cause a certain amount of sideways movement.

[kjs Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kjs]

yeep ...most likely he was only taking a guess though . Best to get a reputable suspension place to have a look , relacing your shocks will improve stability especially if yours are totally stuffed .

[DJD 95 TDI Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close DJD 95 TDI]

HI

One way to test your rear shocks is to bounce on one corner at a time. When you have stopped pushing the car it
should stop in one movement. The panhard rods do not cost a lot (about $60) and are very easy to fit.
To get your shocks replaced it would cost about $350 to $450 for the rears and $400 to $500 for the front.
I have TJM XGS gold shocks on my prado and have found them to be excellent.

Cheers

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Could be your rear shock absorber bushes and or lower control arm bushes that need replacing. That'll cause the car to skip sidewards (especially warn bottom shock absorber bushes) and would be the first bushes to wear out because they're under the most stress. I don't think it'd be anything to do with the panhard rod. If you're just doing road driving, any new shock absorber would be a welcome addition over tired ones. So shock absorber choice isn't a huge deal if you're not off-roading. Monroe's would be more than adequate. As for replacing the shock absorber bushes alone without replacing the shocks, allow $400 from your local Toyota dealer to do the job. Not advised to replace rear shock absorber bushes yourself unless you have a few days up your sleeve for your first time doing it.

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

I'm tending to steer towards control arm bushes, I have seen this before on other vehicles, and after they did everything else it drove the same, until the control arm bushes were done, and then it stopped the wobble.

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Possibly the OP may have resolved the issue since the thread is 2 1/2 years old.

Love the side effect of the "new & improved" thread order ...

Lee

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

Possibly the OP may have resolved the issue since the thread is 2 1/2 years old.

Love the side effect of the "new & improved" thread order ...

Lee

Good pick up!
I never even looked at the original post date. I just replied to the new posts, must check next time...lol

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

LOL!
This new thread order is pissing me off

[ken2m Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ken2m]

LOL!
This new thread order is pissing me off

X2.
And I think even more, maybee.

[wholesalesuspension Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close wholesalesuspension]

Mine was doing this also.

It was a combination of worn Upper trailing arm bushes & the panhard rod bushes causing it.

Regards, Jason.