Prado vs Patrol 2006ish

[Brett_J]

Looking to upgrade the Pathfinder as there isn't much aftermarket support, plus a Turbo diesel for fuel economy.

I have about 20k budget, have seen decent examples for this.

Will be getting exhaust and chipped and other mods for power, but apart from tht and the usual 2" lift and tyres, it'll be more touring spec.

Will be driving both over the next few weeks to test them out, but anything to look out for ?

It won't be the timebomb version 3l Patrol, and the 120 odd kw version on the Prado.
I believe there was injector issues with the Prado ?

[mys1]

D4D Prado is my pick, HEAPS of aftermarket support capable off road, 180litre tank is awesome for range etc etc

Patrol always wanted to make me neck myself with lack of acceleration and power in general

[kurbn]

Id be picking the patrol due to live axle front. The front shafts and lower control arms will limit the ability to lift it past 50mm.
Sure you can use strut spacers but you will still have no drop.

[Passage GT]

Really depends what you use it for, would you get a 120 Prado in your budget? GU will be better off road but the trade off is their lack of power on the highways etc, in low range off road you don't notice the lack of power, my old man had a series 3 auto that was mechanically dead stock and never lacked power in soft sand etc
In that budget I'd personally look for a already modded td42 GQ... You'd get a very very good example

[Satan]

D4D in a 120 - Probably pushing the budget??

[Brett_J]

I'll reiterate.

Have found examples in my budget, hence why I asked, no point otherwise.
Will be used for touring, as stated.
2 inch lift is 50mm, won't be going higher, so ifs isn't an issue.
If I wanted an older car I'd stick with the 02 Pathy I have, don't want to go backwards into a rust prone GQ.

Not fussed if it's an ex miner, I want a 4wd I can scratch and not give a fuck about, I guarantee they wouldn't have driven it harder than I plan to. Plus it's not 1987 where a motor needed to be rebuilt at 100,000 km.

[huggy_b]

Not fussed if it's an ex miner, I want a 4wd I can scratch and not give a fuck about, I guarantee they wouldn't have driven it harder than I plan to. Plus it's not 1987 where a motor needed to be rebuilt at 100,000 km.

LOL, ever been on a minesite?

[Lasoya]

The 03+ GU 4.2TD's go for more than your current budget

[kurbn]

X2, wouldnt be buying an ex miner.

Suspension and bushes will be fucked, bulldust in every seal and crevace, possibility of a motor thats been dusted. Wiring harnesses attacked for a million accessories.
Minesite cars get a hard life.

if you're not fussed about jacking it then I would be considering how much space you need and what car you can get for your money with the km's. Better off with the lower km car.
Prado would be a bit more nimble and more comfortable but the patrol will have more storage space. 120s are certainly a nice car. Better quality interior.

[-Luke-]

Don't forget doused in salt water several times a day.

[phatboy]

the D4D Prado is like mid 07 on in the 120, we have an 06 Prado at home and it hasn't skipped a beat since we bought it in late 06 done over 200xxx kms and has had me behind the wheel so its been abused and still keeps ticking. managed to miss all the injector issues that these preD4D engines have.

ive only done mild off road stuff in it but it held up just fine.

if buy a Prado hands down over most other things especially a 120.

[Passage GT]

Hahaha, how backwards is that, 4x4 engines from the 80s are absolutely notorious for their longevity, not only the diesels either, I know of one tb42s at over 800,000 with only a head gasket been done and one at 680 with no internal engine work done...the old Nissan and Toyota diesels are well known for their longevity, where the hell did you pull 100,000km rebuilds from?

[Ko[R]uPt]

The 1KD Prado's have the known injector issue (google it and there is plenty of info on it, symptoms, causes, etc), just factor in $2-$3k for a replacement set. The early model 120 Prado came with the 1KZ, which is much more reliable, but isn't anywhere as fuel efficient as the 1KD.

If you haven't already, do some number crunching on costs between petrol vs diesel ownership. From a Prado perspective, diesels are generally more expensive to buy and require servicing every 5k vs the 4L petrol version, which there are plenty to chose from, and only require servicing every 10k.

If you want a diesel 120 Prado for under $20k, it will most likely be a GX.

Things to look out for:
Cracked rear door hinges
Cracked dashboard (meh)
Sagging bullbar (easy fix)
Cracked inner guards
Engine mounts
Paint wear behind the spare wheel (from mounting oversized tyre without spacer)

[kurbn]

Knew a bloke with a diesel 720 datto and it had 600k kms on the clock. got it off a guy who owned since new (old bloke) maintained it by the book. Clean as fuck engine bay too. Zero leaks. Not a lot of power, but still a reliable rig.

[Brett_J]

I meant just old school cars in general.

I drove a friend's 4 litre to broome last year, plenty of poke and wasn't too shit on fuel, the dual tanks helped, might even look at one of them.

[phatboy]

got 720xxx kms out of my brothers carby 2R before we scrapped it because he kept crashing it, still ran fine :P

[Passage GT]

My uncle just sold his petrol Prado, original shape with the smaller v6 petrol, he loved it and always said its economy was decent even when towing his van, he's only just replaced it with a v6 diesel d40
There's this huge stigma about petrol 4x4s in this country and its ridiculous, the amount of flack the y62 cops on the patrol forums purely for being a petrol is crazy, despite all of the people that actually own and use them loving them.
Certainly an option, the cheaper buy in plus running costs buys a hell of a lot of fuel, would take a lot of km for the economy difference to make it up.

[mr_mike]

I done a fair bit of research on the Diesel vs Petrol thing before buying my Patrol and the advantages vs extra cost comparison really didnt make it worth while. Specially in Aus where diesel isnt that much cheaper than petrol anyway. What you end up with a modern diesel engine is a high maintenance, temperamental to fuel quality, complicated and expensive to repair engine. But it will get 11L/100km big whoop, unless you are going super remote locations in which case you'd have jerry cans anyway your not gonna have issues with fuel range.
My dads V6 120 will do about 700km+ to both tanks and my 4.5 GU will do around 600km to both tanks, more than enough range to travel.

Brett you've seen my old mans 06 Prado on the sand that thing is amazing hands down best 4wd i have driven on soft sand, being auto with the v6 makes it super easy. It is also very comfy to drive about town and feels just like a large car rather than a 4wd in the city.
Its approaching 350,000km and has been super reliable with regular maintenance he has had zero issues. Hasnt had an easy life tho, they live in the country so it spends a lot of time offroad towing dads work trailer and has done a fair bit of touring around the Pilbara and Southwest.

[Brett_J]

Yeah looking at the 4.0 V6 more so the more I've thought about it, I will be going the auto route as I'm fucking sick of manual and perth traffic, auto is so much easier.


I got just under 900km to both tanks when I went up north in my friends manual one.
Not bad really :)

[Satan]

150 Prado D4D owner here

I get 1400kms from a fill (150 L) around the city, mate has a petrol and gets about 1100kms

where you see the difference is offroad and towing, his chews the juice on sand compared to mine.

so it depends on how you're going to drive it as to which way you go

[Niva]

I wouldnt buy the patrol based on it having solid axles, the lift doesnt give you more ground clearance anyway the tires do.. and from experience patrols with big tyres lose all road manners never mind the gearing goes to shit so in turn so does the power.

v6 prado in stock form will pretty much eat any track that someone who needs to ask the question will be tackling, its alllllllll about the driver. Learn to drive it and it will never fail to impress. My votes on the prado, plenty of room, drive nice and 10psi in the tyres it will go through quicksand.

[kurbn]

it goes both ways.. its not just the lift, its the drop. Control arms and driveshafts are the limiting factor. Patrol will have more drop in the front as the axle tilts so more traction on deep ruts

However he doesn't intend on turning it into a monster so doesn't really matter.

[Brett_J]

it goes both ways.. its not just the lift, its the drop. Control arms and driveshafts are the limiting factor. Patrol will have more drop in the front as the axle tilts so more traction on deep ruts

However he doesn't intend on turning it into a monster so doesn't really matter.

I have about 3" lift on my Pathfinder with 265/75 muddies on it at the moment, it has front IFS, the only issue I've had is the front diff, I need it locked, I haven't had any clearance issues mostly, and when I did have, my mates GU's had the same issues and also had to be skull dragged out of the mud,I won't be going any harder in it than I do now, I would keep the Pathy, but I want something a little bigger and newer inside, plus the bigger fuel tanks and power would be nice. Also more aftermarket support.

[South]

Pajero, hands down for what you want.
Prado is shit, drives like a boat for touring duties!

[mr_mike]

Pajero is definitely an under rated 4wd , it was on my list when i was 4wd searching and almost bought one. Can pick up a a tidy example for under $10k and they are well specced.

[Brett_J]

Yeah I forgot about them, saw a well modded one at site yesterday and it looked awesome.
They seem cheaper as well in comparison and don't carry the Toyota tax.

Just going to take a few different models for a drive and see what I like.

[Brod]

I have a 2006 120 Prado with a 1KZTE 4spd Auto and it has over 400,000 kms on it. Goes good for general duties and basic offroad for what it is, struggles to sit on 100 while towing a lighweight van up big hills. Gets about 1200kms from 180L with a full rack, bigger tyres, 2.75 turbo back and a heavy foot.

[upgarage]

Stretch budget and get a HDJ100
you will not be dissapointed