Getting the Prado ready for the big trip around the Coffs Harbour region.  We had a go at this last year, but unfortunately I got sick the first night and had to return home.

Before any trip I get the vehicle thoroughly serviced and everything checked.  I new my hadnbrake drum linings were getting low and the rear rotors had a lip on them, so I thought after almost 11 years I would replace them.

All went well until we tried to adjust the handbrake with all the new bits installed.  No matter what we did we could not get the handbrake to hold on the slightest of slopes.

After a lot of mucking about we found that the rear handbrake drums were’nt radius ground, so there was only a very small part of the linings actuall making contact with the drum.

I always run Lucas (TRW) pads in the Prado, they are absolutely the best pads out there, but unfortunately the rears are on back order, so when they arrive, we will have another go at getting everything working correctly.

See you out there!

When using the 4x4’s brakes hard, your vehicle’s front suspension compresses and you ‘use up’ most of its suspension travel. When braking heavily to avoid an obstacle e.g. pot hole or rut, and you cannot stop in time, release the brake pedal just prior to hitting the obstacle. This will allow the front suspension to return to its normal height and give more suspension travel when hitting the obstacle.