Rear shock guards worth it? (Prado 150)

[Lorgar]

Hey folks,

What do people think of these suckers - https://www.kaon.com.au/rear-shock-abso ... toyota-pr/

Worthwhile?

I have the sump, transmission and transfer case guards installed which all get a bit of a workout.

Can't say I know of anyone busting a shock in normal-ish four-wheel driving. I'm not out there doing anything extreme, not rock-hopping for the challenge of it, just getting from spot to spot when there is no road in the middle.

Opinions?

For the Prado 150 in my case.

[on_one_wheel]

The definitely be good insurance if your doing lots of dirt. Especially if your shocks are that exposed.

Pretty good price considering how well made they look to.

[bigpete]

I know up at birdesville the local mechanics spend a lot of time building guards to cover everything they can underneath because of the stone damage

[bladeracer]

Our Landcruiser has aftermarket struts. The rears have adjustment knobs, one of which is broken off. Really poor design having that hanging out where it could get broken. No other guards though.

Hey folks,

What do people think of these suckers - https://www.kaon.com.au/rear-shock-abso ... toyota-pr/

Worthwhile?

I have the sump, transmission and transfer case guards installed which all get a bit of a workout.

Can't say I know of anyone busting a shock in normal-ish four-wheel driving. I'm not out there doing anything extreme, not rock-hopping for the challenge of it, just getting from spot to spot when there is no road in the middle.

Opinions?

For the Prado 150 in my case.

[Gamerancher]

They'll stop the pretty coloured paint on your u-beaut after market shockies from chipping.
If you plan on doing 1000's of k's of gravel roads sitting on 100+km/h they might be worth the effort to prevent the beating the shocks cop from stones..
More likely that they will eventually fatigue crack, rattle around a bit. then break off and jam in your rim.

[bigpete]

They'll stop the pretty coloured paint on your u-beaut after market shockies from chipping.
If you plan on doing 1000's of k's of gravel roads sitting on 100+km/h they might be worth the effort to prevent the beating the shocks cop from stones..
More likely that they will eventually fatigue crack, rattle around a bit. then break off and jam in your rim.

I've seen the mounts worn away on vehicles in a very short time that were driven predominantly around on gibber roads. They're not wholly for show

[Lorgar]

The definitely be good insurance if your doing lots of dirt. Especially if your shocks are that exposed.

Pretty good price considering how well made they look to.

On the rear of the 150, the shocks are in front of the axle, unfortunately. Bit of a foolish design from Toyota given the nature of the vehicle, I'd have thought, but here we are.

I'm sure the guards are made well. I have a few of the Kaon bits, the fit and finish, and material quality of everything has been great so far.

[Lorgar]

They'll stop the pretty coloured paint on your u-beaut after market shockies from chipping.
If you plan on doing 1000's of k's of gravel roads sitting on 100+km/h they might be worth the effort to prevent the beating the shocks cop from stones..
More likely that they will eventually fatigue crack, rattle around a bit. then break off and jam in your rim.

Protecting the blue and yellow of my Bilstein shocks is critical, obviously. How else will anyone know what a big, tough, 4WDing man I am?

My Prado is pretty exclusively a tourer these days. I have my motorbike for city life, the Prado just gets taken out for camping trips; knocking over a few hundred km on the freeway before a bit of off-roading to get to the camping spot.

I do end up in some properly remote places though, and it'd certainly be beyond my ability to 'bush-mechanic' up a broken shock.

I'm leading towards them being worthwhile, I think.

[Lorgar]

Our Landcruiser has aftermarket struts. The rears have adjustment knobs, one of which is broken off. Really poor design having that hanging out where it could get broken. No other guards though.

What LC are you driving exactly?

[bladeracer]

Our Landcruiser has aftermarket struts. The rears have adjustment knobs, one of which is broken off. Really poor design having that hanging out where it could get broken. No other guards though.

What LC are you driving exactly?

1994 I think HZJ75?

[Lorgar]

Yep, I know the one.

Quite similar rear to the Prado.

[Gamerancher]

Lorgar, glad you saw the sarcasm do-hickey. Still, they are designed for stone protection not bouncing off rock ledges. Considering they mount via the shock mount bolt, hit something hard enough to break that, they ain't gunna stop it breaking. If anything they look like they hang lower and are more likely to hang up on something the shock would have cleared.
My ute has 4 shocks on the rear axle, two in front, two behind. With plenty of off-road and 10's of 000's of gravel road travel the shocks get beat to sh!t but I've never had one break.

[animalpest]

Never had a shock break on my Prado which did some pretty nasty roads. My Cruiser works in the Kimberley and same deal. And the only issue I had with the 7 D-Max's is one broke the shock mount after 350,000 hard km.

[Lorgar]

If anything they look like they hang lower and are more likely to hang up on something the shock would have cleared.

Mmmmm, fair point.

Watching the install videos where you see some better angles looks I'd say you lose about 15mm below the shock.

[Gamerancher]

A case of a solution looking for a problem.
I did 4 years travelling 80km of gravel a day to a mine where I was working. There's no paint left under my ute on anything facing forward. It beat the hell out of the shocks on the front of the axle but I never broke one or had one fail.

[Die Judicii]

Not needing any of those do dads on my cruiser.

But looking at the link,,,, I see it's primarily aimed at the FJ Cruiser. I'm presuming the "current" FJ and not the rugged old Snorty 40 Series.
So if all these do dads are missing/lacking or poorly positioned on these vehicles,,,,, it makes me wonder have Toyota dropped the ball.

[Boundry Rider]

Not needing any of those do dads on my cruiser.

But looking at the link,,,, I see it's primarily aimed at the FJ Cruiser. I'm presuming the "current" FJ and not the rugged old Snorty 40 Series.
So if all these do dads are missing/lacking or poorly positioned on these vehicles,,,,, it makes me wonder have Toyota dropped the ball.

The first of the FJ cruisers were built on Prado chassis, I imagine it’s still the same to date.

[Die Judicii]

Not needing any of those do dads on my cruiser.

But looking at the link,,,, I see it's primarily aimed at the FJ Cruiser. I'm presuming the "current" FJ and not the rugged old Snorty 40 Series.
So if all these do dads are missing/lacking or poorly positioned on these vehicles,,,,, it makes me wonder have Toyota dropped the ball.

The first of the FJ cruisers were built on Prado chassis, I imagine it’s still the same to date.

The Prado hadn't even been thought of when the first of the real FJ Cruisers were made.

The FJ cruisers of today don't even rate a mention in my book.
Just look at how many there are on the roads,, and that'll tell you that they never really took off.
A niche market at best.

[Boundry Rider]

Not needing any of those do dads on my cruiser.

But looking at the link,,,, I see it's primarily aimed at the FJ Cruiser. I'm presuming the "current" FJ and not the rugged old Snorty 40 Series.
So if all these do dads are missing/lacking or poorly positioned on these vehicles,,,,, it makes me wonder have Toyota dropped the ball.

The first of the FJ cruisers were built on Prado chassis, I imagine it’s still the same to date.

Okay to be specific, referring to the FJ Cruisers modern soft etc

Obviously not the FJ Landcruiser

Agree they’re pretty, pretentious and a little pathetic, but whatever floats people around

[deye243]

Hey folks,

What do people think of these suckers - https://www.kaon.com.au/rear-shock-abso ... toyota-pr/

Worthwhile?

I have the sump, transmission and transfer case guards installed which all get a bit of a workout.

Can't say I know of anyone busting a shock in normal-ish four-wheel driving. I'm not out there doing anything extreme, not rock-hopping for the challenge of it, just getting from spot to spot when there is no road in the middle.

Opinions?

For the Prado 150 in my case.

Meh didn't need them 20 years ago don't need them now unless you are doing comp truck stuff why would you bother unless you are keeping up with the Joneses

[deye243]

Yeah yeah yeah I know double post how the hell did we get in to Wonnangatta station back when it was a proper four-wheel drive track these days it's a ****** superhighway.
Back in the 80s Herne spur and the other tracks no diff locks just a winch and a s**t load of work .
Depending on the season 4 days in 1 weeks hunt 5 or 6 days to get out because of rain.
the pussies these days would not even know what a hunt is about

[Lorgar]

The first of the FJ cruisers were built on Prado chassis, I imagine it’s still the same to date.

Seems so. A fair amount of aftermarket stuff for "Prado 150 / FJ Cruiser".

Same UVP, recovery points, lift kits, engine bay accessories, mounting kits etc.

[Lorgar]

I decided, stuff it, I'll give them a go.

In a month or so I'm off to spend 2 weeks pottering around the Flinders Ranges and surrounds, driving up from Melbourne.

If I'm going to give them a go, might as well have them on before racking up 3000km there and back.

For a bit of fun/testing, I gave the front of the guards a spray with a layer of coloured epoxy enamel.

I'll post back with however much of it's left on after the trip

[Lorgar]

So, I think I'm a convert for the shock guards.

As I said above, I painted the guards with metal enamel before the trip.

No real surprise, but after 7,000km around Flinders with plenty of unpaved roads, dirt and stone tracks, corrugations and all that the guards were stripped to bare metal.

1,000 tiny little surface pockmarks on each from the endless stones getting flung up. Obviously, these guards are a heavier-duty material than the shocks themselves, and that's all wear that would have gone onto the shock instead if not for the guards.

For $200, I think it's a win.

[on_one_wheel]

You picked a perfect time to visit the Flinders, I bet it's looking great up there, creeks flowing, flowers blooming, goats bleating merrily