Vehicle & Technical > Toyota

Buying Land Cruiser for expeditions, any tips?

(1/6) > >>

beatmasterdave:
hi!
im looking into landcruisers at the mo for expeditions around UK and Europe, and hopefully taking to South America with me.
my discos great for now, but as everything in this land, rust is starting and ive seen what has happened to other discos. the plan is to rake in pennies and invest in a solid 4x4, diesel, 5+seats, really comfy with A/C, good radio, heating etc, easy to mod, really strong and reliable and doesnt rust that much. looking at even imports. i'd like to have it here, mod with expedition kit. im asking a lot for a truck, but how does the landcruiser fit in here?
what's their common faults?
rust areas?
any major things that you'd recomend fixing, modding, chaning straight away?
how are they with larger tyres?
easy to lift?

these are some trucks with mods i may beleaning towards...


thanks all!

beatmasterdave:
forgot to say. will need lockers too! :D

paul_humphreys:
Got this from a mate as Iwas looking for one.


--- Quote ---The big ends do seem to occasionally be an issue from about 120K upwards so it pays to change them when a vehicle is new to you. It's a simple job, drop the sump, take conrod end caps off, replace the shells and re-assemble. The hardest part is cleaning the old gasket off the sump!
Apparently european engine oils are very different to Japanese engine oils and the additive packages in our oil eventually can cause a problem. When we did mine 1 shell was quite pitted. Steph's looked like new as did I think all 3 of Ray's when they were done... Bearings are about £40 from Milners, good quality ACL ones at that.

> What are the bits to look out for?

UK models got axle diff locks as standard, most other markets had them as an option. That means imports very rarely have axle lockers. Other than that there's nothing wrong with imports. You can tell an import by 2 main things - they often have a mirror on the passenger front wing and the rear most side windows are a single piece where UK models have a split sliding arrangement.

1990-92 were effectively the MK1 80 series (my terminology, never heard anyone else put them in MK's). MPG 22-25.

1992-95 MK2. Main changes were larger brake discs all round, ABS, 16"
alloys (MK1 had 15" alloys which won't clear the brakes on a MK2). Almost all UK models are auto gearbox but I have seen a few 95 manuals (Ray has one). New improved gearbox. A few hundred other minor changes. MPG 24-26.

1995-98 MK3. Main change was 24 valve version of the engine delivering a little bit more power and economy but all UK models now manual gearbox to meet emmisions regulations. Revised dashboard, air bags (dual I think).
The 4.5l petrol engine became available in the UK market in 1995 as well.
MPG 25-30 (diesel) 14-18 (petrol).

I know a lot of people prefer a manual gearbox but I'm a firm believer that you only get the full Landcruiser experience with an auto. I've never owned a petrol one but if you can afford the fuel bills / gas it they are often a lot cheaper than the diesels.

Ideally go for a 92-95 UK diesel IMHO. The earlier ones the gearbox and brakes are poorer, the newer ones only came in manual gearbox.

If you see one you're interested in and want an opinion send me a link.

Best regards,
Jon.

Crash course in cruiser lockers then:

From the drivers seat, look on the dash to the left of the steering column for a black rotary switch about 2" square. It has 3 positions - off, rear, front & rear.

The axle lockers will only engage if the centre diff is locked.

On a standard UK model the centre diff is locked by putting the transfer box into low range. You can buy a switch from Toyota to get manual control of the centre diff lock, some markets got them as standard. The wiring is all there, just pop the blanking plate and stick the switch in (1st job on a new cruiser).

When the centre diff is locked an orange/yellow light comes on solid in the main instrument cluster (flashes until engaged). When an axle locker is locked a red light comes on solid in the main instrument cluster (one each for front and rear, flash until engaged).

On a hard surface with no wheel slip it can be a challenge to get the axle lockers to engage. Going round in circles sometimes works but just as often doesn't.

It's not uncommon for the axle lockers to have never (or only very rarely) been used so the actuator can become siezed (seems to be more common with the rear because of its more exposed position). The actuator is quite easy to remove and in most cases can be re-built with a little TLC. I have a couple of none functional rear actuators that can be butchered for parts.
Worst case senario would be converting to a home made cable or air actuated mechanism which is what I'll do with mine eventually.

The locking mechanism itself doesn't fail, it's just the little electric motor that gets full of crap.


--- End quote ---


I picked this one up today.



Paul

beatmasterdave:
thanks for your reply, thats great!!
looks like you got a great motor!! :D :D

paul_humphreys:
Imports are easy to spot most only have a one peice glass at the rear sides and most do not have the lockers.

Paul

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page