A mate wants me to look over a Landcruiser that he's thinking of buying, does anyone know of anything specific to look for? The only one I've worked on was a 1988ish South African import.
It's a 4.2 TD auto, I think an early independant front suspension one. Done about 130,000.
Thanks for any help, Kev.

what the model code? what year? and is a amazon? sounds like it if it a 4.2. not much to go wrong, heads are common on imports but thats mostly down to people using antifreeze instead of toyota longlife coolant.

I'm afraid I dont know anything about it other than what I've said above. Been looking on the Landcruiser forum & there seems to be a lot of different varients.
Knowing most jap 4x4s rust is the main thing, particularly on brake & fuel lines, & the props & axles dont last if maintainace is poor.

well i work in a toyota dealer and i aint failed one for rust. they usually quite solid. brake pipes do go however, handbrakes have a tendncy to seize. have you seen it at all? if it is indipendant at the front then think it may be the smaller version like a shogun.
if so then some have been recalled to have the rear shafts replaced as toyota think they may crack, this recall has only happend this year, and the 4x4 could well be in excess of 10yr old, and i have not seen one break so far. just toyta being cautious as usual.

Just back from having a look. It's H reg, LWB, live front axle, big straight six TD without intercooler & definately an import because there is mostly just japanese on the stickers etc.
To be fair on the rust Toyotas are the best by far (only ever welded one chassis & it was a dog rough B reg Hilux). This was very good underneath & someone has done a decent job of undersealing it, chassis, pipework & body all in excellent condition. Isuzus & Nissans can be terrible for rot!
Faults I found were a bit of play in a front wheel bearing (taper roller like most other things?), dampness around the front swivels, front shockers seemed a bit soft & one was leaking, a blown section of exhaust, driver's seatbelt needed replaced, passenger electric front window didnt work.
I've told my mate to go for it but to pull it down on the faults for a better deal.
Are there any parts supply issues with an import or do the likes of Milner have it covered?

import parts are not a problem from toyota dealers, just need the chassis no, and model no to hand. the one you are describing is a beast, i have seen a hub fall off one before but that was down to a garage not the 4x4 itself. these things are like tanks and would hat to smash into one. the exhaust system can be very expensive for a genuine one, but you can get a 3" system for cheap. which makes it sound even beefier!! not much to go wrong with these, as for the bearing just needs taking up a bit and greesing. can also pull quite a bit too. hope your mate will be pleased.

atb

rob

It is indeed a bit of a beast . It sounds great, the exhaust is just blowing slightly on the pipe seam on the curve that goes over the axle, it'll weld up & do at least another year.
He has a Chevy Blazer V6 petrol at the moment which has been somewhat unreliable & when you do want parts they have to be genuine because there isnt any aftermarket supply & some stuff has to come from America. He also has a 7.5 ton horse box which isnt used much so he's getting a trailer to put behind the Landcruiser. Even if the Chevy was reliable it cant tow enough & as you say the Landcruiser will be just the job for that.
Cheers for the info, Kev.

I've a 1991 Landcruiser 4.2 TD VX that I've converted to a two tank fuel system. It's the earlier 12 valve model, and has about 160 bhp in comparison to the 24 valves 200 odd bhp. The 12 valve has more low end grunt apparently. This is an amazing car. It's solid, reliable, comfortable and like driving around in your living room. The CV joints need repacking regularly, and for more info have a look at these sites.

Landcruiser Owners Online

Cool Cruisers

SOR

This is a good forum for any info you might need.

LC FORUM

Might be worth waiting for Wednesday to see how much GordonB is going to put up tax on them.
I suspect prices on used 4x4's will be taking a big hit soon if he's as aggressive as is being reported. Worth considering when negotiating at least.

[Edited on 19/3/07 by iank]