The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[mikerad]

Hi im a newbie, i have just purchased a 1998 land cruiser colorado 3.0 gx
137,000 miles with full history, very tidy inside and out.
Couple of niggles.......the glow plug light only stays on for a split second , is this normal, seems to start ok but might cause problems in the winter ?
A bit skippy if you hit a bad bit of road ?
Hopefully glean some knowledge from this forum
Cheers in advance
Mike

[Google]

[diggerdave]

Hi and good luck with your new Cruiser.  They are very durable cars as everyone here will attest.  They are'nt immune from problems however.  Especially important is to make sure that the cooling system is in top notch condition.  New radiator and coolant is the number one piece of preventative maintenance that you can do, especially if you own an auto.  

Glow plug symbol sounds right.  Skipping could be down to tired springs and shocks at the rear, especially if it's been a tow vehicle
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1997 KZJ90 3.0d, 2" suspension lift, 235/85/16 Cooper STT Pros. 217k hard miles

[paul6]

Hi mikerad,

Yep, the glow plug light duration sounds pretty accurate, i think ours comes on for 1 second.

The skipping is possibly down to worn springs and shocks and i did have ours replaced on the back like for like about 6 months ago and was disappointed that the ride didn't improve that much, what did help however was the lubrication of the bushes that connect the various chassis parts to the suspension parts. I sprayed all the bushes with copious amounts of WD40 (advised on this forum), the improvement in the ride was dramatic and once more put a smile back on my face. Worth a try to see/feel any improvement.


Done nearly 250,000 miles in ours and still genuinely drives a treat, 25 miles to the gallon and very, very reliable.

I have had many problems/worries and technical issues answered by the team on this site they are brill and very patient with you taking any procedure one step at a time.
Hope you enjoy your purchase.

Paul
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1997 Colorado 241,000 miles

[mikerad]

Thanks for the replies
lc is now booked in for new radiator (looks in a bad way ) and investigation on the rear springs etc
Its going to be a work truck first and foremost but i want it to be a second family vehicle for dogs/weekends away etc
Next job is some all terrain tyres (cooper st 3 ) and hopefully jobs a goodun as they say
cheers
Mike

[diggerdave]

Just thought I'd follow up to add that there are some slight weak spots/thinks to be aware of as these get older:

-cooling system.  New radiator and genuine Toyota red.  Roughtrax rads seem to be the consensus option.  This is to prevent overheating, which often leads to head failure and appears to be more common on trucks used for towing
-if it's an auto, new rad is also vital to prevent coolant getting into the transmission cooler built into the bottom of the rad
-some people have done further preventative maintenance on the cooling system: search for threads on viscous fan refill and 76-degree thermostats as well as checking that there are no leaks in the steel pipes leading to the rear heater on LWB models
-rear axle rust. Check especially the integrity of the upper suspension arm turrets and keep the drain holes clear at the base of the turrets by poking a thin screwdriver up there every few weeks.
-If your rear diff lock is still working, cherish it!

Other than that, these are great vehicles and at the relatively low mileage yours should have plenty of life in it  
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1997 KZJ90 3.0d, 2" suspension lift, 235/85/16 Cooper STT Pros. 217k hard miles

[mikerad]

Well, huge kick in the teeth for me,put  land cruiser in for an early mot and turns out it is as rotten as a carrot, possible 2k for welding, not happy.
Im going to get a second opinion as last mot was good with just advisory on a few minor things, surely it hasnt rotted out in 10 months since last mot ???

[diggerdave]

That's really bad news mate.  Serious rot is not common on these.  The rear of my sills went and my back diff case needed reinforcement.  I did find one rotten one when I was searching for mine and I suspect there was some special reason like it had been used on a beack or something.  It was also originally from Scotland (salted roads for much of the year).  Well worth a second opinion.  Have you seen the rot yourself?  I hope you get it sorted
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1997 KZJ90 3.0d, 2" suspension lift, 235/85/16 Cooper STT Pros. 217k hard miles

[mikerad]

I had a look when it was up on the ramp,rear sills,rear cross member, axle hanger, few other bits, im no expert but cant see where there is 2k worth of work !

[diggerdave]

Agreed.  Way too expensive.  Obviously it can mount up, especially if its necessary to do some dismantling, but it sounds like too much.  Rear x-member, hmmm.  Mines in a very poor state as I found out when I unbolted the tow bar - it went back pretty quick!

A bit late now, but for future maintenance the drain holes in the sill neeed clearing regularly.  Suposedly the sunroof drains into the sills and I suspect that on mine the water had been sloshing around in them merrily for years
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1997 KZJ90 3.0d, 2" suspension lift, 235/85/16 Cooper STT Pros. 217k hard miles

[mikerad]

Update !!
New rad fitted so hopefully no more worries there for a while
Got a quote for welding £600, an unexpected lay out but at least the cruiser will get an mot , over winter i will clean up underneath and get some treatment put on hopefully slow the rot down
Thanks for the input diggerdave, appreciated
Mike

[HairyWookie]

Hi,
£600 sounds a decent price; roughly what I have spent in the last 3 years on welding for MOT; wheel arches front and rear, rear cross member, 2 middle body mounts, inner and outer sills on both sides of body, re-build top turrets and bottom link mounts on axle.

Considering no other non-service outlays other than a set of tyres (£420) and an AC regas (£35) in 50K miles, I will take that as happy motoring.

I think the annual service of my parents Disco 4 seems to start at £600...
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Regards, Chris.

1997 KZJ95 3.0TD GX Manual (Jess)
Weekend Warrior with 18 years of mechanical experience; still learning...
Occasional use on SVO...