The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[AmazonMatt]

Having owned a few different Toyotas now, and a Lexus, I decided the time had come for me to go back to a 4x4. So back in February I purchased a 51 plate 2002 amazon 4.2 TD.  I always fancied one of these, and after I sold my Hilux Surf last year (which had served me faithfully for 3 years trouble free) I was missing owning a 4x4.  So I therefore expected the usual problem free flawless Toyota quality.... until I was driving my Amazon 150 miles home from buying it... and the engine management light came on.  So I stopped in the services, left it for 20 minutes and all seemed fine. Started up, no light showing, and drove home fine.  Ah, probably just where the engine had been steam cleaned I thought.  Then, about 6 weeks later, the turbo "spluttered" whilst driving up a hill and the light came on again.  So the car went into my local Toyota dealer and came out a week and a half later with a shiny new turbo ! (thank god that was covered under warranty, I bought the car from Toyota as "approved used" luckily).  What worries me is that this is it's second turbo, it had a new one at 47,000 miles 3 years ago, and now it has done 86,000 and had a third one !  This is worrying me now as I have never heard of Amazons eating turbos before ??...    

[Google]

[AmazonMatt]

D'oh, I actually bought it in September, not February... ps and f.a.o SJVX80, mine has rust starting on the tailgate as well...

[DaveN]

Guess you need to check the oil feed and return pipe.

[SJVX80]

Amazon Matt.

Your Amazon will still be covered by the Toyota anti corrosion warranty - it's a 6 year warranty for cars built up to 2002, and from 2002 onwards I think it's a 12 year warranty. Whichever warranty applies to yours, you should be fine - jump in to your Toyota Dealer quickly and make sure you spot all of the "Sheet steel panel rust".. check the area around the hinges (on the roof panel) to the top tailgate - important!! Maybe best to call Toyota Customer services first, then arrange to have an inspection by the dealer.. You should NOT have a probelm getting the work done for free by toyota, according to my conversations and research - oh, It will probably be a new tailgate, and if you have corrosion on the roof panel by the hinges, a new roof!!!

Still Pi**ed about mine though!

Bad luck about the Turbo, I now have a V8, but I'd had an "80 4.2TD" for years and the engine was faultless. V8 is lovely, but I miss the Turbo roar! Even though they seem to rust a little   , they are the best cars on the road - the perfect towcar!

SJVX

[AmazonMatt]

Thanks very much for that. I am getting to know my local Toyota dealer rather well lately after the nearly 3 grand warranty job for the turbo, and then last week I had a new front fog light fitted (also under warranty)...anyone got any ideas on how to prolong the life of the fogs ??  Anyway,  I still love the car and have no regrets about buying it so I suppose that is the main thing    

[Wandering Willy]

When I bought my amazon last summer, it had one fog light full of mud where the bulb had fallen out and the previous owner had left it dangling. The mud had rotted the interior so there was little hope of resurrecting it as a light. I took it off and painted the front glass (it's actually plastic) matt black. It doesn't look wonderful but better than leaving it grotty or taking it off completely.

A new one from Toyota is around £80 (each, i.e. for one). Another Toyota bargain.

Protection
The front lens is plastic so it's tougher than glass but probably not by much. You could fit a piece of clear perspex or polycarbonate sheet over the front if you have the patience to cut a suitable shape from sheet material.

Some amazon owners have mentioned that their fog lights are protected underneath by a plastic cover. Neither of mine has any covers behind them and they look vulnerable to mud and stones thrown up by the front tyres. If there are any covers - or you can make some - they would be a good idea. Perhaps other amazon owners reading this can advise.

The lights are held on by - I think - two hex head screws on one side. You need to go under the front of the car to access these screws. I think the screws are on the side of each lamp nearest the centre line of the car. The other side is held in a slot and the lamp then lifts out. The screws can be removed using a small socket (10mm?) on an extension bar but you need to clean off any accumulations of mud first or the socket won't fit on easily.

I hope this helps

Willy

[Simmo]

[AmazonMatt]

Well after all that my car is covered by a 12 year anti corrosion warranty so it shouldn't be a problem.  However, you couldn't make it up but my torque converter is starting to show signs of trouble....not badly at the moment but if anyone wants a silver Amazon 4.2 GX on a 51 plate with 89,000 miles on at a very good price please let me know !