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SamC
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Joined: 31 May 2021
Posts: 8
Location: Melton Mowbray

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 9:03    Post subject: Keep it going Reply with quote

I've just purchased my first Landcruiser - not my first 4x4, but they have all been LR of one kind or another (last was a TDV8 Range Rover).  The vehicle is an LC5, on a 12 plate and has done 49k. Sourced from Toyota dealer so has 12 months warranty.  I am hoping that this will be a "keeper" and over the next 8-10 years I will add about 100kmiles. Mostly solo road work, but some towing (caravan / trailer) and limited off road duty.  What I would be very grateful for is advice on what to do now (and onward) by way of preventative maintenance to ensure long, reliable life. Re-do the undersealing? Gearbox(es) flush?  More regular oil/filter changes than recommended?

Many thanks
Sam
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Juddian
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Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 374
Location: Homeboy

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 18:53    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good choice, and welcome to the LC club.
Lovely motors RR's, addictive sound the V8 Diesel, you'll miss that no doubt but hopefully what the Cruiser loses in comfort/performance it will make up for in a,long trouble free life.

Everything you suggest, do.
You cannot give your engine enough oil changes.
Don't forget the coolant, its probably due, you can get Mr T's very own stuff online.

Brake servicing most important, unless the 150? differes substantially from the 120 you have 4 piston calipers on the front, the inner lower piston is the one which seizes first, so suggest every year whip the pads out and exercise the pistons in their bores, generally if you take a pad out and push one pad in its stablemate will push out, you might need to get an assistant to pump the pistons out gently so you have more movement in place to give them a good exercising, if that makes sense.
Rears could do with the same treatment, then a good clean and lube up, might be worth swapping the fluid whilst your down there too.
Park brake is the wonderful bomb proof drum inside disc design, worth whipping the rear disc/drums off and checking the brake shoes whilst down there, shoe adjustment is gained through a wheelbolt hole the adjuster is at the very bottom, a medium screwdriver does the job fine.
I've just changed the front calipers on my 16 year old 120, despite my good servicing the inner lower piston were getting stiff in their bores, roughly £110 each for good new calipers (5 year warranty) or if one can stand the motor for a week Bigg Red can refurb the for roughly £65 each.

Caliper carrier bracket bolts were tight, as expected after 16 years but they all came undone, might pay to undo the caliper carrier bolts clean the bolts up apply a wipe of whatever you prefer and retighten, that way if you every need to renew calipers that they're going to undo for you, same at the back.

Gearbox (presume auto) oil is probably fine for now, according to Toyota it doesn;t actually need changing, ever, just inspecting, but most mechanically minded owners give that advice a good ignoring, i did mine just short of 100k and the gearshifts improved noticeably.
If you're fairly handy at DIY its doable yourself, some really good videos online how to.

Rest of transmission oil changes are simple enough for competent DIY.
Prop shafts are the only greasable parts.
Keep the door hinges, especially the rear door hinges well lubed.
Inner CV boots seem to be the first to leak and split.

Chassis particularly at the rear end and live rear axle are the rust prone parts, worth cleaning it all down well and then see what needs doing, chassis and suspension mounting rust is what kills LC's, and when you eventually come to sell everyone who knows anything about these vehicles will be looking underneath first, so the expense and effort you put in now will pay you back a long time from now, see the prices even old LC's are fetching, but lots are being passed over once people look underneath.
The other part prone to rust are inner sills visible underneath between chassis and side steps, they get severe weathering at each end so well worth keeping them treated.
You'll see the fuel tank protector is also prone to rusting.

I really went to town on my 120 when i bought it because it as in good condition, did all the cavities, inside the chassis,  inside the bodyshell and foors i top up the underbody rustproofing myself every year, this is not a once only effort if you want a long life from the motor which you do.

Those of us looking at 10 years or older LC's have had some disappointing trips to view, amazing the number of neglected severly rusted underbodies out there, if yours is a rust free example when you come to sell they'll be fighting each other to get to yours first.

There, hope thats enough to be going on with, its probably safe to say i'm a little fussy about good servicing maybe others won't give you quite as long a list for starters  Twisted Evil

pleas ignore my numerous typos
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SamC
Newbie


Joined: 31 May 2021
Posts: 8
Location: Melton Mowbray

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 19:27    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, so many thanks for this detailed and excellent advice.  I'll have to rely on others for the underbody stuff, as I don't have a lift and can't get underneath beyond the oil drain plug. But I will take all this on board and do as much as I can.  

What about the timing belt?  Recommended interval is mileage only and suggests that there's plenty to go at, but it's nearly 10 years old...................

Funnily enough the only thing that really disappointed me about the TDV8s was the engine noise. I'd had petrol and gas converted petrol Rangies before and they sounded terrific, but the TDV* seems completely non-descript to me. Power and torque (700nm!) is another matter altogether, but it's horses for courses, and I will be using the landcruiser where LR help is both rare and expensive, so reliability is now essential.

I'd like to pass on a recommendation for the transmission; I was quoted variously but all over £600 (rising to £1000+) for an oil change on the 8 speed auto box on a TDV8 and was then recommended to A1 Premier Transmissions in Bigglewade. They have a garage with upwards of 20 stations all doing transmission work and I should think over 100 cars waiting outside.  THey strongly advise against the transplant "power flush" that empties the torque converter and in fact don't replace the filter if the oil and pan looks clean (and you do it early enough). For the RR they simply follow the ZF recommendations, which is to drain and replace (with a very specific transmission fluid) what comes out.  They charged me £102 for doing this.  They gave me the impression that what they don't know about transmissions is not worth knowing. Speak to Dave. It's where I will be taking the 150 for sure.

Many thanks again

Sam
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Juddian
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Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 374
Location: Homeboy

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 20:40    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sam, i do the same with transmission oil changes to what the place you mention recommends, but changed about 3 or 4 sumpfulls running the vehicle through the gears between each time, dare say you'll be paying them a visit in due course...might be an idea to see if they'll let you have a poke nose underneath while its up on the lift so you can see the underbody in ideal conditions and decide on your plan of attack.

Just out of interest, our other car a Subaru Forester auto has a spin on filter on the side of the gearbox, which looks identical to an engine oil filter but works in reverse, ie it filters only a small percentage of the oil constantly not all of it as an engine filter does, dashed clever those Japanese engineers.

Cambelt on the 3.0 litre is a brilliant design, all it does is drive the camshaft from the crank pulley via a tensioner/idler, none of this round the houses route flipping backwards and forwards via umpteen idlers as  other makes, and it doesn't drive the water pump either.
Unless its changed drastically from the 120 it's one of the cheapest easiest timing belt renewals i've come across, 1 hour first time DIY.
I've not heard of early belt failures on this engine, probabably because it has such an easy life and because its an easy cheap renewal they tend not to get left as you might if a £500+ bill was due on something more complicated.
I understand your concern due to age of the belt, but for peace of mind if you undo the 6 x 10mm bolts holding the timing belt cover on you can whip that off and inspect the belt yourself, and marvel at why all other vehicles arn't designed like this, you might find the price from Toyota to change the belt is less than you expect.

For getting underneath, i'm an old fart by the way (and poor hence diy, get the violins out  Wink , i have two high ramps and two standard car ramps, i place the normal car ramps in front of the rear wheels and the longer higher ramps for the fronts, then drive up all 4 in low range, then with benefit of LC5 inflate the rear airbags and you're level, job done.
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TONYCY11
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Joined: 05 Jun 2012
Posts: 409
Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:54    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thats good advice Juddian , I always prefer to service my cars myself and also an old un nearly 62 years old ,  because you know they have been done right with no skipping corners on quality of oils , greases and parts and procedures , as well as it gives you a great satisfying feeling when done ,  Sam if you can get to the engine oil sump drain you can get to just about all other under body service areas , if not  its a good excuse to lose some weight , and that is not just good for working on your cruiser its good for a longer fitter life as well as in the bedroom ,  your cruiser if well looked after can last as long as its owner and go up in value  , something you can not say about Landrover Discovery / Rangerover models .
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Juddian
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Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 374
Location: Homeboy

PostPosted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 22:35    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good point about lasting value Tony, reckon i could nearly get what i paid for the 120 4 or so years ago and i didn't buy it cheap then.

One thing i've learned with Toyota 4x4's, if its cheap there's always a reason for it.

If Toyota had galvanised the chassis and axle casings on their 4x4's they would be depreciation proof, whilst that might not appear good business practice making vehicles that last a lifetime they would have obliterated almost all competition  and be near enough sole off road vehicle supplier in the world.
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TONYCY11
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Joined: 05 Jun 2012
Posts: 409
Location: CYPRUS

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:44    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Juddian in warm countries rust is not a issue , here in Cyprus my next-door neighbor has a 1996 lc 90 (seems to be millions of lc 90s here ) he leaves it out in the sun all year round never washers or waxes it so its roof and bonnet and top of the doors and wings have peeled off most of the lacquer so looks horrible , but underneath it looks brand new with a bit of dust , none of the black paint is missing from the chassis frame or axles or props or suspension or bash-plates and we live 300 metres from the beach , and its the same with all other cars and 4x4s no rust but you can tell who waxes their cars by the look of the paintwork , as for holding their value you can buy 2 BMW X5s or Audi Q7s or Merc ML , LR Discovery's or Range Rovers  for the price of one Lc120 here and even 3 of the German Suvs or Discoverys or Range Rovers   for the price of a Lc 100 such is the respect for the Landcruiser durability and long life reliability , second hand X5s and Q7s , MLs and Porches suvs and LandRovers and Range Rovers are all well known as money pits when they have run out of warranty , my late 2009 120 invincible spent 5 years of its life in Birmingham
by its first owner and 2 years with me in West yorkshire before it ended up in Cyprus , it had very little surface rust on the chassis frame and axles , bash-plates which I took off with a wire brushes and treated it with Jenolite anti-rust treatment and painted with Hammerite  anti rust type paint from lidl 6 euros for a 1 litre tin compared to 22 euros for 1 litre hammerite   nearly one and a half years ago and all looks like I did it yesterday apart from a bit of dust , I park my 120 under cover and 3 times a year put a coating of carplan no1 supergloss one treatment is supposed to last 12 months     (a 8 pound bottle does 4 treatments on a big car ) after I have washed it as it only takes 30 minuets to do the whole car compared to at least 2 hours to wax paste it , so the bodywork looks great .
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Juddian
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Joined: 31 Jan 2015
Posts: 374
Location: Homeboy

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 13:58    Post subject: Reply with quote

Similar story here Tony, mine had 2 previous owners, looks like Norwich and Worcestershire according to SH and MOT, second one obviously a caravanner had a new towbar fitted at Mr T's @ £££, had it about 3 years before trading it in for  new motorhome in west mids, which is where i saw the ad online and my 'well heeled previous owners' antenna went up, i shot over there same morning  ad went live took one look underneath a brief test drive and bought it there and then.
Its proved a cracker, as these things are if they're properly looked after, came on a new set of tyres albeit Nexens which i've since replaced for Yokos cos didn't like the feeling in the wet in year 2 (every time i've experimented with budget makes the same story, ok first year less wet grip year 2), it also had 2 new batteries fitted at MrT within the previous 6 months and a FSH.
The only thing really rusting underneath was the OE sump guard, and a poor effort it is to be honest eh Toyota? which was beyond saving and i bought a ste of steel underbody guards from that Romanian site, which apart from the paint they use aren't bad at all, certainly better protection now than with the OE set, they usefully have a quickly removeable section for oil changes, so now the sump itself is protected when with the OE guard it wasn't,

Hopefully SamC will have equally good fortune with his, this is my 4th long term Toyota 4x4 and ironically the only one to have a single failure apart from the odd bulb and a silencer on my 70 series, 18 months or so ago the alternator died, easy enough replacement about £126 for a lucas recon from the local auto electrics place, took me a couple of hours to swap over....hint for anyone reading this, don't mess about trying to access it from above, take the offside wheel off and go in from the side.

Hope SamC has no reason to regret coming away from LR's, i've had a couple many years ago, series 2A and a classic RR, silly failures that shouldn't have happened soured the experience, i think L322s are lovely but darent risk one.

Let us know how things go with the 150 Sam, there was a decently priced 15 plater a few months ago similar mileage to yours in a lovely metallic green, was sorely tempted but @ £25k would have punched quite a hole in my not far off retirement savings so didn't buy it.
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