Hey everyone,
I'll soon take delivery of a 1996 J78 Prado, pictured below. This will be my second Land Cruiser (I had an FJ62 that I bought from a member here and sold several years later). I wanted to get some advice from everyone as far as the next steps to complete with this build, mainly for preventative and diagnostic maintenance.
As you can see, it's really clean - only 99k kilometers/61.5k miles on the odometer and it was rated a 4 on the auction sheet. Underbody and jambs are in excellent shape, no rust anywhere. Color code is 26Z (emerald/oyster) although it looks black/silver in the pics.
The timing belt was replaced at 87,000 km.
As far as what I'm doing next - Preventative maintenance is my chief priority: I want to make sure this thing is running properly and will continue to do so for its next 100km. Thus;
1) I'm going to get all the fluids changed when it gets stateside.
2) I've ordered a 1KZ-TE EGR delete kit from Vanlife Northwest that I plan on installing.
3) I'm strongly considering the Dobinson's stock height restoration lift kit.
4) Wheels and tire are in the cards for the future, but not right away.
5) I plan on having my shop check the head (and replace the head gasket while they are there as a preventative measure). Is there a way of determining whether the head has any issues without paying for the labor of tearing the engine down? Do I just suck it up and replace the head or do I wait until I notice possible issues?
6) I'm thinking about upgrading the radiator to combat the overheating issues that seem to plague the 1KZ-TE.
Does anyone have any comments on the above or any suggestions on additional maintenance items that need to be addressed?
Mods? I will not be offroading other than on the beach. I'm in Florida - the only rocks in this great state are the ones you buy under the overpass for $10 each. When the tires get replaced eventually, I'd like to outfit this with a set of the black wheels with the chrome hubs that I see often on builds here. Any leads on those wheels and suggested tire sizes?
I'll keep everyone posted as we move along!
I'll soon take delivery of a 1996 J78 Prado, pictured below. This will be my second Land Cruiser (I had an FJ62 that I bought from a member here and sold several years later). I wanted to get some advice from everyone as far as the next steps to complete with this build, mainly for preventative and diagnostic maintenance.
As you can see, it's really clean - only 99k kilometers/61.5k miles on the odometer and it was rated a 4 on the auction sheet. Underbody and jambs are in excellent shape, no rust anywhere. Color code is 26Z (emerald/oyster) although it looks black/silver in the pics.
The timing belt was replaced at 87,000 km.
As far as what I'm doing next - Preventative maintenance is my chief priority: I want to make sure this thing is running properly and will continue to do so for its next 100km. Thus;
1) I'm going to get all the fluids changed when it gets stateside.
2) I've ordered a 1KZ-TE EGR delete kit from Vanlife Northwest that I plan on installing.
3) I'm strongly considering the Dobinson's stock height restoration lift kit.
4) Wheels and tire are in the cards for the future, but not right away.
5) I plan on having my shop check the head (and replace the head gasket while they are there as a preventative measure). Is there a way of determining whether the head has any issues without paying for the labor of tearing the engine down? Do I just suck it up and replace the head or do I wait until I notice possible issues?
6) I'm thinking about upgrading the radiator to combat the overheating issues that seem to plague the 1KZ-TE.
Does anyone have any comments on the above or any suggestions on additional maintenance items that need to be addressed?
Mods? I will not be offroading other than on the beach. I'm in Florida - the only rocks in this great state are the ones you buy under the overpass for $10 each. When the tires get replaced eventually, I'd like to outfit this with a set of the black wheels with the chrome hubs that I see often on builds here. Any leads on those wheels and suggested tire sizes?
I'll keep everyone posted as we move along!