300k miles on original radiator, starter, wp, alternator -- is it possible? (1 Viewer)

[kty]

Are there known examples of 200s that get to 300k+ miles on the original radiator, starter, water pump, and alternator?

I've got a new-to-me 2015 with 240k miles. I took it to a Cruiser shop in Austin for a post purchase check over, and they said it was "in phenomenal condition." That said, it has not had any of those four things done. All are original based on the records I have. Shop says the radiator looks "great."

I will be taking this on the road later in the year, including to some remote areas in West Texas. I don't want to get stranded out there, but I also don't want to do $5k of work unnecessarily.

I welcome any input here. I've read a lot of the threads on the starter and radiator, and I know a lot of folks do it preventatively.

Thanks!

 

[tbisaacs]

Absolutely possible. Would I still replace those as PM? Totally.

 

[MRego]

Are there known examples of 200s that get to 300k+ miles on the original radiator, starter, water pump, and alternator?

I've got a new-to-me 2015 with 240k miles. I took it to a Cruiser shop in Austin for a post purchase check over, and they said it was "in phenomenal condition." That said, it has not had any of those four things done. All are original based on the records I have. Shop says the radiator looks "great."

I will be taking this on the road later in the year, including to some remote areas in West Texas. I don't want to get stranded out there, but I also don't want to do $5k of work unnecessarily.

I welcome any input here. I've read a lot of the threads on the starter and radiator, and I know a lot of folks do it preventatively.

Thanks!

You said yourself, going to remote areas West Texas and do not want to get stranded = replace those parts (or at least the radiator and starter).

 

[99Cruiser]

If you do it now you won't need to worry about those parts for another 150k-200k miles putting you around 400k miles. Maybe you can get a discount on labor doing it all at once since that radiator will be out of the way.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Curious to know why you think a new radiator, starter, water pump, and alternator would be $5k to get done. Im not super familiar with 200 series part prices, but those new OEM parts should only be a fraction of that price and you could get them all installed over a weekend. Just my 2 cents.

 

[stonepa]

Why replace what isnt broken or leaking? Frequent coolant changes will allow your radiator and water pump to last a very long time. Even if it starts leaking it isn’t catastrophic and gives you plenty of notice to replace. I have not yet replaced any of that on my high miles 200 and only replaced the radiator on my 470k mile 100 once when It finally vibrated apart from rough roads. Water pump I replaced every timing belt change and never once was it really leaking. Starter on my 100 has been replaced twice (every 200k or so) but only when it started giving me issues, and even with that i could have driven it years longer without a failure to start after 2 or 3 times. None of these part failures are sudden.

 

[kty]

Why replace what isnt broken or leaking? Frequent coolant changes will allow your radiator and water pump to last a very long time. Even if it starts leaking it isn’t catastrophic and gives you plenty of notice to replace. I have not yet replaced any of that on my high miles 200 and only replaced the radiator on my 470k mile 100 once when It finally vibrated apart from rough roads. Water pump I replaced every timing belt change and never once was it really leaking. Starter on my 100 has been replaced twice (every 200k or so) but only when it started giving me issues, and even with that i could have driven it years longer without a failure to start after 2 or 3 times. None of these part failures are sudden.

This is great context, thanks. I will say that there are quite a few posts on here that the starter failure can be very sudden, and that's why people who go to remote places proactively replace it. My LC shop here in Austin TX says that they see very few starter problems, and they speculate that it's something that happens more to trucks in the north owing to corrosive salt, etc. The radiator is also known to go abruptly, especially in hot places like here. But it's gone this long, so maybe I'll just cross my fingers.

 

[kty]

Curious to know why you think a new radiator, starter, water pump, and alternator would be $5k to get done. Im not super familiar with 200 series part prices, but those new OEM parts should only be a fraction of that price and you could get them all installed over a weekend. Just my 2 cents.

Labor costs mostly. The starter alone can be 4+ hours.

 

[stonepa]

This is great context, thanks. I will say that there are quite a few posts on here that the starter failure can be very sudden, and that's why people who go to remote places proactively replace it. My LC shop here in Austin TX says that they see very few starter problems, and they speculate that it's something that happens more to trucks in the north owing to corrosive salt, etc. The radiator is also known to go abruptly, especially in hot places like here. But it's gone this long, so maybe I'll just cross my fingers.

My experience with both is that the radiator will start leaking due to a crack in the plastic top cap but, even with that, it isn’t catastrophic. You can watch the fluid level and get it replaced when you get back. The starter will begin to act dodgy and you may need to try a couple of times but the vehicle will start. I may be lucky but I have not seen the starter completely and instantaneously fail. It given you plenty of warnkng.

Your experience may vary.

 

[TheBussman]

totally possible, just changed a genuine not reman alternator in a t100 at 340k. we did the radiator for a really small leak at about 320k i guess they could have been used parts installed in the past but had a 94 date code on a 95 truck. Tour truck is alot newer so not having as many years on it helps too.

 

[open country]

My 2011 with 219K is on the originals of all you mention. I don't plan on ordering the parts as PM if they're not broken, but I do try and monitor them regular to see any signs of failure.

 

[doru]

Strange that after at least two belts replacements (assuming they were actually done) you're still on original watter pump. Who did the maintenance on your truck?
As for the radiator, investigate to see which one you have. Maybe you have the new design. Search the forum for pictures how to identify them. When you go places at least carry coolant with you to refill.
For alternator have a proper load test done. Replace if in doubt.
The tricky one is the starter on our push button trucks. Trere is no clear failure pattern and it can fail sudden. At the minimum, before going to remote places familiarize yourself with the long screwdriver trick, and get/build/carry the necessary.

And as advised, if you're going to replace any, replace all in one go and save on labor cost.

 

[bloc]

I’ve never seen a how-to on the long screwdriver trick, or even pictures as evidence it’s possible. And crawling around under mine I don’t see how I’d even get access to the correct terminal on the starter.

 

[TeCKis300]

Yes, wholly possible that those parts can got that long. Especially if the drive cycles involve longer highway trips.

Most of the wear and tear on these parts are from starting and heat cycling. So a rig that does a lot of short local trip, is not likely to see components get anywhere near that longevity in miles.

Why replace what isnt broken or leaking? Frequent coolant changes will allow your radiator and water pump to last a very long time. Even if it starts leaking it isn’t catastrophic and gives you plenty of notice to replace. I have not yet replaced any of that on my high miles 200 and only replaced the radiator on my 470k mile 100 once when It finally vibrated apart from rough roads. Water pump I replaced every timing belt change and never once was it really leaking. Starter on my 100 has been replaced twice (every 200k or so) but only when it started giving me issues, and even with that i could have driven it years longer without a failure to start after 2 or 3 times. None of these part failures are sudden.

Generally agree. Caveat is the starter on the 200-series. It's not like the starters on other vehicles that can be limped along. I didn't believe it until I experienced it myself. One false start and that was the only warning shot before complete failure. 30 attempts later, charging batts, jump start for more voltage...nothing made for another start and this would be a critical failure if it were to happen while on an adventure trip.

Too many have experienced the same on these boards, including some unlucky few who experienced this backcountry. @kty - consider this fair warning

 

[doru]

I’ve never seen a how-to on the long screwdriver trick, or even pictures as evidence it’s possible. And crawling around under mine I don’t see how I’d even get access to the correct terminal on the starter.

I have not tried it myself. I found posts elsewhere from people that did it, including what Harbour Freight Tools long screwdriver they used and the contraption they build. Basically a long and thick enough insulated cable tied up to the screwdriver blade above the handle, then every conductive part is wrapped in electrical tape, except the tip of the blade. The free cable end is tied to the battery plus terminal.

To make it easier you can buy cheap jump cables, split the negative and cut one end of the positive cable. Use a wire clamp to attach thrcut end to the screwdriver blade. Use heat shrinking tube to cover the rest of the blade. Use electrical tape to wrap the wire clamp.

The part still a bit scary is the sparking, greatly reduced by the tape and tube, but still hapenining when contacting the starter terminal. There can be even more sparking if you touch something else with the tip and this not being fused protected can mean trouble for the battery if done long enough. The spark can also damage parts not unlike welding.

An improvement will be adding a one hand operated switch on the cable to allow for blade positioning on the terminal before turning on power/starting.

I have not seen any pic/video on how you get to the starter terminal, and I do not recall what those guys said about it.

 

[doru]

Here's a link on mud

Real time STARTER help

That's interesting theory. Can you please tell me where is this relay? And if there is a way to test it somehow. Should I just replace it, by chance do you know how much that would be? Thanks for the help! The relay I'm talking about is the is the main BIG one that's a part of the starter...

forum.ih8mud.com

One important detail... you need two people to start it.

 

[jmw101]

Absolutely possible. I personally did it on my '13. I changed out the originals "pro-actively" right around 300k miles, but was experiencing no issues and didn't see any evidence of wear/problems. I just figured it was worth doing given the miles. I had bought the truck new and put on all of the miles. Sold it at 348,000 miles to fund kids college/vehicle expenses. Back in a '21 and just crossed the 60,000 mark now. Incredibly solid vehicles.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Are there known examples of 200s that get to 300k+ miles on the original radiator, starter, water pump, and alternator?

I've got a new-to-me 2015 with 240k miles. I took it to a Cruiser shop in Austin for a post purchase check over, and they said it was "in phenomenal condition." That said, it has not had any of those four things done. All are original based on the records I have. Shop says the radiator looks "great."

I will be taking this on the road later in the year, including to some remote areas in West Texas. I don't want to get stranded out there, but I also don't want to do $5k of work unnecessarily.

I welcome any input here. I've read a lot of the threads on the starter and radiator, and I know a lot of folks do it preventatively.

Thanks!

Totally possible

I got mine at 213k and all service records since new.

Radiator replaced as preventative PM 100k ago, but starter, alternator, power steering pump, water pump, etc.. All original!!

I am in the process of replacing it all for piece of mind, over anything else.

 

[open country]

I got mine at 213k and all service records since new.

Radiator replaced as preventative PM 100k ago, but starter, alternator, power steering pump, water pump, etc.. All original!!

Another data point; I bought my 2011 at 218k, and all original except the alternator at 175k done at Toyota. Even the original "old/bad" radiator that everyone on Mud says will explode at 100k. A high mileage 200 with great history is the best bargain in Land Cruisers today.

 

[OregonLC]

Mean time between failures implies a distribution curve not a hard value. The trouble is you're somewhere on the far right of this curve and don't have any way to quantify how much tail you have left. Banking on Toyota reliability to carry known problem parts into statistically questionable timelines isn't wise, IMO. You know they're up for replacement, why not just do it proactively rather than risk a costly inconvenience? Take care of your Cruiser and it will take care of you.

Have you yourself compared the radiator part number flat against the updated radiator style yourself to confirm that's it's original? Unless the shop knows how to identify the upgraded parts they may not have caught that it was replaced. Not everything is always included in the records. With 240k on the clock this could have been done 140k ago and be just as dirty as everything else under the hood. At a minimum, have you inspected for any micro-cracking around the failure point? This should give you some indication of where it's at in it's lifecycle.