90 & 91 Prado w/2LT engines

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1990 LJ78 said:
Just had to get all this out. Hope along the way it shed a positive light on these trucks instead of beating them to death cause of the motor and is only my experience. Which I must say I'm thankfull I've had..:grinpimp:

All the best guys:cheers: :grinpimp: :grinpimp:
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as most LJ owners will agree, they really are a nice ride.
i took the brown out out today for a boot in the hills around here and it excelled as usual, high range 95% of the time, climbing hills that full locked V8s didn't make. side hill on slippery hills easily, smooth ride...
my wife has put over 20,000 km on it maybe much more, i can't remember any more, daily driving to and from work with no issues BUT one day the head will go...
i feel if this unit is a daily boot around the city truck it should last a long time but if you do highway driving bucking a head wind or up steep long hills then this is not the truck for you...

i just wish Toyota would have put a bit more thought into the engines...
 
Island Moose said:
I'm not so sure about that, haven't we heard from an owner here who has had the 2nd head go as well? Certainly driving up hills can't be classified as "abusive" driving, yet that's the very thing that's wrecking these engines.
.
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abusive driving is driving a unit in a way that is known to kill the engine.

if the red line is 4700 rpm then, theoreticly you should be able to drive it like this all day long...
 
How come you guys don't get the HZJ Prados? they sell here for a premium over the LJ's, but it's only about the cost of a head job plus a bit for them being newer.

edit: crikey! I just converted CDN$16K to NZ$! You couldn't sell anything with a 2LT in it in NZ for more than about 6K CDN.

Cheers
Clint
 
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clintnz said:
How come you guys don't get the HZJ Prados? they sell here for a premium over the LJ's, but it's only about the cost of a head job plus a bit for them being newer.

edit: crikey! I just converted CDN$16K to NZ$! You couldn't sell anything with a 2LT in it in NZ for more than about 6K CDN.

Cheers
Clint
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The HZJs are full sized Landcruiser's or do you mean the KZJ Prados?
 
clintnz said:
Doh! yeah, I meant the KZJ. Great wagon, pity they only made them for a couple of years.

Cheers
Clint
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not legal for import at this time...
 
Sr Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
00 1992 0001001 0001006
1993 0001007 0001010 0001029 0002241 0003628 0005448 0006449 0008426 0010189 0011924
1994 0012866 0013839 0015160 0017023 0018481 0019842 0021447 0022825 0023533 0024696 0025971 0027237
1995 0027929 0028862 0030273 0031928 0033282 0034378 0035775 0036895 0037351 0038419 0039183 0039826
1996 0040251 0040743 0041459 0042260 0042406


actually the first was nov 1992, 7 by Jan 1993
 
13,000 kms and counting and no problems thus far, 10 psi of boost and no overheating.

love every minute of it, and its a real head turner, the thing I love best about it is the headroom, and visibility.

Don't despair, if you really love it and have a decent mechanical background you can overcome any problems that may arise.
I myself if the head cracks will replace the motor with the KZ block, and keep on loving it.
 
unfortunately IMOP a diesel should be something that can be abused beyond anything you can imagine. The whole purpose of a diesel IMOP is for work, commercial applications. To be put away wet and run hard again.

If it can't pass that test... it isn't a diesel. Maybe a high compression gasser running on diesel.

I like a diesel to have tractorish qualities. Shame on Toyota.

But good to hear many are having positive experiences. But I wonder how many poor people paid all they could afford for one of these trucks from a dealer and are screwed. No money to fix it. Babies to feed etc.... If the engine failed on me in Prado I would take it out and throw it in the garbage, and install a cheap gasser Toyota engine.
 
brownbear said:
If it can't pass that test... it isn't a diesel. Maybe a high compression gasser running on diesel.

I like a diesel to have tractorish qualities. Shame on Toyota.
.
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LOL!!... a true HD diesel bigot speaks...right up there with Brett, Peter and a few others...

as for tractorish qualities, these truck do have what it takes in the bush. a tractor does not go fast, it does it's work and these can do it in the bush where a true Crusier shines anyway.
these would be great around town but on the highway?? i would not recommend it.
i finally have Berni's bush truck dialed in and it is running strong (but i still don't trust it on the highway, the EGTs are low, it never oges over 1/3rd but in the back of my mind i would not feel comfortable heading across Canada in it...

there are MANY that spent their budget buying these only to have them fail, this is sad.

but, Robin and a few others are still loving their trucks and rightly so, they are comfortable, quiet and room for the whole family inside...my wife loves hers and i love driving her bush rig as well, it is fun to show up the bigger trucks in such a mall queen...
 
Swap It

So keeping somewhat on topic thinking of options for Prado owners who may be on their 2nd new head tring to figure out options--
What motors would bolt right into a Prado with minimum work? Any one know?
Is the Buick v6 a bolt in or would there be mega works involved.??
What model of motor is in the commodore. V6 but dose it have a part / model number??
Was it the only V6 ever put in a Buick commodore?
Is Any one from Down under on this board that has done this swap?? and documented it? Or maybe for that matter documented any prado motor swaps within reason? these could be used as a possible guide.

This may give some of those people who own a Prado the option of a fix, gasser maybe but a fix.:grinpimp:

Are there any other diesel engines besides Toyota diesels that would bolt into a Prado that are known to be good runners?
Yet another possible option.:grinpimp:

Just thinking out loud here (guess I better stop:) maybe not such a good idea):)

:cheers:
 
One LJ70 with 7M-GE builded at Finland, can´t remember was there Volvos portal axles also.
H_Nietu-LJ005.JPG
 
1990

Is the Buick v6 a bolt in or would there be mega works involved.??
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Any swap is a lot of custom work - it makes little difference to the effort unless you are swapping within an engine family (same bellhousing pattern, etc) - if you are going to power plant that isn't intended to be there - there are always challenges. The exception is when you have the bucks to pay for a "kit", but then it will still take 2x to 10x as long as an engine swap.

In a 4x4, if you are looking to do a cross-breed swap, it is usually easier to change the tranny and transfercase at the same time, if you can get one with the correct drops that comes stock, mated to the engine you want.

The price paid for the engine is always the cheap part.
 
So what about swapping in a 13bt? Can it be done? My first thought is that the 13bt weighs a bit more so new front springs would be in order. Is this a feasible solution?

Karl
 
the 13BT will be too tall and too heavy, you will also need the tranny as the imput shaft is different and that will be heavier as well as bigger...
 
So what about the buick V-6 swap??
 
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