I am a fan of knowing everything about my vehicle and when it comes to a Costa Rican Import I take special notice to the essentials...Costa Rica has a lot of great mechanics to maintain their Cruisers but unfortunately they are not often used... I have imported a number of Bj40 land cruisers from Costa Rica and they all seemed to be held together with glue! If you want the most out of your cruiser here is what I have done:
Engine (not in this order)
As most guys have commented on replacing all the basics - fluids and rubbers...
In the warm climate of Costa Rica it seems more common than not that the glow plugs are often not all working but because of the temp they are not as essential as up here in our colder states... Replace glow plugs
Pull head, have inspected for cracks (9 out of 10 will be cracked as advices by nearly every B and 3B diesel specialist and they are right). Costa Rica's warm climate it is not often as hot as a lot of our states and your cooling system will be pushed much harder than it ever has so be prepared for that cracked head to show it's true colors... Buy a good quality head gasket and not a cheap knock off or pay the price later..
While we are on the topic of cooling... Nearly every Bj40 from the great CR is filled with water not coolant. The minerals in the water destroy the aluminum water pump, termostat housing, and clog the cooling passages in the head, block and radiator with rust and other materials. When pulling the head to have it inspected and serviced which will also help to insure the head cooling passages are clear you will be forced to remove the pump and thermostat housing which gives you a great opportunity to inspect and more likely replace... Rather than spend the money on boiling out your crusty radiator just buy a new aluminum one for good insurance and better money spent... At the same time if you are looking for a easy power increase pull the belt driven fan and install a electric fan with a 180 degree sending unit... This will give you about 10 hp.
Inspect the cylinder walls for scaring while the head is off. If it needs a complete engine rebuild there are many shops in Canada that can help you with the parts you need and most engine rebuild shops can do the work (Easy engine to rebuild)...
Finally I would highly suggest pulling the injectors and pump. There are still a great number of authorized Nippon Denso repair shops you can send your injection system to in order to insure all is in good working order... Nearly every injector from every cruiser I have purchased needed to be rebuilt.. The injection pumps should be calibrated to insure the injection volumes are equalized.
So there you have it. If you do all this you will have a strong and fuel efficient bj40. Theses cruisers will continue to run even if most of these items are rarely if ever addressed and will likely continue for some time to come. In the end it really just comes down to what you want out of your cruiser?
I have also set up a few vintage air compressors on the B and 3B diesels... I had a new dual groove water pump pulley machined in order to have a designated belt for the compressor. I also set a few up with a Saginaw p/s pump for a hydro boost brake booster / Saginaw power steering box and eliminated the vacuum pump alternator for a high output Gm alternator when converting to a turbo charged system that used the oil supply line from the vacuum pump which ended up being retro fitted to oil the turbo...
All the headache I have learned from these engines turned me into a Cummins conversion fan which ended up costing me a lot less money but the B diesel is still a great little motor if you spend some time ironing the Ole girl out
Best of luck
