bj74 Ontario (familiar?)

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NGray

NGray

10 Year
Joined
Jul 12, 2012
Threads
26
Messages
837
Location
Fl, USA
Website
www.nigelgrayfoto.com
Is anyone familiar with this bj74? It came from Vancouver and sitting in Ontario now. It's about an hour away from my hometown and would be able to have a friend look at if need be. That being said I would rather not send him out if somebody knows about it on here.

I've had a couple emails exchanged with the owner, but nothing concrete with photos and information. I have family that could store it until legal if it was in good as shape as he says it is.

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...9-Toyota-Land-Cruiser-BJ74-W0QQAdIdZ448589486

:beer:
 
If it's truly clean, it's probably worth it as they are getting very hard to find now.

Ontario can be very hard on vehicles due to salt etc. Make sure that you check this vehicle out in-person and very carefully.

Look for rust in:
- front part of rear fenders
- rear part of rear fenders
- in the rocker panels at a line that drops straight down from the B pillar (there's a complicated seam in there that traps water that leaks in from the FRP top)

This unit does not have a full floating rear end, and as such will not have factory lockers.

Always, always, always get a thorough mechanical inspection on any used purchase from a competent shop unless you can do it yourself and the owner is willing to let you.

JDMs often have really truly horrible cooling system maintenance - usually seen in poorer condition trucks that were of moderate to low auction grade in Japan. If it's been in Canada for a while, it's more than likely been sorted out - but do check the rad cap, hoses, radiator and coolant condition.

HTH,

John
 
Thanks John. I have a family friend in St. Catharines who is a mechanic and has build a couple bj42's. He doesn't know much about 70 series, but I would trust him to give the rig a good assessment before I decided to fly up there. I was a bit concerned since it did not have a full-floater in the rear and was wondering if it was worth passing on it because of that and continue my wait.

The owner hasn't been very good with replying and sending photos so I think it will be a moot point anyways.
 
A full floating axle is neither here nor there for normal use, both FF or SF are strong and will last just fine in the long run. In no way would it be a deal-killer for something like this.

~John
 
"My main goal is to have an expedition style rig for light use....and heavy if need be. I'm not looking to make a 70 into a mudder and beat the piss out of it, but something that I can take anywhere if need be, but primarily use for camping and light offroading. My toyota pick-up is a SF and I have beat the s*** out of it never having an issue. I got worried when I started to read how everyone tries to get a Land Cruiser with the FF."

The SF axles last a long time and arguably just as good as the FF units - and often require less maintenance over the long haul.

The FF units do not bear the weight of the vehicle on the axle shaft itself, that weight is borne by the spindle instead. However, the SF axles have much heavier axle shafts (at the wheel bearing end) and are well capable of carrying that load.

I've seen well maintained SF axle shafts last over 500,000 kms with only bearing and seal change once in their life. I've seen poorly maintained FF axles (more the spindles, really) not last well at all when neglected - and are more expensive to replace.

I don't really think there's any need to have a FF axle other than it is desirable to have because in some markets it is unique and rare.

The FF axle does, however, allow the factory to use different designs of differentials where C-clips would not otherwise fit - the E-locker and cable locker designs for example in the 9.5" diff, and in many of the better LSDs it is hard to fit C-clips - such as in the Toyota designed unit.

Typically in the Land Cruisers coming out of Japan, the FF axles are only in the vehicles that have lockers or an LSD, though in some models they are the default axle design (80 series after the intro of rear disc brakes in North America, and in all 80 series I have seen coming out of Japan as they all have rear disc brakes).


~John
 
Unlike a SF axle when a FF axle breaks it stays in the truck - big advantage when hanging off the side of a mountain and your SF axle starts coming out of your truck ...:eek::eek::eek:.
Plus the FF axle often breaks at the hub, so you can just slide in another one unlike the SF axle where it breaks in the diff and you have to clean all the shrapnel out of the diff - :bang:.
But with luck you may never break an axle. Apart from that I guess they are almost the same ???
 
I've wheeled Land Cruiser SF axles for years and years and years... and have yet to see one actually fail. I parked my BJ42 at almost 500,000kms and it never had an axle fail running tires ranging from stock to 36" TSL SXs with ARBs at both ends (sprung over, dual winches, dual lockers, Saginaw PS etc). I ran my FJ45 (FF rear, Lock Right, TBI 350, SM420, Saginaw PS, SOA on 36s [had run both 35s and 38s intermittently) pretty hard and wheeled it for several years before selling it - and never a problem with the FF rear axle.

It is very rare for the SF axles to break, they are HUGE at the wheel end, and have the standard 1.31" 30 spline portion in the diff at the other end.

I know of not a single person in any of the groups I've wheeled with to ever break a Land Cruiser SF axle. I'm sure it happens, but I've just never seen it or heard of anyone in my circle of Land Cruiser owning friends have it happen to them. I asked around in the shop and guess what - no breakages experienced or known about first hand.

FF axles typically break in one of two places: at or near the spline - in which case it can be almost impossible to get them out depending on how it breaks off (there's no rear cover to remove to access the broken bits), or at the flanged outer end due to (usually) running the wheel bearings too loose causing very small amounts of flex to work the material until it fails. Both instances are very, very rare.

The other failure is for the FF axle to strip off all the studs at the flange (x6) and the dowels (x2) due to using non-factory gaskets which were (most commonly) replaced with silicone. Tip: use genuine gaskets on a clean, dry surface with (fresh) studs torqued to spec.

Yes, you can run a FF axle without an axle shaft in place, but it's pretty uncommon to even break an axle if you even half way keep up with your maintenance.


~John
 
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That truck is about 45 minutes away from me, if need be and I'm familiar with 70 series, although CDM models.

The price is definitely BC pricing, I've seen Ontario trucks for much less than that as they are next to impossible to insure for daily use in Ontario. A good price would be $9-11 k for Ontario standards.

He'll never sell that here for what he's asking. Wait it out and his price will drop. If you go in with 10k now he'll refuse. Supply and demand and demand is approaching zero.
 
Thanks ammiggia. Right now it's a moot point though. He hasn't sent me any more photos and hasn't been good with contacting me back with other then, will try and send photos when I have time. Makes me wonder.

Edit. Also in another year it will be legal in the states, where if it is clean, it will be worth that. There is one on Craigslist for 19.5k and two lhd bj73s from Spain just sold for 15k. The one was a bit beat up on the inside too and both had more kms on them.
 
Radd Cruisers said:
I've wheeled Land Cruiser SF axles for years and years and years... and have yet to see one actually fail. I parked my BJ42 at almost 500,000kms and it never had an axle fail running tires ranging from stock to 36" TSL SXs with ARBs at both ends (sprung over, dual winches, dual lockers, Saginaw PS etc). I ran my FJ45 (FF rear, Lock Right, TBI 350, SM420, Saginaw PS, SOA on 36s [had run both 35s and 38s intermittently) pretty hard and wheeled it for several years before selling it - and never a problem with the FF rear axle.

It is very rare for the SF axles to break, they are HUGE at the wheel end, and have the standard 1.31" 30 spline portion in the diff at the other end.

I know of not a single person in any of the groups I've wheeled with to ever break a Land Cruiser SF axle. I'm sure it happens, but I've just never seen it or heard of anyone in my circle of Land Cruiser owning friends have it happen to them. I asked around in the shop and guess what - no breakages experienced or known about first hand.

FF axles typically break in one of two places: at or near the spline - in which case it can be almost impossible to get them out depending on how it breaks off (there's no rear cover to remove to access the broken bits), or at the flanged outer end due to (usually) running the wheel bearings too loose causing very small amounts of flex to work the material until it fails. Both instances are very, very rare.

The other failure is for the FF axle to strip off all the studs at the flange (x6) and the dowels (x2) due to using non-factory gaskets which were (most commonly) replaced with silicone. Tip: use genuine gaskets on a clean, dry surface with (fresh) studs torqued to spec.

Yes, you can run a FF axle without an axle shaft in place, but it's pretty uncommon to even break an axle if you even half way keep up with your maintenance.


~John
Click to expand...



You should have been with us on our Whipsaw 2011 run - two broken SF axles on top of a remote mountain.

Starts at post#33 - also the video #37.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/ca-bc-coas...e-whipsaw-trip-august-19th-2.html#post6880659
 
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