Considering purchasing a turbo diesel 80 series (1 Viewer)

[toyota guy]

i purchased one that came from canada, had to replace EVERY suspension bushing, rebuild the power windows, replace the power steering pump, remove the cold start on the injection pump, repair the exhaust, install a transmission cooler (auto), replace the brake pads, rotors and rubber lines, headlight bulbs, unclog the sunroof drains, unclog the window washer nozzles, replace all of the tie rod ends, clean the interior 5 times to remove all bukake residue... if i did it again i would buy one from an importer just so all of that work would hopefully be done and i could spend more time enjoying it instead of tearing the whole truck apart. after all of that though i know the truck is ready to go.

 

[mudgudgeon]

i purchased one that came from canada, had to replace EVERY suspension bushing, rebuild the power windows, replace the power steering pump, remove the cold start on the injection pump, repair the exhaust, install a transmission cooler (auto), replace the brake pads, rotors and rubber lines, headlight bulbs, unclog the sunroof drains, unclog the window washer nozzles, replace all of the tie rod ends, clean the interior 5 times to remove all bukake residue... if i did it again i would buy one from an importer just so all of that work would hopefully be done and i could spend more time enjoying it instead of tearing the whole truck apart. after all of that though i know the truck is ready to go.

A lot of this is stuff you'd be doing on a local 25yr old vehicle too.

The 24volt start is no real advantage unless you're deep in a Siberian winter.
Dual Battery systems can chew through batteries quicker than normal. I've had a couple of dual battery vehicles, a hdj81, and hzj105, both went through batteries too quickly.
If one battery is weak, the other tries to pick up the slack, and both die prematurely.

The hdj81 system has the batteries linked in parallel (12v) for normal running, and uses a solenoid to switch the link from being in parallel, to being in series (24v) for starting only.
The solenoid can fail.

Swapping to a 12volt starter, and 12 bit system could be a good option IMO.

Fuel economy is better than a gas engine.
My hdj81 average 15L/100km, my FZJ80 averages about 17L/100km.

With some basic tuning, and new exhaust you can add a significant increase in power output on the diesel. Spend a few K, and you can add huge increases in power output to the diesel.

For you North America guys, most parts will interchangeable, except engine specific or RHD specific parts.
I'm in Australia, and regularly source parts overseas with amayama or partsouq because I can import stuff cheaper than I can buy locally from a dealership. Just means you need to plan ahead a little. If your PM is up to scratch, you shouldn't have too many nasty surprises

 

[cme4lyt]

Just order through someone like Land Cruisers direct and be done with it. It may be slightly more than doing all the leg work yourself but that piece of mind is well worth it. They do a lot of maintenance on their imported trucks and take care of all importing paperwork as well. They have a great reputation, no brainer IMO.

What he said !!

 

[dan1554]

DO NOT purchase one without having compression numbers in hand. Been kicking myself down a very long and expensive road.

 

[projectcruiser]

I will offer two words of advice:

1. They're expensive to maintain
2. Only purchase through Land Cruiser Direct

 

[SNLC]

I will say Steve is a good guy and sells good trucks.

To say only buy from him though is silly.

Just don’t buy sight unseen. Most people who end up disappointed either bought sight unseen or have no idea what they are looking at.

Educate yourself, buy in person face to face. Plenty of good trucks out there but it is up to you if you get a good one.

Can’t view it in person or don’t know what you are looking at, then ya Steve is your guy.

Cheers