Expected End of Service (1 Viewer)

[Get Out]

Hi !!

I am a happy owner of a 1999 LC with approximately 202K miles.

I bought it last summer and caught up on all the deferred maintenance. (timing belt, water pump, valve covers, heater T's, etc)

I'm curious about the expected service life of the:
a) alternator
b) starter
c) a/c compressor.

They all work fine now ... but they are also 26 years old.

What is the expected service life of these parts ??

When should I replace them BEFORE they become a problem ??

Thanks for your advice !!!

 

[Trapper50cal]

I don't have the answers you're seeking but I can say
that a, b and c appear to be original and operating correctly
on my '99 with 295K on them.

Of the three, I've seen the most chatter on the starter.

Land Cruisers are good at warning their owner before outright failure
Just gotta listen and look into it when it surfaces. With the exception
of stuff that's mile-based like the TB. And even then, there are guys
recently pulling timing belts w/ 100K on them that still look perfect.

There's a reason we're rolling with Mr. T.

Edit: a couple big ticket items like steering rack and brake booster assembly
seem prone to surface.

 

[Bisho]

I replaced all three between 235k and 280k miles.

 

[Eyedaho]

Caveat that these are just my opinions.

-Alternator is susceptible to water/mud damage due to its low position on our vehicles, so your use case may influence the service life. It can leave you stranded if it fails. It's pretty cheap to replace, especially if you use a Sequoia one. You'll need to re-pin a connector to do that swap, which you're obviously capable of. Much much easier to do at home with the correct parts without time pressure.
-Starter will likely start getting flaky before it stops working. Can leave you stranded. Pretty cheap to replace, but will take an afternoon. Plan ahead and have all of the while you're in there parts (also cheap) ready to go. Also much easier at home.
-AC compressor is likely to give you plenty of warning, and less likely to leave you stranded. Not easy unless you have some specific tools. Unless the clutch/bearing fails, you likely just won't have AC.

As far as MTBF, I don't have a good way for you to predict when yours will fail. If you don't know if they have been replaced (alt and st specifically) and if so then if it was with OEM, then I personally would get the parts during one of the big sales and replace them at my leisure, with a beer and no stress, with access to all of my tools, and with the correct parts. No guarantee against failure after that, but you will rest easier knowing it was done right and you know the history.