Finally found my unicorn! HJ60

[robot123]

After years of lurking, I can finally claim membership in the Land Cruiser community!

I waited patiently and finally found and bought my unicorn. A LHD HJ60 with AC and a seemingly good frame. It's on a trailer right now from Saskatoon to Toronto.

While I'm anxiously waiting, I thought I'd reach out to you guys and see what you think are some smart or cool mods or even just smart maintenance that I can plan on doing.

Here's my plan so far:
- Diagnose and fix A/C not blowing cold
- Shoulder belts for rear bench
- Raspberry Pi Android Auto head
- Move rear mounted spare tire to OEM spare undercarriage location

Any other ideas?

 

[drenmaster]

Nice.. jealous of the LHD HJ61...

If you don't know the history. Change all your fluids and filters. Axles might need serviced as well.

 

[sved]

I do not see the turbo lights in the rev counter. ?

Hj60 with 12H-t ?

 

[FJACS]

Another one coming to Ontario.

Looks like a nice truck. Even though you’re probably limiting it to a seasonal driver, I’d still take it to Krown and have them rust spray it. Take off the rear cargo panels and get them to spray in the rear quarters and arches from behind. Get the A pillars drilled and oiled. I took all of my interior door panels off, peeled back the barrier and vacuumed the bottoms of the doors out and sprayed them as well.

If you’re adding three point belts in the back for the sake of kids, you may also want to consider adding head rests to the seat back if it doesn’t already have them.

 

[robot123]

Nice.. jealous of the LHD HJ61...

If you don't know the history. Change all your fluids and filters. Axles might need serviced as well.

Good idea. Will have all that done while it's getting certified.

 

[robot123]

I do not see the turbo lights in the rev counter. ?

Hj60 with 12H-t ?

Darn, I was going by the seller's post but looks like you're right, it's an HJ60! I am still too inexperienced about these things. That sucks. Still got a good deal on her, but I would have loved to have had the turbo.

Is there any other difference between 60 and 61 other than turbo? That is, will adding the turbo make the 2H a 12HT?

 

[robot123]

Another one coming to Ontario.

Looks like a nice truck. Even though you’re probably limiting it to a seasonal driver, I’d still take it to Krown and have them rust spray it. Take off the rear cargo panels and get them to spray in the rear quarters and arches from behind. Get the A pillars drilled and oiled. I took all of my interior door panels off, peeled back the barrier and vacuumed the bottoms of the doors out and sprayed them as well.

If you’re adding three point belts in the back for the sake of kids, you may also want to consider adding head rests to the seat back if it doesn’t already have them.

Good call!

 

[sved]

Darn, I was going by the seller's post but looks like you're right, it's an HJ60! I am still too inexperienced about these things. That sucks. Still got a good deal on her, but I would have loved to have had the turbo.

Is there any other difference between 60 and 61 other than turbo? That is, will adding the turbo make the 2H a 12HT?

If your lucky the 2H is swapped for a 12HT.
Adding turbo will never make a 2h a 12HT.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

- Diagnose and fix A/C not blowing cold
- Shoulder belts for rear bench
- Raspberry Pi Android Auto head
- Move rear mounted spare tire to OEM spare undercarriage locatio

I don't know anything about a diesel Cruiser - but since you asked - if'n it were mine, getting it safe, reliable and long term durable are much higher priorities than A/C (in Canada) and entertainment systems. Sure if you're going to be carrying back seat passengers get the shoulder belts done.

My point is that regardless of how well it's been maintained you still need to baseline the important stuff first. Having said all that nice score I'd love to have one.

 

[will101]

5 Speed? That's nice! a 2H with a turbo = a broken 2H. Mine is in the shop at the moment for a cylinder head replacement. Flush cooling system and refill with proper stuff. Rebuild radiator. Replace all fluids. Check origin of any noise, even if some people say it's normal.

 

[Freewheel]

Yep that's a classic canadian HJ60. Nice truck! Pretty much identical to mine...
As people have said above, the first thing is to check and replace all fluids, inspect and overhaul the brakes etc...

If you do have a turbocharger, you are going to want to do something important next. As Will 101 just pointed out, a turbocharger is a good way to break a 2H engine. What often happens as you approach 250000-300000 kms, is that the ring lands on the pistons wear out and cause compression failure in one or more cylinders. A turbo will make them wear out faster.

So do a compression check and see what's happening in your cylinders. #5 and/or 6 are often the culprits, but make sure to test all cylinders. If compression is low then you may have to start thinking about a partial or full engine rebuild.

If the original 2H has been swapped for a 12 HT, then you have an engine that was better designed to have a turbo and although they can have the same ring land problem, it's less likely.


Good luck! Hope it's in great shape!

 

[FJACS]

You’re likely aware, but in addition to the Saskatchewan ownership and bill of sale, you’ll need an appraisal to transfer the ownership with MTO. This shouldn’t cost more than $50.

Get this done as soon as you get the truck, before you undertake any improvements. Lower the value = lower the provincial tax.

 

[FJACS]

Did your truck arrive yet? Any other photos?

 

[robot123]

Did your truck arrive yet? Any other photos?

It's in the shop. Had a ton more rust than the seller let on. Fuel tank was leaking, steering is crazy loose, rear diff is leaking. Gonna need a bunch of work before I can get safety certificate and register.

With the amount of work it needs, I'm figuring I'm gonna have to do a lot of wrenching on it myself. So I'll be harassing you guys a lot from now on!

 

[Freewheel]

Sorry to hear about the deficiencies, but good that you're willing to tackle parts of it yourself. Definitely part of the experience of owning these machines.
Looking forward to the harassment!!

 

[Samppahj]

Darn, I was going by the seller's post but looks like you're right, it's an HJ60! I am still too inexperienced about these things. That sucks. Still got a good deal on her, but I would have loved to have had the turbo.

Is there any other difference between 60 and 61 other than turbo? That is, will adding the turbo make the 2H a 12HT?

As said by previous post 2H will not become a 12H-T with a turbo. 2H is a pre chamber engine, 12H-T direct injected. 2H has glow plugs for every cylinder, 12H-T has one in intake manifold. Injection pump is different. Also the engine stop is different, 2H has EDIC, 12H-T has a flap in intake manifold. 12H-T has fuel return all the way to the tank, 2H only to injection pump.

Yep that's a classic canadian HJ60. Nice truck! Pretty much identical to mine...
As people have said above, the first thing is to check and replace all fluids, inspect and overhaul the brakes etc...

If you do have a turbocharger, you are going to want to do something important next. As Will 101 just pointed out, a turbocharger is a good way to break a 2H engine. What often happens as you approach 250000-300000 kms, is that the ring lands on the pistons wear out and cause compression failure in one or more cylinders. A turbo will make them wear out faster.

So do a compression check and see what's happening in your cylinders. #5 and/or 6 are often the culprits, but make sure to test all cylinders. If compression is low then you may have to start thinking about a partial or full engine rebuild.

If the original 2H has been swapped for a 12 HT, then you have an engine that was better designed to have a turbo and although they can have the same ring land problem, it's less likely.


Good luck! Hope it's in great shape!

As far as I know the piston ring problem is only for the 12H-T engines. 2H does not suffer from that. Some Mercedes piston rings can be fitted with a lathe on 12H-T pistons to make them better. Almost every 2H in Finland is driven 500 000+km and have not heard or read about piston ring problems. Not even when added a turbo. In the 80´s Finnish importer sold turbo packages to HJ60 so some has had a turbo equipped HJ60 since new.

 

[Freewheel]

All correct on the differences between 2H and 12 HT engines- quite different machines that happen to share a few parts and be approximately the same size...

Though I have to disagree with you about 2H not having ring land problems. I did a lot of reading on this website when mine went bad, and it seems to be one of the more common failure modes of the 2H...

The way around the problem is to install new Alfin pistons, with a steel ring land.

 

[FJACS]

It's in the shop. Had a ton more rust than the seller let on. Fuel tank was leaking, steering is crazy loose, rear diff is leaking. Gonna need a bunch of work before I can get safety certificate and register.

With the amount of work it needs, I'm figuring I'm gonna have to do a lot of wrenching on it myself. So I'll be harassing you guys a lot from now on!

That’s a bit of a bummer, as I’m sure you were hoping to drive it sooner than later. Nevertheless, most of what you likely need to deal with is nothing new. There’s lots of threads documenting rust repair.

You can still get a couple of paper temp plates and drive it around a bit. That should be enough to keep you motivated.

Post more photos of it.

 

[brownbear]

Another one coming to Ontario.

Looks like a nice truck. Even though you’re probably limiting it to a seasonal driver, I’d still take it to Krown and have them rust spray it. Take off the rear cargo panels and get them to spray in the rear quarters and arches from behind. Get the A pillars drilled and oiled. I took all of my interior door panels off, peeled back the barrier and vacuumed the bottoms of the doors out and sprayed them as well.

If you’re adding three point belts in the back for the sake of kids, you may also want to consider adding head rests to the seat back if it doesn’t already have them.

I second the Krown, you are going to need to that. Exactly as said above. Put the kids in the seats and mark where to put in head rests. I had them put into my cruiser but the shop put them too close to the middle.

much higher priorities than A/C (in Canada) and entertainment systems. Sure if you're going to be carrying back seat passengers get the shoulder belts done.

It's hard driving around the Toronto area, freeways and all with a window open with summer temps. Too noisy. AC makes it more fun.


For AC try a kit from Canadian Tire. I did that on my FJ80 and it worked amazing and held for quite some time. I did the Canadian Tire kits and at least saw 3-4 years of cold air before I sold it. Their bottles can mix in the older systems. Just see that all of the components are in the truck. That the compressor turns on etc. Before putting it in.

 

[hj 60]

For the steering buy 5 new tie rods, than that is done, maybe needs new bearings in that area to, a leaking fuel tank can be one of the many hoses connection, I filled mine with a speed filler and it leaked, still do not know where, then it stopped leaking.
Rear diff leaking can be just a seal (the big round one) or a seal bearing where the propeller shaft enters the diff, not to much trouble but you are a perfect "while I was there" candidate, there is so much to do.

To get an idea of baseline maintenance:


More pdf here, HJ60 Model/Parts finder,maintenance service PDF 1000 pages



When the diff is apart YOU MUST CHECK AND ADJUST THE Carrier Bearing Pre-Load CBPL (No measuring, No trouble) !

:!: :!: :!: :!: :!: toyota carrier bearing preload :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

Another one to learn:

don't trust the fsm to much,