Help a newb ID this LC please! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jason9945
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yooper
SILVER Star
So would I be safe to say I've gathered the following from this thread:
This is a model LJ78
It has an 1KZ T or FTE engine
It would make a great family wheeler
Am I wrong here?
Then I googled LJ78 and found this
Luxury Imports - LJ71 / LJ78 Prado WARNING!!
Doesn't look good! I wanted to buy this for a cross canada road trip, but this is not looking good!
Somebody is wrong. Your statements above are contradictory.
An LJ78 has the 2LTE engine by definition, that's what the L stands for, and that's the bad engine.
If it has a 1KZT then it's a KZJ78, etc. and is an excellent vehicle.
lowenbrau
SILVER Star
Wayne called me from the road in the mid west yesterday. He's shuttling Cruisers across the continent and won't be home till the end of the month. I don't think he has brought in any 1KZs. He and most of the other importers were so badly burned by the failing 2LTs that they are staying away from the light duty Land Cruisers even now when they can get them with the better engine. The market is very depressed for these rigs because of people's bad experiences with the older engine and that is evidenced by the price of this rig. It is half price compared to what LJ78s were going for four years ago. It is too early to unconditionally comment on the reliability of these engines in the Canadian environment because they are just beginning to show up. (1994 model year just became allowable here this year) but the few that I have experience with seem very nice.
- Thread starter
- #26
Thanks for the tips guys. I think I may go back to my original idea of buying a newer Tacoma or FJ Cruiser instead. I still love the old LCs but to get a nice LC its going to cost almost as much, and for what I want to do I'd prefer an easier to source parts for vehicle! Thanks, and I think I'll still lurk around here.
FYI there are sections for those vehicle too
95+ Gen Toyota Trucks - IH8MUD.com
FJ Cruiser - IH8MUD.com
Tapage
Club 4X4 Panamá
all corners coiled Cruiser with 8" axles ( means plenty of aftermarket options ) it sound like a great plataform to me ...
The worse ( can be fixed any time ) are the radius front and rear .. but not a big deal.
Could you imagine this Cruiser with 4" suspension, minor ( well it depends ) fender triming and a 4.3 V6 under the hood .. !
The worse ( can be fixed any time ) are the radius front and rear .. but not a big deal.
Could you imagine this Cruiser with 4" suspension, minor ( well it depends ) fender triming and a 4.3 V6 under the hood .. !
DanS HJ-45
SILVER Star
Simply: I'd buy that.
The 1KZ-TE is a fine, fine motor. I've got a 2LT-E, and while I'm happy with it--I KNOW that the head will crack on it someday. I wish I had a 1KZ-TE.
Parts for that aren't all that hard to get. Don't let that sway you. You basically just carry a small stockpile of the consumables (belts, filters, etc...) and know that anytime something breaks it may take a little while to get a replacement or cost a bit more. Small price to pay IMHO to get better mileage all the time. FWIW--I have yet to have my truck idled by lack of parts (and I don't own a single US spec truck).
If I could get that here, I would seriously look into it. A 70 series with a 1KZ-TE? I'd take that over a 4-runner or FJC any day of the week.
Dan
The 1KZ-TE is a fine, fine motor. I've got a 2LT-E, and while I'm happy with it--I KNOW that the head will crack on it someday. I wish I had a 1KZ-TE.
Parts for that aren't all that hard to get. Don't let that sway you. You basically just carry a small stockpile of the consumables (belts, filters, etc...) and know that anytime something breaks it may take a little while to get a replacement or cost a bit more. Small price to pay IMHO to get better mileage all the time. FWIW--I have yet to have my truck idled by lack of parts (and I don't own a single US spec truck).
If I could get that here, I would seriously look into it. A 70 series with a 1KZ-TE? I'd take that over a 4-runner or FJC any day of the week.
Dan
- Thread starter
- #30
Super Tempting! Your swaying me back towards this truck!
Any idea what kind of fuel economy it might get?
I've looked up the tacoma v6 at fuelly, and it gets about 19avg.
The FJ cruiser gets 17-19 with premium gas
My Intrepid gets 20mpg average(lots of city driving, probaly 80% city), and I drive like a granny. These figures arent too far off. I'd love to be paying $0.80 a litre for diesel vs $0.92 for gas.
As for working on this truck myself, how hard would it be? I'm reasonably comfortable with stuff, especially if the car isnt going to be my daily driver. I've got a factory service manual for my intrepid on my computer. its super handy and I print off pages as needed. Anyone got a copy of the FSM for this beast so I could browse it? I'll try googling, and I did before, but I didnt have the proper model number, and thanks again for clearing that up
As for parts interchangeability, any easy to pull lexus parts (leather seats etc) that can be pulled from NA model trucks that would jazz up this thing? The interior looks kind of rough from the pictures I've seen.
Oh, the truck has 280,000KM on it now. Safe or stay away?
lowenbrau
SILVER Star
I honestly don't know the procedure for flat towing with an auto. As long as the hubs unlock, you could tow with the t-case in N but the front d-shaft would be turning... not ideal.
That kind of sours things,but it shows they can last.
Depends on the price and your expectations.
Realistically,it could need some serious work in the near future.
Even if the engines good there are still expensive items like fuel pumps,turbos and gearboxes
- Thread starter
- #35
I went and took a look at it today. Absolutely beautiful! I'm in love.
Here are the problems I found:
part of the roof trim above the windows is damaged and almost falling off. It looks like its been cut. Any idea how to repair/replace? I'm not sure how to desribe it but it looks like a piece of chrome.
The interior is intact, but dirty and faded. The car has been smoked in. Not that big of a deal. Nothing seat covers cant fix. I'm in love with the suspension seats!! Just like the trucks I drive at work!
I've noticed the truck has a power/economy switch for the transmission, and soft/sport suspension modes. Anyone know anything about these systems on the prado?
I had a quick look underneath. this thing is CLEAN. You could eat off the engine bay! the timing chain, rad, air filter all had stickers showing when they need to be replaced. Beautiful!
According to the dealer he got about 30+ mpg when he took it on a 500km road trip. Sound about right? He said he was doing 120km/hr for most of it too.
The Plot Thickens:
The dealer has 2 of them. So far all the discussion has been about the first LC. It has 269,000 km. The second has 169,000km but is much rougher on the inside. The blind spot mirror on the left side is broken off. the paint is fading badly. mechanically looks about the same. The dash is cracking, which is bad. Otherwise it looks good, the second one has a sun roof. Another strike against this one. I dont want to be around when the roof leaks and rusts!
Here are the problems I found:
part of the roof trim above the windows is damaged and almost falling off. It looks like its been cut. Any idea how to repair/replace? I'm not sure how to desribe it but it looks like a piece of chrome.
The interior is intact, but dirty and faded. The car has been smoked in. Not that big of a deal. Nothing seat covers cant fix. I'm in love with the suspension seats!! Just like the trucks I drive at work!
I've noticed the truck has a power/economy switch for the transmission, and soft/sport suspension modes. Anyone know anything about these systems on the prado?
I had a quick look underneath. this thing is CLEAN. You could eat off the engine bay! the timing chain, rad, air filter all had stickers showing when they need to be replaced. Beautiful!
According to the dealer he got about 30+ mpg when he took it on a 500km road trip. Sound about right? He said he was doing 120km/hr for most of it too.
The Plot Thickens:
The dealer has 2 of them. So far all the discussion has been about the first LC. It has 269,000 km. The second has 169,000km but is much rougher on the inside. The blind spot mirror on the left side is broken off. the paint is fading badly. mechanically looks about the same. The dash is cracking, which is bad. Otherwise it looks good, the second one has a sun roof. Another strike against this one. I dont want to be around when the roof leaks and rusts!
if i were you i would strike a deal for the one without the sunroof.... as far as the economy on the 1KZ-TE it seems comparable to mine although i get around 35mpg plus for the SWB driving above 100kmph with a/c switched on all the time.....
the 1KZ is a pretty reliable engine, just do the normal servicing (oil change,etc) and it will last you a long time.....
just check for smoke, as these engines hardly at all spew large black clouds...... check if the elecronic hubs engage and try to take it off-road..... if you even want to lift it up, there is cheap lifts in the form of 80series coils..... i put 2nd hand ones in my SWB and it rides 3inches higher now.....
the LC seems to be real nice.... if i were you i wouldn't miss it...... these vehicles are a rare find in good condition, let alone with a 1kz....
good luck....
the 1KZ is a pretty reliable engine, just do the normal servicing (oil change,etc) and it will last you a long time.....
just check for smoke, as these engines hardly at all spew large black clouds...... check if the elecronic hubs engage and try to take it off-road..... if you even want to lift it up, there is cheap lifts in the form of 80series coils..... i put 2nd hand ones in my SWB and it rides 3inches higher now.....
the LC seems to be real nice.... if i were you i wouldn't miss it...... these vehicles are a rare find in good condition, let alone with a 1kz....
good luck....
- Thread starter
- #37
Oh jeeze. Tomorrow I'm going to the bank to see about a line of credit to buy this! I'm crazy, I know.
- Thread starter
- #38
The price is $8900. It looks a lot cheaper than anything else with a landcruiser badge on it. Like a lot, other kzj78 prados with the 3.0 are listed for $14,000+ on other canadian importers websites (thats $7000 for the LC and the rest in import fees) Those cruisers have 70,000 to 120,000 KM on them. This one has 269,000km (sorry for the wrong figure before).
I cant help with the price as we didnt get that engine till 96 in the 90 series prado.
I would be looking at the the $14K jobs and seeing if I could bring the price down.
You might spend the difference on repairs with the cheaper versions,but then again you might not.
The low klm versions may also have had the speedo touched.
See if you can get a compression test or mechanical report on the 269K example.
Tread carefully and dont rush,there will be plenty more
trues up..... try to get a japanese odometer accuracy certificate...... most car dealer here in Fiji fiddle around with the odometer and change the milage...
my personal experience is that a dealer was passing off a corolla wagon as having only 78,000km (1992 model), whereas all the servicing stickers and the sticker on the timing belt cover indicated that the car had done well over 300,000km.....
if 269,000 is the correct reading then atleast you will have peace of mind for paying for what you are really getting....
much better than paying nearly double for something which may have actually done more than the odometer reads....
just food for thought......
