How is the reliability of the HZJ76/78 Toyota Landcruiser?

[bikemaniac]

Hi,

I'm from Denmark, Europe and I'm strongly considering buying myself a brand new HZJ76 (wagon) or a HZJ78 (troop carrier). These vehicles are not imported to Denmark so I will rely on a grey import via England.

I got interested in the HZJ models after my recent trip to Africa where they were only used by UN personell. They really looked rock solid and that appealed to me. Summer 2007 i did the perimeter of Australia on a pushbike and a saw a lot of people driving the troop carriers (HZJ78) and of course I saw a lot of HZJ79 (pickups). But these were the older models (circular head lights).

Since I want a brand new model it will be the one which has gotten a facelift and not the older ones with circular head lights. Like this:

As far as I know, in Australia only the V8 Diesel engine is offered, but the one I'm looking for is the 1HZ Engine (4.2 Litre naturally aspirated Diesel). I do NOT know exactly where the grey import guy in UK is getting the HZJs from, but I think they are somehow from Australia. They are supposed to be vehicles for African countries because I haven't found one single Toyota importer who offers them on a regular basis (I think its because of emissions).

Can someone elaborate on the reliability of these new HZJs (with 1HZ engines)? I'm looking for the most reliable vehicle ever built. Were they better back then with the circular head light ... has quality dropped? I thought they were the BEST, beating all other vehicles, but then I read somewhere that around year 2000 they had gear box problems (R151). For me it is of utmost importance to get a vehicle which will last 500000 kms without major repairs (such as replacing gear boxes, clutches etc etc).

I would be really happy to receive some more information.

Regards, Lucas Jensen

 

[hzjoe]

i have a 91 hzj73 jdm and i love it.best toyota engine and tranny.leaf spring all around,old men emu 2.5 inch lift with shocks.go with hzj,timing and oil maintenance as recomand by toyota and your in peace of mind.im sure front coil spring are good to.ask anybody here and they agree.some putting 1hz in there 40 series,wish i ad hz in my bj42 too,il try to send pictures.sorry bad english.im french canadien

 

[hzjoe]

my 91 hzj as 250000 km on the clock,tranny start being a bit noisy but shift very good.1time out of 10 when i shift in reverse it grind a little.sound like it will eventualy need rebuilt.im not worry it still reliable for trans-labrador highway and to pull my 1 ton sail boat to the town marina.love my hzj 73 91 and my 82 bj 42.as someone said on this forum,life is too short,drive a cruiser.

 

[roscoFJ73]

1HZs are 1HZs ,there is virtually no difference between the old and the new in terms of performance and reliabilty. You mentioned emissions,that is why they are no longer on sale in Europe ,Australia and many other countries.
The R151f was upgraded a year or 2 after it was introduced which improved it longevity ,but I doubt you will get the required 500000 klms. Not even the old H55f reached that too often.
Clutches are lucky to last 200000klms in most cases.
The engines can reach 500000 klms but most of them don't,mainly due to multiple drivers.

I doubt you will find a vehicle that can live up to your 500000 klm requirement in every respect,but a HZJ7* will come closer than most.
Toyota Gibraltar might be your best bet. That is where the UN and big companies buy their landcruiser fleets from. Im not sure if they do private one off sales though.

 

[bikemaniac]

1HZs are 1HZs ,there is virtually no difference between the old and the new in terms of performance and reliabilty. You mentioned emissions,that is why they are no longer on sale in Europe ,Australia and many other countries.
The R151f was upgraded a year or 2 after it was introduced which improved it longevity ,but I doubt you will get the required 500000 klms. Not even the old H55f reached that too often.
Clutches are lucky to last 200000klms in most cases.
The engines can reach 500000 klms but most of them don't,mainly due to multiple drivers.

I doubt you will find a vehicle that can live up to your 500000 klm requirement in every respect,but a HZJ7* will come closer than most.
Toyota Gibraltar might be your best bet. That is where the UN and big companies buy their landcruiser fleets from. Im not sure if they do private one off sales though.

Hi,

Yes I do know Toyota Gibraltar, but they do not sell to private people ... unless you go golfing with their managers. However I have found other sources in UK that will import it for me.

Very sad to hear the disappointing news on not being able to do at least 500000 kms. I know fore sure that the old Mercedes W123 and W124 with their diesel engines easily did 1 million km if they were looked after.

Lucas

 

[cicak]

Hi,

Yes I do know Toyota Gibraltar, but they do not sell to private people ... unless you go golfing with their managers. However I have found other sources in UK that will import it for me.

Very sad to hear the disappointing news on not being able to do at least 500000 kms. I know fore sure that the old Mercedes W123 and W124 with their diesel engines easily did 1 million km if they were looked after.

Lucas

Buy a MErc then. However most of us would rather have a toyota.

200,000k for a offroad clutch is quite normal.

600,000k+ for 4.2 diesel is not unheard of. You cannot compare as merc and a LC. Put the merc engine in the YOTA and it will hardly move. THere is s large weight differnce.

 

[andrewm42]

You can buy them in Germany with LHD - with Euro 4. Although - I don't know what the deal is with importing them to Denmark - I thought there was an extremely high import duty.

Extrem
Toms Fahrzeugtechnik

And I am sure there are plenty more.

The could probably also organise the V8 for you if you really want it, but I think it is only available as RHD.

Regards

Andrew

 

[Tonka]

welcome to IH8mud

Who in the UK is importing these?

Regards
Tonka

 

[TreeMan]

Hi Lucas, I sold my 75 a year back and it had over 400 000 kms on the clock. No trouble at all - just keep the oil changes regular and use good quality oil.
Couldn't source a 78 from Toyota in Europe so bought one from Extreme last year. Middle Eastern spec (with handbook in Arabaic and French!) Certainly not the same spec as the Swedish bought model previously, but a LC none the less and doing the job for me with an original Toyota electric winch mounted on an extended front bumper. Extrem not cheap and a little devious, but not such a lot of choice out there - mainly source in Germany and import into Sweden was no difficulty at all.
Good luck with your search.

 

[ForealBoreal]

The 1HZ is a great engine. I have never had a r151 but I have driven an 1hz and h55 combo and I think its a great set up. I like the simplicity of the engine. I think your going to buy a nice truck.
I like the ones with the circle headlights but ah its still going to be a nice truck. I am a bit old fashioned even though I am a young gun.

 

[nikland]

bikemaniac..dont worry for r151f gear box is a solid box the only negative point is a shaft that connect gear at transfer..
the shaft defected was mountend on a HZJ developped between 2000 and 2002..befor this shaft was changed whit another more strong..so the courrent HZJ dont have this problem and the gear box is strong like the old H55F and the ratio is better
Cloutch and engine life..depends on the use..a friend of mine whit 78 series changed a cloutch before 500000km..recently the same friend have mounted a turbo kit..and his HZJ is now at 670000 whit the same engine...
this summer in a Egypt i have seen a troophy that sign 990000

 

[Martinus]

Hi Bikemaniac,

We have 76,78,79 in our stock, with TUV / DUTCH approvals.

Our demonstrator 76 comes up for sale in about a month.

Any intrest just write off-line to my address; maarten@all-american.nl

Best regards,

Maarten

 

[petri oosthuizen]

Hi Bikemaniac

I bought a brand new HZJ 78 2 weeks ago. They were just launced in South Africa. Very happy so far.

Biggest Plus Points:

1) The body is extremely "rigid", and totally rattle-free. Also no wind buffeting (I expected some) like (eg) the Hardtop Defender. Loads and loads and loads of space.

2) The ride is surprisingly comfortable, even with the standard 16' split rims they come out with.Must be something to do with the long wheelbase and/or extra weight of the roof at the rear.

3) Fuel economy is quite good - I've tested 8.6 km/litre (11,6 l/100km) on its 1st run, speed between 100 and 120 km/hour. The 2 tanks (90l each) would theoretically thus have a range of +- 1500km.

Biggest Minus Points:

1) Seeing that I'm planning to use this as a family runabout, the 2 doors can be a mission...........but not really a negative point, only an issue for me. (the SA spec Troopies come with a rear bench behind the 2 front seats, and entry is via tilting the passenger seat ).

2) The 1HZ Diesel does'nt like towing large, heavy stuff.......but then, an ultra-reliable unit, as we all know. Low-down grunt in offroad work is great, though.

This must be the best overlanding vehicle on the planet..........buy it, if it suits your needs, you wo'nt be disappointed for 1 second.

 

[american psycho]

you can buy a good used HZJ in Europe with the steering wheel on the correct side for your country by looking at AutoScout24 Europas Automarkt für Gebrauchtwagen und Neuwagen

I'm saving my pennies now (again) to upgrade to a nice, low km mid 1990's HZJ73 (having ditched the rust-bomb). The H55F transmission on the up to 1998 HZJs is preferred by many.

You can get a nice one with dual-lockers for €15,000.

Buy one that's unmodified and do it youself. More satisfaction and less cash outlay.

 

[Dacrom]

bikemaniac..dont worry for r151f gear box is a solid box the only negative point is a shaft that connect gear at transfer..
the shaft defected was mountend on a HZJ developped between 2000 and 2002..befor this shaft was changed whit another more strong..so the courrent HZJ dont have this problem and the gear box is strong like the old H55F and the ratio is better
Cloutch and engine life..depends on the use..a friend of mine whit 78 series changed a cloutch before 500000km..recently the same friend have mounted a turbo kit..and his HZJ is now at 670000 whit the same engine...
this summer in a Egypt i have seen a troophy that sign 990000

we speak about cars! that`s why is today, tommorow, toyota...

 

[syche]

Hi All,

The late gearbox of the 7 series is not perfect. On my last trip to Algeria my 1991 80 had to pull a friend for a bout 130km to a small village and take apart the gearbox to find out that the bearing support between the gearbox and transfer case was cracked and the shaft was running free, blocking the gear fork.

I have some pics of the repair i made to be able to take the road again for 5 000km top get back home. No TIG or MIG welder available in this remote places.

This day i learned that i will not hesitate next time to bring this synthetic glue to mix in between your finger and that get hard like stone or steel. really nice stuff.

it was the second time if happened to him.
His 78 is loaded heavy, scaled to 3.3T expedition ready and he push it quite some to follow more powerful engines.

Instead of repairing the gearbox when arrived back home, he changed the all unit for HDJ80 gearbox and transfer case, therefore the problem is fixed

 

[el greco]

toyota hzj 76 wgn 4.2L diesel

Hi Bikemaniac,

We have 76,78,79 in our stock, with TUV / DUTCH approvals.

Our demonstrator 76 comes up for sale in about a month.

Any intrest just write off-line to my address; maarten@all-american.nl

Best regards,

Maarten

i was trying to send you an e-mail,but it comes out that is wrong the address, please send me your e-mail to my address katsiaounas@yahoo.com ,i am interested to buy a Toyota hzj 76 wgn 4.2 diesel

 

[el greco]

i was trying to send you an e-mail,but it comes out that is wrong the address, please send me your e-mail to my address katsiaounas@yahoo.com ,i am interested to buy a Toyota hzj 76 wgn 4.2 diesel

i was taking about maarteen@all-american.nl address

 

[ASE76]

HZJ76

that demo car is not for sale anymore...