I just bought a 2000 Land Cruiser and I need your advice

[hank14]

Hey Kalen,

Looks like you got a great deal. I bought my 99 last summer (2003) with 116,000 miles. The 90K service had been done, but I ordered the parts and did the 120K service myself, including changing to all synthetic fluids and replacing the irridium plugs. I also got new tires- 285 B-stone Revos. I had to replace the starter this summer, and the throttle body needed a serious cleaning. Next on the list will be shocks.

 

[Kalen]

Hi Hank,

Strange. They had to replace the starter on my truck too before I got it. I wonder if starters only last for about 5-6 years?

Did you ever have the pulsing brake and rotor problem and how do you know your shocks need replacement?

 

[hank14]

The contacts on the starters wear out over time. I didn't try to replace mine- it's located under the intake manifold, and that was more than I wanted to tackle. My brakes don't pulse- they had been worked on along the way. I do have a front end vibration at highway speeds which I'm trying to get fixed. Sometimes balancing helps, sometimes not. I don't know if the shocks are worn or not. I just assumed after 6 years and 135,000 miles they might be. I would like to get the OME suspension upgrade, but need to finish paying it off first.

I assume you had your rotors replaced? I know that's the way to go. It seems turning them makes them more susceptible to warping.

 

[Jukelemon]

Shocks are worn out when your vehicle bounces after the shocks are depressed i.e. after a bump OR you can push down your front end or jump on your rear bumper. If shocks are good, the vehicle will rise back without bouncing i.e. up and down until it stops. Remember, shocks dampen the springs.

In terms of your rotor issue (pulsating), it is an issue of a warped rotor. Nothing else will give you that type of pulsating effect. The simplest way is to just take it to the dealer and have them turn your rotors. They can do it on the vehicle so the cost is minimal. They will push a brake job at that time, which considering what you have in the vehicle, will be not be that bad. If you think you can do the brake job (it is not hard), buy the pads and do it immediately after you come home. Your rotors will not be affected that much by old pads (unless you live like 100 miles away from the dealer).

You got a good deal and should be good to go. I would suggest saving a bit of money in case something happens. If you are over your means i.e. a car that does not match your income, it could go down hill pretty quickly. Just a thought and not trying to ruin the moment.

Welcome to the board!

 

[Pitbull]

Wonder if the starters on the new LC's are more dependable? I know they changed something on them in 2003 so you can't start them once the LC is already running and they now start buy one turn of the key.

 

[cary]

Just a few comments:

1) Spark Plugs- Most people do not realize it but the advantages of Platnium and Iridium (also Silver Tip) plugs is not outright performance, but consistancy of performance over a long period of time. There have been many tests between new plugs of different types and the result is that there is virtually no performance difference between new plugs of different material type (less than 1% varience). The differences start down the road where copper plugs may be down 10% on power and mileage after 30,000 miles and the platnium and iridium plugs are only down 1%.

People also forget that other factors that affect plug life have changed. Computerized Fuel injection and electronic ignitions allow for much cleaner cumbustion burning. Also newer motors tend to have less oil blowby. The result is even the lowly copper plugs can now go 30,000+ miles. BTW, the reason manufactures spec the more expensive plugs is their cars are required to meet emissions specs for 100,000+ miles. THe EPA actually checks the failure rates of different models of cars to see if there is a problem with their emmissions. The better plugs help the manufactures ensure their cars will not get flagged due to poor owner maintence.

2) Bank Repos- These can be a mixed bag. If it is an actual repo, the owner could sabatage the vehicle so it should be checked carefully. I purchased my LC as a bank repo, but is was a voluntary repo where the original owners had leased the LC new, bought it out from the lease and then had financial trouble. when they couldn't make the payments, they drove it down to the bank, gave them the keys and appoligized.

3) 100 Series STarter contacts- Yes they still have the problem.

 

[Kalen]

This is such a great place to come and learn about the LC.

I just called the dealership and they said that they don't turn the rotors while they are on the truck. They'd have to take them off, turn them (if they were turnable) and repack the bearings. 4 hours / $460 price quote. They said that they're getting a machine that can do it while it's on the truck, but they didn't know when it'll come in.

An independant brake shop quoted $420 to do the same thing.

The mechanic who did the engine work on my truck said he could do it for $300.

I've already got the OEM rotors and brake pads from C-Dan, so I may try to do it myself. I was thinking that maybe I can do alot of the grunt work, then have the mechanic check things over to make sure I don't screw up. Brake failure would not be fun. The pulsing seems to have eased though and it's not as bad as when I first got it.

I was concerned about the bank repo too. However, the past owner left a reciept with his phone number in the glove box. I called him up to ask him about the truck. He was a really nice guy. They just couldn't afford to keep the truck anymore, so they gave it back to the bank too. No sabatage here, but they just didn't do any maintenance on it other than the oil changes.

As for the car matching my income, it was cheaper than the 4Runner I was saving up for. I bought the truck with cash so I don't have to make any payments. I'll only have maintainence expenses (just the brakes and rotors left to go), insurance and gas to pay for. (It sure eats alot of gas). If I need to sell it, I think I'll still be able to get more than what I paid and put into it within the year. It's such a joy to drive though. That's a great tip about having money set aside. I've always got a stash put away for emergencies.

I was looking forward to taking the truck up to some snow in Tahoe in the next couple of months.

Do you guys use snow chains or have any recomendations?

 

[Pitbull]

Kalen, I know you stated the previous owner just put new tires on it. What kind/brand/size did they put on your LC. I had BFG AT/KO's on my old LC and they were great. You should not have a problem with most AT tires even MS rated are pretty good in normal snow but I wouldn't go off road or into deep snow with MS rated tires. The siping on the tires can be more important then the thread design when it comes to snow traction.

 

[Kalen]

Pitbull, the tires are Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo P275/70R16 114S 694 M+S. Are these any good? Do you have any experiences with the Anti-Skid features of the LC?

 

[Pitbull]

Pitbull, the tires are Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo P275/70R16 114S 694 M+S. Are these any good? Do you have any experiences with the Anti-Skid features of the LC?

Great tires, they should be good for everything but rock crawling. Go to www.tirerack.com and look up the survey results and owner comments on the Revo's. I think you will be pleased.

 

[BOUNDER]

Timing BELT or Timing CHAIN for the 100's??

 

[Landpimp]

belt

Timing BELT or Timing CHAIN for the 100's??

 

[Kalen]

Great tires, they should be good for everything but rock crawling. Go to www.tirerack.com and look up the survey results and owner comments on the Revo's. I think you will be pleased.

Wow. They're rated #1.

Thanks Pitbull. Tirerack.com seems to be an excellent reference site.

-Kalen

 

[hank14]

I don't know. I'm having balancing problems with mine. They are vibrating in the front, and have been since I had them installed. They were before also, though. Balancing has helped, but the problem returns. It may be a problem with the front end. Rotating doesn't seem to help. Any thoughts?

 

[NMuzj100]

Despite what the tire dealers/manufacturers say the QC on tires is not fantastic. A lot can be wrong with the construction of the tire internally that simply does not show outwardly or even on balancing. I had a set of four new tires on my Camry that made noise/vibration ect... the tires looked perfect and although they would balance well there was something wrong with them. If you can't prove it is a manufacturing defect there is no warranty help. I spent a lot of money on alignments, shocks ect.. trying to get these tires to work (ie... stop vibrating/wearing unevenly). I gave up bought a new set and all the problems were gone.

Just got my new 285 revos today so I was disappointed to see hank14's post. I hope I have better luck. Traveling to CO tomarrow so hopefully I'll get some snow pics (this board loves tire porn). Mine will be scantily clad in new chainlink lingerie with a scenic background.

 

[Gold Finger]

LizardKing, I live in San Jose, CA. It's a pretty big spread out town, but I think you're right. The dealership that I went to don't have any LCs in stock, not even a showroom model. The mechanic said one came in a couple of weeks ago, but it was only to get something installed or modified with the stereo. Other than that, I don't think he's ever worked on one.

I thought it would be another Toyota and they wouldn't have any problems with it, but maybe NMuzj100 is right. They just demand more for LC stuff. Thier parts guy said that the new LCs go out the door for nearly $60K after tax and fees, so maybe they figure that if you drive one, money isn't an issue to you. Most people have been telling me to only use OEM stuff, so now I almost feel guilty if I put anything else on it.

I remembered reading a couple of other threads in this forum about some other owners looking into doing the timing belt themselves and said that they needed special tools. Renting them would be about $300 if he could get them, so he just let the dealers do it. The serpentine belt looks like it's easier to access cause it's just right there. I'll have to look at the manual.

I remebered my first car I ever owned was a 1980 something AMC eagle that a girl from Montana sold to me for a $100. It was a POS rust bucket, but was fun 4X4 type car top drive. I had my head under the hood of that thing every week trying to figure out what wasn't working right. Anyway, since then, I learned that spending more on money on better condition cars is a better value and haven't done much mechanical stuff in years.

The Cruiser owners seem like they would like to work on thier cars more for endearment than neccessity though, so thanks for the recommendation to get the manual I think I'll pick that up as well.

I sent an email to C-Dan through the members section of the forum for parts but he hasn't replied. Not sure if I sent it to the right address.

Does anyone know the best way to contact him?

Thanks.

cruiserdan can often be found in th 80 tech forum. You can click on his name go to list of members profile he can be contacted by PM (pivate mesage)

 

[Nottajeep]

In case anyone cares, the link in this post changed to: Landcruiser Heritage Minisite :: welcome

I just bought a 2000 Land Cruiser.

The great part is, I got it for $16,000.

I ran a Carfax report on it and it was clean. It had just one owner who defaulted on his car loan. He gave it back to the bank. I bought it from the bank that held the lien. They let me talk them down from $17,500. It’s the River Rock Grey color and over all it’s in great shape.

The bad part is, it’s got 111,000 miles on it and has never had any major service in its lifetime other than the routine oil and brake pad change.

The original owner just put new tires on it and had it aligned. The receipt was still in the glove box for $848.

From the other bank receipts that I saw, the check engine light had come on and it sometimes had trouble starting, so the bank put in a new starter, and had the oxygen sensors replaced, before selling it to me, but that was it.

When I had it checked out by a mechanic, it ran strong, and he said everything was great. It just has the pulsating brakes issue.

I’ll need to do the major service and replace the timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, and have the brakes and rotors serviced or replaced. I called some of the dealers, and after they told me how much it costs, I felt like I just got hit by a truck.

I’m new to the Land Cruiser and I’m looking for advice from you guys to see if there is anything else that I should look at or have done, and ways to get the job done right and but still save money where ever I can.

I was saving up for a Toyota 4Runner for a very long time and when I was finally ready to buy, I came across this deal by accident. I never thought I would ever be able to afford a Land Cruiser (and for what it costs to maintain this car, I still might not be able to afford it. Just the timing belt, water pump, brake and rotor service on this truck is going to cost more than what my previous car is worth). This is a beautiful ride with a great tradition and I find that I’m becoming rather attached to it very quickly.

I’ve read through this forum and picked up a lot of tips. It seems you guys all really love this truck.

Toyota has a really cool interactive presentation of the Land Cruiser’s 50 year heritage, and I was amazed at the stories and legends that the Land Cruiser has made. In one story (under “Legends” and “Not Dead Yet”, there is a real account of on old Land Cruiser that was blown straight up into the air by explosives for a movie. It did a full back flip and landed squarely on its tires that exploded. Because it was a Land Cruiser and known for reliability, they joked about if it would still start up. Then someone got into the truck to check it out. Not only did he start it up, but he drove it away, on its rims, off the set. It made me laugh and I was proud to own one.

2011 Land Cruiser SUV - Australia and Yukon

Thanks for any advice you guys can give.

- Kalen

 

[Tinkerer]

Well, even if the plugs are good for that long, I'm sure you'd have to inspect and re-gap them somewhere along those 120,000 miles, wouldn't you?

No.

The OEM (Denso, 0.7mm electrode) iridium plugs used in the LC do not need to be touched for 120k miles. No cleaning or gapping.

And in fact, as some have discovered, these plugs should actually be good for significantly longer than 120k miles without requiring service. But to be on the conservative side, change them at 120k.

(Now, the aftermarket "performance" iridium plugs are a different story. These have thinner (0.4mm) center electrodes which wear faster, and require replacement at 30k to 60k miles. I challenge anyone to show me a good reason to use these 0.4mm versions in a LC.)

 

[Tinkerer]

Despite what the tire dealers/manufacturers say the QC on tires is not fantastic. A lot can be wrong with the construction of the tire internally that simply does not show outwardly or even on balancing. I had a set of four new tires on my Camry that made noise/vibration ect... the tires looked perfect and although they would balance well there was something wrong with them. If you can't prove it is a manufacturing defect there is no warranty help. I spent a lot of money on alignments, shocks ect.. trying to get these tires to work (ie... stop vibrating/wearing unevenly). I gave up bought a new set and all the problems were gone.

Just got my new 285 revos today so I was disappointed to see hank14's post. I hope I have better luck. Traveling to CO tomarrow so hopefully I'll get some snow pics (this board loves tire porn). Mine will be scantily clad in new chainlink lingerie with a scenic background.

Bingo. Last time I looked, the Hunter GSP9700 was pretty much the only tire-force-variation-sensing balancer (Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can’t fix) in use in consumer-level service shops. But note that very few tire dealers have one, while most OEM dealers including Toyota dealers have one. Does that tell you anything? (Hint: Not only is a road force balancer more expensive to buy and operate, but it gives the customer a tool to reject sub-par tires.)