Interested in a 75, what should I look for?

[mhidpa]

There is a 75 Troopy for sale relatively close to me. It is has a 1HZ and 5spd. Are there any specific things that are deal breakers that I should look out for? Obviously rust (has some on the body, but the frame looks good)

 

[snapdragon]

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.
Look to see if the owner looked after the vehicle and if he kept records of it.
After that:
cold and warm start ease.
Smoke from exhaust.
Remove oil cap when running, check for blowby.
Check fluid levels.
Check for leaks under vehicle and on top.
Chassis rust, don't touch if this is present.
I would say body rust, but this is very fixable and won't hinder the enjoyment of ownership.
Check leafspings for broken ones.
Shocks and the steering dampener if not replaced recently will be tired.
Check steering box for leaks.
Tie rod ends if it's got big tires.
Check if any coolant is present on the weephole on the water pump.
Motor mounts if old and cracked.
Also just check the general condition of the vehicle.
then drive it, it should pull well and shift well, Check if 4x4 works (shifting the small stick is clunky).
And then be prepared for things popping up unexpectedly.

 

[OGBeno]

Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.
Look to see if the owner looked after the vehicle and if he kept records of it.
After that:
cold and warm start ease.
Smoke from exhaust.
Remove oil cap when running, check for blowby.
Check fluid levels.
Check for leaks under vehicle and on top.
Chassis rust, don't touch if this is present.
I would say body rust, but this is very fixable and won't hinder the enjoyment of ownership.
Check leafspings for broken ones.
Shocks and the steering dampener if not replaced recently will be tired.
Check steering box for leaks.
Tie rod ends if it's got big tires.
Check if any coolant is present on the weephole on the water pump.
Motor mounts if old and cracked.
Also just check the general condition of the vehicle.
then drive it, it should pull well and shift well, Check if 4x4 works (shifting the small stick is clunky).
And then be prepared for things popping up unexpectedly.

Well said. I’ll add Rust.

75s are driven hard globally.

 

[Meshal]

If it's early 75s, "85 to 89", consider checking the harness overall and how the lights and electronics perform. They tend to be volatile like the 40s and difntly see if there are any harness shortcuts, etc.


Also, if you are looking for an FZJ78 Troop with dual tank plese contact me. "It is 2002, so you have to wait until next year"

 

[DrRock]

For an older vehicle, I’d do a compression and leak down test. This provides a more scientific evaluation on the health of the engine. I’d also check if items were fixed and replaced, were things replaced using OEM parts or aftermarket. Some items like shocks can be an improvement over OEM but items like radiators, brake components etc. I like to see OEM. Good luck! These are great trucks, enjoy the purchase process.

 

[DenCo40]

Definitely fantastic trucks. I just recently bought one that looked really good at first. No rust, nice paint, ran okay. But when I dove into it after I bought it I found some ridiculous nonsense due to lack of maintenance. Luckily no real damage was done and I was able to save it so far. Things I found were lack of service mostly. Rear diff oil hadn't been changed in a long time. Water in the front diff along with Birf soup with some trashed bearings. Clean vehicle with nice paint and no rust doesn't mean much unless you look pretty close. Still glad I bought it, just glad I didn't head out on any trips until I serviced everything.

 

[Meshal]

One thing I would like to know regarding rust, including the superdry GCC trucks, especially with 70, it is common to see rust in four specific areas that are caused by Bad-Service OR Work-Preparation:

1. On the internal firewall, look behind the clutch booster or cylinder and check whether DOT3 oil has caused any corrosion from poor service.
2. Locate the evaporator's water outlet and check whether it was twisted inward; then follow up on any water-related corrosion.
   This dumb thing can happen for many reasons here, but most of them do work like Interior jobs, and employers forget to hook it back up, or they twist the hell out of it.
3. Locate behind the windshield's weatherstrip from inside. Sometimes, a bad windshield installation can cause corrosion from rain leaks or body washes.
4. Last but not least, check for any hard mud on the floor ban or inside the finders. Sometimes, rainwater, in and out, can make the collected dust a favorable environment for corrosion.

 

[John Young]

I don't know if this still is relevant but I'd add that even in the GCC rust still happens. My 1991 HZJ75 pickup lived its life inland from Abu Dhabi and the windshield frame has a rust-through hole. Salt, dust and an occasional wash dripping down from the top seal (the roof comes and the windshield folds on this model) is my guess at the cause.

My Omani troopy has a little bit of rust at the bottom of the doors. Just thin paint that failed is my assessment. I intend to replace the doors on the truck with power window doors so I have not done anything about it yet.

And the most recent project, an HZJ79 pickup had pinhole rust throughs on the passengers side footwell. Still not sure how that came to be. Old municipality truck with evidence of use in construction -- concrete had to be chipped out of the bed.

Ultimately it was repaired with braze.

I would definitely pull up the floor mats and see what you are dealing with in the footwells, if anything.

One last thought: even if the troopy has the rear inward-facing seats installed the truck may have been used for other things over the years. Go under and look for evidence of holes or repairs in the rear floor.

 

[Meshal]

UAE, Qatar, and Oman are the worst places to get your Land Cruiser, especially the 70 series. They are there for abuse and HD work. In Oman, it is common for fishermen to reverse on the beach to collect fish. Compared to Saudi Arabia, the farmers, hunters, and camel owners are mostly in the dry areas, so you can see real rust-free stuff. BUT we still have wet areas from the rain.


This video is from 2007, after a hurricane hit Oman. Those 75s are not for show, hard work only
They might be "FAMILY OWNED" bla bla bla, but people use and still use them.

 

[John Young]

Absolutely correct. I've seen some of those fisherman 70 series pickups and they are basically laces of metal held together by rust.

And here is what I meant by a little bit of surface rust on the corner of my troopy door.

And on troopies especially this is the rear area that bears close examination.