Most Common 100 Issues/Failures? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 7, 2004
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Location
San Antonio, Tx
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www.ralphmawyerphotography.com
When I acquired my 80 in 2002 I knew that there was a high probability that it would suffer the following issues:

1. Starter contacts would fail
2. Electric Antenna would fail
3. Heater Hose would break at the worse time.
4. Need to change coolant annually to preclude head gasket issues.


#1 and #2 occurred. I always did #4 and pre-empted the HH by changing it out.

So, what are the 'gonna happen' items for the 100 series?

Is coolant as critical or is two years reasonable. Other items to keep an eye on?

Thoughts?
 
The biggest thing to watch out for when you buy is what kind of previous maintenance history the vehicle has had. If you have records, awesome. If not, I always find it best to assume the worst. Baseline all fluids, grease the driveshaft, etc.

As for common failures, I'd say the biggest one we typically see are once again the starter contacts (which is a PITA since the starter is located under the intake manifold tucked into the "V" of the engine). As for the coolant, we just follow the Toyota recommended schedule - no head gasket issues to speak of and no PHH problems like on your 80.

Other than that, stay on top of the oil/diff/t-case/trans fluid changes, use good quality oil and filters, and make sure you do the 90K service on schedule (timing belt, water pump, etc). If you do that, then theres no reason why you can't make it to 300K+ with one of these rigs on the original engine and trans.

Read through the FAQ, there is alot of good info there. I'm sure someone else will chime in with more.
 
The general consensus here on Mud is that if you wheel it hard (or sometimes if you drive down a dirt road) you will blow the front diff. it's only a matter of when.
 
The general consensus here on Mud is that if you wheel it hard (or sometimes if you drive down a dirt road) you will blow the front diff. it's only a matter of when.

Derp. I knew I was missing an obvious big one.
 
Going to happen for sure ...
1. Starter Contacts (Every 60-150K miles depending on starts per mile but there is warning and won't strand you)
2. Driveshaft Thunk/Clunk (See the official thread)
3. D-light failure
4. OEM trailer wiring converter failure

Could happen ... (Common but not universal)
1. Front Diff
2. APPS/TPS (Scary, but usually you can get home and may have long gaps before recurrence)
3. Exhaust Manifold Leaks (Annoying but not functionally damaging)
4. Coil Pack Failure (Easy to Fix)

Nothing else I can think of is that common but there are some others that pop up occasionally
- Door Lock motors
- Ignition Cam failure
- Charcoal Canister or Valves
- Fan Clutch
- Brake master cylinders (Rebuild is cheap, Replacement is expensive.)
- Ignition Fuse (Easiest fix around)
- Electrical problems caused by a leaky improperly installed windshield
- ABS sensor failure
- Rear windshield wiper problems
- Brake pedal switch
- Fuel pump
- Leaking from upper rear brake light
 
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The general consensus here on Mud is that if you wheel it hard (or sometimes if you drive down a dirt road) you will blow the front diff. it's only a matter of when.

I think this is mainly an issue with 98-99s before they started putting 4 gears in the diff...

I think the general concensus here on mud is to replace all diffs with arbs :D
 
I have had:

- starter contacts
- manifold ticking
- thunk/clunk
- charcoal canister (but that may have been due to 45 gal aux tank)
- growing rust problem
- D light failure
- rear A/C line failure
- have had to change rear rotors twice (truck is quite a bit heavier now)
- front seat leather is pretty bad (probably my fault)
- water in rear cargo area
 
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Has AHC been mentioned?

And also in this side of the world where its dusty, hot and humid, the a/c system takes a beating. Its not uncommon to have problems with the a/c in 4-5 years. I have a 2005 which recently was not blowing cool air, recharged it but only lasted a month. Brought it the shop and had to replace the evaporator due to a leak.
 
Great stuff guys, thanks. Starting to look a compilation for a summary FAQ list with links to each item's resolution in the master FAQ. ;)
 
Perhaps an asterisk should be placed by the APPS/TPS and the exhaust manifolds since they have not been much of a problem in the '03-'07 years.
 
From experience, if you introduce extreme angles to either CV you may experience some leakage from em, or even a tear. This is with or without a lift. Thought it was peanut butter at first. Good thing Mud told me otherwise before tasting it.
 
Has AHC been mentioned?


Should AHC be mentioned?

It's not my opinion that everything on the truck that fails is a "known problem". And I also believe going 100-200k (on average) is plenty for expected life. The Cruisers are stout, no doubt about it, but they need maintenance and things go wrong.

Maybe AHC should be mentioned as a potential source of failure that carries more difficulty or $$$ than standard suspension.
 
My advice would be to put prices to some of these issues as well (search Mud/get parts quotes). The list doesn't read to bad but the parts lists can get high. Get a price on a master cylinder for a shock, or see what we spend on timing jobs.
In my case I love the LC and everything has been manageable but between what I knew it needed and what came up in the first few months of ownership I have blown my LC budget for the year and still no real cool parts or mods to speak of. If I was paying for labor it would be a deal-breaker!

Prices are key here, I just did a full boat timing job with pumps on a 22re Hilux truck for about $200 in parts and it was fun... The LC is going to cost more like $700 for the same job and I don't think it will be nearly as much fun.

Did I mention we love the 100 though?
 
How many miles can one expect from ahc? Knowing the fact that the accumulators are a "wear" item what is the cost of rebuilding by dealer? Is the failure rate reasonable over time or is it a "night mare" over time like the air suspension on a range rover?

It seems that when properly serviced and repaired by a dealer($$$) it is quite reliable.
 
It seems that when properly serviced and repaired by a dealer($$$) it is quite reliable.

This is true. Granted some people have had problems with their AHC systems, but those problems don't seem to be terribly common. It's hard to put a mileage estimate on it, I think alot of it has to do with how much wear the system sees and how well it is maintained. I prefer the simplicity of the regular suspension, but I wouldn't pass up a clean 100 with low mileage and AHC if the price was right and no better options were present.

Besides, you can always rip out the AHC and covert the rig to standard suspension if it craps out.
 
I did this on my old rovers and never regretted the switch to coils but then those are off roaders now. As long as my
LX is my distance rig I will keep this cool suspension :steer: and hope there not any strange "could not duplicate" type problems.:bang:
 
I did this on my old rovers and never regretted the switch to coils but then those are off roaders now. As long as my
LX is my distance rig I will keep this cool suspension :steer: and hope there not any strange "could not duplicate" type problems.:bang:

They switched the manufacturer of the ahc parts after 03? (can some confirm or correct me?) and the ones before were supposedly more robust. However it is my belief after a lot of research that as long as you change the fluid at least every 60k miles your ahc will last even longer than you would reasonably expect such a system to perform. I dont think 150-200 is unreasonable at all. At that mileage its probably not econimcal to drop 3k for a new ahc when you could
A)put in OME or something else, even regular TLC suspension for cheap from someone who swapped to a lift
or
B)if youre looking for a ride like ahc and dont want to wheel, sell the car with busted ahc to someone who wants a wheeling rig and buy another lower mileage one

Like it was said, AHC isnt really a problem, its a normal wear item like engine oil or anything else
 
I dont think 150-200 is unreasonable at all. At that mileage its probably not econimcal to drop 3k for a new ahc

Why do you feel this would not be economical?

At 20k miles a year, it would take 8-10 years to have a problem in a properly cared for system.

$3,000 / 120 months = $25/mnth

Paying $1,200 for a lift over the same life = $10

It's a $15 difference. Yes, not cheaper but certainly Mudders aren't fretting the LX470 that has a $15 extra expense when a gas increase of a $1.00 per gallon increases our fuel expense <$100/month (at 120 gallons per month or roughly 20k per year).
 
If you properly rebuild the ahc at somewhere arround 150k then you would have a top notch ride for another 150k at a fraction what it would cost to replace with a new or low mileage LX.
 
Heck, let's break it down into days... that's only 50 cents extra per day for the AHC ride, surely we can afford that! LOL.

Spending $3k for suspension repair work on a 10 year old vehicle that is only worth $15k is a big expenditure, IMO.
 

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