Should I buy this truck?

[shaecky]

Hello

I have an opportuniy to buy a 1991 Prado SX5 Turbo Diesel Wagon at a great price and in immaculate condition both inside and under the hood. It was not sold at auction but imported through a broker 2 years ago by a very wealthy and anal businessman who kept detailed records of his purchase and treated it very very well.

After doing some research I have become quite discouraged by the cylinder head/head gasket issues of the 2L-TE engine. The vehicle has 77000km on it and was imported with 55000km. I have been assured that the odometer has NOT been rolled back and that only toyota coollants and filters have been used. It runs beautifully, quiet and smooth and had no obvious heat/rpm issues during my test drive.

My Questions are simple: Is this a truck I can drive across canada in? Is this a truck I can drive to central america in? If it is treated well and driven with care will it be the reliable auto I want my land cruiser to be? Can the head replacement thing be avoided with proper care and maintenance? If not, then what vehicle should I look at buying to do those things? Am I better to wait a year for the '93 prado's with the 1KZ to become available here? (vancouver island)

My $$ is very limited and I want a trusty diesel 4X4 with room to move stuff back from ontario or load up with gear for camping out in guatemala, any advice, opinions, insults or ideas are most welcome.

thank you

 

[roscoFJ73]

Its tempting when you see a nice shiny low klm vehicle like this.
However if your going on intercontinental road trips like the one your proposing its is inconceivable to take anything that is remotely untrustworthy.

I dont know what your budget is but I would take a diesel 60 or even a gasser in preference to the Prado 2.4.
Maybe a BJ73/74 would be a suitable platform

On these kind of road trips ,its all about the reliability of the vehicle in whether it becomes an enjoyable trip or a disaster.

 

[crushers]

Hello
My $$ is very limited and I want a trusty diesel thank you

if funds are limited then do NOT buy a Prado... the head WILL die and never close to home...

 

[lshobie]

If you get it for 2000 then do it - if you can't afford to do 5K worth of repairs then don't do it.

JMO

 

[shaecky]

So if I can afford to replace the head immediately after purchase with the 3L (or the 2nd generation 2.4?) will it become the reliable auto I need or is it just delaying the inevitable.

I know I'm being blinded by it's beauty and pristine working condition, I probably just need a slap in the face to come to my senses but this decision needs to be made this weekend and it's so hard to believe this amazing machine can be so terrible.

thank you for the prompt replies, feel free to tell me I'm an idiot for even considering it...and will the 93 with the 1KZ be any better? I'm not heading to central america till next summer and can always just fly and ship to and from toronto till then if it's worth the wait, I just can't imagine taking anything but a land cruiser on my mayan adventure.

 

[lshobie]

Consider yourself slapped

 

[61ihc]

don't be seduced! Crushers has spent thousands in improvements trying to convince himself otherwise but these units aren't nearly as reliable as other land cruisers. I'm curious about the 93 prados with the kz but until we get them in canada who's to say for sure. take your time. there's no shortage of good cruisers in BC.

slap!!

 

[crushers]

why is it when you tell someone FROM EXPERIENCE don't do something they just have to??

slap, slap, back hand...

wakey wakey... this dream is about to expload into an expensive repair bill...

OR

get a one year guarrantee parts and labour on the head in writting...

 

[lshobie]

there are 2 types of people - people who ask questions they already know the answer to and people who ask questions that they dont want to know the answer to.

 

[crushers]

LOL!!
Louis, are you getting bitter in your old age??

 

[roscoFJ73]

thank you for the prompt replies, feel free to tell me I'm an idiot for even considering it...and will the 93 with the 1KZ be any better?

We've had the 1KZ in one form or another in Oz since 96 (maybe earlier in the Dyna truck) and it has shown itself to be reasonably reliable.
The heads go after abuse or high miles but it wouldnt deter me from owning one.
The engine has now morphed into a 1KD FTE? as of 07 but there are whispers it could be coming to its end as all the other competition from Japan are using V6 engines in their utes and wagons.
When news of the V8 diesel 1st surfaced there was mention of a V6 diesel for the Prado but I haven't seen any more news of it.
If the V6 is in development ,I wonder if it will be the V8 with 2 cyl lopped off?

 

[lshobie]

LOL, no Wayne I had an old timer at the firehall say that to me 10 years ago and I never forgot it - it is true though. Just recently I have had about 5 guys ask for advice - they all fell into one of those 2 catagories.

 

[shaecky]

Well thank you to everyone for the not so gentle wake-up call, although I'm not sure how awake I am as I just let my brother (who works at steve marshall ford) sell me a 2005 Escape Sport...something that until the moment it happened I had sworn I would never do, with the ontario trip looming closer though I think it will serve until the '93 Prado imports arrive or I can find a kickass NA Land Cruiser for next year's guatemala trip.

 

[lshobie]

You bought a ford???? Damn, you should have bought the prado instead, you didn't tell us you were thinking of the ford

 

[crushers]

oh well, at least you have a warranty...of sorts.

 

[Martin White]

The 2LTE is not a very good engine. It hates long hard drives and the only people I've heard say good things about it are usually trying to sell one. The posters above are people with vast experience who are offering sage advice. I've also spoken with Aussies and Kiwis privately about the 2LTE and it is not one of Toyota's better efforts. It doesn't seem fixable no matter what you do.

It seems you are better off with the bigger Toyota diesels, but not the 2LTE.

Another option you should give some serious thought to is getting yourself a Prado with the 1HZ engine which is a fantastic unit. The 4 door is the HZJ77. You can get the same engine in a 2 door. Great engine, few problems.

I can't tell where you are from but if you are on the West Coast Ateb has both a 2 door and a 4 door for sale, both with the 1HZ and both in premium shape.

 

[denis]

The 2LTE is not a very good engine. It hates long hard drives and the only people I've heard say good things about it are usually trying to sell one. The posters above are people with vast experience who are offering sage advice. I've also spoken with Aussies and Kiwis privately about the 2LTE and it is not one of Toyota's better efforts. It doesn't seem fixable no matter what you do.

Do you realize the advisers above are dealers trying to put down the L series market only to push up the so-called overpriced heavy-duty market.
The 2LTE seems to crack a lot of heads. The 2LT and 2LT2 a fair bit less, at least that's what we have here and we sure don't hear all those nightmare stories although we have thousands of them, some driving hard. A 2LTE with the specific -E parts removed with a mechanical injection pump and a good radiator should be lasting even on the LJ78, granted its not a racer or a tow truck.
A friend retrofitted a 2LTE in his LJ70 racer after the original 2LT died after 360000km. (the 2LT crankshaft now has survived one more year of hard abuse in another 2LToffroad truck). Long story short one year and maybe 5000km after, the head cracking is now official after perpetual overheating problems. I don't know why JDM engines crack the heads as soon as they ssail off, but I have a 1990 2LT2 in my hilux that spent 240k kms in an LJ70 in its previous life and shows no sign of anything worrying for now.

 

[crushers]

Do you realize the advisers above are dealers trying to put down the L series market only to push up the so-called overpriced heavy-duty market.
.

hummm, are you absolutely SURE of your FACTS of the above statement?

you are making a serious accusation about my own reputation and standing in the Land Cruiser community so i would appreciate you answering the question.

awaiting your response...

 

[denis]

We are mostly going on opinions rather than facts lately, unfortunately. I thought I'd give my share.
I used to respect and value your opinions and experience a lot but I regret how things end up turning in either marketing or gospel too often these days.

 

[crushers]

Denis,
when i made the decisions to stop selling promoting the L series engines i still had $32,000 of high-end LJ78s in stock. to say i am telling these facts about the head issues to sell the more expensive units is slanderous and completely untrue.
i take offese that you would even suggest i would use such tactics to make a sale. the idea that you would group me together with others that actually use such tactics, especially since we have never met, saddens me. i feel it is worse to sell a unit and try and hide the head issue than it is to tell the truth and let the buyer decide if they want to take the risk.
i felt i had created a good reputation on this forum of speaking the truth and helping others with honest information and suggestions.

this is both sad and depressing.