Upgrading a Land Cruiser 90 - Greece

[Foris]

Upgrading a Land Cruiser

Hi guys,

I own a Land Cruiser 90, V6 3.400cc, 5door, 2001 model, AT tires, IFS (independent front suspension), with all original parts (no extras).

The car is EXCELLENT on and off road!!!

I am tempted to spend some money on the car to:
a) increase the height (+4cm or appx 2inches), and
b) install rear air locking differentials

I am sure that somebody out there must have already done such modifications. i would like you to recommend brands and share your experience.

My main concern is not to sacrifice the car's overall excellent performance (on and off road) and not to affect the cars long term reliability.

Thanks for your replies!

Foris

 

[FloridaFJ80]

Foris
Before I can give you some recommendations its good to know what your wheeling is like?
How do you wheel your rig (moderate trekking, some mud, lots of mud)? How often do you wheel? Do you wheel for fun or because you have to? What type of performance attributes dont you want to sacrifice?

 

[Foris]

Hi guys,

First, allow me to apologize for not popping in earlier (1,5years ago to be more precise ....:whoops .... no excuses .... so many things have happened ......

Well, coming back to , I have looong ago installed the OME 2" kit and 265/75/16 STT's .... the car is great (I LOVE IT!) and it performs
excellent all over & even in very tough off roading.

The only area which is of some worry is the IFS ... although excellent for on road traveling, the off road performance and improvement ability (modifications) are significantly limited by this .....

Is there any viable ($$$) mod for the IFS??? ok, swapping to an axle makes sense but it kills the sweetness of the IFS and costs another car ....

What can be done to the IFS to improve off road performance and retain on road sweetness ?

Reliability is a major concern ... the car is RELIABLE and has to remain RELIABLE... no need for split cv boots or broken links ...

 

[Foris]

Hi guys,

I guess that no replies means no solutions for upgrading the IFS .....

so ... no chance for more articulation in the front ........

I will keep on looking into the issue .......

In the meanwhile, enjoy and if you run into something interesting, let us know ...

 

[Matty Awful]

If you're worried about the lack of articulation in the front then fit an ARB Air Locker that way it doesn't matter if you lift a front wheel - you'll still have drive to the other front wheel. It's going to take something pretty serious to stop you then, trust me on this.

The other thing to remember is that whilst the front doesn't have huge articulation, the rear end has buckets of it.

For the record I wheeled mine with some pretty serious solid axle trucks & more often than not they would get stuck & I wouldn't. So get a set a set of lockers, keep your Prados road manners and call it good.

Cheers,
Matty

 

[Foris]

Very well put !!!!! you are right ...

I also do not have a huge problem with this off road ... it is just the matter of limitation which is frustrating when considering upgrading the suspension ...

But in the end .... it is just as you very nicely said ....

I was planning to fit an ARB blocker in the rear but am hesitating because the LSD is working quite nicely .... so I will consider putting the blocker in the front .... might be a reasonable solution although most cruiser's I know fit 1 blocker in the rear .... will think about this ...

 

[stwee321]

The only area which is of some worry is the IFS ... although excellent for on road traveling, the off road performance and improvement ability (modifications) are significantly limited by this. The other thing to remember is that whilst the front doesn't have huge articulation, the rear end has buckets of it

 

[GRVIT]

Hi all.
Ok,since I cant find an 80 available over here,my other option is a Prado 95 (lwb) 1996-98 for example.
Im also considering of doing a solid axle swap on the front end to get rid of the IFS.
I have a pair of FJ62 axles in my warehouse.
Your help is needed here.

Questions :

1-Is the t-case of Prado the same with another LC like 80 for example?

2-Are there available t-case reduction gears in the market?

3-Anyone knows the front-rear track width (96-98 model) ?
I m thinking of keeping the rear axle and put the FJ62 front axle on the front end or at worse,replace both of them with the 62s.
I know that its narrower than the 80.

4-stock ring /pinion ratio ? After market options? Diffs same as other Toys?

5-Is it considered to share parts like frame,front IFS with another Toy model like 4runner for example?

6-On which side are Front and rear diff pumpkins,i.e driver's? passenger's side ?

7-Frame rails are at same width from front to end? or they get narrower on the front end ?

I guess thats all for the moment.

Thank you.

 

[TEPUI]

How many kms or miles on your engine?

The 5VZFE requires a timing belt change at around 150.000 Kms.