75 series troopy

Submitted: Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:09
ThreadID: 43610 Views:11708 Replies:11 FollowUps:12
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Hello all just brought myself my first troopy, and I'm like a dog with two of them.
I was wanting to know is there any one in Melbourne that can teach me a little about my new rig, I plan on joining the landcruser club because i have been told they have a good driver training programe.
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:16

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:16
Stephen, good stuff - joining a club will be good.

There are a few must-haves and I'm sure other will have more.
First is to get a "Dougs tub" from a 4wd shop - plastic thing that makes the glovebox useful.

Secondly, buy the long handle shovel, and shove it up the round tube, behind the front bumper - usually fits perfectly. Drill a small hole in the shovel head, and an occy strap hook will retain it nicely.

Feel free to post questions - lots of people with 70series here.
AnswerID: 229581

Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:30

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:30
Phil,

With those modifications the Troopie is perfect.

Steven,

Welcome to the world of Troopie owners. We are a little different to the rest of the 4wd community as we know we have the best 4WD and don't have to prove a thing. You will also get a wave from another Troopie owner even in the city.

Do a driver training course, the vehicle will feel a bit top heavy but that is what driving a Troopie is all about, and as Phil has said, any thing else about your vehicle you want to know just post it.

Wayne
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Follow Up By: stephen looking - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:32

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:32
Yep got a "Dougs tub" car came with, also drilled that hole in the long handle shovel , and your right it fits nice and snug, would like to get myself a recovery kit but not too shaw what i need, also looking at the blue toung air compressors, winch, cb radio, the list of equipment can just go on and on.
I believe i need new shocks as i have uneven tyre wear, and i don't know about the greasable shackles on the rig, the way i look at it grease will attract dirt and then work its way in?
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Follow Up By: Willem - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:49

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:49
" We are a little different to the rest of the 4wd community"

Yes you are

Bloody Bus Drivers.....LOL

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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:01

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:01
Stephen,
Regarding recovery:
- Your recovery points will be the two large wire loops on the front and your square hitch towbar at the back.
- I'd suggest you buy an equaliser strap, an 8000kg snatch strap and two 3 1/4 T rated bow shackles. The equaliser strap and shackles are required for your vehicle to be safely pulled from the front. And for the rear, a strap can be safety inserted into the square hitch and retained by the towbar's 14mm pin. Snatching can be pretty dangerous, so I won't go into that, but you'll learn from a club or course about how it can be done safely.

Blue Tongue compressor is a good choice. I have mine mounted on a piece of 2mm Aluminium sheet and is bolted against the inside panel forward of the battery. Compressors have a high amp draw, so you need a thick cable going to them if you want to mount in the back.

Winch - I'll leave that to someone else :-))

Radio - UHF - fits nicely in the dash if you buy a DIN size unit with front speaker (like say the Uniden UH-088). Can also buy a top shelf and mount up there. Aerial is best gutter mounted on drivers side where its nice and high. I use a swing down mount, and 95% of the time, I only use the 6inch rubber aerial which is unbreakable and transmits well. I'll change it for the 60cm one when I want maximum range. If you want a bullbar mounted aerial to work well on a troopie, it needs to be big, and even then the people behind you may get scratchy transmissions.

Uneven tyre wear is not usually due to shocks. Check tyre pressures, wheel alignment first. Depends of where they are wearing - if its the inside of both front tyres, it may be a bent axle housing, outside may be low pressures, or toe in etc

Greasable shackles potentially improve ride a little on the older models with leaf springs all round, but only make a minor difference for what they cost. IMO they are pretty useless on the post 1999 models. I'd see how the vehicle goes, but suspension is expensive to replace on the leaf sprung troopies.
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Follow Up By: stephen looking - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:15

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:15
Phil,
Bent axel housing sounds expensive to fit how do i go about checking this, the uneven tyer wear is on the inside of the tyres guy i brought it off has put new tyres on the front the uneven tyre wear is on the rear tyres
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:36

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 11:36
Look at the vehicle from the front with the wheels in the straight ahead position. The tyres should be perfectly upright both sides. If they look to have some camber (in at the top), then you may have a problem. "Beware of the smiling LandCruiser". If you think you have a problem, take it to a 4wd shop and ask them. They should be familiar with this problem. It was common on very old LandCruisers, but resurfaced with the rigid front 100series. Its caused by the vehicle spently a little too much air time. It is fixed by either repairing or replacing the housing. There used to be a shop in Adelaide who would bend them back the other way while it was in the vehicle. The better repair in the old days was to take out the housing, straighten it, and then reinforce it top and bottom. I'm not sure what they do these days.

If the rear tyres have the uneven wear, then most likely is that they were the tyres that were on the front, and have been rotated.

I'd be interested to know how you get on.
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Follow Up By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:43

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:43
" We are a little different to the rest of the 4wd community"

Yes you are

Bloody Bus Drivers.....LOL

You be careful young Willem.
We'll get Lucy the Troopy driver after you!!

Geoff
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Follow Up By: Member - 'Lucy' - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:42

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:42
Geoff

I just excuse Willem for his 'utterances' as he and prickly pear juice have an affinity for each other which distorts his vision and comprehension of all 4WD's other than Nissan's.

Its a bit like Football and all those who follow any team but Melbourne. (LOL)
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Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:51

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 10:51
Another important item to get
check this post [PostID: 43605 ] (FollowupID: 490353)
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Reply By: Member - Chris D (Newcastle) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 17:46

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 17:46
Stephen,
Welcome aboard, now you will be seeing just how many 70 series there are around, particularly if you drive out of the city.

It does seem trivial but I agree with Phil's advice about "Doug's Tub" they cost about $30 but are great because without it everything just falls out of the glove box. After that you will have years of fun making improvements. A good set of metric tools would be handy. A workshop manual will also help.

Make sure you have recovery points both front and back. All the best and hope your truck is good fun. Sorry, I am from NSW and can't advise on mechanics in Melbourne.

Chris
AnswerID: 229629

Reply By: Member -Signman - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:12

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:12
Way to go Stephen?? Welcome to the flock !!
AnswerID: 229631

Reply By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:31

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:31
Hi Stephen,
Welcome to the Troopy family.
The rest of the family are on the money, once you've had one you'll never stray.

I'm on my second Troopy now, mind you I bought the first one in 1985. It was a 1983 model HJ75 fitted with the venerable 2H diesel. I bought my second one, a 2006 model in March last year.

They don't really need regular replacement like other lesser vehicles.

The complete list of modifications outlined by Phil G are really all you need, I have done both modifications to both my Troopy's.

Geoff
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Follow Up By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:40

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 18:40
Hi Stephen,
Me again, forgot to mention I did have 12 months in a 105 series wagon. It just wasn't a Troopy.

Geoff
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Follow Up By: Oz Travellers - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:50

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:50
Geoff from Newcastle says:

"The rest of the family are on the money, once you've had one you'll never stray"

Wrong in my case. I sold my 75 series, which I did love and used in my Electrical Contracting business as well as 4WD'ing.

But now I have a PRADO and I now like the added facilities, such as:

1. Ability to get into the back of the vehicle (side door) without having to climb over a mountain of gear to get something stored in the middle of the vehice.

2. Lovely ride, comfy seats, better fuel economy, lower centre of gravity, better accessibility and better brakes!!!!!

Sparky
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Follow Up By: Redback - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:56

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 10:56
And best of all BETTER OFF ROAD, LOL.

Recovery gear is a must when you own a 75 Series !!! and that shovel is for filling in the holes you dig when going up hills, LOL.

Baz.
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Follow Up By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 18:58

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 18:58
I don't know why you two are raving about these Prado things.

Both my kids catch the bus to school and neither has ever played soccer so it's an easy decision, go the Troopy.

Geoff.
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Reply By: Member - John (Vic) - Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 19:10

Sunday, Mar 25, 2007 at 19:10
Yeah the Toyota Landcruiser Club (Vic) is a pretty good bunch with a great Driver Awareness Program conducted at our own property up at Yarck.

Good club for Troopy owners lots in the club so lots of good advice and support from like minded people. :-)

If you join look me up and say hello.

Cheers
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Reply By: Member - lyndon K (SA) - Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 08:47

Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 08:47
Welcolme to the "Troopy Club" Steven!. I now have a 78 T/D but had two 75 series b4 that. Great vehicles, just keep changing the oils and filters and the old 1hz will run forever. Re your tyre wear, the only issue i had was scrubbing of the the inside of the front left tyre due to the camber of aussie roads. This can be fixed with a camber kit. It would be unusual if the rear tyres were to wear unevenly.
I use a blue tounge to and they are great. The uniden uhf fits perfectly into the space net to that fancy radio the troopy is famous for! :)
Good luck.
ps. the 1hz is not much good in sand, not enough power for the weight of the vehicle. so be real carefull on beaches.
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Reply By: Rod W - Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 09:52

Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 09:52
Yep welcome to the troopy club. My contribution is if your vehicle has the 1FZ-FE 4.5lt petrol then it can be fitted with an old air con compressor for use as an air pump ( and I don't mean an Endless Air unit if they do one, by what I've seen of then they're too dear). It fits above the exhaust manifold. Bit of mucking around with the belt set-up. I've utilised my bull bar as an air tank. All works a treat.
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Reply By: Tathagata - Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 10:40

Monday, Mar 26, 2007 at 10:40
My partner and I have bought a Troopy in order to travel around Australia a few times (no time limit).

First thing we found out is about suspension. Look at your shackels, they should sit almost straight up and down, max of about 5 degrees tilt in them, anymore and they are very likely due for a change.

We both paid to do a 4wd course (cost $400 for both of us here in Canberra) and it was money well spent. We also joined the local 4wd club and did thier 4wd course (again, well worth it).

Recovery gear for us (we have kept everything to bare essentials, so while you could get more gear, this is our bare essentials) is. 2 x 4t shackles. A hand winch, winch ext strap, tree hugger, snatch strap, holed shovel (kept in front tube), 2 x aluminium blocks (to hold straps in recovery points), gloves.
We keep all our recovery gear, plus some basic tools in an old army ammo box that sits in the bullbar on the front of the vehicle...this gives us better distribution of weight plus easy access to the gear if we need it.

Keep weight off the roof. If you have a roof rack only use it for light stuff.

Service the vehicle yourself, its pretty easy to do. A set of metric spanners up to 24mm should do you for most of it.
We had the front cabin soundproofed when we had the stereo installed. Cost about $500 and was money well spent, makes a huge difference to sound in the car.

Have some Black widow _Affordable_Storage_Drawers.aspx and water tank on the way and am considering spending the cash ($1500) on a passenger seat (with engineers certificate) because that 3/4 seat is crap.

Oh yeah, spend $200 upgrading the standard lights, we found the standards crap. We bought some halogen lights that use the same wiring loom but put out heaps mroe power, speak to ARB they served us well.

We bought a Bushranger compressor and are pretty happy with it.

I think thats it for now :) Im just considering replacing all the panels in the back with carpeted gal steel, for strength as that cardboard back there is crap.
Also we are trying to put up curtains, screws holding wire didnt work so we are now going to try a standard metal curtain rail affixed with clips stuck onto the wall. If all that fails, powerful magnets will have to do.
AnswerID: 229774

Reply By: Member - 'Lucy' - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 11:01

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 11:01
Hello Stephen Looking

Firstly, congratulations on making the best decision of your life.

Secondly I have THE best Troopy out there.

Live in Melbourne and my contact details are in my profile.

Fell free to contact me if you wish so we can discuss 'things' outside the purvue of the 'pink nissan mafia' and other would be's - if they could be's. (LOL)

Ms Lucy
AnswerID: 229990

Reply By: Richard Kovac - Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 22:18

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007 at 22:18
You will be fine
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