Tuesday, Sep 10, 2013 at 21:59
Not entirely true. Excerpt from lcool;
The 100 series vs. 105 series
When first released in Australia in March 1998, the new 100 series Landcruiser wagons all looked very similar, apart from the obvious things like wheels, body moulds and the fancy chrome bits between model grades. But as time progressed we began to learn that there are in fact 2 very different chassis setups underpinning these bodies.
In this day and age of monocoque vehicle design, it was good to see the Cruiser did in fact retain its traditional rugged truck like separate chassis design.
The 105 series chassis is essentially a carry over from the previous 80 series. Apart from some improvements to rigidity through extra cross members, better frontal impact absorption and different outriggers to support the new body, it continues to offer us live axles front and rear.
Live axle or Rigid Front
Suspension (RFS) as Toyota refer to it uses the familiar 3 link setup with forged lower arms, panhard rod, coil springs and recirculating ball steering box. It was standard fitment on STD, RV and GXL models at release. Front and rear differential locks were offered as factory options.
The 100 series chassis is an all new design, utilising a different chassis which is some 40mm wider at the rear, narrowing down at the front to incorporate the fixed front differential, torsion bars, heavy cross member for the rear torsion bar mounts and of course the double wishbone front
suspension with rack and pinion steering. Independent Front
Suspension (IFS) offers according to Toyota information “a high level of steering ability and ride comfort, whilst maintaining excellent off road drivability and durability”. A front diff lock was never offered as a factory option with IFS.
The IFS was only available on the GXV model (and Lexus LX470) initially at release, but progressed to the GXL and GXV turbo diesel models when the V8 GXV was dropped in Oct. 2000. Further model progressions in Oct. 2002 saw it fitted to all models except the STD and GXL diesel wagons with 1HZ engine, when the 4.5L petrol engine was dropped.
To date there have been numerous reports of failures of the IFS lower wishbones, where the arm cracks adjacent to the point where the torsion bar bolts to it, sometimes to the point that the vehicle will sit on it’s bumpstop. This appears only to be evident on the turbo diesel models where the extra weight of the inline 6 cylinder and the different weight distribution of the longer engine cause the arm to be more highly stressed, particularly if the vehicle has additional accessories and has been used offroad. Some companies like ARB and Pedders are making strengthening kits to help alleviate the problem.
The rear suspensions of both the 100 and 105 series are the familiar 5 link design, utilising upper and lower control arms, panhard rod, coil springs and shock absorbers although the geometry is quite different. The 105 series also retains the traditional Cruiser full floating rear axle shafts whereas the 100 series utilises the semi-floating rear axle design.
The 2 chassis variants are distinguished by their model code which is easily found on the ID plate under the bonnet. Any model code with the suffix “100” (eg. UZJ100, HDJ100) is of IFS design, and “105” (eg. HZJ105, FZJ105) is of RFS design. However an easy way of telling at a glance is by the wheel rim design - deep dish zero offset for RFS and flat appearing 40mm offset for the IFS.
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