Landcruiser with Factory turbo diesel 1HDfte 4.2ltr

Submitted: Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 19:40

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Youngish traveller

Hi I am looking at a Landcruiser with Factory turbo diesel 1HDfte 4.2ltr Automatic 2004 model. It has 230000 on the clock, We are towing a 3t Van. I am not looking for speed just looking for a good tow van. I know I will have to slow down at hills and that isn't an issue. Any comments would be great.

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Reply By: Whirlwinder - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 19:48

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 19:48

Look back a couple of posts about a similar problem.
You are pushing your luck expecting to tow 3 tonnes safely with a 100 series 4.2. As good a vehicle as they are you will be on the limit. It will require a lot of suspension upgrading to allow the GVM to accommodate the weight, especially with 300 kgs on the towbar.
Get a lighter van or a bigger donk!

AnswerID: 552412

Follow Up By: Youngish traveller - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 19:53

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 19:53

My Van is 2.8 fully loaded with water and full gas bottles. I just go to 3t as it is a round figure and rather be over than under. I am currently using/towing with hayman reese tow pack with sway bars. I will look into it more though. Thanks

FollowupID: 837968

Follow Up By: TomH - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:05

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:05

Rubbish

I towed a big Princeton that went 2853 Kg for 50,000km with my 2005 model It had a Safari Chip and a 3" exhaust but even standard would pull all day at 90kph in 4th.
Total rig weight was over 6500kg.
Managed 17L per 100km doing it and didnt have any trouble passing road trains or anything. Had it up to 120 on more than one occasion. As far as the suspension is concerned I put a set of King progressive springs in it ($180) and it sat really well with 300kg on the ball with a WDH set up correctly.
You wont have any trouble at all with that van Just dont tow in 5th as it will hunt up and down and eventually burn the tranny oil.
Fit an EGT gauge in the dump pipe and dont take it over 550 and you will be fine.
Make sure you use the correct WS oil in the tranny NOTHING ELSE.
If it has WS on the drain nut only use that.

FollowupID: 837969

Follow Up By: TomH - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:10

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:10

Just make sure it hasnt had a hard life Look underneath to see if has knocks from rocks etc. I sold mine at 151,000k and it never used oil between 7500k services. Only thing i had to fix was a leaky front shockie.

Couldnt get a better tow vehicle for the year and price for what you want to do.

FollowupID: 837971

Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:12

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:12

A bigger donk ain't going to do much for the tow ball load.

The factory 1HD-FTE is a bloody good reliable engine if it has been serviced regularly. Plenty of power to tow 3 tonnes.
Are the service records available?

A WDH fitted and adjusted correctly will spread the tow ball load between the front and rear suspensions of the tow vehicle and throw a percentage of the tow ball down load back onto the van's suspension.

If you intend to carry a significant amount of gear in the wagon as well as the van a GVM upgrade MAY be beneficial and possibly correct an illegal loading of the tow car.

Cheers
Pop

FollowupID: 837972

Follow Up By: Youngish traveller - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:28

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:28

Thanks Tom and Pop I have seen photos of the underneath and it is bash free it has been a very well looked after vehicle, The vehicle is in Brisbane and I am in Townsville so a family member will be checking the vehicle out then I will be getting a full RACQ inspection completed on it. Service log books are all up to date. I will definitely look at installing the extra add-ons that you have suggested Tom.
I am currently using a heavy duty Hayman Reese WDH.

FollowupID: 837975

Follow Up By: TomH - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:45

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 20:45

If you are careful loading the tug it will be Ok we worked out what to put where and were pretty close to the limit and had to leave some stuff behind, like the roofrack and some heavy tools (neither of which we needed) Weighed it all before we left and during the trip and were Ok both times. If you want a winch and all the fruit may be different.
I had an alloy bull bar and a Kaymar rear bar and spare and was still legal (Just)

FollowupID: 837976

Follow Up By: Whirlwinder - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 21:31

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 21:31

Pop,
My point with the bigger donk was that it will be in a bigger truck that can handle the weight.
To each his own.
Lots of luck.

FollowupID: 837982

Follow Up By: TomH - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 21:52

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 21:52

A 100TD weighs 3260 GVM his van is 2850 Whats wrong with that.

FollowupID: 837983

Follow Up By: Whirlwinder - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 22:01

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 22:01

Tom,
My neighbour has a 100 series factory turbo towing a Bushtracker and is now having to fit a DP chip as it is a bit slow on hills.
I am not sure it is a good idea to push the max limits and expect good performance.
My 80 series has a max towing load of 2500kgs but even with an aftermarket turbo 1500kgs is plenty up a long hill and even then the temp rises and the gears drop.
I really don't care what he or you do, I was just offering my experience to answer his post.

FollowupID: 837985

Follow Up By: Con_Qld - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 22:24

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 22:24

YT, The factory turbo 4.2 is a great vehicle. I tow a 3 ton van with the 4.2 standard HZJ105R with WDH etc. Upgraded with heavy duty clutch and extra heavy duty coils and shocks - no problems at all. Uphill and downhills. Been around Australia twice. You obviously have done your homework so good luck and safe travels

FollowupID: 837986

Follow Up By: TomH - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 11:53

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 11:53

The only hill I really slowed down on was the Willunga hill in SA.
Was down into 2nd manually near the top to keep EGT temp under control as it was a hot day and was up to 525 in the dump which is over 700 in the cylinders.
From Batemans to Canberra was the only other slow one.

FollowupID: 837999

Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 23:15

Monday, Apr 13, 2015 at 23:15

Yep....if the car is in good mechanical condition, your projected rig is a good one for touring. Decent hillclimbing will find it working hard, but with your van load figures, everything else will be a breeze. Modest cruising on the flat can get the economy into the 17L area.

AnswerID: 552418

Reply By: Member - John - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 07:01

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 07:01

G'day, just a word of warning about RACQ Inspections, I had one done a few years ago on a Patrol I was interested in, I was in Melbourne, it was in Brissy, report all good, flew to Brissy to look at and possibly buy it. The Patrol was not as the report said, engine bay was covered in surface rust and alloy components all covered in crud, the underneath was all painted chassis black, I mean everything, the interior showed major usage signs, way over what you would expect for the mileage. None of these things in the report. I gathered the Patrol had been used for beach work at a resort or similar. Needless to say I didn't buy it. Complained to RACQ and actually spoke to the inspector, his comment when questioned about the rust and condition etc, said," I saw those and didn't think you would worry about it". I was gob smacked....... Absolutely a waste of money and my time.

John and Jan

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AnswerID: 552422

Reply By: Drew - Karratha - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 15:51

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 15:51

Not exactly an answer to your post, however I have a 2001 HDJ100 auto for sale at the moment with heaps of gear on it, which is ready to tow a 3t van... It has 410000 k's on it however it has a brand new injector pump, and torque converter. It is in fantastic cond (but needs new tyres). I am about to re-advertise it for $21500! I believe that is a very cheap price..... If interested, or just wanting to talk cruisers call me on 0439851247.... Drew

AnswerID: 552440

Follow Up By: TomH - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 18:00

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 18:00

Is it the old 4spd auto as it is not a patch on the 5spd for towing

FollowupID: 838012

Follow Up By: Drew - Karratha - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 20:58

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 20:58

Yep Tom it is a 4 speed. Not as good as the 5 speed as far as economy goes, but apparently a lot stronger (according to a conversation I had with Wholesale Automatics)... And a lot cheaper than a HDJ100 with a 5 speed... And upgraded suspension with rear airbags... And a 3" exhaust...
Drew

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Follow Up By: TomH - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:20

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:20

1HZ or 1HD-FTE

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Follow Up By: Life Member - Terry 80FTE - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 22:06

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 22:06

Watch out for misleading adds like the "Toyota Diesel 100 Series" in EO's classifieds,2004 turbo .
as it's actually a "105 series", so most likely after market turbo and the weaker R series G/box.
maybe classifieds should have a "Mod alert" as well?
Cheers
Tom, the HDJ100 only came with a 1HD-FTE engine

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Follow Up By: Life Member - Terry 80FTE - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 22:08

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 22:08

Edit, so most likely 1HZ with after market turbo..

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Follow Up By: Drew - Karratha - Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 10:02

Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 10:02

It is a Factory HDJ100R with the 1HDFTE Intercooled Turbo diesel 24 valve engine....

FollowupID: 838046

Reply By: TomH - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:22

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:22

Buy the 2004 if it looks good you wont be disappointed even if its just standard.
A 3" exhaust is about $1000 fitted and will let it breathe better.

AnswerID: 552462

Follow Up By: TomH - Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:27

Tuesday, Apr 14, 2015 at 21:27

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-2004/SSE-AD-3330286/?Cr=8

FollowupID: 838029

Reply By: Member - Young Nomads - Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 21:15

Wednesday, Apr 15, 2015 at 21:15

A 100 diesel cruiser with that amount of k's is only just run in! As long as checks out legally & mechanically, you won't regret your investment.

We have a 2006 100 TDA, that has now been chipped and "exhausted". LOL
This has improved it's pulling power...
I know ours is a newer vehicle, but you can't go wrong with this model.
We tow both a large on road caravan (heavy-ish and 7 m in total length) and a TVan for all the off-road/desert trekking...we drive and tow a lot...all legal weights and loading etc... just I case you were wondering