Buying a troopy
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 at 20:59
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aussieolie
G'day
I am about to buy a Landcruiser Troopy 1995 Model Diesel, with 172KM and no rust (that I can see, on or inside the vehicle, and underneath). Can anyone make some suggestions in regards to the engine, gear box, etc... as to what I should look out for and
check. I have done basic checks soo far, and it seems in good nic.
Also with the current price of Diesel being more expensive, is it still economically viable to go Diesel? or maybe hooking a turbo kit to it.... Unleaded guzzles I have found from a past GXL.
Regards,
Olie
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 at 22:12
Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 at 22:12
As far as rust goes, the troopies were very good - had a friend with a 73model - did a bit of beach work, and when he sold it 8 years later, no rust.
If its been
well serviced (5k oil changes) then the engine should be fine.
The gearbox was probably the weakest part, so
check for any rumbles in any gear, or neutral. An inspection by a 4wd workshop is usually worth the money.
Diesel costs the same as unleaded outside the city. A diesel troopie is a lot more economical than a petrol troopie. I own a diesel because of its exceptional range when 4wding and out in the desert, and its safer to carry extra in jerries. And I like the smell and the greasy feeling through my fingers :-))
Cheers
Phil
AnswerID:
92880
Reply By: glenno(bris) - Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 00:23
Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 00:23
If you buy it the first thing you should do is go to your toyota dealer and buy a 20ltr drum of toyota coolant and flush out the old coolant . If i had of done this when i bought
mine i would have saved myself $600 for a new radiator .
AnswerID:
92909
Follow Up By: Alan S (WA) - Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 15:13
Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 15:13
Glen
Even more applicable after purchasing a used vehcile is draining and changing all fluids including brake fluid, gearbox, engine & diff oils. Its cheap insurance and then you know for sure the last change date.
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Follow Up By: Alan S (WA) - Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 15:17
Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 15:17
I forgot to say, even after you have changed the coolant always always use what is recommended by the Vehicle manufacturer and change it the intervals suggested.
Coolant is more than colored liquid that raises the boiling point and stops rust. It has its own chemical composition and PH levels. Use the wrong stuff and you can actually cause corrosion, and wrong PH can actually eat your heads, not nice if you have alloy heads.
PH levels also change over time hence the change interval.
FollowupID:
352061
Reply By: Topcat (WA) - Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 01:02
Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 01:02
I concur with the comments made by the other replies. You could also have a good look around the output driveshaft seals on the transferbox & diffs. If they are leaking it is usually a sign of internal wear of components breaking down & contaminating the oil which causes the seals to wear. Also as mentioned in previous posts in this
forum-to
check the 5th.gear spline wear by removing the power take-off cover on the transfer box & see if there is any movement on the gear.(i.e if they will allow you to do this). There should be no backlash!! The 1HZ motor is a good economical diesel for its capacity & turbo fitting will also improve the economy. On average you should get around 7.0 km/ltr depending on the load carried & how much lead is on the throttle. Hope this helps. Cheers.
AnswerID:
92917
Reply By: Member - Davoe (WA) - Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 14:25
Friday, Jan 14, 2005 at 14:25
engines are good but can crack heads if overheated. always pays to get them up to operating temp and remove the radiator cap (carefully ) and look for bubbles. get it up to highway speed then take tour foot of the load pedal and let it coast down to 40kph - make sure it doesnt jump out of fith. Look for overdone detailing it could be covering up an ex miner. poke your fingers in the chassis holes and see if the chasis is full of mud. taste the mud/dust if it tastes salty it is a miner. prob will use around 13l per100k where a petrol will use around 5l per100k more - do the math (if you can find one) I have just bought an 80 with 200k and it goes just fine. Other thing is just drive it no 2 1hz seem to go the same make sure this one has plenty of go (for a 1hz anyway) Turboeing a 1hz is not recomended as they are not built for it (toyota make significant mods to their turbo motors they are not just the same motor with a turbo attached). Give it a flat out run - anything above 1/2 on the temp gauge spells a problem somewhere. Get the brakes checked they can be chewed out if run in muddy conditions and are often are an unexpected cost at 1st sevice (if they need work it is a good tool to bargain the price down). After the flat out run leave it idling for 5 min then crawl under liooking for leaks that were steam cleaned (transfer case is a good place to look as are diffs). Take it onto dirt make sure it engages low range easily then do 2 circles on full lock each way listen for the cv joints clicking and any other untoward noises.
Check accesories (where fitted work)
check springs and hangers for cracks.
check shockers after your drive making sure they dont leak (further testing is hard on leaf sprung vehicles) jack up front wheels one at a time checking for play in steering/bearings.
check behind the wheels the "ball" the wheel ataches to should be dry or just a light film of grease leaking oil from here is expensive.
I have driven plenty of utes of this vintage (same driveline etc) they are very tough and reliable but can break in the suspension/brakes front end areas when used for mining rest is
rock solid even when used for mining
I have driven
AnswerID:
93053
Reply By: aussieolie - Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 at 22:54
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 at 22:54
Thanks everyone for your replies - much appreciated.
Regards,
Olie
AnswerID:
95050
Reply By: greybeard - Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 09:48
Thursday, Jan 27, 2005 at 09:48
Check the 'A' pillars carefully for cracks, at the top of the windscreen and open the front doors and
check at the join between the roof and the lower part of the body
shell.
Check for a roof rack being fitted previously.
If it is cracked, get a quote for a proper fix. I'd leave it if it was cracked.
The body has no diagonal strength apart from the windscreen so any heavy load on the roof an/or a bad roof rack will crack the 'A' pillars. Toyota deny it is a design fault however they stock a repair kit and the later models have extra bracing in the 'A' pillars. I would expect the 95 model to have this.
They are heavy on rear brakes, usually requireing new shoes every 20,000k's.
Would I buy another, you bet. Loved it.
Replace the seats with aftermarket ones. you'll never regret it.
AnswerID:
95092