Advise on the toyota crusier

Mate, I own a '91 Series 80 GXL Diesel with an aftermarket turbo fitted. It has 225000 km on the clock and is a good truck. My advice would be to by a normally asperated diesel and fit an aftermarket turbo as this would save you money (just get the turbo fitted by an authorised fitter and you should have no problems).

As far as year goes it depends on how much kms it has done - an older model with low kms would be better than a newer model with high kms.

Things to look out for - if it has constant 4WD then there can be some issues with the front diff/end (which is a Hilux diff) as these do wear out and can be expensive to repair. To lessen the strain you could fit a free wheel hub kit - which is what I am going to do soon. Other than that get it inspected before you buy and you should have no problems. They are a very good 4WD.

the following is the advice I gave a guy looking at a troopy but virtually all of it applies especially if you are buying an 80 standard. I recently purchased an ex exploration one fully kitted out for bushwork(click on rig pic for details) for 15k all up
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

Check post 19621, as well as archives.

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