80 series landcruiser

Hi. I consider that the 80 ser is the best L/C that was built by Tojo. I have an 80 ser. petrol that has 270,000 on the clock and regulary tow a 17' 6" full top caravan with no problems.. Mine is auto constant 4wd. but if you buy one of these modeles make certain that is a post 1964 model. The one with the badge on the front and not the one with the name.

Matt,

It would be very hard to buy a new 1997 80 Series. :-))

It would have to be one of, if not the best 4WD Toyota ever built.

Ceramic pistons, I don't know where that rumor came from but as far as I know there are no $6000 pistons in an 80 Series.

Forget the petrol version, they were known to be very thirsty.

Big ends were a problem on the 1HZ motor before the multi valve came out so you should not have any problems.

I know of several people, myself included, that wished they had kept there 80 Series.

Wayne

If you intend to keep the vehicle long term, I understand the 1998 models have the same towing capacity same as the 100 series ie 35500 kg so will be able to tow a big tandem if you decide to upgrade in the future.

For technical information on all Toyotas join up here www.lcool.com.au

The TD's have ceramic top pistons. There are only issues with the petrols and diesels if they aren't maintained.
I have had a few 105's and now drive an 80 again as they are a better vehicle. Mine is a petrol and has 405,000km on the original bottom end. The head was serviced at 350,000km.
A full rebuild on a 4.5l petrol is around the $2500 mark an injector pump on a diesel will cost about the same, a full rebuild can run to $10k.
I average 15.1 litres per hundred km and the vehicle is far from std, most diesels seem to run 11-14lp 100km.
The servicing on a diesel is every 5000km petrols is 10,000km (and at 1/3 the cost).
A petrol with 300,000km will set you back 6-10k in good nick the same in a diesel will cost you double....that is a lot of fuel and you can go dual fuel if you want. Mine is a 1996.

Hi Matt,
I have an 80 series TD multi valve and have just had the motor done up , only because I was chasing the annoying tick that they are notorious for.

I did not get rid of the tick and the motor is going slightly better but not much better which tells me that at 290,000 K she did not want doing, I was going fine anyway. Injectors were another $3500 on top.

The rebuild cost about $5500 at the motor rebuilder and $1400 at the mechanic to pull it out and put it back.

I have gas on mine as well and it goes like a rocket.

The 97 models are fairly few and far between, they were the last of the mohecans so to speak.

Good ones are still fetching well over $20,000.

If you can't afford a diesel then by all means get yourself a petrol as they are quieter, smoother, less servicing and cheaper to service.They are also much cheaper to buy.

As a previous responder said the petrols cost around $2500 to $3000 to rebuild.

I previously had a petrol 97 on gas and it was brilliant returning as good economy or better than a turbo diesel, kilometres per dollar that is.
The only down side was that I had to get a spare wheel carrier for the rear but by doing that I retained the original main petrol tank and that gave me 180 litres of fuel capacity. half gas half petrol. Dual fuel is the only way to go as you are not restricted to just the main centres as gas is hard to get the further out you go.

There is no telling what might happen with gas in the future so that is the only cloud on the horizon for a gas conversion.

At $10,000 cheaper for a petrol, well that gives you a lot of coin left to put in the petrol tank and you don't need to turbo them to get then to go.

Either way you go you will not be sorry, in my opinion.

Cheers, Bruce.

I had a 92 model TD and selling it was the biggest mistake I've ever made!!!! After years of counselling, I was starting to get over the mistake..... then my neighbour bought one. Every time I look over the fence I am reminded of how good a 4X4 the TD 80 series is.
They are an awesome vehilcle and very sought after. Many of those in WA have been sourced from the eastern states. People will happily travel 3,000 km for a good TD 80 series.
The big end bearings issue only applied to the original bearings used in some of the pre 94 turbo's. These would all have been replaced by now so your not going to have an issue with them at all.

If your towing, I would have thought the diesel V petrol question would be a no brainer

If you can find someone willing to part with their TD 80 series, pounce on it.

Good luck

Hi Matt,
This site is a wealth of knowledge.
There is another site called Offroad 80s.. you could have a chat with some of those blokes too.It's free to join. I think.
Bye Ma.

Do it once and do it right !!!

IF you did manage to get hold of a 1997 1HD-FT turbo diesel multi-valve then you would certainly be doing it right. However I think you'll soon find that they are as rae as the proverbial and always demand a premium.

I've just put a 1HD-FT motor in mine and I wish I'd done it 5 years ago, amazing !