In a Toyota 4wd again

[GTSSportCoupe]

Hey Guys, long time since I've posted on the forums here. Thought I'd drop in and say hi. I still miss my little Tercel 4wd. Hopefully it's still alive somewhere.

I got over my sports car craze of the last few years and am back in a Toyota 4wd again. A bit bigger this time though. Got her for a good price, and have put a lot of maintenance and upgrades into her in the last year. I now love this thing as much as I loved my Tercel. She weights twice as much, but returns nearly the same fuel economy (gotta love diesel).

Here's what I've done since buying her in Spring 2012:

- Changed the front and rear diff and transaxle oils
- Flushed the auto trans (dropped the pan and cleaned first)
- All new accessory belts
- Engine oil/filter, Air filter, Fuel filter
- New glow plugs
- OME medium springs and shocks
- OME steering damper
- 235/85/16 Goodyear Wrangler Territory
- Completely removed all emissions stuff and installed block off plates where the EGR used to be
- PCV Catch Can
- Removed throttle plate and emissions butterfly plates
- Cleaned intake manifold and head ports (had a good 3/8" layer of sludge)
- Manual boost controller set to 12psi
- Boost sensor pressure bleed off (basically adjustable fuel to keep the motor from over fueling)
- New engine temp sensor
- Boost and pyro gauges
- Timing belt, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, waterpump, front main seal, thermostat (82C), radiator hoses.
- Just before I bought it the previous owners had the turbo and injectors rebuilt.
- Also I've fixed a lot of little stuff that the previous owners and their kids broke or lost in the interior/body
- Custom tow hitch
- Electronic trailer brake controller
- Electronic tuning box to advance injection timing and increase injection volume real time as needed (read by the ECU).
- Brake calipers sandblasted, painted and completely rebuilt
- New PBR Metal brake pads, premium brake rotors and brake hardware all round
- Swivel hubs completely rebuilt including sandblasting/painting, machine work, all new seals/bearings/gaskets/grease/wheel studs, new e-hub brushes and special e-hub grease.

To do list includes:
- Intercooler
- 2.5" turbo downpipe and exhaust
- Transmission cooler
- Get the AC working
- Install the 8000lb winch sitting in my shop, and fabricate a new bumper

[Petros]

I am not sure I have seen the land cruiser available in Diesel in the united states. A few years ago were were looking for something large enough to tow a travel trailer and looked at the land cruisers, all had large gasoline engines and poor fuel economy (and even with lots and lots of miles were quite expensive).

looks like a nice alternative to the typical gas hog SUV. what size engine does it have?

[GTSSportCoupe]

I am not sure I have seen the land cruiser available in Diesel in the united states. A few years ago were were looking for something large enough to tow a travel trailer and looked at the land cruisers, all had large gasoline engines and poor fuel economy (and even with lots and lots of miles were quite expensive).

looks like a nice alternative to the typical gas hog SUV. what size engine does it have?

Hi Petros,

The landcruisers you were looking at were probably the FJ40, FJ60 and FJ80/FZJ80. For some reason the US missed out on the diesel landcruisers we received here in Canada. We got the BJ40, BJ60 and BJ74. Which all had the underpowered but invincible 3B engine.

That said, the one I own is imported from Japan and is a model we never received in Canada either. It's a LJ78. It has a 2.4l turbo diesel (smallest displacement diesel engine ever put in a landcruiser). It makes around 97hp and 177ft/lbs in stock trim, but is easily modified to make more power. Its a good engine as long as it is maintained and driven properly. If overheated, this series of engine will crack the head. Mine has not had any problems though and I have taken special measures to keep it that way.

[ARCHINSTL]

Hey, Nick - Welcome Back!
I'd guess the reason we got the gas-guzzler here is that in the USA, like the Land Rovers, it is more regarded as a "statement" vehicle rather than a "working" vehicle.
About the only time these types of vehicles demonstrate their admittedly fantastic offroad capabilities is when Mr. and Mrs. Nouveau Riche miss the driveway and land up on the lawn after one or two too many craft brewskis.

One of my staffers had an FJ60 in the early '90s - admittedly older car, but Boy! did it suck the fuel. The crank eventually failed for ? reason and he scrapped it.

Funny story - when Lexus got the rebadged FJ80 as an LX450, they looked alike to me. Our nickname for the Toy was always "Land Crusher." One day I took a bike out to a sassity lady's LX450 - I said something like "Ahh, you have a new Land Crusher." She looked at me and indignantly exclaimed "What? This is a LEXUS!" Oooppss...
Kinda the same reaction when I took a bike to woman's Subaru wagon. I said, in all innocence, "Is this your wagon?" She replied, huffily, "That's not a wagon - it's an SUV."
Tom M.

[dlb]

hey nick. i actually see your t4 in shawnigan lake on a pretty regular basis. i think it's switched hands a few times but looks like it's still being ridden pretty hard. whoever bought it from you was friends with another forum member, barto, whose t4 has also changed owners but i still see it now and then too. i give both tercs equal points for burliness. here's a pic from when i saw barto's old whip in duncan just last week.



is your land cruiser a RHD? *edit* i just saw your post that mentions your LC is imported from japan, so question answered. did you buy it off someone here, or did you have it imported yourself? if the latter, who brought it over for you? i know there's a guy in duncan who brings lots of land cruisers over so i wonder if he was involved at all.

[GTSSportCoupe]

Hey, Nick - Welcome Back!
I'd guess the reason we got the gas-guzzler here is that in the USA, like the Land Rovers, it is more regarded as a "statement" vehicle rather than a "working" vehicle.
About the only time these types of vehicles demonstrate their admittedly fantastic offroad capabilities is when Mr. and Mrs. Nouveau Riche miss the driveway and land up on the lawn after one or two too many craft brewskis.

One of my staffers had an FJ60 in the early '90s - admittedly older car, but Boy! did it suck the fuel. The crank eventually failed for ? reason and he scrapped it.

Funny story - when Lexus got the rebadged FJ80 as an LX450, they looked alike to me. Our nickname for the Toy was always "Land Crusher." One day I took a bike out to a sassity lady's LX450 - I said something like "Ahh, you have a new Land Crusher." She looked at me and indignantly exclaimed "What? This is a LEXUS!" Oooppss...
Kinda the same reaction when I took a bike to woman's Subaru wagon. I said, in all innocence, "Is this your wagon?" She replied, huffily, "That's not a wagon - it's an SUV."
Tom M.

Hey Tom, thanks! Yeah, I think you are right about the landcruisers often being status symbols as opposed to working trucks. Generally the old gasser landcruisers were pretty long lasting vehicles even though they drank a lot of fuel.

That is funny about the Landcruiser/Lexus story! I was actually looking into the LX450's (FZJ80) here, as they are very well built and tough. But I decided the poor fuel economy and 'mall queen' look was not for me.

The 70 series is what replaced the 40 series. They are built more utilitarian than the 80 series.

hey nick. i actually see your t4 in shawnigan lake on a pretty regular basis. i think it's switched hands a few times but looks like it's still being ridden pretty hard. whoever bought it from you was friends with another forum member, barto, whose t4 has also changed owners but i still see it now and then too. i give both tercs equal points for burliness. here's a pic from when i saw barto's old whip in duncan just last week.

is your land cruiser a RHD? *edit* i just saw your post that mentions your LC is imported from japan, so question answered. did you buy it off someone here, or did you have it imported yourself? if the latter, who brought it over for you? i know there's a guy in duncan who brings lots of land cruisers over so i wonder if he was involved at all.

Hey, glad to hear she's still running. Funny how it's switched hands a few times, haha.

It amazes me how far the little tercel 4wd's can go considering their small wheels and low clearance. I think their low weight and centre of gravity, as well as low engine power help a lot. They just keep crawling along.

Yup, the cruiser is RHD as you guessed. It's really not a big deal to learn to drive on the other side. I got used to it in about 15 min. I mixed up the windshield wipers and signal lights for a couple weeks though, ahah. I bought it off a family in Victoria. They thought the engine was blown up, but it turned out the emissions system had failed and was starving the engine of air and causing incomplete burn of diesel which made clouds of smoke. I fixed that problem in about 30min. The smoke saved me about $3000. Anyhow, the truck has been through a couple of owners since it has come to Canada. I have no idea who originally imported it. Some day I may import one myself direct from Japan so I can pick a cream puff rig, but that will have to wait until this one is worn out and I have more $$.

Landcruisers are definitely pretty fun though. It takes everything I loved about my tercel to the next level.

[terceldude]

GTS, I missed you! Where have you been and why do you and other members ignore me? But on to your rig, why don't you just trade that rig in and buy an Aussie model Tercel 4WD or a Brit model one..They're both RHD and they both are Tercels which is what your site is all about...Just my humble opinion... I think the more gas-guzzlers we have, the more partially bad effects on global warming we'll end up with and sooner or later, the extinction of mankind...But yeah, at least it's a Toyota and not a Ford or something...

[4doorVIP]

wow it is good to see such an old school member return
I agree RHD is no biggie, the most difficult scenario would be turning left at an intersection.
that is cool you own the barto machine. I am still kicking myself that I did not purchase it when it was for sale. I knew it had a missing 5th gear and all but that wagon is legendary lol

[Mark]

There's a guy with an old (older than yours) diesel Land Cruiser in my neighborhood. Sometimes he's in front of me on my drive to work. He uses old cooking oil in his. It smells like french fries with maybe a hint of chicken fingers. I met another couple in an imported right-hand-drive diesel van that mix it 50-50 with diesel in the summer with no modifications. Their source is a Japanese restaurant and it actually smells a bit like tempura.
Anyways, If I got a diesel, I'd probably spend half my time experimenting with fuel mixes.