G'day Dave,

True enough but............. going over 40 mph might be an issue !

On a serious note, I did a bit of a search and found 80 Series turbo diesel landcruisers far cheaper in the UK than they are here with far less miles too boot !

nothing wrong with the LC 95 as an overland vehicle avoid the d4-d and get an earlier one, an awful lot easier to find than a decent 80

Good day also.
Hmmmmmm, I'm on marshy ground with almost anything to do with 4 wheels compared with motorcycles.
What would greatly assist me - maybe Cysne also -is if you guys could say a bit more about how the LC range varies in the models and what is most desirable to have, and what is not. I don't mean the after-market stuff to be added to the base vehicle, but I see the LC specified in advertisements with air suspension (for instance). To mention the LR one more time, my background with them goes back to the days of leaf springs and heavily overloaded vehicles painted NATO green.

Similar to my comment above, but with respect to engines.
In contrast to Cysne's find on ebay it is also possible to find this 1988 vehicle which is being broken with just 90K miles showing on the clock.
Toyota Land Cruiser 1988 breaking | eBay
ps Just to clarify, I don't believe the 90K on the clock either!
I'm just interested in what life can be expected of the various engines which in general seem to go well over 150K miles for the diesels and similarly for the big petrol engines.

Also, is the "95" series the one that is marketed in the UK as "Prado/Colorado" i.e. with a 3 litre diesel engine??

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Dave

The 90 or 95 was sold as Prado or Colorado, the 95 is the LWB version like in the eBay link above. IIRC the 90 is the 3 door version.

Newer ones have the D4-D more electrics and better mpg than the simpler earlier version. Colorado's in the uk came with a locking rear diff whereasthe prado only has a lsd.

I'm not that clued up on the other cruisers ans slightly biased having a Colorado.

The 80 series is better in many respects but the LC95 is a very capable overlander and big enough to sleep in the back

Or this one?
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...78-troop-67773

And is this asking price better than can be found in Australia?

Thanks for that over view.
It confuses me, but names are easier to remember than numbers, if only because the names tend to be used in "for sale" advertising.
(but motorcycle models have a similar issue).

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Dave

But with Land Cruisers you really should stick to the numbers. Depending on where the car was sold, Toyota used different naming schemes for identical vehicles. Eg the moniker Prado for the light duties was not used in continental Europe. In Swizerland a unique numbering scheme existed (200, 300, 400) that related to nothing else in Europe.

And then there is more to learn, if you get the full designation of the car (like HZJ80 or VZJ95), especially the motor type. Toyota uses a mixed combination of letters and numbers to define the engine type and the body style. But all Land Cruiser designations contain the letter J. The number right of the letter J stands for the body style, the letters left of the J for the engine type. For an overwiew of the designation scheme on Toyota engines see the article on wikipedia.

A general overwiev can be found on wikipedia about the Land Cruiser and the Land Cruiser Prado.

Generally Toyota split up the Land Cruiser series into two during the 1980 into a heavy duty line (with leaf springs only until ca. 2000) and a light duty line (with coil springs). So a Land Cruiser with a 7 as the first digit of its type number might be heavy duty or light duty. These two lines later split up into independent series.

So comparing a 80 to a 90 or 95 is not fair. The 80 series is the heavy duty line with the straight 6 as Diesel, Turbodiesel or petrol and has always 4 doors.
A 90 is a short light duty with 2 doors, a 95 is a light duty with 4 doors.
The J9 like the J8 has coil leaves on both axles, but the J9 has the smaller differentials (8" compared to 9.5") and the J9 was never available with the straight 6.

If you are interested in a particular car, ask for the VIN or frame number. Go to ToyoDIY.com, enter the number or choose by the market where the vehicle has been sold originally and you find plenty of information about it. Here you find a cheat sheet for Toyota VINs.

HTH, Hans

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Seen whilst travelling - Fernwehstammtisch Karlsruhe - Relief action Togo Togoville e.V.

It's a very interesting and useful summary: thanks!
I think some of this has been mentioned in other threads about Landcruisers, but it's a good summary for this particular thread.
Regarding the "light duty/heavy duty" factor, I seem to recall that the smaller diameter differentials in the light duty series do not have full diff locks in place; rather there are limited slip diffs (LSDs) fitted all round??

In contrast the 80 series advertised in the UK are all described as having diff locks x 3 (front, back and, presumably, a main diff straight out of the gearbox).

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Dave

I understand cars & bikes are very much a personal choice. I've seen all manner of vehicles in some very rough and extremely remote country, most all were having a ball.

IMHO the 61 series Landcruiser with the 12HT Turbo Diesel engine has one if not the best 6 cylinder turbo diesel engine ever built. It is not uncommon to hear these motors doing a million kilometers. Google 12HT and see for yourself. Ok it may well not be the easiest beastie to find however well worth the effort.

The 80 series turbo diesel is also a well proven vehicle and well worth the effort of finding a good one. I might add at this point, a popular modification over here is free wheeling hubs, constant 4WD chews tyres and adds to fuel consumption. Again IMHO well worth the effort.

Troopcarriers are for me access resrticted not having rear side doors and top heavy when fitted with with a roof rack and loaded. Again it's a personal choice simple as that. A quick search reveald the 80 Series Landcruiser (link below) which would easily be double the price in Oz. Provided the car is in good nick it's very well priced indeed comparied to the price of the Troopy, it's every bit as capable more powerful and comfortable too boot.

toyota landcruiser amazon 4.2 td 5 speed manual R reg 80 series in Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross | Used Toyota for sale | Gumtree.com

I'm guessing you're begining to think crikey this Ozi is a bit one eyed with the Landcruisers and you may well be right. However what we know is what we know ;-) All said and done longevity and reliabality is paramount, the last thing we need is mechanical issues, the time and expense while on tour, hence my humble opinion.

Hope this helps guys,

Cheers Dave

Hmm,

Toyota Landcruiser 3.0 D-4D LC3 5dr Diesel Sw 2004

Why is this so cheap?

Tinted glass and 22" alloys High mileage for a UK car.

because it's a con, if it was anything else 1000's of dealers would be all over this to make a few £K

Come to Oz, grab this, go bush then take it home with you !

Toyota 4x4 Turbo Diesel Landcruiser Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Palmerston Area - Woodroffe

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Hi Dave,

No point suggesting to the OP that he look for a Troopy, he is in UK.
Are you suggesting an 80 series is more comfortable than a 90/95 or a 120/125 series, dream on
Are you suggesting the 80 is economical, forget it, get real, 80 series diesels, 12 valve or 24 valve will give you mid 20 mpg at best.
The 90/95 diesels are easy into the 30 mpg.

Unless your heading to the swamps of central Africa in the rain season, then an 80 is a total overkill, with heavy fuel consumption to weigh you down.

You are right though, the OP should continue to seek out a land Cruiser.

vette

My opinions are based on personal hands on experience, millions of kilometres in extremely harsh & remote country over decades. The question originally asked was answered with budget and reliability in mind and answered fairly, honestly and it is based on real outback experience! Take it or leave it, simple!