Life expectancy / history 80 series Landcruiser

Thats fairly reasonable for 300,000ks but my 2003 4.2 TDi GU Patrol has 349,000ks on it and its all original except for the alternator, it died a few weeks ago! Its had a set of fan belts at 200,000ks but thats it. Clutch is original and works fine, towed an off road trailer for many trips. My ex wife has my 99Gu 4.2Td and it has 450,000ks and it has had a new clutch but only that, and it spent its life towing a double horse float. If you look after them they all last fairly well. I think a lot of sand and mud driving kill them prematurely! You can be lucky also! Michael

Don't feel to bad about it being old...... Toyota finally stopped making then in 2008, just shows how good they were.

It's not a matter of life expectancy, it's how much money do you want to spend to keep it running in a reliable way.

I bought mine in 1998 at a government auction (department of interior I think). It has worked as a survey vehicle before retiring with myself 6 months ago. Servicing done every 10,000kms with nothing being done apart from normal servicing requirements.
It is the diesel version with 360,000 kms. The only thing to go wrong has been the back door lock failing. One failure of the vehicle is after being assured that it had a 3.5 ton towing capacity was to find out it was only 2.5 tonne just missing out by a couple of months after I had bought a 2.7ton van. All fixed up with a lc200 leaving the old cruiser to enjoy a peacefully retirement :)))

I think it a case of will the Cruiser let you down when out in the bush well away from the nearest service centre. My Cruiser has done similar Km and there nothing wrong with it other than age. I carry the usual spares etc etc along with water pump and U/V joints .

Peter

The one thing that seems to kill most motors is short trips, Falcon taxis get up to 1000000ks out of a petrol donk, so if you only use yours for trips then it will out last you and me.
That 4.5 is one tough donk, and the only problems I have heard of is head problems around 400000ks, but thats not the end of the.world.
Cheers Pete

We have an ex Police 1997 80 series bought in 1998 and now has 260000kms. I just replaced the suspension bushes with polyurethane bushes and it now drives like a new car, well almost. I bought the on fleabay for $287 delivered as compared to $1200 from the stealer.
They cured the black lash that I though may have been gearbox/transfer case wear when it was rocking movement in rear axle.
80 series rule!!

Mine's a 97 80s which I bought from a gov auction in early 99. Only got 175000km's so far, deisel, so like you hoping it will last a lot longer yet.

Jon

Mate,
all that happens is the vehicle gets more unreliable as it gets older. It doesn't mean that it will let you down in the middle of nowhere, but it does mean it will cost and slow you down when travelling.

Parts wise no problem at all around Australia. What will happen, although not being a show stopper, is you will have brake and clutch problems with master cylinders, wheel cylinders and clutch master and slave cylinders plus the brake booster. These are all associated with age

Wheel bearings have to be adjusted or they will fail.

As it gets older you just have to spend more money to keep it up to scratch. In your case age rather than K's are the factor.

One thing is the tojo unis are the best in the business. If greased every 5000 I have no idea how long they last.

I was on a trip on sunday and a young fella was driving an 80 on lpg that had over 500,000 kms on it. It seemed to be going well and he was very happy with it.

I read yrs ago in a 4wd mag toyota basically designed the six cyl petrol to go for around 800,000 km before it needs reconditioning but I don't remember which 80series motor that was. .Any car will last a million km if it is warm most of the time with minimal cold starting like a taxi. Does the handbook tell you to change the oil every 5,000km that's usually for diesels I didn't know that was petrols as well I would have thought 10,000 for a petrol especially if the oil isn't getting dirty

Gee it is almost run in at 340,000 k

I had an 80 Series Cruiser, cant quite remember which year but one of the early ones as it had 15" rims. (Early 90's?) Factory turbo diesel, top of the range GXL. Sold it to a mate with 200,000kms on clock. He still has it and now done 360,000kms. Still going well as it has been well looked after. Had big end bearings inspected and one replaced at 250,000kms. Other than that, no running issues. Wish they still made them like that.

Thanks a lot to everyone who has replied to my question, your input is very much appreciated

Hi cruiser 3.

I've got a 1994 80 series manual on dual fuel, it has 470,000ks on the clock. I change the oil and filters about every 10,000ks. It had 160,000ks on it when i bought it.
It tows my machinery trailer about 1500kilos all up every day. I just poke along, It won't die. Yes you will need to replace things like hoses, belts, seals and infrequently bearings, but that is normal for any car. Just keep up the maintenance regime, keep an eye on the small things and she will not let you down. Oh and if the engine has an issue it will subtly let you know its unwell, its unlikely to just go clunk. I wish mine had only 300,000 on the clock!!

Hi Cruiser 3,

The 80 series have EARNED for themselves a very enviable reputation for strength and capability.

With the proper servicing regime, as you have employed, they could get to a million Kilometres, with some luck as well proper care.

I heard of a cabby getting a million Ks out of an AU falcon and those motors were not as strong as the 1FZ FE. The 1FZ FE is a beautiful motor, smooth, quiet and powerful.

The greatest enemy of any engine is dust so air and oil filtration is parramount.

The 1FZ FE was known to have weak valve stem seals which allows a small amount of oil to pass down the stem of the valve which results in them blowing a little blue smoke when backing off the accellerator on a down hill run and at start up, usually occuring around the 300 thousand mark, depending on what sort of life it has had.

These weak valve stem seals only adds oil (carbon) to a hot valve anyway and hardens them to a small degree and that is not a bad thing anyway.
As I was running gas on mine I never worried about it and considered it a valve saving device anyway.

My first Landcruiser was a 1997 80 series GXL 1FZ FE and I was completely sold on the marque by that unit.

Giving it a birthday present, as you have done, is absolutely worth the money. You wont save anything by updating as you have to cough up a lot more to upgrade anyway so you will probably spend less keeping it in good working condition, as you have been doing. Everything wears out eventually and has to be replaced.


If you are still happy looking at the same dash then stick with what you know, more so since you have had it since new.
There are many that have said they wished they still had their 80 series after upgrading. Too late once the horse has bolted, so to speak.

On the other hand if you want to update, then that is a totally different matter.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

Cheers, Bruce.

I've had my 1993 80-series 4.5li petrol since new. It's only done 150,000kms but after 20 years I still have enough confidence in it to take it anywhere. It's had a few mods in the last couple of years (upgraded suspension and wheels/tyres) plus the usual additions (bull bar, 2nd battery, side steps, drawer system). It's been a fantastic touring vehicle (Kimberleys, Simpson Desert, etc) so hasn't had a gentle life. Limited towing. After the suspension mods, the mechanics said that it would see me out (and I'm not that old!). Plenty of people I've since spoken to and who have upgraded to 100 then 200 series Toyotas (because their accountants told them to) have expressed regret at losing their 80-series. As long as you're keeping it maintained as you seem to be doing, there seems to be little point in considering swapping it for anything else. My vehicle is a bit thirsty (16-17 li/100kms) but I can buy a lot of petrol for the cost of buying a new vehicle. And mine's already set up the way that I want it. If you're looking for support, I say stick with the 80 series!

We reckon they are a dam good vehicle, we have a 96 diesel gxl and it has never put a foot wrong in its 240,000 km. We look after it, but driving around the station with an assortment of loads, from visitors to poddy calves, lick, fencing gear etc means its had a tough life! Give it a bogey and a polish and it still comes up pretty good too. The only thing that we have had trouble with is the electric windows are getting a bit shakey - so we don't put the windows down - ever! With the dust out here your better off with them up and the AC on anyway. Also they are not over electroniced like the new ones. Look after it and it will keep you out of trouble too cruiser 3! Cheers Toni

got 550,000 on my 98 80 series engine still runs like a sewing machine,just keep changing that oil at 5000ks