Buying a 100 series

[Newtothefourbeworld]

OK firstly i did search and most of the time the search said "no topics of posts found" which was odd, also i checked the bible and didnt find what i was looking for.

Basically i am looking for a new 4x4 and have found a 4.2D 1998 100 series. - HZJ105R, listed at $24,000 with 192k kms

I am extremely interested in it as it has all the goodies i want (F&R air lockers, lift, warn winch, dual tanks, kayman rear bar etc) however i have been doing a little research into this model and speaking to the owner and this is what i have found:

- the owner has had it for a year, did his round Australia trip, and now is selling it as he doesnt need it. When preparing the car for the trip he spent thousands on it from all the suspension bushes to a new main fuse box.
- The owner before him did all the mods and was the cars 2nd owner
- Prior to this the current owner suspects it was used on an open cut mine (like many of this model)
- I found a little bit of rust - where the snorkel goes into the guard and passengers side sill - this was all i saw and her pointed it out to me

Now i plan to use the car for now as a weekend camping trip and the occasional offroading fun and eventually (2-3 years) want to do a big aussie trip.


Would this be a suitable vehicle?

What are the common problems with this series?

What else should i look for given its life or should i steer clear completely?

Also how weak is this gearbox? I have read it is not as good as the H150 but is it likely to give me grief and how easy would it be to upgrade?

Is it worth $20k+? given the market value according to my credit union is only $13k...............................................

thanks for any help and for taking the time to read all this S**t

Michael

[Frankenyota]

My other truck is a HZJ105 which we bought for a trip around OZ.
Great truck very happy with how it performed and would recommend one.
I have an auto, the manual behind the diesel will not stand up to the abuse of a turbo or towing.
They are a smaller gearbox, R series.
For the money they want for the 100 with rust i would keep looking for one without rust.
That price seems a bit steep.

It's a big investment so chose wisely.

Cheers
Matt

[Newtothefourbeworld]

Thanks Matt,

so if i wasnt looking to turbo it and it would only be a camping and medium offroad work then it would seem to be a good base.

As for this one in particular i wouldnt look to pay much over $20k but my main questing is what should i look out for given its possible history at a mine site?

Also how hard would it be to replace the gearbox with its bigger, stronger brother?

[Newtothefourbeworld]

anybody have any experiences here?

[stripey]

Im in same situation i have found a black gxl 105 series Turbo diesel
3inch lift
3inch turbo back exhaust
33 inch buckshots
Brand new engine
Brand new turbo
Brand new fuel pump
Auto
New rear diff as Spare,, rear diff has slight whine so has the replacement for it

he wants 23000 for it

cant find anyone who says thats an ok amount of money to outlay on such a vehicle

[oldmate]

Don't buy an ex mine truck. It has probably been resprayed, and behind that will be a very rusty piece of shit. Considering you could buy an 80 series at a quarter of the price you would want to be looking at a very schmick 105 for that money.

[stripey]

i work in a mine and they way the vehicles get treated i would not touch one