buying an 80 series.

[rowan]

G'day guys- i'm buying a NA diesel 80 series soon and was hoping to pick your brains for a while- do all models have the same gearbox? i have read somewhere on this forum that the dx model with free wheeling hubs has a stronger gearbox and transfer case- fact or fiction? was planning to fit extractors and if possible a higher air flow intake, upgrade suspension and lift it 3 inches, (also want to lock both diffs but i suspect that will remain a dream for some time ). Will i have any issues with doing these mods? they're fairly simple ones i guess.

cheers

[dumbdunce]

non turbo diesels (and possibly 3F(E) pettys?) have the H150F gearbox, others have the H151F. the only difference is in the first and second gear ratios, which are slightly lower in the non turbo diesel. they are the same strength.

consider carefully the cost of extractors, custom exhaust and inlet modifications compared with the cost of an aftermarket turbo - of course the turbo is more expensive but the power gains of exhaust and inlet mods are poor value for money in comparison in $ per kW terms.

a 3" lift is about as high as you can go without castor correction (people will argue that any lift requires castor correction but it will drive ok), and retain the stock panhard rods (once again arguable), but decide now whether 3" is going to be enough for you or if you will ever want to go higher - if you think you will want higher, then do it in the first place to save wasting money on a lift you're going to grow out of.

lockers are an obvious option when you can afford it.

cheers

Brian

[bruiser]

Don't know why but I do know that my mates 94 turbo deisel has a shorter front drive shaft than my 95 petrol.

[kroozer91]

i did the coils in my kroozer in less than an hour in total 3inches to be exact and i havent had the need to do castor just yet!! Its also a full time 4x4 and i have been told by some gurus that any higher than 4 inches you get vibrations in the front end... Have been told to do a part time conversion aswell if i want to go higher

also i wish i had gone higher in the first place but didnt want to change to much... am kickin myself now in that reguard... i am still using the standard shocks but need to be replaced b4 i go and do any proper wheeling as they max out very fast..

[Suspension Stuff]

I can't argue with any of that.
Read the thread on the RTA Bulletin before you spend your dollars if you worry about that sought of thing. Prices for springs and shocks are in my signiture.
Shane

[rowan]

thanks heaps for the help fellas- went looking today and yesterday at car yards and in the papers and standard diesels are quite hard to come by here in perth- found one with over 400k on the clock (yuk) and one with 160 but it was 26 grand- bit much for a standard diesel i would have thought. that was the only two i found. this is discouraging.
brian- i have heard more than enough horror stories about after market turbos on land cruisers to put me off well and truly.
after today's effort i am tempted to turn my attention to a late model HJ61 with low kms and spend the money saved on diff locks- i have driven a few of those and they have more power stock standard than i'm likely to need....... hmmmmm decidions decisions.

[dumbdunce]

...i have heard more than enough horror stories about after market turbos on land cruisers to put me off well and truly...

for every one horror story there are 100, maybe 1000 aftermarket turbo setups that run perfectly well and deliver excellent power, economy and extended engine life. The horror stories usually start with do-it-yourselfers or cheapskates who won't pay to have the turbo set up right from day one, don't keep their engine in tune (ie maintain pump and injectors), or who crave excessive power or drive excessively hard. the fact is that the 1HZ takes forced induction like a duck to water, they are a tough motor and set up correctly, a turbo will actually increase the mileage life of the engine, very basically in two ways - first by reducing combustion temperatures (assuming the fuelling is set up correctly) second by reducing the cumulative revolutions of the engine over a give time period by being able to stay in a higher gear for longer under load.

done right a turbo on a standard 80 is awesome - it can be a bit expensive but the results are well worth it.

cheers

Brian

[80diesel4play]

Um - your budget??? What is it???

Might be easier to let you know of bargains this way if we knwo the $$$ coin you have to spend.

Only horror story I know of with turbo was one that wasn't tuned - melted a piston...

[Punchy]

Agreed,
After market turbo assemblies work very well.

Although my own is a factory turbo 80 series unit (and I ain't parting with it yet ) I have seen and worked on plenty of successful after turbo units.

DTS systems do offer good realiable mitsubishi water cooled oil lubed units that will make an honest no BS 430-ish Ft~lb of torque from 1500 rpm.. More than a factory turbo unit.

My factory turbo comes on hard at 1800- 2000 rpm...so the earlier pull is a winner.

The other point to consider is since diesel and petrol prices are so yuk at the moment would a cheaper purchase of a petrol unit wacked on gas be a better option ?
No matter how good the 60 ish series truck you buy is, it would NEVER compete to the ride and quality of finsih to the 80. The capability of the 2 trucks in "lightly modified form" is dramatic and modification costs are lower with the 80.

Bags of power out of the petrols and really crisp to drive, totally different to diesels.

Lots of options for ytou but there are lots of them on the east coast to choose from no matter what you want to buy..

Hell you could fly over,, buy something and drive it back for less than some of the prices you have mentioned..

Cheers
Punchy

[Elvis]

I've got an 93 Diesel Crusier. It was fairly stock when I got it. I've added Bullbar with Driving lights. Snorkel. Wheel Flares. 3in lift. I'm looking at 285/75R16 tires at the moment.

One of the things I was thinking about was a aftermarket Turbo. What sort of cost would I be looking at for a decent setup? From what I remember of my earlier searches was that it would be around $3k to do it properly. Would this be about right?

[Pauwolf]

kits start at about 3k, but to get them tuned correcly you need a new set of injectors, (exchange) and get it set up properly. A fuel aneroid on the pump is also worthwhile, it helps to meter the fuel on no boost / part boost. All up about 5k

[Spoon]

just buy a petrol

[dow50r]

Don't know why but I do know that my mates 94 turbo deisel has a shorter front drive shaft than my 95 petrol.

Are they both manuals??? Bet not

[80diesel4play]

Don't know why but I do know that my mates 94 turbo deisel has a shorter front drive shaft than my 95 petrol.

Are they both manuals??? Bet not

Petrol autos have different length shafts than teh manuals...

Been caught before... why not reach>????

[RodX]

My 95 80 GXL has had a Safari Turbo unit on the 1HZ for over the last 3years - runs well and goes great uphills. Max torque is around 2000rpm approx and does 110km/h @ 2600rpm in 5th running 285/75R16's(33's). Have driven it hard in soft sand at 40degC for the whole day at Stocko, and had no overheating probs at all. Fuel economy around town is 14l/100km which isn't that bad considering it's an 'old' technology diesel without computers or multivalve.

[rowan]

when you say that the capabilities of the 80 are better than the 60 what sort of things are you talking about? the only real difference i am aware of is that the 80 has coil suspension and would therefore flex better-comfort doesn't really worry me-a top model 60 is comfy enough. in terms of power a 12HT leaves a 1HZ for dead. i am prepared to spend anywhere between 10 and 15 on a 60, or between 15 and 20 if i buy an 80. would it be better value to buy a 60 with around 200ks on the clock and spend a little bit of cash getting it to flex a bit better rather than spend the extra 5 grand on an 80 with higher kms and no guts? Keep in mind that W.A is made of sand and that extra power really comes in handy.
are there any other areas that the 80 is superior in besides suspension? also are there any things i should look out for with the turbo 60s?

cheers guys
(i'll be in the bush for the next 5 weeks earning the dollars to pay for this thing so u won't hear from me for a while

thanks again- see you in a bit