What to look for? Inspecting a used 4x4

[Moonman]

Just wondering if there is anything that should definitely be looked at when buying a used 4x4,
say cruiser 80/100 series wagon? Any tips on how to tell a good buy from a bush bashed bomb
other than the obvious?

Cheers!
Moonman

[landy15]

i would like to know the same thing but with the 75 series utes. Any one could help much appreciation.

sorry for high jackin ya thread

[Mark2]

Check as much of the history as you can - many 75 utes were used in mines, lots of troopies were hire cars.

I personally would avoid anything with bitumen based rust proofing sprayed underneath - its often used to hide rust repairs or indicates frequent beach use. Check for cracks in the chassis around spring hangers and in the cab - indicates lots of corrugated roads.

Feel inside the chassis with your finger, look for clean chassis rails inside, toyota chasiss are hard to clean internall e and accumulated dirt/sand/coal dust can cause flaky rust inside.

[beefa125]

It may sound stupid but make sure you put it in 4x4 mode and take it for a spin, I had a mate do this with an 80 and when he put it in 4x4 it sounded like someone smashed a couple of metal pipes together in the diff !!

[vSAHARAx]

80 Series: check in between the firewall and wheel arch (under the bonnet) as the firewalls are apparently known to rust (well in earlier ones) mums 91 did and ya used to get wet feet when it rained.