Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Recently bought my first 4wd, an 88 hilux sr5 extra cab ute. After being scared off gettin a diesel by a mechanic because of rediculous rebuild costs if i got a dud, i bought a petrol 1 instead. It had a brand new 4y motor fitted, done 2500ks with reciepts, Alloy TJM winch bar, safari snorkel, new extractors, Alloy ARB Roll bar, side steps, rear step, towbar, brand new tonneau cover, roll bar lights, driving lights, tray lights, new carpet, cd player, 6x9's in the extra cab and spilts in the front, full surf interior, top notch uniden uhf and scanner, new radiator, new clutch and new rear wheel bearings. Thoroughly Checked the car over, and had 2 mechanics put it up on the hoist and thoroughly check it out as well. Results came back good.
Had it for a week and did the hub seals, put fresh oil in diffs, gearbox/transfer case, and engine. Put a set of coopers st's on it, and new discs and pads on the front, thought i was in for some trouble free motoring. week 2, went bush, broke my lsd. $980 for a new center. 2 days later, alternator, rebuild $125. 1 week later the engine developed a huge rattle in the front which after 2 days at the mechanic turned out to be a stretched timing chain. new chain and tensioner fitted. 4 days later, starter motor dies. $200 for a new 1. 2 days later, fuel and water pump go at the same time! another $200. Also i am only getting 380ks out of a 100L of petrol on the highway. Just had a second brand new motor fitted last week, and a brand new carby on the weekend. Only things left to replace are the interior light globe and the gearbox!

which brings me to the point of this message! there is a possibility i can now drive this crap heap for 5 years and have nothing go wrong cause the whole car is new, but i am over the pile of shit, and looking at my options. i am a builder, and its no good for towing, no good up hills, no good around town, no good on the highway, just wish i had found this forum before i bought it! Looking at a HJZ75 Diesel cruiser ute.

Bought my first and last hilux anyway, so i am lookin for something a bit more suited to what i want. dont wanna spend more than 20k at the moment and found a 96 hjz75 4.2D for 17k with 99,000 ks on it. What are some things to look out for on these utes? What are the cruiser utes like off road? And what is the 4.2D like as far as power goes? Want something with a bit better grunt to haul a load. and what are the straight diesels like as far as economy goes?

Anyway, sorry for the long winded post this turned out to be! Brain is muddled at this time of night! any help/advice would be very greatly appreciated believe me! Thanks in advance.

Schmidty

I drive one every day on a Minesite and they are very reliable. We don't have too many drama's with them considering they get pretty flogged day in day out. The occasional diff goes now and then or a radiator, no biggy.
These works cars are certainly put through their paces and have out lasted all of the non Toyota's they've tried over the years.

The engine go very well for NA diesel and fuel ecomony is pretty good especially if you compare it to the FZJ petrol version.
I also drive a HJ75 2H as my personal vehicle with an aftermarket turbo.
No real drama's as it's much the same(except engine and brakes). The the newer 1HZ is such a better donk?
If you are happy with the way it looks and goes then it's a no brainer in my opinion. You could budget an extra $3K for an aftermarket turbo to liven it up a bit. Take a later 79 series ute with the 1HD-FTE for a spin, if you can find one. This will give an impression of the extra power available with a turbo, though a turbo 1HZ won't be quite that strong.

Aftermarket parts and mods are extremely well supported.

Good luck.

Most of your aftermarket springs are generally suited to bigger load carrying, Which as a builder im sure is a bonus for you.

Treated well a 1HZ will last a hell of a long time. Good Oil and new filter every 5,000 religously and youll get 500+thou plus kms. I remember reading one in a magazine that had gone over 1million kms on original engine and gearbox.

The only problem with a 1HZ is they are indirect injection, that is the diesel is injected into a pre-combustion chamber in the head which limits how much boost you can run, around 6Psi.. other than that, in their NA form they have plenty of torque and power for towing, coupled with good economy.

Go the cruiser ute.. wish i had the cash to

+dj_hansen+ wrote:Treated well a 1HZ will last a hell of a long time. Good Oil and new filter every 5,000 religously and youll get 500+thou plus kms. I remember reading one in a magazine that had gone over 1million kms on original engine and gearbox.

Was an escort vehicle for oversize load trucks. 1 million highway kms I imagine speed limited. Still outstanding but a fairly controlled situation

what sort of fuel economy could i expect from 1? Currently my hilux is running about 33L per 100k's! and no thats not a typo!

schmidty wrote:what sort of fuel economy could i expect from 1? Currently my hilux is running about 33L per 100k's! and no thats not a typo!

How about 12-14L/100kms.

schmidty
Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:47 pm

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what sort of fuel economy could i expect from 1? Currently my hilux is running about 33L per 100k's! and no thats not a typo!

Jezz, sure that you don't have hole in the fuel tank?
I drive a 75 every day at work (down on the farm) bloody good truck.
Just watch out for the gearbox, when they start to pack a sad they get hard to shift from 5th to 4th, our one lasted on 50000km once this started to happen but I heard of other ones lasting for ever this this problem.
On the other hand I have an uncle who has a 96 75 with about 500 000km on it. Its on its third rear diff (3 ton loads are common) other than that regular maintinance has been a religous exercise and nothing has gone wrong with it.

I'd say that you'd be hard pressed to find someone with a bad word to say about these trucks.

Cheers
Thomas

-Mick- wrote:

+dj_hansen+ wrote:Treated well a 1HZ will last a hell of a long time. Good Oil and new filter every 5,000 religously and youll get 500+thou plus kms. I remember reading one in a magazine that had gone over 1million kms on original engine and gearbox.

Was an escort vehicle for oversize load trucks. 1 million highway kms I imagine speed limited. Still outstanding but a fairly controlled situation

It wasnt a 1hz as it was in a 60 series it was the 2h and it had done 1million and 400thousand kilometres and was still going strong

what motor do you have? what are your driving habits? do you do highway or city driving? do you stay in low gear more often than not? are the tyres to small for the diff ratio?

got another brand new 4y in it now. second 1 in 2 months! this 1 has done about 500ks now, put a brand new carby on it last weekend too, and found that my vacuum diaphram on the dizzy is rat shit, so that could be a big contributor to the poor fuel economy. At the moment its makin no difference to the fuel economy if i drive around town or on the highway. Got a 100l tank, and i get about 300 - 330ks out of a tank every time. Also seems a tad sluggish even for a 4y. Doesn't get flogged harder than u need to flog a 4y to get anywhere! On the road it is only sitting on 31x10.5x15 cooper st's, so gearing shouldnt be an issue.

Havent had a week go buy where i havent spent at Least $500 on it! Time for some good old diesel reliability! Got scared off a diesel at the start by 2 people who had a bad experience with diesels, so i stuck with a petty cause thats what i know i suppose. Wish i had found this forum before i bought the hilux!

Schmidty no 4x4 is perfect but there is nothing in its class,except maybe the patrol ute ,that comes close to a 70 series for all round load capability,offoad use and some comfort for those of us who have to sit in it all day.
Its also the last of the vehicles suited for home mechanics.
17k for a 96 with 99k sounds ok.Just make sure its not an ex-miner.
If it starts up easy cold without big clouds of blue or grey smoke and the gearshift loosens up when its warm with no notchy feeling or noises then you have most of it covered.
Suspension should be tight and bumpy when unloaded.
Check behind the front wheels for a mess,if so it will need the seals done.
The rest is the same as any other vehicle.