ExPo Project: 1991 Land Cruiser Prado SX (LJ78)

[Dan Grec]

Hi everyone,

Last night I looked at a '92 LJ78 with a friend. It's got the 2T-LE, and is auto.
It's only got 100,000kms (60k miles) on the clock, and it's very rust free. A few minor dings and the interior has had a bit of a rough life. The price is right.

I've been reading extensively on the head issue, and I found a great list on mud about how to prevent the head cracking (gauges, flush cooling, keep your foot out of it up hills, etc.)

What I'm looking for is a list of the symptoms it would exhibit if it already has a cracked head.
I drove it around town last night and it seems to drive just fine, fan kicks in and out as expected.

The weather has already turned up here, so it's not hot enough to see if I can get it to overheat.

Does anyone have a list of what I (or a mechanic) should be looking for to diagnose a cracked head?

(My friend wants to do some long distance trips around Yukon/AK and eventually the Pan-Am in it. Not hard core 4x4 or rock crawling, so I think it's a good platform for the money (1/2 the price of my Jeep I drove 60k miles!) if we can be sure it doesn't already have a cracked head, and if we can prevent or at least delay it in the future.

Thanks!
-Dan

 

[All-Terrain]

Dave from Japan 4x4 was a big help and sourced all of the little bits for a reasonable price.

Can anyone here tell me how to get in touch with Dave from Japan 4x4?

I don't speak or write Japanese - can't decipher the website.

Thanks!

 

[4Rescue]

Can anyone here tell me how to get in touch with Dave from Japan 4x4?

I don't speak or write Japanese - can't decipher the website.

Thanks!

Go to Japan4x4's site (use Google translate to use the site), create an account and send him an Email... he usually get's back to you very quickly and if you have questions about parts etc. he can usually answer them all in short order and will help you find ALL the parts you need to finish the job.

Dave's been invaluable and nothing but amazing to deal with for my Toy Diesel project. He ships promptly and everything's well packaged and always exactly what it says on the order. Can't say enough good about the guy/his business.

Glad to hear Dave took care of you Scott, I kinda figured you'd be talking to him eventually.

Cheers

Dave

 

[fuzcao]

Hey Jack! How are you? do you have some news from your LJ78?

Look at mine, it's getting close

I need the ARB Bullbar

 

[Dan Grec]

Hey Scott,

Can you tell me what suspension you ended up going for in the LJ78?

My friend ended up buying one, and the previous owner gave us shocks to put in the rear. (some no-name things)
We put them in a couple of weeks ago, and now the backend is extremely bouncy - so much so it's dangerous on the highway, and horrible to the point of un-drivable around town on bumpy roads.

I think the right approach is new springs and shocks all around, and I'd like to get an "all in one" solution so I know it's tuned right.

Thanks!

-Dan

 

[Ray Hyland]

We put the complete ARB setup in the truck. Shocks and springs. Worked great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Scott Brady]

Yeah, Old Man Emu heavy front and rear. Rode great.

 

[fuzcao]

do you know the spec of your OME for our LJ78? or a link where to buy in a great price?

 

[Outback]

Tacomas are awesome. You made the right choice.

I don't really notice the RHD anymore. Our Jeep J8 is RHD. The RHD + Left hand shifting takes a little more adjustment. I think it helps that I am ambidextrous.

RHD is only a pain when passing on a two-lane highway and when going through a drive-through. Otherwise, it is no problema.

JUst go through the drive through backwards...........

 

[JSQ]

The Prado has been a nice compliment to the 110 so far.

These two trucks are rivals but with the Land Rover being a soft top and purely mechanical, while the Land Cruiser is a station wagon and electronic, they feel very unique and are suited to different outings.

I've made a few more small changes to the Prado. I got rid of those bulbous HID lights and hawse fairlead with safety thimble. These components are perfectly functional but they're ugly to me and they feel too "updated" for and older truck from the glory days of 90s coilers. I went with some Hella 4000s and a roller fairlead with hook on the line.

I also added two low-profile shackle mounting brackets. At the same time I trimmed the ARB bumper so that it could be mounted closer to the front end. It protruded quite a bit before. Now it's nicely tucked in.

I sleeved the droplink with DOM tubing for protection. It was such a tight fit that I had to take the paint off the factory link and grease it.

​

I also needed to clean up the wiring to get the ARB air lockers working properly. I decided to go ahead an put in a dedicated power and relay block for all my auxiliaries. I pulled the GIANT headlight washer reservoir to make room.

​

I added an ARB awning to the Front Runner Slimline II rack. This was a bit of a sartorial battle with myself, but it works so well that I overcame my aesthetic reservations.

I learned two things from using the awning:
1) You better use the stakes and guy lines if it's windy. 2) The supplied stakes suck.

I upgraded to the Snow Peak stakes.
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cart/product.php?productid=19739&cat=256&page=3

​

For organization on the inside I built a split-level in the rear cargo area and put the Front Runner water tank in the footwell. This water tank is awesome. I'd used it before in the OI J8 but it's a perfect fit in the Prado which even has tie down loops to secure it at the rear of the center console. The color matches the interior nicely too. I have since swapped out the clear hose for black. The clear was too ugly.

​

The Prado has gotten to see a bit of the desert:

And it's also made a few trips to the mountains:

​

So far so good...

 

[rjl]

Looking sharp. Was there enough play in the mounting brackets for the ARB that the adjustment was allowed once the top plate of the ARB was trimmed?

 

[JSQ]

Looking sharp. Was there enough play in the mounting brackets for the ARB that the adjustment was allowed once the top plate of the ARB was trimmed?

After much debate new mounting holes were drilled ...in the frame.

It was worth it.

 

[Ryanmb21]

Super rad truck!

Question - how do you get into the fridge?

 

[JSQ]

Super rad truck!

Question - how do you get into the fridge?

I open it and reach in.

Or were you asking why I don't have a slider/drawer?

 

[Ryanmb21]

I open it and reach in.

Or were you asking why I don't have a slider/drawer?

I was just asking if there was enough clearance to open the fridge in that config without a slider. If so, that is awesome.