While I'll admit that an aluminum head on a cast block has some challenges associated, some of the most durable engines toyota built had them. 20r, 21r, 22r, 1fz-fe, all of the "S" family (3S-FE), 5M-GE, 7M-GE, 2JZ family, 3RZ-FE, 2TR-FE, 1KZ-TE, 1KD-FTV and 2KD-FTV--and that is only the straight fours and sixes. While a cast head has some advantages, calling aluminum heads stupid is just ignorant. The Prados in afghanistan get beat and overloaded contstantly and just keep on ticking. I am not a huge fan of the 2L (gutless) or the 2L-TE (still gutless) I drive a 2L around every day and have a grand old time doing it. The Prados are built for a different use than the regular land cruisers but that doesn't mean that they will fall apart if they see dirt. For the OP--nice looking rig; it is coming along well.
ExPo Project: 1991 Land Cruiser Prado SX (LJ78)
- Thread starter Scott Brady
- Start date
While I'll admit that an aluminum head on a cast block has some challenges associated, some of the most durable engines toyota built had them. 20r, 21r, 22r, 1fz-fe, all of the "S" family (3S-FE), 5M-GE, 7M-GE, 2JZ family, 3RZ-FE, 2TR-FE, 1KZ-TE, 1KD-FTV and 2KD-FTV--and that is only the straight fours and sixes. While a cast head has some advantages, calling aluminum heads stupid is just ignorant. The Prados in afghanistan get beat and overloaded contstantly and just keep on ticking. I am not a huge fan of the 2L (gutless) or the 2L-TE (still gutless) I drive a 2L around every day and have a grand old time doing it. The Prados are built for a different use than the regular land cruisers but that doesn't mean that they will fall apart if they see dirt. For the OP--nice looking rig; it is coming along well.
Scott Brady
Founder
Here is a simple video showing the Land Cruiser. Thought some would enjoy it.
Scott Brady
Founder
Exactly. It is a different vehicle, with a different purpose. Better than a HD Land Cruiser in some ways, not as good in others. I have owned and driven all flavors of 70 series and they all have their charms and challenges. I could have bought a 74 instead of the Prado, but we wanted a 4-door, diesel 70 that got the best fuel economy possible. The LJ78 is the best option for that criteria. I raced a 73 in the Outback Challenge because the durability was a necessary attribute. We just drove VDJ78s around the world because capacity (payload), space and the diesel V8 were desired attributes. It is humorous to me when someone says one type of truck is perfect - and of course, it is always the truck they own. There is no one perfect truck, never will be. Everything is a compromise.
onemanarmy
Explorer
So the plan is to drive it to Canada once a year, for three years, to keep everything 'legal'?
Ray Hyland
Expedition Leader
I haven't really weighed in here so far, but since I have probably driven this truck the most of everyone in the office I will see if I can answer some ongoing questions.
In the last year since I picked it up in Burnaby BC I've put maybe 5000km on this truck myself. Scott and the rest of the team have also been driving it regularly.
Personally I have driven it over some significant mountain passes, and across various deserts, in the summer heat, usually heavily loaded with people, camping or trade-show gear, and sometimes pulling a trailer heaped with gear and motorbikes.
When we first got the Prado we noticed that in extreme high temps, the temp needle would climb towards the red when you were climbing a long steep grade and had a lot of weight in the truck. If you shut off the AC and slowed down, the needle would go back down. In extreme conditions you would need to climb the hill in 3rd instead of 4th gear.
I spoke to the guys at Radd Cruisers in Duncan BC as they appear to the North American experts on these trucks.
On their advice we had the Radiator pulled and rodded, new fluid put in, and we upgraded the silicon in the fan clutch. Our cooling system was in surprisingly good shape, and the guys at the radiator shop said very little came out of the radiator when they rodded it.
Since then we have had no issues at all. On our last drive across the Sonoran desert, outside temps were in the hundreds, we were hauling a trailer and had an entire trade-show-booth loaded into and onto the truck, and the needle never left the middle.
The attached pic is from a trip through Monument Valley in late June this year, enroute to CruiserFest in SLC. We had 5 people in the truck and all our gear, and were climbing up and down hills all day (many of you are familiar with that route). Mind you this was BEFORE we did the cooling system upgrade, so the needle did climb, but we kept an eye on it and never had any issues.
FYI, 46 C equals about 115 F, so it was pretty hot. I figure driving up hills, loaded, at those ambient temps, was a pretty good test for the truck.
I know that many people have had issues with these trucks. I also know many people (like us and the guys at Radd's in Duncan) have had good luck with them. I think driving style is important, and also proper preventative maintenance as Scott has alluded to. I think there could be a certain amount of luck in the truck you get too. One of the guys at Radd's told me he suspects a lot of people in Japan just top up the coolant with a garden hose. They have seen some low-mileage trucks imported from Japan that had so much scale and rust in the coolant-chambers that it was surprising that they didn't overheat just idling at the curb.
I hope this is helpful.
In the last year since I picked it up in Burnaby BC I've put maybe 5000km on this truck myself. Scott and the rest of the team have also been driving it regularly.
Personally I have driven it over some significant mountain passes, and across various deserts, in the summer heat, usually heavily loaded with people, camping or trade-show gear, and sometimes pulling a trailer heaped with gear and motorbikes.
When we first got the Prado we noticed that in extreme high temps, the temp needle would climb towards the red when you were climbing a long steep grade and had a lot of weight in the truck. If you shut off the AC and slowed down, the needle would go back down. In extreme conditions you would need to climb the hill in 3rd instead of 4th gear.
I spoke to the guys at Radd Cruisers in Duncan BC as they appear to the North American experts on these trucks.
On their advice we had the Radiator pulled and rodded, new fluid put in, and we upgraded the silicon in the fan clutch. Our cooling system was in surprisingly good shape, and the guys at the radiator shop said very little came out of the radiator when they rodded it.
Since then we have had no issues at all. On our last drive across the Sonoran desert, outside temps were in the hundreds, we were hauling a trailer and had an entire trade-show-booth loaded into and onto the truck, and the needle never left the middle.
The attached pic is from a trip through Monument Valley in late June this year, enroute to CruiserFest in SLC. We had 5 people in the truck and all our gear, and were climbing up and down hills all day (many of you are familiar with that route). Mind you this was BEFORE we did the cooling system upgrade, so the needle did climb, but we kept an eye on it and never had any issues.
FYI, 46 C equals about 115 F, so it was pretty hot. I figure driving up hills, loaded, at those ambient temps, was a pretty good test for the truck.
I know that many people have had issues with these trucks. I also know many people (like us and the guys at Radd's in Duncan) have had good luck with them. I think driving style is important, and also proper preventative maintenance as Scott has alluded to. I think there could be a certain amount of luck in the truck you get too. One of the guys at Radd's told me he suspects a lot of people in Japan just top up the coolant with a garden hose. They have seen some low-mileage trucks imported from Japan that had so much scale and rust in the coolant-chambers that it was surprising that they didn't overheat just idling at the curb.
I hope this is helpful.
Ray Hyland
Expedition Leader
Actually the truck is based at our Canadian office but we regularly drive it up and down.
Scott Brady
Founder
Some fun with the "logging road show truck"
Using the Land Cruiser for what its intended. Driving a bad road to do some shooting. . .
Ray's son Declan doing a nice job spotting
Ray did a nice job driving, minimizing clutch abuse. The small displacement motor and stock gearing requires attention from the driver - all part of the fun.
Such a fun truck to drive and surprisingly capable on the trail. We do not have the Air Lockers installed yet, so the truck managed with just the stock limited slip.
Using the Land Cruiser for what its intended. Driving a bad road to do some shooting. . .
Ray's son Declan doing a nice job spotting
Ray did a nice job driving, minimizing clutch abuse. The small displacement motor and stock gearing requires attention from the driver - all part of the fun.
Such a fun truck to drive and surprisingly capable on the trail. We do not have the Air Lockers installed yet, so the truck managed with just the stock limited slip.
Looks like you have the standard front end binding issues. If you pull one of your front control arm bolts and replace it with a hitch pin, it will drive the same on the road, but pulling it at the trailhead will free up the front end significantly.
As seen here on a stock 80 front end.
As seen here on a stock 80 front end.
New here! Just picked up an LJ78
Hello Scott, just picked up a 91 Prado LJ78!!
The wife and are planning to build it up, and do the Pan American hwy to start, probably in 2 parts..... excited!
I've just been catching up on your build, and love what you guy's have done!! I'm also a believer in the LJ78 and mine has just had the 3L head put on, and timing belt done! I'm just a short trip away from Radd Cruisers and plan to take a trip over and do some chatting with them soon.
So here's a question for you........ feeling kind of stupid seeing how I am pretty mechanically inclined. I can't figure out how to get the drivers side rear door open......can't find a latch or anything? Any help would be great!
I'll post some pics as the build goes! Iron man 2" suspension lift on order(300lb rears) asian manual hubs, egt oil, water, gauges, wheels and tires after that, then custom pop top camper, fridge etc............
Thanks Matt
Hello Scott, just picked up a 91 Prado LJ78!!
The wife and are planning to build it up, and do the Pan American hwy to start, probably in 2 parts..... excited!
I've just been catching up on your build, and love what you guy's have done!! I'm also a believer in the LJ78 and mine has just had the 3L head put on, and timing belt done! I'm just a short trip away from Radd Cruisers and plan to take a trip over and do some chatting with them soon.
So here's a question for you........ feeling kind of stupid seeing how I am pretty mechanically inclined. I can't figure out how to get the drivers side rear door open......can't find a latch or anything? Any help would be great!
I'll post some pics as the build goes! Iron man 2" suspension lift on order(300lb rears) asian manual hubs, egt oil, water, gauges, wheels and tires after that, then custom pop top camper, fridge etc............
Thanks Matt
Scott Brady
Founder
Congrats on the Land Cruiser! I am sure you will enjoy it and it is a good value for the PanAm.
For the rear door, there is a 5" black plastic handle that runs vertical along the medial door surface. It pulls towards the rear of the truck and opens the door.
Scott Brady
Founder
Those PTO winches are awesome, especially on bone-stock trucks. I think we are pretty happy with our bumper/winch set-up. We are going to go play in the snow and get stuck tomorrow.
Ray Hyland
Expedition Leader
Sometimes the door latch doesn't seem to work, but if you push gently on the outside of the door the latch works fine. I think there is a safety mechanism that won't let you open the latch when there is pressure against the lock.
Scott Brady
Founder
Working with the Land Cruiser in the snow. So much fun!
Not bad for a show truck
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With only the factory limited slip, we had to work hard to get the truck up the hill, especially given the deep, cross-axle holes. However, it never got stuck or needed the MaxTrax (the 4Runner and LR4 did)
.jpg)
We are installing F&R Air Lockers at the end of January. That will make a huge difference in trail performance. In this case, we used some serious e-brake modulation to improve the LSD effectiveness. It actually walked right through
.jpg)
I think a swaybar disconnect is in order
.jpg)
We just really like this Cruiser. Just look at it - awww.
.jpg)
It was our own mini Camel Trophy.
Head failures: Zero
Exploding inferior HiLux drivetrain failures: Zero
MPG: 24
Smiles: Squillions
Not bad for a show truck
With only the factory limited slip, we had to work hard to get the truck up the hill, especially given the deep, cross-axle holes. However, it never got stuck or needed the MaxTrax (the 4Runner and LR4 did)
We are installing F&R Air Lockers at the end of January. That will make a huge difference in trail performance. In this case, we used some serious e-brake modulation to improve the LSD effectiveness. It actually walked right through
I think a swaybar disconnect is in order
We just really like this Cruiser. Just look at it - awww.
It was our own mini Camel Trophy.
Head failures: Zero
Exploding inferior HiLux drivetrain failures: Zero
MPG: 24
Smiles: Squillions