The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Beekeeper]

Well the Odor Bomb didn't really cure the air freshener type smell, although whatever was being covered up in the first place hasn't returned either so not all bad.  Time for a good conventional clean next.

Unfortunately still finding more issues:  On starting a general check round the engine bay I saw that the NS battery earth terminal was slipping off.  My garage have obviously disconnected the negative leads while working on the clutch and it hasn't tightened up properly, not least because it was under tension and the lead seemed too short despite the battery being wedged up un a piece of cardboard with no battery clamp (an issue the seller promised to sort but didn't).  A bit of lateral thinking and a quick internet image search shows that the batteries are correct but swapped left to right.  Removal then reveals the inevitable rust under and behind the battery trays.  After a good wire brush, treatment with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 and a couple of coats of Hammerite it's good to go back together.  It's not a permanent fix as there are a couple of perforated bits that will need to be cut out and replaced but it should prevent further damage for a year or two and isn't structural since the LC has a separate chassis.   Access for welding looks possible from inside the wing at a later date.  A replacement universal battery clamp, a clean up of the terminals and nearby body earth points and I have made a small improvement to the overall condition.

I now have it back in a condition I can drive although the oil pick up check and timing belt replacement are priorities.  The egr cooler looks very new and the anti freeze concentration a bit low, likely related.  I don't mind as long as I can make progress with a couple of hours work a week.  Anyone know the correct way to replace the power steering fluid as it could well be 18 years old?  I don't fancy disturbing the hose connections to the rack and am thinking along the lines of a few partial replacements by disconnecting the return hose at the reservoir.

On a positive note the air filter although not replaced by the seller (unsurprisingly) looks quite recent which would suggest a service around the previous MOT in July last year, 4000 miles ago (I did replace it though).  The LC does drive very well with no shortage of power for a pretty heavy motor so it's worth the effort at the moment.

[Google]

[karl2000]

Well done sorting things so far.  Batteries swapped left to right - thats a new one - you'd think that'd be quite hard to do I'm surprised everything reached!!!  Having one battery with the terminals the wrong way around and bodged in is fairly common though unfortunately!

Rust on the battery trays - I think thats common too - good excuse to remove the batteries once a year and check how its doing!

Bodged battery clamps are another common one!

[Juddian]

For power steering fluid changing, i used an empty 1 litre transmission oil bottle to vacuum out as much as possible, then topped up and repeated the exercise over the next few days until the oil was clear enough for my liking.

Someone on an MB forum once explained how to replace the fluid by disconnecting the return pipe and feeding this into a waste bottle whilst you topped up the fluid constantly...so tried it on my Benz, er never again, the speed a power steering pump can deliver fluid has to be seen, won't make that mistake again.

[Tractionman]

Well, I am very surprised the odour bomb wasn't completely successful, depends how much, and more importantly how long you left  the lc closed up afterwards. A mate had an old caravan that had a damp musty smell, and after 2 applications and being closed up for a week, the smell went. My 120 that smelt of wet dogs, I gave 1 long application, + carpets, and closed up for a weekend.
Nothing came back after the odour bomb smell had worn off completely, (some weeks).
Good progress seems to have been made elsewhere, considering the changeable weather we've had.
Some of those other things as Karl says are 'normal' to find  on these, and Im surprised the battery leads reached, swapped about.
Unfortunatly there are plenty of neddies out there who tinker with no idea what they are doing. You would have though the tight battery lead that just reached would have been a clue apart from the obvious opposite battery posts.
If you get a chance, remove the front plastic wheel arch liners and treat underneath for rust, thats where a lot of the rust on inner wings and battery trays is coming up from. There are various spare holes for clips/bolts, etc that water comes through, thrown up by the tyres.
I have plugged all mine.
If you are in any doubt about the integrity of the metal when doing this, that is the time to weld a plate in underneath, to reinforce the areas where the heavy batteries sit.
Good tip by Juddian, for the power steering fluid.

[Beekeeper]

Something good yesterday - the oil strainer is clear, so with new oil in that's one of the major concerns dealt with.  Good tip about using the mobile phone camera, it takes a few goes but eventually a really clear photo as proof.  The previous oil was way overfilled so that's now sorted too.

My guess is that whoever fitted the batteries was misled by the name labels being the 'right way round' whereas they are upside down with the batteries in the correct sides.  Surprisingly only one lead is too short (NS Earth), and a wedge of cardboard tilts the battery enough to get it on.  The tension then holds it in place!  Pity they then chucked the battery clamp away as I had to buy a replacement.  Why do breakers think every piece of rusty metal is worth a minimum of £25 when a new universal clamp is under a tenner?  The positive lead on the other side was over the top of the expansion tank rather than round the back over the lowered section, I think I saw quite a few photos on Autotrader like this so may not be so unusual.

The sump guard is toast, my 'good' garage refitted it last week but rounded off the bolts so I've cut it off as it was so shot anyway.  Thinking of Milner's offering to keep the salt and water out although they don't have a picture of it on the website.  Treated and painted the front crossmember mean time.

I used half the Odor Bomb and left it overnight.  I think the problem is the massively strong air freshener smell caused by the seller whereas an 'organic' source of a smell would have been successfully broken down.  Hard to describe how bad it is but people and dogs that are in the car for more than a minute smell of it.  Carpet cleaner when the weather warms up is my plan.

I expected to find plenty wrong with an 18 year old motor, it's the crazy or deliberately bodged stuff that's annoying.  There are good points like new looking discs all round and a brand new rear caliper, and it does drive well.

[karl2000]

Sounds like you're making good progress with it!  Re bash plates, theres quite a few of us have fitted these:

https://www.sump-guard.co.uk/steel-sump-guard-for-toyota-land-cruiser-2002-2009

Price not too bad, and quality is good too - as long as you're not doing off roading and bouncing it off rocks, they're worth considering!

[Tractionman]

Keep at it mate, slow and steady gets there.
+ 1 for those bash plates, solid protection - the originals always rot out, made of cornflake boxes !

[Juddian]

Another recommend for the bash plates from Romania, easy access to the oil sump without removing the whole sump guard.

Couple of provisos though if you do get them, they come painted black but once they've seen a good winter the paint will start to flake, so, might be worth giving them a good coat of something a bit tougher before fitting, also several of us have put stainless domed allen bolts in place of the supplied exposed underneath fixing bolts, but these can easily be fitted after the plates are installed, the ones worth swapping out will be obvious once its in place.

Also, if you are handy at welding and decide to get the transmission cover plate as well, it would be worth adding a brace and extra mount to the back end of that plate, it's strong and thicker metal than the engine plates but there's little support at the rear end, and would be too easy when reversing over some rough ground to dig that plate in, so something that makes that less of a possibility would be worth doing.
If considering that extra plate suggest changing your transmission fluid before fitting otherwise it will have to come off for access, however you can still grease the props with the plates in place.

[Tractionman]

You were the originator of our bash plate recommendation Jud, a good call ! 👍
Your helpful tip of Hammerite paint before fitting does wonders as well, as the paint is a quick spray job anyway, and invariably comes with some minor chips/scrapes rubbing together in transit coming all that way by road. Very well wrapped anyway, and good value.

[Juddian]

Wish i'd realised about the paint before i fitted mine TM, however my twice annual application of ACF50 is keeping the tin worm at bay on the plates as well as the rest of the motor, when i need to remove them for other work i'll rub 'em down and give 'em a lick of paint.

Agreed about the value for money, and unlike some of the much higher priced household names in underbody protection the design not only fully protects the sump and radiator far better than OE, but oil changing only requires one bolt removed and one bolt loosened to swing that small inset plate away for sump access.
No you arn't going rock sliding on them but arguably a LWB 120 isn't the ideal choice for that either.

Good to see someone else setting about keeping one of these decent motors on the road, so keep it up Beekeeper, once you get the heavy work done they're not a bad motor at all for general maintenance.
Cambelt change particularly is a lesson to all other makers how it should be done, the last vehicle i found as easy to swap one was the B21 engined Volvo 245 which is going back a fair while.

[Beekeeper]

Has anyone bought one of the Romanian skid plates since Brexit and if so what was the additional VAT, duty and carriers 'admin' fee?  I reckon these would put the price up by over £50.  I'm not planning serious off roading but serious snow is a distinct possibility.  I like the idea of the aluminium, one less thing to rust!

Did I mention there was no washer on the sump plug?  It didn't appear to be leaking though!

[karl2000]

[Tractionman]

The aluminium bash plates still need some maintenance too, - if left they can corrode as much as steel.
I have one on my 78, which was good on import from Japan, but over here I have given it several goings over to keep it that way

[Beekeeper]

A little progress, still finding things that need to be fixed but not enough to prevent the LC earning it's keep collecting large items and running the dogs to their walk in the woods.  It does drive well although the tracking is probably slightly out (literally going by the spare tyre inside wear and the feel of the fronts).

UJ's greased, had to take off and clean several of the nipples and still not 100% sure how much grease went into a couple of them.  Will borrow a better grease gun from my work.  Rear axle oil changed, however the breather feels rock solid and the slight hiss when removing the level plug indicated it's not breathing.  No leaks previously, and the level was correct too.  Have doused in Plus Gas, is it wise to try and remove it, after all it's been in the axle casing for 18 years or is there a way to wiggle it free in place?  The phantom washer remover has been at work here too, none on either plug which weren't leaking but done up very tight indeed.  Used up both spares I bought so will have to source more in advance of doing the front diff.

The wiper linkage sounds shot and the OS spindle hits the bonnet.  Is it worth investigating or just buy a new set, they don't look dear?  The number plate lights have a tendency to go off and need a knock to bring them back on.  The screws are rusted to the point of disintegration so a simple fault is going to be a job to fix.  I've ordered a box of stainless screws in advance.

The bash plate is a job for next month when funds are better, and thinking about sorting the tyres out somehow.  The fronts are pretty new Bridgestone Dueller HT's, good I imagine for the road where I drive most of the time, likely from a Kwik Fit or similar.  The rears are Chinese looking and branded 'Event', the remains of a full set of the same going by the worn out spare, and about 2/3 worn.  Road tyres would be fine were it not for the prospect of snow here in the winter, so how to change without chucking away good tyres , or having mismatched ends?  I presume the Chinese tyres aren't a great idea, they rarely are on other motors.  Wheels appear to be unobtainable although I'm probably not looking in the right places yet, a spare or two might make the tyre transition easier though given slow wear rates perhaps that's a bit of a delusion.  I've never seen so many MOT advisories for worn tyres which doesn't bode well for past maintenance.  Wheel centre caps look exorbitant or I would put one on the spare where something's missing besides the two wheel nuts I've already replaced.

Our van and 4x4 mechanic at work says to go for the return pipe option while running the engine to change the power steering fluid, and use an assistant to wiggle the steering.  He says it isn't too fast to do but did offer extra fluid gratis.  Might give it a go next weekend along with the clutch fluid which is likely a similar age.

Most positive find was the CD player works!

[karl2000]

Good progress well done!

The breather on mine was the same, but after a bit of effort with a wire brush and plus gas I got it moving again.  Seemed safer than trying to get it out!

Tyres - everyone has their favourites but I got cooper discoverer at34s on mine brilliant on road off the beaten track and in all weathers.  I don't think they make them anymore but I'm sure the new equivalents (at3 sport?) would be good.

I don't like the idea of Chinese tyres!

Wheel centers - I didn't mind the idea of Chinese fakes here - think I bought a set off e bay fairly cheap?