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The 2003 4 runner offers a new 240 horse/283 ft.lb V6 as standard, and the 4.7 liter(with 5 speed auto) as an option, and comes with downhill assist, uphill start assist, electronic brake force distribution, optional rear air suspension, torsen center differential with a full lock mode, and full time 4 wheel drive on the V8 model.
Finally, a less expensive and smaller land cruiser!!
The Land Cruiser is still at the dealer. They drove it for 3 days before they could get it to "act up". Without looking at the engine, they recommend a new transmission @ $5700. We are going to pick it up, and will try a few other things before resorting to that. We don't really trust this dealer, as he is not really a Toyota dealer, but primarily sells Chevrolet, and some Toyotas. Unfortunately we have to drive at least 2 hours to get to a large city. Can anyone recommend a dealer with a good service department in South Georgia, or North Florida?
For $5700, I'll fly both you and your wife to Cancun for a week, pay for my flight to your house, spend 2 hours with your Cruiser and STILL have enough left over for a nice 2 week vacation for my family over Christmas. You're talking about a $4 can of throttle body spray, an old toothbrush, a $3 bottle of liquid graphite, $12 worth of tranny fluid quarts, a piece of duct tape if that tube I mentioned is cracked, and a pair of wrenches and socket set.
If you've changed the tranny fluid at least once every 50,000 miles and the truck has not been abused beyond belief then your A442F transmission is just fine. You simply cannot kill it. That transmission was only used in '93 and '94 and was taken from a 30,000lb GVW city bus Toyota builds. It is a full-on commercial duty transmission that is quite literally 5 times as heavy as it needs to be in your 6000lb truck. So don't let anyone tell you the tranny's shot. In '95, Toyota beefed up another transmission, which replaced this behemoth until the 80 series ended. It was the A343, I believe.
My '93 has towed an overweight boat trailer all over the US, has 120,000 on it and shifts today just like it did the day I drove it off the showroom. It's always been a little clunky as that massive gearbox tries to masquerade as a smooth light duty passenger vehicle transmission and it often betrays its heritage.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Where will I be flying to, by the way?
IdahoDoug
thanks
So, yes it is as solid.
IdahoDoug
There are (2) convertors one at a cost of $400 and the other at $1400 ! ouch! Could it be something else ? Maybe (1) of the convertors not both ? An oxygen sensor ?
Find out from another source what the code is without telling them what the other dealer says. If a cat is having problems, the best thing you could do is put a tank of premium Chevron gas in it and go for a 250 mile freeway drive to let the cats burn themselves clean again.....
As for tire wear, I have owned 3 LandCruisers and they were all incredibly easy on tires since they're all full time 4WD (power is distributed equally to all tires all the time). If the outside edges are worn, that would indicate aggressive driving and low tire pressures.
IdahoDoug
Olizer-Thanks also for the advice on the door locks, we will try it.
IdahoDoug
Thanks for help. I reside in Illinois.When the light first started coming on I would disconnect the battery and imeddiately reconnect.The light would stay off for up to 200 miles but gradually would stay off for shorter and shorter number of miles. What does leaving it disconnected for 30 minutes do? Also..I'm not aware of Chevrons in the area.What about premium Mobil or Citgo? I have been using lowest grade...could that be contributing to the problem?
In the end if I go the custom exaust replacement route do I have to be concerned with the oxygen sensors functioning properly with cats that are not factory?
IdahoDoug
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
As for fuel mixtures, a friend of my is a chemical engineer in the oil industry with direct experience in this area lauded the merits of Techron in Chevron gas. Shell uses a similar formulation but in smaller concentrations in their gas - so they are a good second choice. Running a tank of premium (higher concentrations of additives) of either one should help keep your engine running clean.
Check the u-joints in the driveshafts for slop; otherwise, in the diffs you'll go.
i've got that slop in my drivetrain ('91)
would you expand on your response to mk85? what could it be re the ujoints? and how would one fix them? what might have to be done to the diffs? and how extensive of a job is it?
thanks
If while under the truck in N on a level surface you cannot feel any rotational slack in the drive shaft (you'll also feel normal slack in the diff), then it could be the slack in the diff. This is normal and the cost to make it tight again is very high. It is from simply not changing the oil in the differentials on a regular basis.
The final place that slack manifests itself is the drive plates at the axle tips. The tip of the axle is splined and terminates into a matching splined hole visiblel with the wheel center cap removed, followed by the small grease cup. If it has been assembled without grease in these splines, fast wear and slack occurs.
None of these are more than an annoyance, however. This is a big, tough vehicle with a lot of extra metal in each moving part. So just get the stuff greased and change the fluids and keep going.
IdahoDoug
Thanks,
Andy
Regards,
Sean.
Does anyone use 87 octane in their LC/Lx470 in this group and experience engine knock?
Causes no harm to experiment with different grades as long as the gas you use has a detergent (like Techron (sp?)) in it. Premium fuels tend to have a higher detergent content.
HiC
IdahoDoug
Would like to get away from paying the premium price for Toyotas filter.
Greatly appreciate to hear someones advice / experience.
bigorange30 "Oil Filters, whose is best, and Why?" Sep 29, 2002 7:24am
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
MK85 - Before bothering with anything else, particularly purchasing and installing a switch, simply have your drive shafts properly greased. This is often the problem on 80s - just dry shafts - and can also cause slight vibrations that the presence of grease will eliminate. Tell whoever does it that just a couple pumps with a hand grease gun on the grease fitting that feeds the slip joints is adequate. Over greasing these more than that can damage things by filling the slip joint grooves so that the shaft lengthens with a hydraulic effect, and this can do immediate damage if you hit a bump before the grease gets out of there.
The reason you didn't feel it in neutral is that what you feel drawing to a stop is the tranny downshifting and the shaft going from dragging to pushing the vehicle in the process with a high torque motor behind it. Clunk clunk. No big deal, actually.
IdahoDoug
Thanks.
my question is this, if it is the rear seal and i fix the valve cover gasket, is there a danger that the increased pressure will accelerate the leaking in the rear seal? or any other seal or gasket for that matter? also, what exactly is adjusting the valve clearance and what benefit does that have? is it a difficult job?
does anyone have advise on how i should proceed?
thanks again in advance.
Consider replacing the PCV valve if the rig is leaking from lots of places. I would replace everything that's leaking, but the rear main can be a real bear as the tranny and t-case are very heavy. Get some help if you're doing it yourself.
I know most will recommend the '93 fzj80, but $5000 is right where I am looking for an older SUV, and this would be a dream to be able to get a TLC, as I have always wanted one. I don't know much about it other than the guy said it has a new exhaust system and new shocks. 212k miles seems really high, and I just put 240k on an old Cressida before it died, so the engine may not have much left in it. Could I reasonably offer $5000 for this vehicle?
You may find the valve cover is the only leak and you'll dramatically reduce it for these small tasks.
On the price of the '91 with 212k - that's way high. And though the Cruiser is bulletproof, that's a lot of miles no matter how you cut it and I certainly wouldn't be giving top dollar for one like that when you can find one with half the miles.
IdahoDoug