82' Land Cruiser BJ60 Diesel question...

Hi all,

I am seriously looking into picking up a land cruiser from the early to mid 80's, but with current gas pricing I am not certain that I would really be digging on a gas land cruiser. Recently though I noticed that there was a diesel version of these rigs out there, just that they were not very popular in the US. I have been looking at an 82 bj60 that is for sale here in my town, but I just don't have much knowledge about diesel engines in general, or this specific toyota diesel engine in particular.

In the 82 land cruiser the diesel that came in it was the 3.4L Four cylinder diesel. Not sure on engine number/name thing for this one, but I hear that it was pretty common in other parts of the world and even for use in other applications. Anyone have any idea of the reliability of the Toyota diesels, the costs for repairing when they DO break, stuff like that? Any help greatly appreciated!

As with all 22 year old vehicles, there will be some maintenance involved.

I daily drive my '83 BJ60 250KM or more. I do have a backup car in case of any major malfunctions. Interestingly, I am driving that car this week as I had an injection pump diaphram failure on the weekend. Should be a fun project to replace, and the part is only $20 CDN.

Diesel engines are very reliable, and repairable. Parts can sometimes get pricey, however there are a number of mailing lists and parts providers here in Canada that can help make the process easy and more affordable (yes...they will deliver to and are happy to deal with US customers as well).

I have put probably about 60,000 KM on my two trucks in the last year, and this is the first engine malfunction I have had on either of my diesel engines (one has 385,000 KM, the other 227,000).

I trust these engines more than the engine in my 2000 Alero which I bought new.

I would say, if you are somewhat mechanically inclined, get the truck and get the 3B (engine type) manual. If you don't have the time to work on the engine, it can get pretty expensive by taking it to a mechanic, most don't have any idea at all how to work on these engines and you end up paying for them to learn.

That being said, I would drive my two trucks anywhere for any length of time. They are bullet proof.

Just my two cents.

Adam

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately for me, it was sold when I called the guy for $5300US. Had 178k miles on it. Strange that it would sit for about 5 weeks and then when I call, it sold just two days before hehe. Oh well. It is good to know that they aren't too crazy to work on. The problem now for me is actually finding another one. Lots of FJ60s running around down here, and even a nice FJ55 available that had a chevy 6 swapped in, but the very low MPG of the gas engines in these things is enough to turn me off of them.

At the moment I am now searching out 84-85 4runners, the 86-87 4runner with Turbo, or the BJ60. Haven't been able to find any of those locally besides one of the 4runners with factory Turbo for about $2500, but has 185k miles. Just did a walkby on it, but I have to believe that at only 2500 it must have a bad turbo or something. The body and everything else was in great shape. Maybe will have to go test drive it hehe.

Diesel engines are made to run 1,000,000 miles, that's when major maintance happens.

Diesel engines are diesel to withstand the extreme work loads.

Is your truck carburation? or direct injection? All a diesel engine needs is air and fuel in the engine and that is it. Of course you have to set the valves once a while. If you are getting bad fuel milage, this is a good time to set the valves. There are no really big maintance to the diesel engine.

I am a Diesel Truck technician... we have 7L -12L trucks that come in with 1,000,000 miles and these things run like a dream. I presonally like the Cummins engine... they make 7-15 litre engines as well as for Dodge. If you live in Toronto, the TTC all have Cummins engines in them. (The TTC is our public transit buses) Diesel trucks are design to run none stop, even during refueling.

Best choice you ever made was to go with the diesel engine. In terms of costs and reliabilities...

Yeah, from what I am learning now, diesel engines really do seem to be a spectacular way to go if you can find them. The unfortunate thing for me is that I live in the US so diesel versions of Toyotas and other imports are few and far between. I have not seen another diesel Landcruiser for sale anywhere down here. Oh well, will keep looking and hope for the best. Thanks.

Some parts you can go after market...

I don't mean APC, HKS etc... I mean the ppl that make the parts for Toyota - diesel engine manufactures.

Example: I have a toyota echo also... the headlight is made by Koito; the battery is from Panasonic etc... Toyota is just an assembling plant that put the parts together.

Hmmm.....well, would it be a big hassle to convert a gas engine unit to a diesel engine unit? Obviously maybe some bolt up issues and motor mounts that sort of thing. But what about like electrical systems and fuel systems and stuff like that? Would all that have to be changed out as well?

Hmmm.....well, would it be a big hassle to convert a gas engine unit to a diesel engine unit? Obviously maybe some bolt up issues and motor mounts that sort of thing. But what about like electrical systems and fuel systems and stuff like that? Would all that have to be changed out as well?
Yikes...convert a gas engine to diesel?
First they are two entirely different engines.

A diesel has no electrical system to speak of, meaning unlike a gas engine it has not spark plugs, no carburettor, no coil and so on. The engine stops by the fuel system being shut off.

It fires by using a high compression about 22 to 1 fuel to air ratio, which is about double that of a gasoline engine.The fuel, injected at high pressure into the cylinder explodes by injectors, via an injection pump, the engine starts.

The engine itself has to be much more durable to stand the explosions of the fuel, which makes the engine run.
It has a much more rugged cylinder head.
The sounddproofing is much greater, because the engine is noisier.

Diesel engines are general are longer lasting therefore the high mileage for some. BUT, it is not reasonable to compare say a Toyota diesel engine to that of the type found in diesel buses or transport trucks. They are designed (and cost accordingly) to go upwards of a million (HIGHWAY) miles before needing major repairs. Stop and start driving is not good for diesels.

Another thing to keep in mind.THEY ARE EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR, especially if they need major work The injector pumps are VERY costly, although quite reliable.
TOYOTA parts are VERY expensive.

Many of the Toyota diesel engines are made by HINO(Hino Trucks), which is the Toyota Truck division. There you have a short explanation of diesels compared to gasoline engines.
Hope this helps

The answer to the conversion question is "Yes" it is possible to convert. You do need to know what you are doing.

I have a friend who has just bought a US gas truck, and dropped in a full diesel drivetrain from a rusted out Canadian truck. He gets all the benefits, a rust free truck from the 80's with a fuel efficient driveline. The truck itself is gorgeous.

I have a couple diesel trucks for sale if anyone is interested.

Email me offline as I do not check this list often.

dmmdr@hotmail.com

Make sure you put "Land Cruiser" into your subject line...then I will be sure not to delete it.

Cheers,

Adam