Faults:

6 years of ownership:

I have never taken it to a shop. All service and maintenance I have done myself.

Year 1:

Tires were worn, replaced with set of 4. $800.

Started overheating. Lower radiator hose was split open about 5". Most of the coolant was on the ground. I was a distance into the mountains at the time. I tied a few socks around the hose. Went to the creek and filled a few jugs with water to fill the radiator.

I managed to make it home. Took me a full day. I stopped numerous times along the way, to let the engine cool down and refill the radiator.

The next day I ordered a water pump, thermostat, lower & upper radiator hoses with clamps plus bypass hose. Drained radiator & block, put new coolant. $320 total. OEM Toyota parts. Took me about 3 hours of work.

After that, it ran better than it did before.

Passenger side hub was not turning fully to "free". Replaced with a used one. $60. Turned out the large snap ring disintegrated, but the hub still worked fine in 4wd. Replaced the snap ring and used the other hub for a spare. Repacked hub assembly with grease and reinstalled.

Clanking on front end on driver side. Replaced worn out sway bar links and rubber bushings. $60/pair. About 1 hour.

The 12v alternator was not charging properly. The voltage was climbing to 16 volts, then dropping to 14 constantly. Problem solved with new after market brushes, and voltage regulator $130

About 10 minutes. Toyota wanted $300 just for the voltage regulator!

No need to remove alternator. Just remove the rectangle cover plate from the top.

Year 2:

Exhaust manifold was cracked on one side at triangle coupling, creating an exhaust leak. Replaced with a used one and a new gasket. $110 New ones aren't made anymore. I also put in new manifold studs at the same time, with new exhaust/manifold gasket ring. $20. About 4.5 hours.

I replaced the fuel filter body and two used rubber hoses. One running to the injection pump, and the other to the fuel filter body. $130

The two rubber hoses aren't made anymore. The filter body was OEM Toyota. About 30 minutes.

Very easy to bleed the system with the primer plunger. Loosen the bleeder screw on the fuel filter body, and the bleeder screw on front of the injection pump. Prime until no air bubbles appear. Close the bleeder. Engine starts on the first try.

Engine mounts were deteriorating, replaced both sides. $140. 2 hours with the engine hoist.

One head light burned out. Replaced both, and decided to change the rear lights, plus marker lights. $75. About 40 minutes.

One day the ignition lock cylinder froze. Used a Phillips screw driver to remove 2 screws from bottom of the column to remove the top cover. With the key in "ACC" position, I used a small finishing nail and pressed the small button. The ignition lock just slides out. Then just start with a flat head screwdriver. Took me less than 5 minutes. Bought another one $30. I rebuilt the old one.

With a truck such as GM, it would take me half a day to change the ignition lock cylinder. Requiring special tools.

Year 3-to now: Nothing, just diesel and go.

In total almost $313/year or $26/month in maintenance cost.

Rust is really starting to show. Mostly around rear wheel well arch, rear quarter panels, rear of rocker panels, and parts of the rear frame arch.

It is typical Landcruiser rust. Funny thing is, the front of the frame has no trace of rust. Every Cruiser I have seen is that way.

I consider all the above regular service and maintenance. Wear and tear that come with age. I can't think of anything that has gone wrong with it, except the rust.

Running costs are very low. It is the simplest truck to fix. All you need is a Phillips and flat head screwdriver, hammer, extension pipe, open-closed end wrenches, and a ratchet with a few sockets. No special tools needed.

I'm impressed. It is almost 30 years old and still has the same original body, frame, engine, transmission, transfer case, and front & rear axles. Never rebuilt.

General Comments:

I love this truck. I used to have a BJ42. The BJ60 is much more quieter and comfortable. It has no power options whatsoever. Manual windows, locks, mirrors, seats, 4 spd manual & transfer case, manual hubs, no A/C, and manual steering. The only "power" option it has is power assisted brakes.

It has a 4 cylinder 3.4L 3B diesel engine made by Hino. It has a unique sound, like a farm tractor. The same as Hino flat nose cube vans and trucks. It makes about 90 hp+ @ 3,500 rpm, and about 170 ft-lb torque @ 2,100 rpm.

Fuel economy is 11 L/100 km in town, and about 10 L/100 km on highway. Fuel tank holds 90 liters.

The BJ60 is pretty slow accelerating, about 26 seconds to reach 100 km/h. Better than a Mercedes 240D xD. But then again the cruiser weighs almost 2.5 tons. The same as a full size American pickup.

The weight comes from the heavy cast iron engine, heavy duty transmission, t-case, and 9.25" front & rear axles.

It gets up to speed well, following the flow of traffic when I drive in town. The name "Landcruiser" fits it perfectly. Slowly but surely she goes.

1st: up to 20 km/h, 2nd: up to 40 km/h, 3rd up to 60 km/h, 4th up to 90 km/h max @ 2,500 rpm. Optimum speed is 80 km/h at 2,000 rpm on the highway. I never go past 3,000 rpm. I usually do 2,500 rpm max since a diesel is never meant to race. It can do 50-60 km/h up a long 10% grade. The compression braking and gearing is excellent. I rarely need to use the brakes when keeping two or three car lengths distance in town.

There were only two models available at the time in two colors. Blue and red. This is the G model. Back then it cost $17,000 with taxes.

It has a lift up hatch with tailgate. The other model had vinyl seats and floor with barn doors.

The interior is large. There are no blind spots, a full 360 view. Interior noise is loud with the engine at speed. Turning on the radio doesn't help much. I don't listen much to the radio anyway.

The interior has a brown crash pad with metal bottom half, and dark brown carpeted floor. There are no idiot lights. Only filter, parking brake, seat belt, and glow plug light. The 3 gauges are big and easy to read. The left one is (temp, fuel, oil pres, volts). The middle one is rpm's. The right one is (speedometer, odometer, tripmeter).

Below the center dash heating controls is a series of 3 switches. To the far left is (rear window wiper, rear heater, and rear window defroster.) To the right are two blanks for mounting switches for off road lights or a winch. Also beside the heater control is a rectangle blank for a small CB radio.

The headliner and seats are original, made of tough canvas. The rear heater is under the passenger seat, and has a lever for low and high.

The seats have yellow-white stripes with brown vinyl sides. The rear bench seat is the same.

The bench seat can be folded down, flush with the floor. It has 70" of space, and 84" with the tailgate down. The inside width is 60" and 42" between the wheel wells. I have slept many times in the truck comfortably while camping.

When the pavement ends, it's where the Cruiser really shines. In 4 lo range, the torque from the 3B is superb. In 1st gear it can crawl up most any steep rocky slopes without using the gas. It will go at a crawling pace down very steep hills in 1st gear without using the brakes. It is like a tank in the snow. I have had it up to the hood and it was still going forward.

It has taken me across the back country of Yukon, Alberta, and up and down British Columbia. It always gets me there and back.

This is a very strong truck, it has never failed me. "Long May You Run"

I would definitely buy another, possibly an HJ60 or HJ61. Next time with 5 spd manual.

Faults:

Fuel Injectors needed rebuilding at 360000. Made all the difference to performance, smoking of the engine and fuel economy. Also solved a nasty fuel knock caused by missing fire guard ring on injector (not sure where it went... maybe whoever had the injectors out last forgot to replace it?)

Alternator brushes needed replacing, caused the "superglow" glow plug system to cease to function cause it is grounded through the alternator brushes. $3 part, WOW easy to replace, one screw, one hex nut, a little solder and Presto, done!

Needs new brake drums in the rear and they are $300 each here.

Hubs were no longer staying locked (stock) so I replaced them with WARN hubs.

Rear axle shafts warn from many clicks of heavy off road driving. Ignoring problem.

Truck has 3" lift and 33s which causes it to drift when power is applied or reduced (left for foot on the gas, right when removed). Still working to remedy problem.

Frame design causes flaking of the metal inside the box tube frame, WATCH OUT when buying one that even if the body is rotten, make sure it has a good frame.

Back doors beginning to lose the battle with rust.

General Comments:

1st world comfort with 3rd world durability.

Very simple, reliable and efficient engine.

Serious off road vehicle with lift and 33s or 35s.

Little power, good torque and no towing capacity.

1982 came with a 4 speed and no power steering. Mine has the 1985 5 speed (a must) and a power steering pump off same.

This truck takes a serious licking and keeps on ticking, even more than the Toyota mini truck 4x4. I cannot say enough good things about my '82 Landcruiser.

Faults:

Everything on this truck has needed attention. The only thing that I haven't rebuilt or replaced has been the fuel system. The biggest headache has been the electrical. The 24v system is not a problem, but 20 years of owners doing their own fixes has taken its toll. That being said the truck has never let me down. The first couple years are the worst because it spent most of the time in the driveway in need or parts. It's never left me stranded though.

General Comments:

This is an industrial truck. Mine even came from a mine. It is bulletproof. Everything is grossly overbuilt and simple. The body is easy to work on. You won't understand this truck until you drive it on a rough road. I will never sell it. It's been quite expensive. For the same money I could be sitting in a new j**p. When I pass an other landcruiser guy you don't just wave, you stop and talk. It's not great on the highway. A couple rolls of house insulation under home made carpet helps, but forget passing you'll be doing well just to keep up with traffic. I've taken it on some 3000mile road trips and its never let me down.