kenuppa

You need to use oil that meets the specification listed in your manual. All brands sell good oil and also oil that is basically just sludge. I very much doubt that Castrol Magnatec meets the specification listed in your owners manual. Just ask yourself, why and how would oil be magnetic? It is just advertising hype. The recommended viscosity is probably 5w30. Please check your manual and confirm if this is correct. That is what is recommended in my manual. The oil specification is something like CF. Rgds, Ken

That is the idea, change the diff ratio. How could you possibly change just one gear? The V8 Diesel has so much power and torque, a 20% increase in ratio could be done. Max torque is from 1200 rpm. You can change up and pull away at 1500 rpm. When I take off in the morning, I am in 4th gear by 50kph. If I use 5th in 60k and 80k zones, what do I use when I get onto the freeway? Rgds, Ken

On my last trip towing the caravan I used less than 500ml of oil. It does depend what oil you use. Toyota claim they use Valvoline 5w30 Syn power - fully synthetic oil. Read your owners manual. It may state that some oild use is to be expected. Volkswagon also state that oil use is to be expected with thier new diesel engines. I cant believ that your Pajero did not use oil. It was probably replacing it with diesel, and therefore appearing to maintain the same level on your dipstick. Everytime I am in traffic behind a Mitsubishi, sigma-magna-pajero, the smell of half burnt oil is horrific. Most always see the trail of smoke from thier exhaust when they take off from the lights. They must be the most filthy engines on the road. Rgds, Ken

I phoned Difflap in September 2011, left an inquiry re changing diff ratios. I then emailed them in October 2011. I recieved a reply stating that someone would contact me to discuss options. Still waiting.................... http://www.difflap.com.au/ It must be possible to change the crown wheels and drive gears in the diffs. People who race cars like Holen Torana and Commodore change diffs for each track they race at. Rgds, Ken

General theory I was told was to drive easy for first 1000km then drive hard to create some load on the engine. I found the problem was how do you put load on the engine and stay within the speed limit? I drove up Cunninghams Gap and Towoomba Range to try and put some load on the engine, but found the speed limits on these roads prevented such driving. Any time I found a hill I would accellerate up it, but all the cruiser did was blast past the speed limit with little or no sign of effort. After a few thousand kms I bought a 3 ton caravan. Towing the caravan was the best way to put load on the engine. Even travelling through western NSW - Broken Hill - South Aus in 40 plus deg temps, the cruiser handled everything with ease. Used a small amount of oil, about 1 - 2 litres in 7000km, which is to be expected considering the work and conditions. Rgds, Ken Landcruiser VDJ76R - V8 Diesel Only one hairdryer....

Dogs are usually very good at running. Greyhound, Dachshund, Fox, Dingo etc all run very well. You have possibly got crud in your air and or fuel lines as well as your filters. Shout yourself some new filters and clean out the air pipes. Rgds, Ken

Try Consoles from the website below. http://www.consoles.com.au/Toyota_Land76_choose_console.htm http://www.consoles.com.au/Toyota_76Series_compartments.htm Rgds, Ken

The standard tyre size is 265/70R16. Has anyone fitted larger, such as 285/75R16? This would increase OD from 778 to 838mm which would reduce revs by about 8% in top gear. Anyone know if this is this allowed? Rgds, Ken

Rod, The difference in track width is not a problem. Toyota made the front track wider, to allow fittment of the "V" engine. The rear track is normal width. Fitting spacers is illegal, at least in QLD. Once you are driving, you cant see, feel or notce the difference. Rgds, Ken

I drove from Brisbane to Melbourne and back to Brisbane last week in my new 76 series wagon. Trip was 3791km. The existing seats are good, plenty of back and side support. No problems even with my crook back! For drawers try Offroad Systems http://www.offroadsystems.com.au/index.html Rgds, Ken

Try ARB. ARB now sell Outback drawers that they have made in China. Cheaper than local made Outbacks. Dont know anything about seats. Rgds, Ken

Same happened to my car some years ago, warning light kept coming on. Dealer said probably the "Clock Spring" was faulty whatever that is. Eventually the Dealer claim they fixed it by replacing this mystery "Clock Spring". Couple hundred dollars! After picking the car up and on the way home, guess what happened.... The bloody warning light came on again! So, back to the Dealer. They had the car for a few days, and eventually replaced the Airbag (In the centre of the steering wheel) Nine Hundred Dollars! On the way home, no, only joking, never did see the warning light again, but I wonder what was the problem really? Now I am gun shy of airbags. Don't like cars with 4, 6 or even 8 airbags. Imagine the cost when they decide to play up? Oh, and I did ask for the old airbag. Still got it at home, don't know what to do with it, can't throw it in the rubbish as the box says it could still go off! Rgds, Ken

I was looking at a LC200 in the local Toyota yard recently. I was surprised to see the air intake for the engine was under the guard in front of the front right wheel. It looked to me that this would be a very dirty and dusty location to pickup air for the engine. I would strongly suggest to all LC200 owners that they change the intake location to somewhere that clean air can be obtained. Rgds, Ken

Looks like other modern diesels also use abnormal amounts of oil. See the Q&A pages on Drive.... http://news.drive.com.au/qa In particular, read the Q&A about Volkswagen who claim that their 2 Litre diesel can use up to 1L of oil per 1000km. http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/why-so-much-oil-20101014-16ksi.html Rgds, Ken

I dont have a Landcruiser at present, however on my previous cruiser I fitted a Frantz Fuel Filter. The cost of a Toyota Fuel Filter was 15 times the cost of the toilet roll used by Frantz, so I only rarely changed it, but I changed the Frantz filter frequently. Even after 360,000 km the engine was strong, did not smoke and did not use oil. You can change the Frantz filter easily, just need a container like a 2 Litre icecream container to soak the new filter in clean diesel before stuffing it into the Filter body. Then a quick pump to prime the fuel lines and away you go. The condition of the old filter roll was always a good indication of what I had been sucking through the fuel system. Read about the Frantz Filter and talk to the suppliers re your V8 diesel http://www.frantzfilters.com.au Regards, Ken