GeoffW

Having just discovered this group and having made a significant reply to a Land Cruiser question from a member, I'm wondering why there is no specific discussion forum for Land Cruisers, given their popularity. This is now particularly relevant given the unavailability of the missing (from the web) LCOOL forum (Land Cruiser Owners On Line). This was a great forum with a mountain of very valuable information regarding Land Cruisers, but it has disappeared. Does anyone know of other sites that cater for LC owners? I know of the Facebook group Landcruiser Owners Group Australia but find it useless and too hard to navigate. I am not a Facebook fan! Kind regards Geoff

Steve, I have purchased a second hand pump assembly from a wrecker (with 3 months warranty) for $250. I hope it doesn't have the terminal showing signs of heat. It should arrive next week. I think I will be able to get the pump out through the inspection hole. I will keep you posted. Kind regards Geoff

Scott, See this site. I put a reply on it a few days ago re your type of problem.

This conversation is quite old but doesn't seem to have a complete explanation. It was extensively dealt with on the LCOOL.org forum (Land Cruiser Owners On Line) but that website has now been unavailable for more than a year. What a shame as it was a great website for all info relating to Land Cruisers. Anyway, I am very familiar with this problem and I will now give a full explanation. Mine is a 2010 LC200 diesel. I'm not sure if the petrol models have the same problem. The problem is first noticed when the fuel warning light comes on at 1/4 tank and is blinking. The normal fuel warning light comes on at about 1/8 tank and does not blink. What the blinking light means is that the fuel level in the main tank is about 10 litres and the fuel in the sub tank is greater than about 10 litres. When the main tank gets down to 10 litres, the sub tank should be empty. This indicates a problem with the sub tank pump. Be aware that the sub tank pump is located in the main tank. It draws fuel from the sub tank when the computer turns it on. It is a venturi pump - it pumps fuel in the main tank through a venturi which, in turn, draws fuel from the sub tank. I'm not sure how the computer manages the pump, but I imagine it is something like this: when the main tank fuel level has dropped by a certain amount, say, 20 litres, it switches on the pump and re-fills the main tank from the sub tank. This probably continues until the sub tank is empty. I'm not sure but this detail doesn't matter. When the warning light blinks, it means that the sub tank is not empty but the main tank is nearing empty, so there must be a fault. The cause is usually the electrical connector in the top of the fuel pump assembly that fits into the top of the main tank. Either the power or earth wire to the pump will be open circuit. In the process, it experiences a high resistance which generates heat and melts the connector that goes to the pump. I'm not sure now whether it was the connector on the pump lead or the underside of the connector in the lid of the assembly, but if you look closely (a magnifier will help) you might see the melted plastic. This was the problem I had. There was nothing wrong with the pump, just the connector. I followed the instructions on LCOOL and cut the wires to the pump and routed 2 new wires through 2 holes drilled in the lid of the assembly. These new wires were a tight fit in the holes I drilled and I thought there should not be any leakage there. I also applied a fuel-proof sealer on each side of the hole in the lid. On reflection, I should have obtained some neoprene grommets to fit the holes. On the other end of the new wires, I soldered M&F push connectors so that the tank could be removed in future, if necessary, without the need to cut the wires. I covered the connectors with heat-shrink tube. The sub pump started working properly again. However, some months later I discovered that if the fuel tanks were full and the vehicle was parked on just a slight hill, fuel would leak onto the road. I have put up with that for a couple of years and made sure I didn't fill the tanks to full. To do this repair I removed the tank from the vehicle. Before you can do that, you need to open the inspection hole in the floor under the RH centre row passenger seat to disconnect the wires from the pump assembly. To get to the inspection hole, you need to remove the seat and fold the carpet and underlay back. I cut a hole on the carpet and underlay so that next time I would not have to remove the seat. The cover on the inspection hole is held in place with butyl mastic. When I replaced it I used silicone. That was a mistake as I almost had to destroy the inspection cover to get it off. Removing the seat and the tank is a 2 man job - unless you are Hercules. A question I don't know the answer to is whether the fuel pump assembly can be removed through the inspection hole. The ring which screws on to hold the assembly in place is quite tight and a special tool would be necessary to unscrew the ring. I intend to make such a tool. Previously, with the tank out, I made a tool to remove the ring, but that tool is too bulky to allow the ring to be removed through the inspection hole. If anyone has knowledge about whether the pump assembly can be removed through the inspection hole, I would be grateful to hear it (0418 259 741). I am about to sell my Land Cruiser (privately) so I have decided the replace the pump assembly. The retail price from a Toyota dealer is in excess of $2,000. I can source one from China via AliExpress for $328 AUD. I will also check out some wrecking yards first. I hope this helps someone. Kind regards Geoff