I looked at a 93 Land Cruiser the other day, with 190K miles. Pretty good shape everywhere, but very gutless, doesn't even shift down when you floor it. I know it's a heavy load for a straight 6, but this seemed extreme.
Am looking for a reliable vehicle that can do the back roads for camping and still haul 6 people. Thinking an older Land Cruiser is the ticket for my under- $10K budget. I can do basic mechanical work, and everything looks pretty accessible on this one. I was frustrated with my 96 Plymouth Voyager--couldn't work on it. Couldn't even change the back spark plugs! Have always liked how Toyota seems to think about the mechanic. Am pretty turned off on American brands now, after 3 new transmissions in 130K on the Voyager.
So am I on the right track? Presuming this LC checks out with a compression check, is it reasonable to expect a few more years out of such a vehicle? Any options to swap in a more powerful engine? Any feel for the auto trans? Is 200K tops for that, or can it go more? Wish I could swap it for a standard, but it doesn't look like they ever built one.
Not sure how much they are asking for the LC you are looking at with 190K but if it fits your budget......a TRD supercharger will do the trick if your looking for a lot of extra power. Her is a link for a LC TRD supercharger on ebay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRD-S...spagenameZWD1V
I have a 94LC. I believe that 94 is when the displacement went from 4.5 to 4.7L. It is still a dog though (especially when compared to my Tundra). I usually drive it in the power mode to get the most out of each gear. The gas mileage is poor but the engine will go forever. However, the peripheral parts are expensive and tend not to be as long lasting. Even if you do your own work, maintaining a LC is costly. Keep a close eye on the brakes, they need pads every 15-20,000 miles or so and rotors are expensive. I still love the car though. It is paid for and is still cheaper than buying a new car, even with todays gas prices.
You could try to advance your timing to get a little more pep and maybe a half mile per gallon better gas mileage out of the ole gal. This has helped some but a few others didn't see any advantage and others advanced a little too much and got pinging and went back to stock - won't hurt to give it a try. Most go from 3*(stock) to 8*-12* (*=degrees) http://www.safari4x4.com.au/80scool/tech/timing.html
ECU service plug is located on the passenger side on the firewall.
Correction: Thanks to nhparrot and his Toyota Land Cruiser Timeline post, 1993 is when the displacement of the inline six cylinder went from 4.2 to 4.5L. 1998 was the intruduction of the 4.7L i-Force V8. A friend of mine and past LC owner calls the inline six, a "tractor motor." That says it all!
Too bad we can find them in this country, but the 93 LC is a great "truck" with the inline 6 diesel. Gobs of torque and pretty good fuel economy.
If Toyota released a diesel in the U.S., I'd trade my (wonderful and very smooth running) V8 for it any day. A vehicle this size would really benefit from some low grunt force.
As for longevity, you should expect som 300K+ out of the car. What will be worn is the interior (sun and regular wear). But, that'd be the case on any car, possibly with expection from Land Rover Defender...
I bought a 93 4runner and had is tuned up right away. It was totally gutless and didn't want to shift. I went back to the mechanic and it turned out that the thottle positioner was bad. This led to an incorrect timing and it prevented the transmission from shifting because it shifts electronically from the ignition system.
I have a 97 40th currently and had a 93 prior to that. It you want more power and better mileage trying using the timing tip from this web site. I followed the process on both of my series 80’s and had much better power and better mileage, around 17mpg in town. It worked for me!
Is a 93 LC supposed to be gutless?
Linear Mode
