Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

6000km in 7 weeks in East Africa. What to service and when?

raffles

raffles

New Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
16
Country Flag
tanzania
Hi all,

I've just driven from northern Tanzania to Pemba in Mozambique the long way round, through Malawi. With detours and side trips, it's been 5,700km since leaving. I've been keeping to speeds under 100kph and I had all the filters and engine oil done before leaving. I put in Donaldson filters for oil and fuel and Valvoline diesel oil. It's a manual 96 GX (HZJ80) with 250,000km on the clock.

My question is, with this kind of driving, should I be replacing anything yet? I expect to do another 2,000km in the next month. My idea based on vaguely educated guessing was to do this:

Change oil filter now, also greasing
Change oil at 8,000km
Change fuel filters at 12,000

Even with that schedule, time-wise it will only have been less than 6 months. I'd appreciate your sage advice on what I should do in this situation as I'm not sure whether time or distance should be more limiting. Thank you,

Rafael
 
Prop shaft joints must be greased every 4500 miles. Also check the condition of the front diff oil. If not clean change.

Check when the cam belt was changed.
 
I've changed mine at 9000 miles or thereabouts with a filter every other change since I bought it 11 years ago, and that was on the info from Toyota. The only difference is I use Morris's Multivis rather than Mobil1 which Toyota would only recommend. Multivis exceeds the spec of Mobil 1. My BEBs appeared to be essentially untouched after 60,000 miles on UK oil and the same on Japanese oil.
 
I'd change the oil and filter and go round with the grease gun. It's easy to get carried away when choosing engine oil. These engines are an old design and don't need the latest high spec fully synthetic oil. FS oil may be intended for a longer service life with extended oil change intervals but the engines aren't. Compared to modern diesels they're also relatively dirty running hence the short service intervals. Frequent changes with an oil that meets the minimum spec is the key to longevity. JMO
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
IMO, very few service requirements are time related, particularly the more essential mechanical service items.

All as above really, fuel, oil and air filters should be changed along with engine oil.

Regular greasing of the prop shaft UJs and slips every 8,000 km or less (as Frank said) is most important and IMO diff, Transfer and gearbox oils should be changed more frequently as the truck mileage increases.

The intervals in the book are fine when new and lower mileage, but as the kms increase, I think oils have a harder time in use. Engine oil degrades from carbon deposits, some are filtered out, but those that remain are causing damage as a matter of course.

How many times do we change engine oil enjoying the 'clean' look of it on the dipstick, only to find that after 2 weeks of little use, it looks black again.

I regularly drive on the mountain and always expect the truck to get me back home again. Everything on the ruck ends up being used, sometimes close to its design limits. All the gears high and low on the transfer box, lockers, they all go through their paces. I would prefer greats able steering joints, but they all seem to be sealed these days.

I only do about 10,000 km each year, but I like to change engine oil, all the filters and grease the props twice, and change all other oils once during that period (assuming I don't forget) :lol:
 
Remove the air filter and bang it on a wall to shake the dust out. If it is a Toyota one they are tough and designed for this.
 
clivehorridge said:
How many times do we change engine oil enjoying the 'clean' look of it on the dipstick, only to find that after 2 weeks of little use, it looks black again.
Click to expand...


Still looks clean when I change the oil annually :icon-biggrin: last year was less then 3k miles!
 
There must be several 80's that have been very neglected and possibly had infrequent oil changes but I've never heard of a worn out engine. Diesel that is. Don't know anything about the petrols.
 
Yes my thoughts exactly, There must be hundreds of these trucks in Africa and south america that have never seen a sponge let alone a filter. I try to do mine at 5k out of good practice but it has done 10k stints as well. As for oil, lidls finest SS with a litre of Lucas keeps it nice and quiet. Have a feeling I may need to look at the injectors soon but only after the fuel filter gets a change.

For Oil Filters I tend to go Toyota but the Fuel one doesnt bother me or the air filter which has never been changed. A good bang off the wall as frank says and a blow with the airline from the center-out of course.
 
clivehorridge said:
So that's an oil change every 3 years then Gary, whether it needs it or not!
Click to expand...

Once a year regardless of milage tbh, wouldn't be an issue if did every 2 years as don't do high miles, it costs me a new filter and a little bit of time.
 
Use only Toyota oil filter. They are very different from anything else, inside. A different league.

For paved roads in dry, non-dusty environments, you can extend greasing of shafts to 5 k km, but that's the maximum. 2500 km if conditions are worse. And after every serious fording.

Oil and filter every 5 k km. A bit longer when the going is easy, and more often when rough.

If you have the standard cyclone air filter, it's designed to be washed, not changed. Easy and fast, in a river or tub.

If you have the fuel pre-filter (standard on Africa and M.E. deliveries of the hzj80), you can take out the cartridge and check how the fuel quality has been. Always keep a spare pre filter. Remember to drain the water on the main filter, it's surprising how fast it fills up when the days are hot and nights are cool.
 
Last edited:
Well that seems to have answered most of the OP questions.

If you did any wading I would change the differential oils and consider the transmissions as well?

I confess I am with the oil AND filter changes very 5,000 miles if possible, on the odd occasion gone over but not by much. IMO the old diesel engines do not run as efficiently as the modern equivalent. The result is there is IME a higher element of bore wash, the result is a slow diluting of the engine oil and ultimately less lubrication. Modern electronic injectors offer a more precise injection of fuel and it is ultimately more efficiently burned. thus the engine oil is less affected.

At that point I am done for suggestion but would like to offer a thought for others to consider.

Last year (or was it the year before?) a customer had the oil light flicking on his V10 Touareg, he had the oil changed by his local garage in the UK just before driving to his holiday home here in Spain. TBH I thought oil pressure switch but also thought the oil was mega filthy, I pulled the (cartridge type) oil filter and it had collapsed!!

I asked the (pilot) owner if he supplied the supplied the parts as they were not OE (not always important) and not a brand I recognised, as his hobby is 'tinkering' with old cars on one occasion he had decided to change the oil and filter on the Touareg himself the year before using 'X' brand from a supermarket, his thinking he only keeps his cars a couple of years and sells them on so 'what the heck', this year due to time before his trip he had used a garage. It turns out the oil filter is the same one that HE put in! The garage had 'allegedly' changed the oil and NOT the filter, of course they could have used the supermarket brand.........yeh right! I replaced using the OE version and new oil as I did not want any comebacks if the engine went bang on the return to the UK. He retuned home and with no further issues and sold the car.


My first point is I personally do not recommend changing the oil but not the filter, they are there for a reason, if you are using super efficient oil then it must be super efficiently cleaning your engine, in which case your filter in theory is working harder right, it could be argued you should change the oil filter more often?

Second, I hear you Clive on the oil looking black after two weeks, whilst I am sure the new oil is simply picking up some of the old oil remaining in the galleys/pump etc. I would agree I doubt it has much effect on the longevity of the engine but I do like my dipstick nice and clean.............as I am sure many do. :icon-biggrin:

And re the OE filters, the air filter is designed to be washed out a maximum of 10 times IIRC? I keep two, one in the car and the other washed out (dried in bidet as never found another use for it), and stored in the car if travelling. If I am hitting any desert areas Morocco for example then take the spare with me, fuel filters a must as the fuel quality can be poor, fuel filters tend to be Mann or Bosch depending on what my supplier has. Re the oil filters, I used to only use the OE offering but when the nearest dealer is around 50/60 miles away then I decided on the Bosch alternative, if I had been on the ball I would have cut up one of each for comparison but alas was not. What I did do was purchase cartons of six Bosch units change every six months and on the odd occasion earlier and have now exhausted those so will probably buy the same again.



regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
I have a huge diesel funnel Dave. It has a huge mouth about 12 inches x 7 inches and has a brass water filter in the bottom which is in fact a vey fine brass wire mesh. I think most rubbish would be filtered out at the pump if you popped it in to the filler neck and filled up through it. It was designed for use on large construction Motorway sites where they had large poorly maintained tanks.
 
frank rabbets said:
I have a huge diesel funnel Dave. It has a huge mouth about 12 inches x 7 inches and has a brass water filter in the bottom which is in fact a vey fine brass wire mesh. I think most rubbish would be filtered out at the pump if you popped it in to the filler neck and filled up through it. It was designed for use on large construction Motorway sites where they had large poorly maintained tanks.
Click to expand...

Even THAT funnel will not filter out the 'Moroccan water' Frank beside, I would rather put my fridge in the space that funnel will take up!:icon-biggrin:

regards

Dave
 
This isn't an oil filter thread - but you can read more re the OEM 90915-30002 filter here:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/oil-filter-30002-8t.129336/#post-1709161
30002 filter.jpg
 
I have always used genuine Toyota filters. I might leave them in a while but they do contain all the right bits for the truck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mick W
Engine rebuild update and warning to others regarding second hand parts
Replies
2
Views
282
Tractionman
T
Gos55
Engine cut out after service
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
karl2000
K
B
LC 100 TD VX 2001 suddenly gutless!
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
bigone
B
S
1989 LJ73 - Getting it Back to Safe and Reliable Condition
Replies
1
Views
401
skyking
S
sim303
Diagnostic code 14 (4) Timing Control System Malfunction - the investigation begins
Replies
5
Views
2K
sim303
sim303
Back
Top