Check list…:

[Jvertigo]

Does anyone have a good checklist for daily checks/weekly checks on your 80 series for long drives?

I’m going to be going on a very long drive soon, my mechanic was as good as I could get (given that I was let down by the Land Cruiser specialist I was originally chatting with); he didn’t manage to hit every item on my maintenance schedule prior to us going away, so I’ll be relying on finding good workshops along the way.

A good check list along with my trusty Haynes manual will keep my mind at rest whilst getting to know my way around the vehicle.

Any help appreciated

 

[nick_the_fish]

This is what I came up with for my first trip across Africa. On that trip I was regimental about checking everything. These days I don't follow it to the letter on long trips because I'm more familiar with the car, but it'll act as a starter for 10.

I've also got a spreadsheet for service intervals of various things if that helps.

Where are you headed?

Daily Checks summary

Check fluid level of: (car must be level and cold)
Engine oil
Power-steering fluid
Radiator (only when cold)
Radiator over-flow
Brake fluid
Clutch fluid
Wiper washer fluid

Also check:
All rubber hoses
Check tension on drive belts and look for cracks
Check air filter for dirt (clean with garage air pump if needed)
Check under bonnet and under vehicle for leaks
Visual check to see if anything is out of place or looks unusual. The more you familiarise yourself with the engine bay/ vehicle when everything is ok, the easier it is to spot when something is wrong.

Visual tyre check:
Does pressure look right?
Any stones, or uneven wear of tread?
Feel inside for damage to inner side wall
Check valve caps in place



Weekly checks (or more often as appropriate)

Check tyre pressure with gauge (if on tar then 2.5bar front, 3.5 bar rear)
Run hand over tread to test for sharp edges which indicate wheels out of line
Check wheel nuts are tight
Check for grass seeds in radiator or caught on exhaust or transfer box (more often if driven through grass)
Grease prop-shaft nipples IF we’ve driven through water or mud (otherwise leave til service)
Check shock-absorbers are not leaking
Check exhaust mountings
Check dif breathers (particularly if we’ve driven through mud)
Check lights

 

[Jvertigo]

@nick_the_fish That is a brilliant start, thank you!!

Proposed route:

Ship to Baltimore (arrives June 14th)
Drive up through Maine
Across trans-Canadian highway
British Columbia
Alaska
Down the west coast as fast as possible
Mexico
Central America Honduras/Belize etc
Ship out of Mexico (Veracruz) to Cartagena (Columbia)
South America
Down west side of South America
Cross over to Buenos Aires
Ship to west Africa
Namibia
Botswana
Zambia
Tanzania
Kenya
Ship out from Dar Es Salaam to Mumbai
Drive to Tibet
Bhutan
Indonesia
Australia/New Zealand
Home

 

[nick_the_fish]

Sounds good. Our truck is currently on the way to Texas, we'll fly out on the 11th July to meet it and spend 18 months on the Pan America, so maybe we'll bump into you guys on route somewhere????

Have you got EPA exemption letters etc sorted?

N

 

[Jvertigo]

All the paperwork is done, the ship is 2 weeks late….
I wish we had more time away

 

[frank rabbets]

I would put new contacts in the starter motor. No warning as to their state of wear then they weld together.

 

[fbnss]

Knuckle stud gone

Did 4 hour easy drive on Sat and felt very slight tremor on right turns. No other issues. Thought maybe front bearing on front right was loose again and maybe need to tighten up (had to tighten 5k ir 2 months ago and don't do a lot of driving, no offroad atm) Was due an oil change and some other...

www.landcruiserclub.net

Don't forget to check these every now n then

 

[Higgy]

Agree there Nick, Iv just had one let go... Hope i can get the Broken bit out without a Total strip down....

 

[Gr8Yota]

If you have a roof rack check the bolts frequently. I had bolts shear off on my rack on my first Trans Canada. Due to the corrugations on the gravel roads everything takes a real pounding.

Add a paint mark to your wheel nuts then you can do a quick visual check daily.

 

[Jvertigo]

I’m loving all the ‘rules of thumb’ this is great, thank you

 

[Dave2000]

I don't have much to add other than get a set of wheel studs, they break without warning, if one fails replace all six and keep the good ones that were removed as spares until you can replace them with a spare new set and a don't over grease the slider section of the prop shafts, this can cause vibration initially and then destroy the bearing in the transfer box. One thing I do carry is a length of tubing used for pumping up tyres, on each end is a connector for the tyre valves, the tubing must reach diagonally across the car. Two punctures is a pain, a broken air pump just adds to the pain, if you can plug the punctured tyre or at least slow it down, you can reinflate the tyre by pulling a little air from the remaining three, this will get you out of an immediate problem.

Regards

Dave

 

[Placsi]

Dear Nick_the_fish
Thank you for the posted daily/weekly list! It is of valor indeed.
Can you pls send/share also the mentioned "spreadsheet for service intervals of various things"?

Dear Jvertigo:
A very promissing and challenging trip plan! Congrats for it!
Hope you'll enjoy it - post some road-info frequently if you can. Let us enjoy it together with you!

Thx also for all others adding important further check points!

This thread is/was very good!

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Agree there Nick, Iv just had one let go... Hope i can get the Broken bit out without a Total strip down....

Degrease the stud holes and even new studs thoroughly and use thread lock. No amount of tightening them lasts very long once grease has trickled down the holes. If one has sheared, I'd assume all the others have some level of fatigue and replace them all. Even then, as Nick said, keep an eye on them. I had a lot of 'fun' with those years ago!

 

[Surfy]

I did over 120`000 Overlanding Kilometers with my (now sold) Land Cruiser 200. Longest trip was south america 36`000km and Transafrica with 20`500km at once.

I`m an IT technican, I cant do a lot by myself on my rig. So I get them serviced at my favorite toyota mechanic. This is too an valuable contact if you need spares abroad - shipping from home is often the quickest way. Talk to you favorite mechanic, look that he will help you if neccessary. Too for remote diagnostic. Carry an ODB2 Dongle with Techstream if your car supports it.

I did enable myself to change & maintain the air filtre & fuel filtre, did carry as spares: 2x fuel filtre, 1x air filtre (never had to do it by myself). Not a lot, but my J20 is sold world wide & spares are mostly on stock (Standard UN & NGO vehicle in africa at example). How is this with the 80 series today?? Call a toyota mechanic in a capital in some random travel destinations, to check the availability! Probably you have to carry more spares, or have to know where you can get them easier.

Speak too with your technican, which standard maintenance is comming in the next 30`000 Kilometers, check if you do some of them earlier (and later again). I just did oil changes (and repairs) during my trips.

Consider carrying a two way satellite messenger, they allow livetracking for the family, let you communicate out of cell coverage - for your travel plans (Panam, Africa, Australia) it will let you travel more relaxed.

I did wrote a lot about my experiences for roadlife, which vehicle modifications was helpful, and about offroad selfrecovery - we travellers are often alone on the tracks. Too I try to collect helpful links for vehicle shipping and wrote about personal safety on track & camp.

If you have questions, feel free to contact me too directly. Enjoy the planning stage! I`m a little bit jaelous

Surfy

 

[Dave_S]

Great post Surfy.