Just bought my first Land Cruiser 95 - couple of questions please

[knicko]

Hi all,

Just got myself a 1998 (S plate) dark green automatic LWB Colorado VX. Got to say that these things put a smile on your face!

I had previously owned a 3rd gen Hilux Surf and intended to move over to a Land Cruiser last year. However, a 2006 Mitsy Shogun with 50k on the clock tempted me away from the Toyota brand...never again, but that's another story!

The Colorado seems pretty tidy and didn't miss a beat on the journey home from London to Cornwall last week. I have already had the dash/fascia apart to replace blown bulbs in switch gear etc. Also got a new radiator, water pump and 10L of Toyota red coolant, all of which I will sort with a coolant flush when the weather is warmer.

The stereo that was in the car was rubbish and the motorised aerial was also broken, so I have replaced the stereo (Alpine CD-W235BTT double DIN unit from Halfords which cost £130 odd) and also put in an electronic aerial mounted on the inside of the windscreen behind the interior mirror (also from Halfords and about £5 but seems to work really well).

So, my questions are:

1. To avoid an unsightly mess where the now unused motorised aerial is fitted, I pulled the old aerial mast out, cut it off and squirted clear silicon sealer down the 'tube'. I then snipped off the top four inches of the aerial mast and plunged it into the tube, so that it looks like the aerial is just in the down position. I thought this was preferable (and easier) to removing the whole aerial unit and trying to 'bung' the hole on the wing.
I disconnected the blue wire (aerial feed) from the new stereo and also unplugged the connector from the back of the aerial up/down button on the dash. However, I still get the annoying motor sound whenever I start up or turn off the ignition. There is obviously another live feed to the aerial motor (from the ignition barrel I presume). I considered removing the fuse to the aerial but it shares a circuit with other things, so this isn't an option.
To save me having to access the old aerial inside the wing in order to cut the wires to it, does anyone know where the offending live feed wire could be cut that is more accessible and if you have access to a wiring diagram, what colour wire am I looking to cut?

2. Both front seat belts are lazy at reeling in. I have removed the third row seats as I value the luggage space more that the extra seating. The seat belts dedicated to the third row seats are in excellent condition and reel back with gusto! Could I simply swap the fronts for the third row ones or are they different in some way? I am also not sure if my seat belts have pre-tensioners fitted which might put me off fiddling with them?

3. Although I bought 10L of red coolant, I think the cooling system's capacity is 11 litres. Is it acceptable to add water to make up the difference or should the coolant only be used 'neat' ?

Many thanks,

Nick

 

[Mblinko]

Welcome to the forum. Can't help you with the first two as vehicle specific, but for the third, it depends on what the difference is. If your 10litres was a premix then in our climate, topping up with water will be fine, as will topping up with undiluted.

 

[wobbly]

I have the same issue with the aerial, its a right pia to fix, await the reply with interest.

I thought the Toyota coolant was water-free? But I might just be a victim of clever Toyota advertising

 

[tim falce]

How much trouble and where do you start to get at the radio, my aerial is broken, not sure if it's electric or manual so need to get at the aerial socket on the back of the radio, also a couple of bulbs are blown in the heater switches. Is the Halfords aerial noticeable?
You have pre-tensioners on the front belts so if you can live with them not retracting very well I'd leave well alone. The only issue is with the MOT if you get a tit of a tester but the MOT manual states they must pass if they will retract with assistance.

 

[knicko]

Welcome to the forum. Can't help you with the first two as vehicle specific, but for the third, it depends on what the difference is. If your 10litres was a premix then in our climate, topping up with water will be fine, as will topping up with undiluted.

Thanks Mark. What I have bought says premixed, so I'll just top up with water I reckon.

 

[knicko]

How much trouble and where do you start to get at the radio, my aerial is broken, not sure if it's electric or manual so need to get at the aerial socket on the back of the radio, also a couple of bulbs are blown in the heater switches. Is the Halfords aerial noticeable?
You have pre-tensioners on the front belts so if you can live with them not retracting very well I'd leave well alone. The only issue is with the MOT if you get a tit of a tester but the MOT manual states they must pass if they will retract with assistance.

Changing the stereo is easy. The plastic fascia pops off...start from the bottom near ashtray and work upwards. There are just four clips to pop. Then four bolts hold the L & R stereo brackets into the dash. Swap these brackets over to new stereo and refit. I needed an ISO converter kit to enable cables to plug in...Halfords do a "Toyota most models" one that fitted.

The screen mounted aerial looks Ok in my opinion, when mounted behind interior mirror. It's easy enough to run the cables (aerial and live feed) along head lining, down behind the A pillar plastic trim, and through dash to rear of stereo. I just used a scotch block to connect aerial live cable to the red live cable into the stereo. There is an earth for tge aerial that needs connecting too and it's quite short so I fixed it to one of the interior light screws.

While you have fascia off you can sort the bulbs on the heater controls...There are just two bulbs and are clear capless 1.2W ones. They have green rubber covers on them to give the green glow. Pull the three rotary knobs and the knob from the slide bar off, then unscrew four screws holding unit in place under stereo. It's a fiddle but the black front section unclips from the white rear part and this reveals the bulbs you need to change.

My seat belts do retract with help so I'll leave them alone I think. Cheers.

 

[silvercruiser]

Changing the stereo is easy. The plastic fascia pops off...start from the bottom near ashtray and work upwards. There are just four clips to pop. Then four bolts hold the L & R stereo brackets into the dash. .

dont forget the two screws when you take the ashtray out of the way you will need a short reach screwdriver.

the electric aerial is tucked away behind the plastic wheel arch liner. you will break near enough every clip taking out the liner. but they are cheap from toyota. the electric aerial starts groaning because when an aerial snaps or breaks most of the plastic gets left inside the mechanism and this gets caught up each time you turn the ignition on/off once you access the aerial its an easy strip down and clean then reassemble and insert new aerial from the top.

 

[silvercruiser]

this is what i found inside my electric aerial when i took it apart. once these where taken out, it stopped groaning

 

[knicko]

dont forget the two screws when you take the ashtray out of the way you will need a short reach screwdriver.

the electric aerial is tucked away behind the plastic wheel arch liner. you will break near enough every clip taking out the liner. but they are cheap from toyota. the electric aerial starts groaning because when an aerial snaps or breaks most of the plastic gets left inside the mechanism and this gets caught up each time you turn the ignition on/off once you access the aerial its an easy strip down and clean then reassemble and insert new aerial from the top.

The two screws that hold the ashtray 'carrier' into the fascia don't need to be removed - the fascia will come off the dash with the ashtray carrier intact. I took the ashtray itself out though, to give me somewhere to grab the bottom of the fascia while pulling to get the clips to release.

Thanks for the advice about the remains of the aerial...I should have read this before I charged ahead as I have obviously left part of the flexible toothed bit inside the mechanism when I clipped it off! Now I have filled the tube with silicone sealant, there is little hope of getting the bits out, so I will go down the route of cutting the live feed inside the car if possible (to save me accessing the unit through the wheel arch protector).

 

[knicko]

I've sorted the annoying crunching aerial problem, but not without some panic and drama!!

Had a play with the search button on this forum and managed to get a wiring diagram link, which I have now downloaded. My knowledge of auto-electrics is sketchy at best, but I saw that the auto-aerial has a dedicated relay which is low down behind the fascia. After checking that there didn't appear to be any other linked circuits that would be affected, I set about pulling the multi-pin plug from this relay. For anyone that needs to find it, this relay is brown in colour, about the size of a fag packet and is mounted sideways with one screw to the left side of the gap behind the ashtray area. It actually has 'auto-aerial relay' embossed on it but you can't see that until it's out.

Anyway, pleased with myself, I disconnected the relay's plug and put the car back together. I then checked that everything worked ok and while the dash lights all came on, there was no action from the starter motor. I thought 'Oh well' and presumed that my limited knowledge had got the better of me and perhaps the ignition somehow relied on part of the circuit created by the relay I had just disconnected. I took the fascia off (for about the tenth time this week) and reconnected the relay, before rebuilding the car's interior again.

However, she still wouldn't start!! Cue numerous swearwords and me cursing myself for fiddling with things I don't understand on a dark cold evening, when I need the car for work tomorrow, etc etc. I checked every fuse to no avail and was now thinking I must have somehow de-programmed my key so that it won't start the car. More swearing etc.

It was then that I despondently looked down and realised I had moved the auto gearstick back to the 'L' position to create more room for the fascia removal and of course the car won't start unless it is in 'Park' position!! She then fired up straight away. Cue Basil Fawlty-esque skyward fist pumping, thanking God etc etc.

Fascia off (again) and disconnected the relay (again) and put the interior back together (again) - no irritating noises from the redundant old broken aerial. Hurrah.

I thank you.

Nick

 

[Beau]

Although it takes 11 litres, you'' find you wont get all that out so I wouldn't worry about having too less when you refill. 10 liters will be more than enough

 

[AndyCook]

I changed the cooLant a few times on 95series and 10litres was enough, the block. Doesn't get drained fully on a standard coolant change neither does the heater matrix


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[silvercruiser]

I've sorted the annoying crunching aerial problem, but not without some panic and drama!!

Had a play with the search button on this forum and managed to get a wiring diagram link, which I have now downloaded. My knowledge of auto-electrics is sketchy at best, but I saw that the auto-aerial has a dedicated relay which is low down behind the fascia. After checking that there didn't appear to be any other linked circuits that would be affected, I set about pulling the multi-pin plug from this relay. For anyone that needs to find it, this relay is brown in colour, about the size of a fag packet and is mounted sideways with one screw to the left side of the gap behind the ashtray area. It actually has 'auto-aerial relay' embossed on it but you can't see that until it's out.

Anyway, pleased with myself, I disconnected the relay's plug and put the car back together. I then checked that everything worked ok and while the dash lights all came on, there was no action from the starter motor. I thought 'Oh well' and presumed that my limited knowledge had got the better of me and perhaps the ignition somehow relied on part of the circuit created by the relay I had just disconnected. I took the fascia off (for about the tenth time this week) and reconnected the relay, before rebuilding the car's interior again.

However, she still wouldn't start!! Cue numerous swearwords and me cursing myself for fiddling with things I don't understand on a dark cold evening, when I need the car for work tomorrow, etc etc. I checked every fuse to no avail and was now thinking I must have somehow de-programmed my key so that it won't start the car. More swearing etc.

It was then that I despondently looked down and realised I had moved the auto gearstick back to the 'L' position to create more room for the fascia removal and of course the car won't start unless it is in 'Park' position!! She then fired up straight away. Cue Basil Fawlty-esque skyward fist pumping, thanking God etc etc.

Fascia off (again) and disconnected the relay (again) and put the interior back together (again) - no irritating noises from the redundant old broken aerial. Hurrah.

I thank you.

Nick

Hahaha i knew as soon as i started reading what you had done.

at least its sorted now.

 

[knicko]

Thanks for your replies folks.

I've just bought a spare remote fob from ebay tonight (I've got two keys but only one remote)....no doubt there will be more fun when it arrives and I try to sync the new remote with the car!

 

[wobbly]

Cheers, I'll have a look for that relay over the weekend.

 

[Sag]

I've sorted the annoying crunching aerial problem, but not without some panic and drama!!

Had a play with the search button on this forum and managed to get a wiring diagram link, which I have now downloaded. My knowledge of auto-electrics is sketchy at best, but I saw that the auto-aerial has a dedicated relay which is low down behind the fascia. After checking that there didn't appear to be any other linked circuits that would be affected, I set about pulling the multi-pin plug from this relay. For anyone that needs to find it, this relay is brown in colour, about the size of a fag packet and is mounted sideways with one screw to the left side of the gap behind the ashtray area. It actually has 'auto-aerial relay' embossed on it but you can't see that until it's out.

Anyway, pleased with myself, I disconnected the relay's plug and put the car back together. I then checked that everything worked ok and while the dash lights all came on, there was no action from the starter motor. I thought 'Oh well' and presumed that my limited knowledge had got the better of me and perhaps the ignition somehow relied on part of the circuit created by the relay I had just disconnected. I took the fascia off (for about the tenth time this week) and reconnected the relay, before rebuilding the car's interior again.

However, she still wouldn't start!! Cue numerous swearwords and me cursing myself for fiddling with things I don't understand on a dark cold evening, when I need the car for work tomorrow, etc etc. I checked every fuse to no avail and was now thinking I must have somehow de-programmed my key so that it won't start the car. More swearing etc.

It was then that I despondently looked down and realised I had moved the auto gearstick back to the 'L' position to create more room for the fascia removal and of course the car won't start unless it is in 'Park' position!! She then fired up straight away. Cue Basil Fawlty-esque skyward fist pumping, thanking God etc etc.

Fascia off (again) and disconnected the relay (again) and put the interior back together (again) - no irritating noises from the redundant old broken aerial. Hurrah.

I thank you.

Nick

well got to say at least it isn't only me what's done that.