Land cruiser slips on water

[Sumerian]

water my Land cruiser lc 100, GXR, 2001 model slips on water even while on low speed, I don't know if it is from the tires of from the differential. Is it a common problem in land cruiser or mine has a problem? An is it possible to find manuals here on various fixings for the lc 100?
Thanks,
J.Francis

 

[Julian T]

Do you mean loss of grip in the wet?
I am assuming you do, if so then I would assume your tires are probably the cause.
If your vehicle is fitted with diff locks then you might have one locked and this would be especially noticeable in the dry, there should also be a warning lamp illuminated on the instrument cluster.
Most of us are accustomed to the way cars handle with "road bias performance" tires and if you have budget or off road bias tires on your vehicle then you may well find that it feels unstable in the wet.
Manuals are indeed available on this forum however I am uncertain if there is a post count requirement.

Oh and before I go, welcome to the forum.
We are all friendly here and introducing yourself in the lounge is always a good start and a way for the rest of us to get to know you and your vehicle.

 

[Beau]

I've also found that if you have any wear in your steering system, or bearings that when "gliding" over water the truck is more likely to feel loss of grip as the wheels can turn/move freely due to the lack of momentary grip, making the truck feel less stable.

 

[clivehorridge]

Welcome board J.
As for tyres, post up the brand, and type, better still a photo of the tread, you'll give us a better chance to comment.

 

[Sumerian]

Thank you Julian. I am an old user but never used the forum before . Anyway i'm jimmy and i hade my land cruiser since 2004 now , i live and work in Dubai and have the LC back home ( Lebanon). I was always pationate about the LC100 as i find it confortable and with manual gear. I have a V6 GXR 2001, no differential lock , i have actually buttons for ( 2nd , power, and the 4 wheel logo) which i assume i am on 2 wheel drive and an all time 4 wheeler ? Honestly i never made reeearch about each Button what is it used for. I am afraid that the cause would not be the tires as few in lebanon are specialized in LC and none of them is qualified to diagnose the problem if complicated.
I would like to thank you for the info it was helpful.

 

[Sumerian]

Welcome board J.
As for tyres, post up the brand, and type, better still a photo of the tread, you'll give us a better chance to comment.

Hi clive, thank you and i will. My LC is back home, i wll ask them to send me a pic and i will post it here.

 

[Sumerian]

I've also found that if you have any wear in your steering system, or bearings that when "gliding" over water the truck is more likely to feel loss of grip as the wheels can turn/move freely due to the lack of momentary grip, making the truck feel less stable.

Hi Beau,
This is what i am afraid off, that the problem wont be in the tires, if not then it would be hard to fix and be as original i assume. Specially no qualified mechanics for the LC in Lebanon

 

[Beau]

Hi Beau,
This is what i am afraid off, that the problem wont be in the tires, if not then it would be hard to fix and be as original i assume. Specially no qualified mechanics for the LC in Lebanon

These trucks are fairly easy to work with, once you have basic mechanical skills.

 

[StarCruiser]

Fear not J. Francis (what does the J stand for, we're a friendly bunch as you know) you're in the right place here. These trucks aren't anything other than good straightforward engineering, just lots of it in fairly big chunks.

Post up the model number, I expect there's guys on here can tell exactly what your truck has and does from that (but not me). If theres something wrong, it can be fixed. I doubt it is to do with diff locks as you would find it slows greatly on turns on tarmac if the Centre Diff Lock (CDL) is in.

Is this slipping something new or has it come on over time? Some road surfaces can be very slippery when wetted after a long dry spell, especially if the surface is poor. We get it in this country but I've found it much worse in Cyprus where the roads are not to the same standard as here.

Is it wheel spin or skidding under braking or understeer (truck wants to go straight on when you steer) on corners that you are experiencing? How long have you had the truck?

Welcome to the forum even though you've been a member for a while. Good to have you around.

 

[Sumerian]

Fear not J. Francis (what does the J stand for, we're a friendly bunch as you know) you're in the right place here. These trucks aren't anything other than good straightforward engineering, just lots of it in fairly big chunks.

Post up the model number, I expect there's guys on here can tell exactly what your truck has and does from that (but not me). If theres something wrong, it can be fixed. I doubt it is to do with diff locks as you would find it slows greatly on turns on tarmac if the Centre Diff Lock (CDL) is in.

Is this slipping something new or has it come on over time? Some road surfaces can be very slippery when wetted after a long dry spell, especially if the surface is poor. We get it in this country but I've found it much worse in Cyprus where the roads are not to the same standard as here.

Is it wheel spin or skidding under braking or understeer (truck wants to go straight on when you steer) on corners that you are experiencing? How long have you had the truck?

Welcome to the forum even though you've been a member for a while. Good to have you around.

Thanks starcruiser, the J is for Jimmy , I had my LC since more than 13 years now, the slip is both actually the wheel spins or skidding under braking and on corners, i do not drive it a lot as I have a smaller one for everyday, my existing wheels are General265/75 R 16 116, I asked for a pic as I am not in town so I can share it as I know that there is the date of the wheel manufacturing date somewhere . The road are very bad in Lebanon I,agree, but still when going down a hill it can drift dangerously, it is like the truck is so heavy and the wheels can't handle it

 

[Julian T]

Curiouser and curiouser, I am certain that you know your truck's going by time and history that you have.
Are there others that drive your vehicle when you are away?

When you say the vehicle drifts dangerously when going down hill (does it always do so to same side or not?) I am assuming you are saying that the rear steps out of line and that would lead me to wonder if your vehicle has suffered a mechanical failure in the suspension or linkages to the suspension, a component failure would be obvious as the vehicle would change the way it felt when accelerating or coasting, or even when steering.
However mechanical failure would be present at all times not just in the rain/wet.

Differences in handling dynamics between wet weather and dry are always down to tires in my experience and the vast majority of cheaper tires are usually the culprits due to the increased amounts of "plastic" used in manufacturing them

I would suggest getting the vehicle checked thoroughly if you are not there to do so, bushes, linkages and control arms would be the best place to start.

Hope to hear more about what you find as we all drive these types of vehicles and the more we learn about them the more we like them

 

[clivehorridge]

I would suggest an alignment check after ensuring that nothing has actually broken, or come loose and a check of the bushings holding suspension components to the chassis.

It may be something simple such as a badly worn track rod end or excessive play in other steering joints. You can check these yourself or take it to a workshop, they don't have to be cruiser experts to check these things, a general vehicle workshop would be able to do these things.

Have you had the truck regularly serviced in the 13 years you've owned it Jimmy? A lot of joints could be showing wear after 13 years, depending on the mileage covered in that time.

 

[Ben Stratford]

Hi Jimmy,
Does it pull to one side when braking? Is there any different noises when driving / cornering / braking? Is there any knocking sounds when changing from lock to lock -extreme left and right steering while at any speed or stopped?

 

[Sumerian]

Hi clive, thank you and i will. My LC is back home, i wll ask them to send me a pic and i will post it here.

Hi Clive, those are my tires

 

[Sumerian]

Welcome board J.
As for tyres, post up the brand, and type, better still a photo of the tread, you'll give us a better chance to comment.

 

[Sumerian]

Hi Clive, photo attached, hope this helps

 

[clivehorridge]

mmmm, not really very helpful Jimmy, I was hoping for photos like this, so we can have an idea of the tread pattern, wear or anything that might be the cause of your problem ...

 

[Shayne]

Rear wheel steer will make a truck feel sort of ..... unbalanced for want of a better word , and i would guess if it got worse than i have experienced it might feel like it was floating especially in the wet .

The tyres might be good and wear evenly but they are all working against each other trying to dictate direction .

I don't know the 100 series but new trailing arm and panhard rod bushes sorted it in my 90 .

 

[Dave2000]

^^^^^^

Unsure about your model but, I have come across the 80 model with the panhard rod mount torn away from the body, usually due to rust.

Oh and welcome.

Regards

Dave