Looking to buy a LX70

[Jake]

Hi all,

I've been reading through a tonne of posts on here the last few days to learn more about the 70 series as I'm looking to buy one shortly and want to see if I'm cut out for the work!

I'm talking to a bloke at the moment who has a 1990 LX70 in Queensland. As I understand it, the shape is quite rare in Australia - it has the square headlights (the same as Ben's) and was imported.

What I'm keen to know is what should I be looking out for? I haven't heard of the LX series before so if anyone can fill me in that would be great. It's got a 22R engine that's done 375,000km that seemed to run well when I took it for a spin.

It had a bit of rust under the rear window and along the roof line which I'm not too concerned about. However, I am worried that means there's lots under the paint.

Could someone give me a list of things I should check out before handing over the cash?

Thanks!
Jake

 

[Ben]

Hi Jake, welcome to the club.

Your quite right, the later ones with the square headlights were never sold in Australia, so very rare! I certainly havent seen any others.

Rust is going to be the biggest killer, everything else is nice and strong.

They normally rust below the windscreen, the very bottom of the C pillars below the rear lights, the top of the sill where the B pillars meet the sill, often not visible until you open the doors, the bottoms of the doors, and around the wheel arches.

Does it have the fiberglass wheel arch flares fitted?

They often cause rust as they trap dirt and moisture behind them.

I'm not too sure about LX but I'm guessing its slightly below mine which is a VX. Mine has electric sunroof, windows and central locking.

Those engines arnt bad but they can be thirsty, a lot of people convert them to LPG.

As you've mentioned the rust you cant see will be a lot worse than what you can see. Depending on how much work your prepared to do and what skills you have it may be beyond repair sadly.

Things to check....................

-Rust in all the places mentioned above.

-Check the engine is cold, some unscrupulous sellers will warm it up before you get there as that can hide a lot of faults. Tell the seller before you come that you want to see the engine started from cold so not to start it until you get there.

-Check inside the oil cap, if its blown a head gasket or cracked the head there would normally be an oily residue resembling mayonnaise in the oil cap, check before the engine is run and afterwards encase it was wiped clean before you got there.

-Start it up and check for abnormal noises, rattles, bangs from the engine and if its smokey. Blue smoke out of the exhaust can indicate burning oil which could mean engine issues, white smoke can mean coolant is finding its way into where it shouldn't be. So possible cracked head/blown head gasket which these engines have been know to do.

-Test drive it, does it drive straight when you remove your hands from the wheel, does it continue straight when braking.

-Check underneath for any oil leaks from diffs, transferbox, gearbox, engine.

-Check condition of the swivel balls on the front axle, the balls should be clean and not leaking oil/grease every where.

-Tyres, not bald, cracked.

-Check all the electrical items, lights, horn, wipers etc.

-If manual windows check they all work OK.

-Check the key fits all the doors.

Now if your hearts set on it you will probably buy it no matter what, but if you find any faults it might at least give you some thing to negotiate the price down a bit.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Jake]

Hi Ben,

Thanks for the quick reply - it really looks like a great community here! You're right, after reading some of the great threads it is pretty tempting to buy it no matter what.

From what I could see, it's actually in pretty good condition but I'll definitely check the items you've raised above. My girlfriend's dad was a mechanic and has 3 or 4 hot rod projects on the go so he is a great source of knowledge/ skill/ tools for all things body work/ mechanical.

It doesn't have the fibreglass wheel arches which I was a little disappointed about at first but I've come to think it looks better without them now. It's got power steering and air conditioning but no electric windows or sunroof (I'm not sure about central locking). It does have a great bull bar which I think is TJM and fits perfectly.

I wouldn't be building a beast of a 4x4 but something to take on beach camping trips. I actually had the same idea as your mate with the Nespresso coffee machine.

Also, if I do buy and fix the rust just below the rear window, I'm guessing I'll need to pop the window out. Is the glass/ rubbers the same across the different series (or easy to get hold of?)

Thanks all,
Jake

 

[Ben]

Aww it really is, theres some really great people on here!

Sounds good mate.

Yes you shouldn't have any trouble finding glass or rubbers and you can always get the rubbers from Toyota still if need be.

Dont forget to post some pics up when you get it so we can all have a look.

 

[Ben]

It wont let me PM (personal message) you for some reason.

You might need to check its turned on in your settings.

Wanted to tell you how to get the windows out easily, but didn't want to say publicly as its knowledge I'd rather didn't get into the hands of car thieves.

 

[Jake]

Thanks Ben, I've tried to add you as a contact and turned 'receive emails from users' on - hopefully that works.

I'll definitely post some pics if I go ahead with the buy.

I'm also keen to PM you to talk about price, if you're happy to lend a hand.

Thanks,
Jake

 

[Iwan]

Hi, Being a LX it sounds like its a high end Japanese prado import. Also having square headlights.

Does it have chrome mirrors which are electric?
Full size stereo, Split rear seats with arm rests, Air conditioning, hard-soft switchable suspension, tinted glass, rear disk brakes, electronic front locking hubs? To name a few..

They are generally more loaded with extra's and are a very different 70 to the lj70 range.



This is the vin plate off my import body that I have for my project. Its a swb prado lx5.

Maybe usefull to see if what you are looking at will have the same trim codes etc..

I have only known about this different model for about a week. All the best with the purchase

 

[Ben]

Thanks Ben, I've tried to add you as a contact and turned 'receive emails from users' on - hopefully that works.

I'll definitely post some pics if I go ahead with the buy.

I'm also keen to PM you to talk about price, if you're happy to lend a hand.

Thanks,
Jake

Hi Jake, Sorry for the late reply, been super busy the last few days.

Will drop you a message now.

Hi, Being a LX it sounds like its a high end Japanese prado import. Also having square headlights.

Does it have chrome mirrors which are electric?
Full size stereo, Split rear seats with arm rests, Air conditioning, hard-soft switchable suspension, tinted glass, rear disk brakes, electronic front locking hubs? To name a few..

They are generally more loaded with extra's and are a very different 70 to the lj70 range.

View attachment 14859

This is the vin plate off my import body that I have for my project. Its a swb prado lx5.

Maybe usefull to see if what you are looking at will have the same trim codes etc..

I have only known about this different model for about a week. All the best with the purchase

Surely it would have electric windows though if it was a high spec Jap market one?

 

[Paddler Ed]

Just as an aside, it's an RJ70 by the sounds of it; the R denotes the engine type (22R).

With that engine check for noise, as by the time it reaches 300,000km the chain may well have stretched and is likely to be the single timing chain, rather than the double that was used in earlier ones. When it starts to stretch it can rub against the block, causing all manner of problems.

 

[Jake]

Just as an aside, it's an RJ70 by the sounds of it; the R denotes the engine type (22R).

With that engine check for noise, as by the time it reaches 300,000km the chain may well have stretched and is likely to be the single timing chain, rather than the double that was used in earlier ones. When it starts to stretch it can rub against the block, causing all manner of problems.

Thanks for the advice, Paddler Ed. I took my girlfriend's dad for the initial look as he's a mechanic. He did say mechanically it looked good. I'll add your recommendation to the list for this weekends visit though!

 

[Jake]

Surely it would have electric windows though if it was a high spec Jap market one?

I'm 90% sure it doesn't have electric windows but I'll double check. I'd be pretty stoked if it did.

 

[Jake]

Hi, Being a LX it sounds like its a high end Japanese prado import. Also having square headlights.

Does it have chrome mirrors which are electric?
Full size stereo, Split rear seats with arm rests, Air conditioning, hard-soft switchable suspension, tinted glass, rear disk brakes, electronic front locking hubs? To name a few..

They are generally more loaded with extra's and are a very different 70 to the lj70 range.

View attachment 14859

This is the vin plate off my import body that I have for my project. Its a swb prado lx5.

Maybe usefull to see if what you are looking at will have the same trim codes etc..

I have only known about this different model for about a week. All the best with the purchase

Thanks for your post, mate. It has chrome mirrors, single bench seat in the back. I don't think it's got electrics and it has an aftermarket head unit but I'll double check this weekend. It does have door cards, carpet, etc.