New user - Old Owner

[petroscf]

Hello all from sunny Athens (Greece)

I am new in the forum, but I have been driving a Land Cruiser J120 (? or Prado? well, I am not well used with the international types and names yet-here in Greece it is called Land Cruiser 90), with the 3.0lt 1kd engine, purchased end 2004 and rented to me as new, so I have been the only "owner", at least driver, although I was not the official owner of the car.

Last January (2015) I got a broken engine (and later on I read about the injector issues of these 1kd engines)-not one note did we ever get from Toyota or from the renting company about that issue.

The car stayed about 6 months in a garage without having decided what would be done with it.
July 15 we decided to purchase the car with broken engine and have it fixed.

The mechanic found an 1kd engine which he claimed to have done just 8000km, from a Hilux of 2014 which was crashed from behind. Of course I do understand that such stories can always be made up, but the engine seemed really clean. In any case now the engine is on, and there are just a couple of issues remaining to be solved so soon we are going to have the car back-and ours this time, officially.

So that's the whole (brief of the) story, and here am I

Hope I am welcome here.

 

[StarCruiser]

Hi Petro,

You are most welcome here after that introduction. Good to have you here. [emoji3]

After you've got to 15 posts you can put some photos up…we all love photos especially of the cruisers, where you go, off road, rebuilds, that sort of thing. Sorry you got a broken engine but if that new unit is as new as your mechanic says (and I don't doubt it is) then you should have a great truck with an engine that's barely run in.

So let us know what your plans are and some more of the guys will no doubt be on soon.

Welcome to the friendliest forum I know. [emoji4] there's a great bunch on here.

Best wishes

Richard (Rich)

 

[GeekOKent]

Very welcome here, I am sure your truck is going to be good as new soon, and as Richard said - we really like pictures!

- KB

 

[nickh888]

welcome, hope you get it running soon

 

[petroscf]

Thank you all for your kind words
By the time I take the car from the mechanic I guess I will have reached the number of posts required to upload pics

 

[petroscf]

Hello again, time for some update
I have got the car, and have been taking it to the mechanic many times back and forth.
Not for the engine though, at least not until today. The engine seems to be running fantastic, smooth and I think a bit more power than before? at least this is what it feels like.
The problem is I keep having some issues yet unsolved with the steering wheel or steering rack: When I turn the wheel end-to-end, at some point I listen to a metalling noise (something like "clong!") and I also feel at this bvery moment the steering wheel as if it meets an obstacle (as if a screw was longer than it should and something, while it's moving, hits it).
Also, sometimes the car pulls to the right (so I have to drive it with the wheel turned almost 20 degrees to the left) and some other times it goes straight.
Third (but this rarely) three yellow leds turn on and stay turned on, in the dash (I think these are "VSC OFF", "VSC TRC", and the other one that shows a car losing control - is that the ESP I suppose?)
These are a bit weird issues, so I kept taking the car to the mechanic. Last time I took it recently, issues seem to have been solved this time. However, I haven't had the chance to drive the car enough yet...