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Allan Whiting1 Apr 2005
REVIEW

Toyota Landcruiser 75 & 78 Series (1985-2002)

The 75 Series was introduced in January 1985, replacing the ubiquitous 45 Series. The styling of the new vehicle echoed that of its predecessor, but with better fit and finish, improved creature comforts and more interior space. The existing petrol and di

In November 1989, the 2H pushrod diesel was replaced by the overhead-camshaft 1HZ 4.2-litre, rated at 89kW at 4000rpm and 271Nm at 2000rpm. Optional, vacuum-operated diff locks were added to the specification.

The next upgrade was in November 1992, when the 1FZ-FE twin-cam, 24-valve petrol six was introduced. At the same time, all the 75 Series scored four-wheel discs, complete with a troublesome drum-in-rear-disc parking brake in place of the previous tailshaft drum brake.

In March 1995, the diesel was given a minor rework and a power increase, up to 96kW.

The 75 Series bodywork included petrol and diesel cab/chassis, Troop Carriers with three-, six- or 11-seat capacity and a diesel pick-up.

WHAT DO YOU GET?
Toyota offered well-sorted vehicles with the right specs for most applications, but the base-model front seats were a pretty ordinary bucket-plus-bench arrangement.

Despite its working-class vocation, the 75 Series was easy to operate, with all controls well-positioned and functional. The across-vehicle rear seat on RV models is a tad featureless and unsupportive, but vision is good from this perch.

The Toyota options list for the 75 was comprehensive: air conditioning, a second 90-litre fuel tank (later made standard), electro-pneumatic differential locks and a snorkel, so many used machines are fitted with some or all of these.

The factory diff locks couldn't be retrofitted - and still can't on the current 78 Series - because the diff-lockable axles and their internals and half-shafts are unique.

Mechanically, 75s last well, but the part-time 4x4 driveline is easily abused. Many working 75s spend much time in 4WD, even on hard surfaces, so transfer case and diff problems are common.

The standard 5.50 x 16 split rims are popular with cockies, councils, government departments and mining companies, but most recreational users fit widies and tubed or tubeless one-piece wheels.

The stock limited-slip diff was weak in comparison to the Patrol's, so serious offroaders normally opted for diff locks. The factory diff lock actuation was complicated, however, and there was often a delay in getting the locks to engage. The design was progressively changed to full-electric operation.

The 75 Series engine bay had an unusual tapered shape, which caused some dramas for operators in hotter parts of the country. It seems that airflow through the radiator wasn't as good as it might be, which wasn't a problem most of the time, but could be if owners extracted more grunt from the diesel engine by turbocharging it.

PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING
The twin-cam 4.5-litre petrol engine was almost overkill in the 75, while the diesel slogger was one of the best low-speed, offroad engines ever made.

For most used 75 Series buyers the diesel is the preferred engine, blending reasonable performance with acceptable economy around 12–13lt/100km. The big petrol engine drank like a sailor and usually returned no better than 16–20lt/100km.

The plus side of the crude leaf-spring equation is a suspension reliable in tough conditions and easily repaired in the bush. What the 75 Series lacks in wheel travel it provides in controlled chassis twist, so a well-driven 75 is very capable in demanding offroad conditions.

Leaf-spring suspension relegated the 75 Series to a rough ride on all but smooth blacktop or dirt. Since ride quality wasn't exactly the 75's strongest point, many used vehicles have various suspension mods intended to improve the situation.

If you plan to load yours up to the hilt, it will pay to check out the load rating of the replacement springs, as many of them sacrifice load-carrying capacity for a softer action.

TOYOTA 78 SERIES
Toyota upgraded the 75 Series to 78 level in 1999 with the introduction of coil springs at the front end and longer leaves at the back. The petrol engine option was dropped.

Toyota took great care when improving the 75 not to alienate a customer base that still had a need for no-frills machinery. For example, the 78 Series scored improved diesel engines, but there was no electronic injection or turbocharger option because the company's market research indicated a preference for naturally aspirated, mechanically injected engines. (That changed in late 2001 when the turbo-diesel version was released.)

The 78 Series' diesel engine was upgraded and fitted with a high-altitude compensator to reduce rich running and oil contamination.

The engine was mated to an improved, lighter-shifting five-speed transmission and there was also a new clutch, with reduced pedal effort. The 78 Series was fitted with shorter-geared, 4.3:1 final drive ratios in the axles to improve performance and top-gear flexibility.

Toyota also claimed a five per cent fuel-consumption bonus for the 78 Series over the 75, but we were unable to measure the difference when testing the 78. The 75's standard twin-tank, 180-litre fuel capacity was retained.

The 78 Series' coil-sprung front end was derived from the 100 Series wagon range and incorporated larger-diameter disc brakes with four-pot callipers.

The 78 Series ute cab - technically a 79 Series - had a 200mm wheelbase increase over the 75 Series and a 120mm increase in cabin length for more interior space.

Rear leaf-spring length on all 78 models was increased by 172mm, for longer wheel travel and improved ride comfort, and an anti-sway bar was made standard on Troop Carrier models. The leading spring hanger was positioned lower than the 75 Series hanger to reduce the rear-axle steering effect inherent in leaf-spring arrangements. Low-pressure gas-charged dampers were fitted front and rear.

The five-stud wheel pattern introduced on the 100 Series was used on the 78 Series. Toyota claimed greater wheel-clamping power from the new arrangement, which had thicker 14mm studs and a larger-diameter pitch circle.

The 78 Series bodywork looked externally identical to the 75 Series, apart from cosmetic changes to the grilles and the cab extension on the ute and cab/chassis models. Buyers didn't want any styling changes, according to Toyota - even insisting on retention of quarter vents in the doors. What they did want was improved cabin space and more comfortable seating, but still with a three-place front-seat arrangement.

Internally the 78 Series looked little different from the 75, but the instrument panel integrated the auxiliary fuel-tank gauge, rather than its previous location on top of the dashboard. The new panel had backlit electronic instruments, a digital odometer with two trip meters and warning lamps for door ajar, fuel-filter condition and, in the case of snorkel-equipped models, air-cleaner restriction.

PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING
The LandCruiser 78 Series wasn't planned as a revolutionary development, but rather an evolutionary one. Payload capacity, offroad and rough-road ability, and powertrain and driveline simplicity needed to be preserved; but if Toyota could do that and improve ride quality and driver comfort, that was fine.

Our testing suggested that all these aims were achieved.

The revised seats, coil-sprung front end and new, larger-braked front axle improved the ride quality out of sight. Even empty, the Troop Carrier had balanced handling, albeit with a stiffer feel from the back end than the front. With a half-load in the back the ride was excellent, even over corrugations.

The upgraded engine didn't smoke. It would cough up a blue puff on a cold morning, but the rest of the time it ran with an almost-clear exhaust. That augured well for slightly extended oil service intervals, because the 78-Series didn't dump as much soot into its engine oil as the 75 did.

On-road ability was enhanced by the additional engine urge, and cog-swapping in the revised gearbox was car-like.

We tested the naturally aspirated 78 Series against a factory-turbocharged 4.2-litre Nissan Patrol GU and found that the Toyota wasn't far behind the Nissan, despite a significant on-paper advantage to the Patrol.

Offroad the 78 Series was a better performer than the 75 Series, thanks to greatly improved engine response, lower-speed gearing and better wheel travel both front and rear. Ride harshness was noticeably less on rough surfaces.

The factory differential lock and snorkel options were retained for the 78 Series, and front and rear bars, spotlights and a Superwinch were added to the list.

TURBO INTRODUCTION
The 2002-model 78 Series could be ordered with a lower compression ratio version of the 100 Series' turbo-diesel, minus that engine's intercooler. The 1HD-FTE diesel six put out 122kW at 3400rpm, with peak torque of 380Nm between 1400rpm and 2600rpm.

The decision to drop the intercooler from the 1HD-FTE engine for the 78 Series was partly due to cost pressures in what is a highly price-competitive workhorse market and partly because of the difficulty of cooling the higher-output engine in the 78's small engine bay.

The 78 Series didn't receive any significant bodywork changes with the turbo introduction, but the snorkel was made standard equipment.

A new RV-grade cab/chassis was introduced, with bucket seats, carpet, remote central locking, power windows and aluminium wheels.

Although not a full-authority electronic engine, the 1HD-FTE does have electronic control of its rotary injection pump. Servicing is more expensive than with previous 75 and 78 Series engines, because the injector lines need replacing when the timing belt is done.

PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING
The repowered 78 Series had impressive performance and top-gear flexibility that the naturally aspirated engine couldn't match. Highway hills that sent the naturally aspirated model into fourth gear wouldn't force the turbo version out of fifth.

Because of the new engine's greater torque, Toyota was able to use 4.1 final drive ratios on most models, with only the 11-seat Troop Carrier turbo-diesel model having 4.3:1 diffs. The faster-diff version loped along in fifth at 110kmh with only 2500rpm showing on the tacho.

We found that low-speed, offroad crawling performance wasn't affected by the final drive ratio change, because the new engine had ample torque, even when the turbo wasn't spinning at optimum boost revs. Toyota tuned the engine's torque curve to be almost flat from 1400–2600rpm, so offroad behaviour was very stable, with no sudden torque surges.

Overall, if you're looking for a strong vehicle that's great in the bush, reliable and easy to fix, this is the one for you.

Don't expect it to be cheap or easy to find as the people who buy them like to hang onto them - but if you do get a privately owned one in reasonable condition, it'll be good for about a quarter of a million klicks.

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Written byAllan Whiting
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