Toyota Land Cruiser Engine Problems

Coolant leaks can be very tricky things, often starting at one point and then running down a hose, bracket or wire to drop on the ground where you’re not looking for them. If you definitely can’t find a leak, however, you need to start looking for another problem which could even be a leaking head gasket which is allowing the coolant to enter the engine’s cylinders.

The first thing I’d do, however, is change the radiator hoses., If they’re flattening out when the engine is running, that suggests they’ve collapsed internally and are unable to cope with the suction created by the engine’s water pump (which circulates the coolant around the engine). Even if the hoses look fine, they can be damaged inside and, left this way, can cause a blockage in the cooling system which can lead to the engine overheating. Perhaps this is already happening, and allowing the boiling coolant to escape the system via the pressurised radiator cap or the overflow system.

The cruise control issue could be a fault with the body computer whose job it is to talk to the computer that controls the car’s engine and transmission and turn the driver’s instructions into actions. If there was a problem with the physical actuation of the cruise-control, it would potentially not work at all. But a problem that resets when you turn the ignition off and on again is always cause to suspect a computer glitch.

The transmission issue is one that has been ongoing sine the 200 Series was launched. Top gear (sixth) is so tall for fuel-economy purposes that the vehicle in its original form would not select that gear below about 110km/h. That’s fine for the USA and Middle East where cruising speeds are higher, but in Australia, it meant that some owners were never seeing sixth gear.

The solution was to tale the vehicle back to Toyota for a reflash of the on-board computer which would then instruct the transmission to select top gear at 95 or 100km/h. If this reflash hasn’t been performed, you might find that the vehicle has never actually selected top gear in its life. Definitely look into this possibility before spending money on transmission services or anything mechanical.

I don’t think this is an isolated problem, Andrea, as I’ve heard of exactly the same thing happening to other 200-Series Toyotas. From the look of things, this type of recurring limp-home-mode problem with the LandCruiser is usually down to one of three things.

The first is a damaged or faulty stepper motor which controls both the throttle and the variable vanes on the turbocharger. Sometimes the vanes can become stuck, refuse to budge and burn out the stepper motor’s electronics in the process. If there’s a problem with any of those components, the stepper motor – at the very least -t will need to be replaced. The advice there is to use the genuine Toyota part, not a cheaper copy.

The second possibility is a fault with the EGR valve, and the third is a faulty accelerator pedal which, unlike older cars, does not connect via a cable to the throttle, but ends an electronic signal to the car’s computer. Any glitch here can send the car into limp-home. The fact that you’ve had problems while in cruise control makes me suspect either the accelerator or stepper motor, so they’d be the components I’d be checking first. For what it’s worth, I reckon the police-scanner explanation is a load of rubbish.

The engine used in the 1998 model was the 1 HD FT, which doesn’t suffer the big-end bearing problems.

Check the fuel pump, also the injectors, and have a diagnostic check done.

I don’t believe that what you want is out there, and can only reiterate past advice, buy a Patrol/Pajero/Prado/LandCruiser.

It’s clearly not well and needs attention, so take it to a mechanic and find out what is wrong with it. Any number of things could be wrong with it, from a simple as needing a service to being worn out.

200-Series owners commonly report the vibration you are experiencing. There was talk of revised engine mounts, but it's unclear if anything was released. We'll check with Toyota.

Toyota Australia spokesman Stephen Coughlan says a filter change is part of the 40,000km service. He also says the most likely cause of your problem is dirty fuel, which is common in remote areas, and agrees a spare filter is a good precaution for any vehicle tackling a long run in the Outback.

I know people who run big Toyotas on gas but the maker has never recommended gas conversions on any of its vehicles. Does that help?