2006 Toyota Land Cruiser - Staying Put

[St.Jude]

14 hours ago, SiC said:

Just think, if you sacked it off when you did and got it fixed, the next owner would have had a reliable car they wouldn't have had to spend on. But at least this year you've got some of your monies worth out of it from keeping it.

Yeah, I think I’ve had my money out of it at the moment. There are niggles as mentioned above (and the parking sensors are a fucking nightmare) but it’s been fine.

10 hours ago, artdjones said:

Normal service resumed. From my experience working in a garage that sold quite a few Land Cruisers you were unlucky with this one, although most in Ireland are registered commercial, with blanked out rear windows and a load platform instead of the back seat, and cloth seats. Also, no air suspension. 

I can’t honestly say air suspension makes a massive difference to the ride. The new shocks have improved it immensely. Like on the motorway it just floated. Was rather lovely.

I think if I had to do this again, and I had to get a 120, I’d have gone for the LC4. But really I should’ve just ignored the Mrs and got the older 100 series which I wouldn’t have been as precious with. 

[artdjones]

8 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

an’t honestly say air suspension makes a massive difference to the ride

I've driven a reasonable amount in steel sprung Land Cruisers and found them perfectly comfortable. If I needed a jeep they would be well in front of any other choice.

You probably get a bit more comfort with air, but more complication is bound to increase the chances of things going wrong.

[artdjones]

12 minutes ago, St.Jude said:

But really I should’ve just ignored the Mrs and got the older 100 series which I wouldn’t have been as precious with. 

100 D4Ds are great, its been downhill from them on, although 120s are good, too. The newer ones look weird in comparison, like the front wings belong to a different vehicle.

[St.Jude]

46 minutes ago, artdjones said:

100 D4Ds are great, its been downhill from them on, although 120s are good, too. The newer ones look weird in comparison, like the front wings belong to a different vehicle.

I see them and they all remind me of the woman who plays Sharon Mitchell on EastEnders. Massive on top but tiny little goat legs underneath, liable to fall over with a slight breath of wind.

[St.Jude]

The MOT is due on this thing in 2 weeks. I am planning on having it done Saturday so if there is anything wrong I’ve got a week to fix it. 

Inbetween the rain today I thought I’d be as well to weld the hole I knew about in the back box. Only one hole, easy enough.

Except no. The outlet pipe has delaminated and is holed as well. That’s happened fairly quickly if I’m honest because it looked rusty but not delaminated .

So I’m going to call the MOT man and see how much he’d charge to do the exhaust as well as the MOT.

Annoyed as I did say that if I had to spend money to get it through an MOT I’d keep it for a bit longer 😂

[St.Jude]

Dumped it at the garage for it's MOT and new back box. Owner looks fairly stressed as he has 2 guys off sick today and he's always busy.

So, let's wait and see what happens!

[St.Jude]

...

Without welding they want ~£400.

[Rust Collector]

Sorry to see that mate. At least it’s not a huge list though, if you don’t want to spend the money then that seems reasonably sortable at home.

[St.Jude]

14 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

Sorry to see that mate. At least it’s not a huge list though, if you don’t want to spend the money then that seems reasonably sortable at home.

I hate this car for making me spend money on it, knowing full well I said on here that if I had to spend on it I would keep it a bit longer. Bastard.

Other than the exhaust I can normally do that. I'm not really physically well to do shit like this (that's why there has been no Lada update). I'm going to ask a mate to see if he can help me with it and see.

We'll see what the welding quote says as it might be cheap enough to outsource it. Again.

[St.Jude]

So it's £230 for an exhaust. This was over the phone so I don't know if that includes fitting. It's £150 for the welding to be paid in cash.

Brake pads from Halfrauds are £15, track rod end is like £20/30.

I'll see whether the exhaust includes the fitting, and I will try and do these things. Get the MOT, and get it gone.

[St.Jude]

Went down there to get it. It’s in a proper cunt of a place on the driver side rear sill.

It’s a hole about 7cm long, entire width of the sill. Goes from the arch to where the side step bolts on to the sill. But there is a hole about the size of a pound coin just after the mounting for the side step. Plus it is right next to where the body mounts the ladder chassis.

So I don’t know how cheap this guy is, but for £150 he can do that welding. Which means I’ve left it to them, so they’re doing the other work.

Not money I had planned to spend but here we are. 

[St.Jude]

Picking it up tomorrow lunch time.

Bit of a faff with the garage which delayed things. From Friday to today they had lost the job sheet. I called them for an update and the receptionist (different one to last week) worked out what car I was referring to, said "Yes it'll be ready they just need to do the exhaust, you can pick it up this afternoon". Perfect. Then half an hour later she calls me back asking how much I had been quoted for the work, which was a bit of a worry. I told her and she said "Right, it's just we've lost the job sheet so we're just trying to find it". Erm, fine?

An hour later I have a call, she's found the jobsheet! Yay! But they've not done the brake pads or the tie rod end. So it might still be this evening. Alright OK.

About an hour ago the garage owner calls me apologising saying the prior car overran so it'll be tomorrow. Absolutely fine. He's not a bad bloke and the cars I've had to outsource to him have been fine.

So I will get it back tomorrow, fresh clean 12 month MOT - then off to here/eBay/AutoTrader with it. I'm done with it, not in the fucked off kind of way but I've had my fun with it, it's the best it'll ever be (and I'll argue it's improved under my ownership - as it now fucking works!) and yeah. Time to find myself a Berlingo, or a Duster, or a *cough* Rolls Royce.

[666jjp]

nudge, nudge

 

[St.Jude]

1 minute ago, 666jjp said:

nudge, nudge

 

*nudge nudge and buy this so I can maybe buy that*

[St.Jude]

So I still have this. Not been in a mad rush to sell it so I've not whored it out to eBay or AutoTrader. Have had a few cursory exchanges but ultimately tyre kickers. I'm not quite settled on a replacement either. Ones I have seen I can't really make a move on until this goes, but then I go off the idea of them so it's no real loss that I can't buy them either.

I've been driving it around and to work and I find myself thinking more about it and certain things I like about the car that I will miss. Tonight I went out and gave a lift to the Mother-In-Law and her friends (so the car was full) and it pulled like a train. My son keeps going on about how he likes it (bare in mind he's nearly 3 and wants to watch Muppets Christmas Carol every day), and on the way to work the other day I was driving it thinking it's rather effortless really.

But then there are things that I don't like. I am growing to dislike leather seats. Nothing wrong with them but they do tear and it causes me anxiety. It annoys fuck out of me that the air conditioning goes through the sat nav in the car so I can't swap it out for something modern with bluetooth and a reversing camera. It annoys me to the point of losing 10 years NCD that the parking sensors aren't reliable. It would benefit so much from a camera. I know it's bollocks but I wonder as well if this "pay-per-mile" bullshit is making people think "oh fuck, OMGHFM Tax on a PPM!" (have actually had one dimwit pull out of buying the car because it was the higher tax band - fucking clown) is putting people off. It's not great of course but it's £100 more than 4 new tyres for it.

The worst thing that can ever happen to me is an idea, or finding something out or remembering something I've read. All this has gone on in my head before work has even started and I'm near work and I think about the "Tesla" style head units you can buy which take up the whole centre console of the Land Cruiser and how it controls everything. That's too much for me in terms of how it looks and quite frankly I don't think the Chinese shit works long term either. But ten I think "Hang on, the LC4 has it's HVAC separate to the head unit. Could you fit one?". So I spend the first hour at work Googling and it turns out that yeah, it's a bit of a faff and a few quid but you can get the HVAC controls from an LC4 and put them in to the LC5 I have, along with a third party head unit. I've got a head unit in the 107 doing nothing, but has Bluetooth and the DAB and a facility for a reverse camera. So I would just need to source the HVAC controls and the fascia from an LC4 being broken. So it's possible and, for me anyway, would make a massive difference to the day to day usability of it.

Then there is me and how I am. I've said it several times here on this thing that I feel the car is too nice for me. I do get anxiety about the driver's seat because I know that they can tear, so I've gone out of my way to smother them in creams and stuff to keep them supple. Parking is an issue and it's still sporting the scuff from Christmas from the parking sensor not telling me where I am. The welding for the MOT was a shock and I'm not happy with myself that I got someone else to do it, but then I also know if I did do it it would take far longer as I'd want it done "perfect". I think if this was a lower spec I wouldn't be half as hung up about stuff, I think a lot of childhood dreams about wanting one has made me anxious about even owning one now.

But it's a fucking car. It's not the black V8 Amazon I was amazed by as a 5/6/7 year old. My wife's Merc has had a torn driver's seat and some guy is going to fix it for £220 on a much newer and more premium product than my Land Cruiser. It's about £50 per corner to sort out scuffs/scratches on her Mercedes and another £150 (something like that) to respray the front bumper on her Merc. My scuff on the rear quarter? Well if I was actually that bothered I'd have fixed it sooner. I go in to that car every morning to work and I have no fear it won't start. I've no fear that the car will get me where I need to go. If my lad wants to ride a bike in the mud then bring the bike home then if I'm that bothered why haven't I invested in a boot mat thing for it? If Sir Pension Freezer wants to make me pay per mile, fine. It still beats getting the train.

What I am going to do is give it to the end of October. My birthday (not that I want a card) is at the end of October. If it's not sold by then, then I think the best thing to do with it is run it in to the ground. While I get my head turned with other cars, and I think I get a 3 year itch with these things, I've not found another car that I want as badly as I wanted this one. And if I can do the LC4 HVAC swap and get the more modern headunit with the bluetoof and camera then I'm not really sure what I would get gain from another car. We've been here before though, and part of me is relying on the universe here to see me sort of change my mind on getting rid to put someone who gives me the full asking price for it tomorrow!

Ah well. Roll on the end of October for another update eh?

[Dave_Q]

One idea is to get one of these mirror based reversing cameras? They are not as good as a big 7-8" one but I've got one in my van and they do the job.

https://amzn.eu/d/bfR75ui

[grogee]

12 hours ago, St.Jude said:

I do get anxiety about the driver's seat because I know that they can tear,

Seat cover? 

I had them in my Puma to protect the fragile pleather, now transferred to Maestro just to keep the seat cloth looking decent. 

I didn't get cheesy plastic ones, the ones I got are Nothside or something and are made from wetsuit type material. I think they're probably designed for wet surfers but seem to be quite robust. 

[St.Jude]

12 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

One idea is to get one of these mirror based reversing cameras? They are not as good as a big 7-8" one but I've got one in my van and they do the job.

https://amzn.eu/d/bfR75ui

I can't get on with them. When I'm driving the wife's Merc her camera appears in the centre console, and I still use the rear view mirror as well as the camera.

38 minutes ago, grogee said:

Seat cover? 

I had them in my Puma to protect the fragile pleather, now transferred to Maestro just to keep the seat cloth looking decent. 

I didn't get cheesy plastic ones, the ones I got are Nothside or something and are made from wetsuit type material. I think they're probably designed for wet surfers but seem to be quite robust. 

Maybe, but I'd be worrying about the cover rubbing on the seat! I need to get over myself with it. Although I might consider it for the rear seats as the child becomes messier.

[Sheefag]

Pretty confident your Landcruiser has the same seats as an LS430. If so, they come up on Ebay a fair amount for not a lot of money and changing them is a piece of piss.

Can you post up a pic?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335391355420?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vgzo5nqxsjw&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=PCPUf4CQR_6&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[DodgeRover]

I keep seeing a 70 series crew cab with a tray on the back locally, on a fairly recent plate, it's petrol too, I'm assuming it's an import from Aus.

 

[St.Jude]

5 hours ago, Sheefag said:

Pretty confident your Landcruiser has the same seats as an LS430. If so, they come up on Ebay a fair amount for not a lot of money and changing them is a piece of piss.

Can you post up a pic?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335391355420?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vgzo5nqxsjw&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=PCPUf4CQR_6&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I will tomorrow. But they’re ever so slightly different to what you’ve shared there. Controls are different but I think the seats aren’t as tall either. 

I mean the seats are fine as they are I’m just saying - as you well know - these are nice places to be and the thought of ruining them rattles me. But I need to get over myself on that.

2 hours ago, DodgeRover said:

I keep seeing a 70 series crew cab with a tray on the back locally, on a fairly recent plate, it's petrol too, I'm assuming it's an import from Aus.

 

Quite possibly! Not sure why they didn’t come here but all of the Land Cruisers are developed in Australia.

[St.Jude]

So, it’s been interesting the last week.

Had the usual tyre kickers, but one rang me yesterday wanting to buy it. Fine. Long and the short of it though was that, really, I don’t/didn’t have a good feeling about the bloke. Can’t quite put my finger on it really but he didn’t really seem to ask questions you’d expect about it. It’s like he didn’t read the advert. He got a bit arsey about not buying it Tuesday (he wanted to do today but I’m at work until Thursday). Didn’t expect to hear from him again but he rang today wanting to come down and started talking about giving me £5,000 cash. He’s not seen the car or anything like that, I dunno an alarm went off in my head. Just really didn’t trust the guy to not be a chancer really.

Then there was another arse who wanted to swap his Merc W124 for a Land Cruiser, but got shitty about it having had welding whereas his W124 was perfect and pristine. I’m sure.

Couple this with how I’ve not seen anything worth buying or driving, I’m just going to keep this. Watch it shit itself today, but fixing it seems to be easier than dealing with the great unwashed when it comes to selling.

Next week’s job is to get the tracking done. Didn’t bother with it since the MOT as I thought I was getting rid. 

Also, need a little help from you all (specifically @artdjones) - I am going to be after the HVAC controls from a 2006 Land Cruiser LC4 and the fascia for it. It’s a mod to the LC5 to allow you to use after market head units, and it’s a fairly straight forward swap. It just needs to be the same year for maximum compatibility.

[bezzabsa]

perhaps the cash buyer wanted to send it off to fight Putin? they seem to be buying any decent 4x4???

easiest way to protect leather is NOT wear Jeans, those damn metal studs can cause hell on leather

[St.Jude]

16 minutes ago, bezzabsa said:

perhaps the cash buyer wanted to send it off to fight Putin? they seem to be buying any decent 4x4???

easiest way to protect leather is NOT wear Jeans, those damn metal studs can cause hell on leather

Have no idea. He didn’t sound Eastern European. Wasn’t a road man either but there was something about him I didn’t like.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, St.Jude said:

So, it’s been interesting the last week.

Had the usual tyre kickers, but one rang me yesterday wanting to buy it. Fine. Long and the short of it though was that, really, I don’t/didn’t have a good feeling about the bloke. Can’t quite put my finger on it really but he didn’t really seem to ask questions you’d expect about it. It’s like he didn’t read the advert. He got a bit arsey about not buying it Tuesday (he wanted to do today but I’m at work until Thursday). Didn’t expect to hear from him again but he rang today wanting to come down and started talking about giving me £5,000 cash. He’s not seen the car or anything like that, I dunno an alarm went off in my head. Just really didn’t trust the guy to not be a chancer really.

Then there was another arse who wanted to swap his Merc W124 for a Land Cruiser, but got shitty about it having had welding whereas his W124 was perfect and pristine. I’m sure.

Couple this with how I’ve not seen anything worth buying or driving, I’m just going to keep this. Watch it shit itself today, but fixing it seems to be easier than dealing with the great unwashed when it comes to selling.

Next week’s job is to get the tracking done. Didn’t bother with it since the MOT as I thought I was getting rid. 

Also, need a little help from you all (specifically @artdjones) - I am going to be after the HVAC controls from a 2006 Land Cruiser LC4 and the fascia for it. It’s a mod to the LC5 to allow you to use after market head units, and it’s a fairly straight forward swap. It just needs to be the same year for maximum compatibility.

https://westcork4x4breakers.com/

This is one of the biggest 4x4 breakers in Ireland. It might be worth seeing if he has an 06.