120 Vs Colorado

[Jamsy]

Hello folks,
wondering what peoples thoughts are on the 120 compared to the older Colorado TD. Reliability, fuel consumption etc. Comfort wise im guessing the newer 120 will be better. The main thing is reliability though.

I had an 80 series 4.2 TD for the last few months, great big comfy car and was great off road (although I never used all the diff locks and was a bit overkill for what I needed. It needed a few jobs doing and was a bit thirsty so I decided to sell it on and look for the smaller Land Cruiser.

These two have caught my eye so far, any advice welcome.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-03-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-C...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

[Higgy]

Well Jamsy.. Im sure this post will be interesting.. The 120 is clearly a nicer place to be, and with the air suspension the ride is sublime. However my biased opinion will always favour the Colorado, as an outright work horse and I think the better engine.. this is just my opinion. others will have more knowledge regarding both vehicles.... ps They are both equal in the rusting race..

 

[Chris]

You get proper springs on the LC3 and a rear diff lock

 

[Rob Cowell]

Assuming diesel. 90 before 2001 has a 1KZ-TE engine. The heads crack if they get warm. After that they switch to the 1KD-FTV. The 120 has this engine for most of its life. Between 2004 and 2006 they had useless injector seals, almost all of which should now have been replaced, and you want some evidence of this. The 2003 model you are looking at shouldn't have been affected.

120 is quieter and smoother to drive, but underneath they are very similar drive train and suspension wise.

The 120 rots. Don't worry about what it looks like on top or inside, get underneath. Get underneath a few so you know what you're looking at. Find a good one and get it properly treated inside and ouside the chassis. 120 injectors are starting to wear out after 120K miles or so, they will be about £750 to change yourself, probably twice that or more for someone else to do it.

The 90 seems to rot less, but they seem to go a lot around the turrets on the back axle, the bit the top control arms bolt to. On the 120 they seemed to fix this to an extent and instead the top arm brackets on the chassis rot and fall off!

Having had both (for more than 100K miles each) the 120 is a much nicer place to be on the motorway. The 90 is a good workhorse. If I wasn't doing lots of miles I'd value condition over anything.

 

[Shayne]

Nobody can advise on personal preference and the condition of the used vehicle you buy could make us all out to be liars , but , i have two Colorado's and an 80 , a half hour drive of my brothers 120 was enough to convince me that if i ever have to buy something newer it will likely be a sports car .

 

[Animal Mother]

I love my 120. I've just covered 3700 miles from North Wales to Southern Spain and back in 2 weeks. It was smooth, quiet, faultless, reliable and good on the rough stuff. On the way down it averaged 29 MPG (calculated from fuel fillups, not onboard computer).

When I bought mine, it did have a couple of issues, but it was the right car based on level of rust underneath. I bought the car knowing it had these issues but the condition is why I bought it. Since buying in Nov 17, I've done:
Waterpump
Engine mounts
Discs and pads
Service items

Mine is a 2007 Auto LC4. The LC4 is considered the one to have as the spec is just right.

 

[leeloo]

if you want a bit more confort and go for the 120. The maintenance cost is not that different, it is an old model as well and plenty of mechanics familiar with the model. ..
With a simple OBDII blue tooth adaptor - 10 euro and a free app like Torque you can sort a lot of things on it..

 

[Jamsy]

Thanks for the opinions. After a brief deviation which involved looking at 2 x Range Rover P38's on Tuesday, its safe to say im back on track.
Looked at a 99 Colorado today.. https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/toyota-landcruiser-colorado-diesel-3.0-/1310812789
Thats my first drive in one and I enjoyed it, thought it was reasonably comfortable, no creaks or knocks and it seemed quite lively around town compared to my old 80. Was offered it for 2250 but a few bad bits underneath, one in particular (photos attached). Also the rear diff lock didn't work, brakes weren't great either, so I decided to wait and see what comes up in the next week or so.

 

[Dave_S]

Psssttt... buy another 80 series... or a Hilux.....

 

[Shayne]

The 90 series axles turrets suffer because the drains are easily blocked which is something very easy to cure .

https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/kzj90-first-used-may-12th-1998.148004/

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Hi James, being in the position of running one of each and doing my own work on both my opinion both are great and for comparable condition trucks you pay twice as much for a 120 as you do a 95. Maybe I was lucky with the black Collie, it was in very good condition underneath and needed no welding all the time I had it. I think its worth having a VX over a GX for the leather etc but thats just me. Thats gone now after I got the 120, getting a good one of those proved elusive but I got there in the end having turned 9 down . Just to get it it into perspective James you are looking to get an old truck, of either type in good condition and thats the challenge.
In recent times ( last couple of months) i've been offered 4 different Collies:-

1998 GX Auto
2000 VX Auto
2001 VX D4d Auto
2002 GX D4D Manual

1998, ran well, 95k miles, both sills had been welded end to end, Chassis needed 2' of remedial repairs each side, brakes started to stick on, back axle crusty but not welded but leaking through the case. The tank guard was like lace and it was very ferrous. On top though it was quite presentable with no body perforations.

2000 VX, 130k miles, again ran well but didn't have the punch my D4D had, chassis needed welding in 3 places including 2' on the drivers side in the same place as the above one.The sills were crusty but solid as was the back axle but the leather interior was very tired. Bonnet was rotted through and there were signs there was more to come elsewhere.

2001 VX D4D. 112k miles. Ran well as you would expect, decent interior ( not surprising considering the mileage). This also needed a bonnet ( not available from Toyo any more and £860 if you can find one) but the rest of the exterior was pretty good. Underneath was another story, crusty all over not quite perforated though but the back axle was very flakey and I suspect not much life left in its integrity. This one had been stood a while and needed 4 tyres and a general re commission.

2002 GX manual.119 K miles. This one was the best (not!!) You really would have to have been the worlds most enthusiastic welder to take this on. Tin worm had established a real hold on this one.Bonnet, front wings, doors, rear wheel arches, full sills, chassis, and everything else with a ferrous connection had been attacked. The turrets on the back axle had broken off and the state of it was beyond repair.
Needless to say, the diff lock actuator didn't work either.

I'm not saying all Collies are as bad as the above, my black one was well above average when I bought it and when I sold it and the V6 one I am driving along side the 120 is quite remarkable underneath but I was lucky with that one. The thing to look out for is rust and how it has taken hold. Chassis are begining to rot through from the inside out and back axles starting to need replacing/major surgery.

The above can also apply to 120's too.

 

[Higgy]

Im slowly warming to the 120... Iv just re built front brakes, Callipers, discs. pads. new fluid flush. etc.. All parts were cheap enough, from KVA,distibutors on e bay... even though mine had supposed full service history, the last one only 3 months ago, I changed oil and filter yesterday.. the oil was like black water. the worse iv ever seen.. so don't always believe service history, Its bollox.. The one thing I will say about mine is it is rust free... I will always love the collie but finding one rust free is hard, There are some on ebay for nearly 4 grand and still the MOT history shows rust issues ... Service history is bollox. IMO.. Like some members have said if you can find a enthusiast owned one.. your better off.. Good luck mate.

 

[Jamsy]

Thanks for the info. From your experience Andy it does sound like they all have rust issues. The Collie sounds like it would suit my budget better and I'd prefer a VX but dont think I can afford to be too fussy.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Im slowly warming to the 120... Iv just re built front brakes, Callipers, discs. pads. new fluid flush. etc.. All parts were cheap enough, from KVA,distibutors on e bay... even though mine had supposed full service history, the last one only 3 months ago, I changed oil and filter yesterday.. the oil was like black water. the worse iv ever seen.. so don't always believe service history, Its bollox.. The one thing I will say about mine is it is rust free... I will always love the collie but finding one rust free is hard, There are some on ebay for nearly 4 grand and still the MOT history shows rust issues ... Service history is bollox. IMO.. Like some members have said if you can find a enthusiast owned one.. your better off.. Good luck mate.

My 120 had been self serviced and maintained by the PO and written down on a piece of card since 2012. Thats all the service history I got. He must have done a good job as its pretty good all round and the best out of 10 I viewed.

 

[Shayne]

Also search for "3.0L Prado" as the 90 series where named that in Europe and Japan i think hence if you find one its likely an import in good condition and i'm inclined to think they got better spec with only the absence of a rear difflock to counter it (they had lsd rear or some such thing which i believe is difficult to ascertain for a buyer weather it still works or not?)

 

[Darrellspeed]

I have a black d4d 95, obly problem I have had is the clunk when changing gear, which is a well known collie fault can be either the transfer box or front diff, so when test driving try a couple quick gear changes, and if you get a thump - don't assume it's the engine mount. However that said I've had it 5 years now and only ever had to do everyday wear and tear items. Touch wood no rust, but i had it waxoiled as soon as i bought it.

 

[Higgy]

My 120 had been self serviced and maintained by the PO and written down on a piece of card since 2012. Thats all the service history I got. He must have done a good job as its pretty good all round and the best out of 10 I viewed.

My missus said she can get the students in the art dept, to make me my own Toyota dealership rubber stamp. (piece of piss apparently ) so I can now continue to falsify my service book..... 3 quid each to members.

 

[Deleted member 13129]

Im slowly warming to the 120... Iv just re built front brakes, Callipers, discs. pads. new fluid flush. etc.. All parts were cheap enough, from KVA,distibutors on e bay... even though mine had supposed full service history, the last one only 3 months ago, I changed oil and filter yesterday.. the oil was like black water. the worse iv ever seen.. so don't always believe service history, Its bollox.. The one thing I will say about mine is it is rust free... I will always love the collie but finding one rust free is hard, There are some on ebay for nearly 4 grand and still the MOT history shows rust issues ... Service history is bollox. IMO.. Like some members have said if you can find a enthusiast owned one.. your better off.. Good luck mate.

I totally agree Higgy for one the engine oil toyota use is only semi synthetic I would only ever use fully synthetic oils in any of my cars , I think its penny pinching not to use fully synthetic , I do use Toyota oil filters though , even though I think AMC filters are as good , had I not 30 oil filters cheap £6.50 each from burrows toyota 3 years ago , I would be using AMC filters from Rough Trax , But talking about brakes the Lc120 front brakes , calipers , disks, are so easy to change .

 

[Higgy]

I totally agree Higgy for one the engine oil toyota use is only semi synthetic I would only ever use fully synthetic oils in any of my cars , I think its penny pinching not to use fully synthetic , I do use Toyota oil filters though , even though I think AMC filters are as good , had I not 30 oil filters cheap £6.50 each from burrows toyota 3 years ago , I would be using AMC filters from Rough Trax , But talking about brakes the Lc120 front brakes , calipers , disks, are so easy to change .

Yeh the brake callipers etc are childs play really... I put in the new EBC Pads, Shell Heliox, or what ever it was called in the engine, And asked europarts for the best most expensive filter they had... which was MANN at 15 quid.... both front callipers with pins bleed nipples (complete basically ) £135.. That's not bad is it..

 

[Shayne]

It might not be what your looking for but had i known then what i know now this is the 90 i would have been looking for (disregarding my preference for black with a manual gearbox)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/19...x-3dr-turbo-diesel-intercooler-4x4/1316940541