1998 Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Primary fuel tank gauge returns faulty readings.

Leak from top of transfer case.

Pinion seal in rear diff leaking.

Very poor synchros on 2nd and 3rd.

Gearbox slightly noisy.

Exhaust drain holes blocked making it very whistly.

Landcruiser Troop Carriers are really only suitable for a miniscule proportion of the market. If you wanted a family 4WD, a comfortable/luxury 4WD, a city 4WD, a highway 4WD or even a towing 4WD, this is definitely NOT the car for you. If you needed a tough as guts, basic, hose-out workhorse to get you out of any situation, then this may suit you. Don’t get fooled by its awesome looks, as you will be disappointed if you use them for what they are not designed for.

This is a truly capable off-road vehicle. However, take into account the following points:

Ride comfort is very poor both on-road and off-road. All round leaf springs are rough, but extremely tough.

These are very slow, torquey machines. The 4.2L Diesel has plenty of pulling power, but very slow at pickup. You need to be a keen shifter to keep the engine revs at an optimum to get up hills.

Gearing is not for everyday road use, but rather to pull tree stumps. 1st gear is so low you could let go of the clutch without any accelerator and it will just go, yet starting in 2nd isn’t such a great idea always. At 100 – 110km/h in 5th gear, it is not very relaxed and somewhat buzzy. Gearing however is very suitable for serious off-roading.

Handling is poor at high speeds, and unstable. What do you expect from live axles front and rear, high suspension and centre of gravity?

Turning circle is worst in the class. Steering is vague, slow and lifeless.

Brakes are a little small for such a heavy truck. They do start fading quickly going down hills. Definitely use your gears like a truck!

It is not a fancy full-time four wheel drive, shift at any time vehicles. You do need to get out to engage the manual hubs before you shift into 4WD.

Most importantly, a buyer must understand these are not cars. These are honestly trucks, and could be dangerous in the wrong hands. I am of the belief you should have a heavy vehicle license to drive such a vehicle as I find it wrong the number of morons pedalling these things dangerously around the city. Visibility is poor with massive blind spots, and total blindness when reversing. Mirrors are tiny, but a good driver should be constantly monitoring these to know what is going on around them, and be confident to reverse solely with mirrors.

There are much friendlier 4WDs out there than a Troop Carrier.

I bought mine as it was the only vehicle (and still is) that suited my needs. All 200,000kms have been spent either hammering down rough unsealed roads in the middle of Australia, or on sealed country highways. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more power (a turbo is now available), gearing which is more long-distance driving friendly (at the detriment of serious off-roading), and more comfortable suspension. The rough suspension does little to smoothing out bumps, and mysterious screws and pieces have fallen off my car on rough corrugations.

For my use, I’d want the troop carrier body on the standard Landcruiser’s running gear!

The diesel motor is bullet-proof with regular maintenance, and is surprisingly economical. Gearboxes are typical Toyota with very quick synchro wear. It has become quite notchy in 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Dust sealing isn’t the best on the rear door, and bull dust seems to be appear. But at least you could just hose it out.

If you don’t need a 4WD, don’t get a 4WD. They are horrible handling vehicles which are an absolute menace on city roads.

You talk as though someone might just buy one by mistake when they really need a normal car.

Oh dear, I just bought a Hummer when I really wanted a Toyota Corolla. Damn.

I agree with the first comment. Having had a HZJ 75 4.2 D (troop carrier) myself I conclude it is a car for a purpose. If you want to show off buy something else. Having driven from Holland to Algeria vice versa twice in two months I began to like the truck. Because as long as you treat it like a truck (doing 90 km/h on the highway) and take into account its rugged suspension (replaced by OME by myself) when driving of road there is no better car for Africa. If only tax regulations in Holland would be different I would run one every day.

As an Australian myself, there are heaps of people who buy four wheel drives when they really need a normal car. The Australian Government imposed lower tariffs because no 4WDs were built locally and to help farmers who they thought would be the only market. Unfortunately city slickers have purchased them in droves due to attractive pricing. The only dirt they see are when they mount kerbsides whilst attempting to park. The number of Landcruisers in the city is frightening considerings its impact to other road users and pedestrians in accidents.

I will agree with you that the troopy is not the best handling 4wd in the world, but in my opinion as a professional driver and having had a lot of experience in extremely remote areas such as cape york and the like, it is best to have a very basic and easy to maintain 4wd. When I was up north, we had a lot of newer, more comfort orientated 4wd's try to tackle some slightly challenging obstacles only to have the owner back out because he didn't want to scratch the paint or ding the body. Then you see a cruiser owner scream through just about anything we could get through (mind you we had 5litre turbo diesel trucks with more than ample ground clearance). If you don't want this truck, nobody is putting a gun to your head to buy one.

Having driven a HZ 75 Tropical from Amsterdam to Cape Town and back in about a year with a load of 800 kg, just a notch under 43,000 km off the road, without a single mechanical problem (8 flats) and on all sorts of terrain (desert, water, mud, rock, corrugations, deep sand, gravel, beach, rain forest and a bit of tarmac), I can only agree with the first contributor: this car is terrificly well made for its purpose. It simply goes on and on.

You just have to feed it its fluids every 5,000 km and take in diesel and that's it. Make sure tires, shocks and suspension are as good as you can afford and the car will serve you faithfully until your last day off road. No thrills or frills needed.

Nowadays I drive it to work. It is actually remarkable fast in city traffic. And after a while on the freeway. But no comfort. Cannot even hear the radio playing.

My family and I have driven a BJ75 from Argentina, trough Bolivia, Peru and Chile, returning to Argentina after 52 days Troopie trip. Five people inside, riding 13.000 km. without any mechanical or electrical problem, and on all types of terrain (sand, mud, snow, salt and crossing many creeks and rivers. I can just say these vehicles are one of the best ever built.

Adrián Carmona L.

Meliquina - Neuquén - Patagonia Argentina.

Ask any Australian farmer or roo shooter what he thinks about his 'Cruiser. "Ripper Mate!! A legend!!"

Hi,

Just writing in to say I love my troop carrier and wouldn't be without it. It is a 1989 75 series, that has just ticked over to 400,000kms and is still going strong. Yes, it is a rough ride, but I use it for recreational 4wding, not driving to work. (We have standard car for that! Why waste diesel on tar roads...) I live in country Victoria, Australia and it gets a lot of use in the high country and towing the boat. As for not being able to hear the radio, I have added sound dampening inside the wall cavities and put in a bigger stereo. The sound dampening has greatly reduced the noise level inside the vehicle - much nicer! I agree with a previous post that 4wd's should have a different license (I hold a heavy vehicle license and drive trucks regularly) as 4wd's are deadly weapons if not in the right hands and driven correctly. I see a lot of accidents (I'm a paramedic) involving 4wd's driven by inexperienced drivers, or people that don't know how to handle these vehicles.

But, the troop carrier is a tough truck, and mine has never let me down. Cheers.

The troopy is a great 4x4 to get through the worst conditions and still keep on going. We love our troopy and forgive the rough ride.