Judd

I have a 20 year old (prado sized) Landcruiser 120 LC5, been running full size Toyota 4x4s since the mid 90s and have yet to be let down by one, alternator packed up on the present steed a few years ago but she still never failed to proceed and i stuck a recon on for £126 ish, it'll probably still be going when they plant me. Underbody mainly chassis corrosion is what kills them in Britain, especially if they've previously lived in Scotland, mine is still mainly rust free because i plaster the undersides in ACF50/chain lube/marine grease every year, filthy job but worth doing, looking at MOT histories of other 120s and the very similar later 150s underbody corrosion features too often on the usual stuff, inner sills are also exposed to the elements and the rear axle casing will rot too, rear aircon pipes are alloy which again corrodes and is an expensive re-piping exercise, ask me how i know this. If you decide to get a late 150 series suggest you check it very carefully underneath and start rustproofing the day you get it home, other than rust they are good vehicles which seldom cause any issues if the servicing is kept up, seriously expensive used now and only going one way, the prices being asked for the V8 engined 200 series can only be described as ludicrous and whilst its a great vehicle its very technical too and also suffers the underbody tin worm issues which also affects the pipework of the hydraulic suspension which can cost serious money to repair, again mucho greasing and oiling is called for. Servicing is simple enough for most things DIY, but remember Toyota warranty is topped up every year if you get it serviced by them up to 10 years of age. I'm on both the UK Landcruiser forums, both of which are quiet because rarely do these vehicles go wrong, most common faults will be on the forums if you care to have a poke nose. Probably like yourself i'm not having a battery car, not in the least interested, good luck to all those who can take advantage of the tax breaks and cheap overnight home charging, i don't blame you one bit the cynic in me wonders how many would be in use if BIK tax rates were same as ICE cars and fuel duties were added to electricity charges, just wish the battery enthusiasts weren't quite so smug about it all. Course if you've got the money it makes good sense to grab one of the last proper Outbacks, then enjoy sticking two fingers up to the battery car scam and all its profiteers and political gamers for many years to come.

Zen Performamce at Earith is local to you so probably worth a call.

Forgot to update. Few weeks ago decided to go through the brakes, strip clean lube etc, noticed the front pads were past their best so got online and had a look see. Decades ago my go to friction material brand was Ferodo, the factor who used to stock them changed hands, and forgive me if i'm wrong but didn't Ferodo up in North Wales have an elongated strike in the 90s, pretty sure i recall seeing pickets outside the gates as i passed by on the way to Portmadoc?, anyway hadn't seen Ferodo pads for years except for competition grade when lo and behold they popped up on my search, so ordered a set. The reason i liked them in the past they were a progressive pad with good 'feel' requiring noticeably less pedal pressure to stop with, they also came with a rough abrasive type initial pad surface good for deglazing and bedding in, well the rough surface is still present and indeed the brakes are the best they've been in the years we've had the car.

Yes bleed the whole system and i agree at the very least the rear brakes will need servicing properly including exercising the pistons in their bores to ensure free movement before attempting to rebleed. You don't confirm that new discs accompany the new pads, unless the old discs have as new perfect surfaces there will be slightly less contact area with new pads until they've worn in to any existing wear pattern on the old discs, this 'bedding in' time can often feel like spongy brakes. As for bleeding haven't been able to use my ancient Easibleed on any my Japanese cars for the same reason as you, but recruiting my fine lady wife for pedal pumping purposes bleeding the old way has worked well enough on all of our cars over the years.

There was last time i looked Zen at Earith, i have no contact details and haven't been near the place since the lockdown farce so check its still there. There's also Tim Farmer (Subbus) mobile Subaru specialist based up Sutton Bridge way, he's worked on my car several times and i have always been a satisfied customer, he can do everything you require, including pulling engines in situ on your own driveway if required, if you search on this site for his name it should appear in several threads, where you live is no issue (hopefully you have somewhere off road he can work on your car) the area he covers is eye watering.

Yes the temp sensor could well be an issue. Regarding water pump flow rate, if you remove one of the heater pipes (obviously this weather the heater valve will be set to hot so allowing full flow) with the engine running the flow should be that of gentle garden hose, if you've removed and refitted the heater inlet pipe its then worth removing the return/outlet pipe , that should be flowing at the same rate and you'll have ruled out there being any trapped air in the heater radiator.

One other thought. Could the most recent coolant change have used incompatible coolants? I understand OAT and the old standard glycol can form some sludge instead of mixing, its the devils own job trying to extract all previous coolant from an engine. Wasn't thinking the water pump had failed completely but wondering if the impeller might be loose on its spindle so turning at a fraction of the rate it should, or worn?, loosening a heater pipe and seeing for yourself the type of flow rate there would iron that one out one way or the other, its also the method many of us used in times gone by when bleeding the cooling systems on our cars. I don't know what the water pump impeller is made of, hopefully being Japanese good solid metal but i have heard of plastic impellers on some european cars where some of the impeller has worn away over time with obviously reduced efficiency also the plastic ones maybe more inclined to loosen on its shaft. It sounds like the thermostat is doing its job, its typically when t'stat opens first time is when all of a sudden you can add a lot more coolant to the system, which is how it went this week after fitting a new water pump to my Prado, running for about 20 minutes on fast idle no movement when all of a sudden the tank is empty and could get a further 3 litres in. Just out of interest the heater in my previous H6 Outback was virtually useless and never did improve over the years, the Forester heater a vastly better one.

Have you removed a heater hose and viewed the flow with the engine running, suggest both inlet and oulet pipes. If good inlet and poor outlet could point to a heater matrix or valving issue, if there's little flow either in or out could the water pump impeller be spinning on its shaft? probably a daft suggestion but you did ask 😉 oh and one other daft suggestion, and i ask this because of the convoluted route the auxilliary belt takes on my Prado...if the water pump is auxilliary belt driven it is turning in the right direction?

Just had a look in the handbook for my Auto 2.5 XT, obviously it recommends Subarus own ATF, it also says Dexron 3 can be used temporarily but that odd gearchanges can result. 75/80 sounds like gear oil (for manual box and diffs) to me, all the ATF fluids i've used have been thin, not sure i've ever seen an ATF oil with a w rating as such. When i changed my gearbox fluid i used Dexron 6, which is synthetic and from everything i read about this subject is compatible with and can replace the older spec, the gearbox is silky smooth with instant non slurred changes, i also changed the spin on filter (yours may not have one), not a cheap filter it looks like a standard engine oil filter but works nothing like one, circa £25, but something you'll probably only do once in the life of the vehicle.

I'm a daft old blighter, those tyres are not 205/60 x 16 as noted in the sale post, they are in fact the correct size for the car which is 215/60 x 16. Losing the plot gets easier when you get older.

Must be losing the plot. They're not 205/60 x 16, they are of course the correct size, 215/60 x 16.

I've just listed the no longer needed winter wheel/tyre set from my Forester in the parts for sale section.

Have fitted a new set of all seasons to the summer wheels, so for sale are my winter wheels and tyres plus nuts/lockers. 205/60 x 16 99H Copper Weathermaster Snow. No punctures or damage or perishing. Wheels in very good undamaged condition Tyres all have 5+mm tread left. They are getting on however being week 40 2011 code dated, i bought the tyres new and they've seen every winter on the previous Outback and the current Forester SG9. Wheels are made by Enzo and 1 year older than the tyres, 6 1/2" J 16" ET48 PCD100 I live in Northamptonshire and am asking a very reasonable £150 for the lot. They will fit Foresters up to 2008 and Outbacks up a similar year and no doubt other Subarus depending obviously on which brakes are fitted. Collection is obviously best, i haven't a clue how much carriage might be. They'' fit h

Neither of those, but i've been runningYokohama GO15 AT on my Prado sized Landcruiser for the past 5 or 6 years. One of the best wet and poor weather tyres i've ever had, quiet comfortable and wearing well too, sensibly priced in the UK at least, they're snowflake and mountain symbol stamped so officially winter rated all season tyres (which may or may not be needed in Spain), quite a few members on our Landcruiser forum are using them and happy to buy again when the time comes, they're not rock hard sidewalled like some AT tyres designed for serious offroading.

The price sounds scandalous to me, compare with a bog standard 2.5XT which can be found here for circa £5/7k with similar mileage. No it won't have quite the same looks as the STi but the performance is more than adequate and it's just a standard UK car for insurance purposes (our premium approx £300 but i am an old geezer) with easily available parts*, the only downsides are the £700 VED stinger and the higher possibility of underbody rust (exacerbated if the vehicle has lived in Scotland), the difference in the initial price would take dozens of years to eat into the VED difference. Our 2008 XT isn't rusted, i've taken steps to keep it rust free but it won't be the only one. * exhausts are always an issue with rare models, OE are ridiculous costs, no correct aftermarket mild systems anywhere for the turbo versions (2" instead of the correct 2.5" bore) so stainless is a must when the time comes, this will be the same whether XTi or standard XT, our stainless cost £300 fitted 4 or 5 years ago.

Yes i might list them cheap, better than skipping them if it helps someone out for a year or three. I used the car at the weekend on various roads, country bumpy pot holed etc, ride quality itself is little changed but damping feels better controlled which has made the vehicle noticeably more stable on the twisties and over undulations, all in all very pleased. I see KYB also make shockers for my Landcruiser, thats on air at the back with electrically adjustable shockers all round, adjustable shocks are scandalous cost OE only @ some £600 each, no worries about springs because air sets its own ride height via sensors. KYB replacements will be going on that when the time comes.

Job done, everything fitted fine, car sits probably an inch or more higher at the back than it did before which is to be expected. New springs needed a lot more compressing than the standard OE set required during dismantling.

Surprising MOT failure, rear self leveller leaking which i hadn't noticed, bit disappointed in myself for missing that but the leak was hidden by the dust cover until jacked up, thats my miserable excuse and the only one i've got, cars only done just over 50k from new but age and the state of the roads have taken their toll, rust is not an issue the car itself is solid. The KYB shocks and stiffer springs as recommended by MrB are on their way, i've got the self levellers off and the springs and SLs seperated, top mounts are as new and the rubber bottom spring seats are fine too so can be re-used. Much obliged to MrB especially for his invaluable parts numbers and general info and his encouragement to others who have attempted the job, and for anyone thinking they might have a go and unsure about it, i'm getting rapidly close to 70 years so if i can do it you lot can. The NS self leveller is fine, no sign of any leaks so if someone has a weeping nearside SL and needs one to keep their car going for a few years more let me know, if its any use to you MrB i'll glady post it down to you.

Get it removed and programmed out of the ecu, no more issues.

Depending on model some Rav4 boots aren't that big, i would have a good look see if it would be big enough for your use before Older square Foresters and almost all Outbacks have useful estate car type boots, our SG9 is plenty big enougn for our 3. Avensis would be a better choice if you don't need 4WD, but avoid the 2.2 Diesel.

Also, ebay still takes some beating for things like brake calipers.

https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/ About the only place that comes to mind.

Colleague recently had yet another repair on his (just out of warranty) BMW, needed new DPF sensors to the tune of £1200 apparently all in, all specialst parts not easily available elsewhere are expensive through the main dealers with few exceptions. Your problem isn't with Subaru as such, its whether your indy should have asked you whether you wanted a pattern or genuine part fitting given the cost difference assuming they knew one was available, some indies will only fit genuine parts because they know it will work (assuming they've diagnosed correctly) first time and stay working, maybe your indy has had bad experiences of pattern parts and resulting bad experiences with customers who complained to them when the cheap part didn't do what it should for more than 5 minutes. This is a particular problem with relatively rare makes, there just isn't the pattern part back up, i recall back in the 70s when buying parts for many cars was a nightmare, yet get a copy of Exchange and Mart and there from German and Swedish would be lists of cheap parts for Audi Porsche Mercedes BMW etc, there's never really been the equivalent of Eurocarparts or GSF for Japanese cars (nor British cars come to that)...one of our other cars is a Prado sized Landcruiser, compared to LandRover the aftermarket spares market is abysmal, but then they tend not to need much in the way of a back up industry, you pays your money and takes your choice.

Colleague has a very smart BMW with all singing dancing turning you name it they do it LED headlights, something over £3000 a side he says. Ludicrous. Jaguar XF's from around 2011 had LED indicators in the headight units, one fails you were looking at £1100+ for a headlight unit over 10 years ago. The lunacy goes on.

Then you've got the issue with some engines where during an oil change you have to get the fresh oil back in the sump within 15 mins because the oil pump can't self prime. Never hear anything so ridiculous in all my life.