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Writer's pictureTakashi Iwamoto

Land Cruiser HZJ75 type rushes into the 12th year since starting to ride

Updated: Aug 12, 2022

You should repair it yourself


Revised on October 28, 2020.


At Masai Mara



This year 2014 is the 12th year since I started riding this car.

This 1991 Land Cruiser is one of the most powerful and reliable companions in Bush.

To this day, this car has been taught a lot.


When I bought it in 2002, it was used, of course, but at that time I didn't know anything about the car.

So, every time I got sick with something small, I sent it to my local garage.

When I think about it now, I think it was very scary.


Even if I put it out in the garage and have it repaired, for some reason it doesn't completely fix, and instead of fixing it, things get worse and worse.


I suspected that the mechanic was taking advantage of my ignorance and repairing it so that it wouldn't be fixed, and I changed some garages, but the result was the same.


At that time, I found a Land Cruiser repair manual at a bookstore and purchased it.


Land Cruiser Manual, which is still useful



At first, even if I read the manual, I have no tools and no knowledge of repairs.

So, for the time being, I will observe the work of the mechanics while looking at the manual, and absorb the technique while checking what was wrong with their work.


After that, I started to work on my own while buying tools little by little.


Most things are now repaired by myself, except for welding. I'd like to try welding, but I can't stop to protect my important eyes as a cameraman.


The car has a wide range of tools and parts (nuts, bolts, studs, electric cables, belts, bushes, silicone seals, etc. that were needed in the past repairs). Even if there is a problem, most things can be dealt with.


Since I started to repair it myself, the condition of the car has been getting better and less likely to break.

Now it's in better shape than it was when I bought it.


It became more fun to play with the car than to drive while repairing various things.

I'm very attached to this car today because of the amount of work I've done.

Looking back, it's easy to see how the local mechanics didn't work seriously.

It seems that some of them work properly, but unfortunately I haven't been able to meet each other yet. (After that, I met some great mechanics. They are always working with aspirations and always raising their arms.)



Here are some examples of bad repairs so far.


First of all, I used a crowbar to forcefully insert the spring bush, so I used to put it in with a distorted shape.

It wasn't straight into the place where Bush could enter.

Because I forced it in, a part of the bush was sticking out.


Removing the tie rod end is also bumpy because it is knocked off with a big hammer, and since it is screwed into the rod without grease, the tie rod end may stick and it may not be possible to adjust the alignment.


If you work on your own, think about the future and keep grease up.

The work is finished immediately on the spot, but it will hurt later.


At this time, I put a jack on a pipe wrench and managed to remove it little by little.


At first, a small Chinese-made pipe wrench that I used to remove the tie rod end was distorted and broke, so I bought a slightly larger decent pipe wrench and worked on it.

Still, at first, the wrench's teeth were chipped. Half a day was crushed just by removing the tie rod end.

As long as I put some grease on it, I wouldn't have had such a hard time. "Hurry up", the local language is "Pole Pole, Ndillo, Muend".

It's hard to do that, or I'm not in a hurry, but for some reason I seem to have a habit of cutting corners.


It is normal to tighten nuts and bolts with force without using a torque wrench, and wiring etc. are also connected by hollowing out the film appropriately.


Before, when I turned on the light, smoke came out from the dashboard because it was foggy and raining and the visibility was poor.


The cause was that I had the local wiring repair the wiring just before, but it was related to the tail lamp, and the fuse was blown as soon as I passed it.

He was directly connected to the taillight system by scooping out a suitable positive wire film without passing through a fuse.

He didn't fix the cause of the short.


A part of the film of the system was torn, and it touched the body and short-circuited.

Do you know what happens if you short-circuit without a fuse?

Fortunately, it didn't matter, but all the film on the wiring related to the tail lamp had melted.


This was on my way to Masai Mara, and after arriving, I found the cause of the night at the Masai Mara camp and repaired it.


Since this project, I've been doing all the wiring-related work myself so that people don't touch it.



Welding is also done without protective measures, even though wiring, plastic and rubber parts are nearby. "Something is burning behind the body!"


I was fine before I knew it, but when I learned a lot, I was scared and couldn't leave my car in the garage. In this country, you can't be relieved if you don't monitor your garage for repairs all the time.


This car uses safari so that the ceiling part is completely open.

The upper part of the driver's seat and the part of the rear seat are hollowed out and modified so that they can be opened, and can be used for safari tours.


The camera pan head can also be installed in 6 places.


Two spare tires for inland areas where punctures cannot be repaired.

Also, in case the spring breaks during the safari, spare springs for the front and rear wheels and high lift jacks are always available in front of the bumper.


The upper light is useful for bushes when it rains, for night driving in the woods, nighttime animals, and wild bird observation. Add a reverse light that looks bright and well.

"I can't pass this!", Which comes in handy when turning back the mud.

The number of batteries has been increased to two, and the worry of running out of battery using an inverter is eliminated.


Even when working on-site at night using electricity, you can concentrate on the work with peace of mind without worrying about starting the engine at night.

The alternator was also broken and changed to a larger one.


Recently, the valve clearance of the engine has been adjusted, the engine sound is good, the rotation is smooth, and it has become more powerful.


Currently, the spring on the right rear has run out, so I'm thinking about replacing it with a spare soon.


The worse the road, the more fun it is to drive. So when I'm in Japan, I miss driving on bad roads with this car.

This Land Cruiser 70 series is beautiful without any useless functions.

Among the bushes, it is a car whose reliability is particularly pursued.


Above all, I am particularly fascinated by the rigid axle of the front wheels and the four-wheel drive system of leaf springs.

There are no wasted parts, it's simple, it's the strongest beauty, and I always look into it, and every time I see it, I fall in love with it.

The weight of the car is a little heavy, so compared to Land Rover 110 etc., there are some weak points in mud, but

Ride quality, running performance and feel on rough roads are also the best.

Now, where do you want your buddy to take you?




Until the end Thank you for reading.

 

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