virgin would- be offroader urgrently needs your assistance

[pansy potter]

Hi guys. I am hoping you can help. First I want to apologise for knowing very little.
It's like this . . .I just bought a 94 hilux pickup to get me up the rough, gravely ,rocky and steep, sometimes wet and muddy track to my new home in a nature reserve. I paid a thousand euro for it realising the body had been dented and lights broken etc as it had been used by a farmer. It struck me as basically in good mechanical order though with a good engine. It is missing the rear section of exhaust and needs a front propshaft . . .it has none. My problem is that I expected it to get me up the track as it is as a 2wd and it definitely wont, wheels spinning, no traction. Does this sound ominous?
I drove it on the road for 15 miles okay to get to my home with no probs. I dont want to sink money into something doomed to failure, but I do like a challenge and I love the truck. It is taking me days to clean off all the dried mud underneath to investigate it's overall condition. A bottom fixing bolt on one of the front shocks is loose, most of the rubber bushing could probably do with replacing but there is no rust anywhere, gearbox seems good and there are no fluid leaks, brakes are okay etc etc.
What do you all think?
A neighbour has told me that my front wheels are locked (?)
Also it looks slightly jacked up at the back as the rear tyes are much bigger and chunkier looking than the front though they are both 16".
Please feel free to ask for more information if you need to.
As you may have gathered I am a woman , and a fairly reclusive one at that and I do try to be independant and self sufficient , but I am in need of help here.
Thanks for being here and I am glad to have found you all.

[Scooter]

Hey Jill, welcome to the forum. Im sure you will be able to get all the assistance you need.

Now the lux, cosmetics are one thing, mechanics are another. Could you possibly post a few photos of the truck, namely the underside, showing gearbox, transfer case, propshafts etc. It always helps with trying to solve a problem and lets us get a look under the skirt

I may be misunderstanding your post here but is this vehicle a 2wd or 4wd without a front propshaft?
If it is in fact a 4wd without a front prop, then you wont be able engage 4wd and locking the front hubs will not really have any effect other than to lock the two front wheels together. That will not have effect on driving as the front wheels will have no power transfer from the gearbox.

Lets see if we can get it sorted for you to be able to enjoy the lux as it was meant to be.

All in all though, 1000 Euro, for a lux, even a bit beat up, is worth it I would say. Bit of TLC and she will be up for anything.

Hope this helps a bit. Others will be along shortly with more advice I'm sure.

[pansy potter]

Hi Scooter,
Thanks for your friendly reply. Well timed too as I have just posted off over 200 euro to roughtrax for a new propshaft in an optimistic frame of mind.
I will see what I can do about photos, thanks for taking an interest. Much appreciated as I was suffering from the effects of cruel remarks of a passing neighbour who reckoned I should not have paid even 500 euro, he treated me as though I did not have a clue. Well I believe I do, but I do need some info from someone who knows these trucks.
I do have experience of buying vehicles unaided and taking care of reasonably basic stuff. I also run a volvo 240 estate 88 which I have kept on the road for years. I am new to 4x4 though.
Yes , it is a 4wd with the front drive shaft having been removed to use for another customers vehicle a few months back by the garage I got it from.Probably the same story with the rear section of exhaust too. It's a place that sells flash 4wd's and I was ringing them to see if they had anything a bit manky hidden out the back. So there it was, I had a good lookaround iit , but mostly it was obscured by inches of dried on mud, but I had a good feeling about it. I asked if they would put some decent tyres on, which they did, big tractory things on the back !! and they adjusted the brakes and fitted a new handbrake cable.
I realise that you cant tell a lot without having a look yourself. It will be a week or two before I get the propshaft and I need to search out some bolts from toyota for fitting it. Do you have any suggestions or warnings regarding this job. Will I be able to do it myself or is that a dicey suggestion? It's just that I have more time and enthusiasm than money, and here in West Cork it can be difficult to find someone to work on vehicles who has any motivation to work on anything more than 10 years old.
It really helps when you get some positive input, so thanks again.

[Scooter]

Jill, sounds like the truck is in good hands and with someone who will appreciate it. As you will soon learn, here on the forum all the guys and gals cherish there Lux (sometimes more than the wife ).
As for the money side of things, with us in SA we have an exchange rate of who knows what to the Euro so a truck for 1000Eu would be a bargain if we had to then spend another thousand to get it going right.

Now onto the propshaft again. Fitting is fairly straight forward and as there is not an old one, lining it up is not a concern. When removing a prop, you always need to mark the flanges before removing so that you can align it 100% again, or you will end up with vibrations. The bolts you need should be easily available from your local Toyota agent (if you have such a thing ) and if not then hopefull your local mechanic will be able to help you out. Once the prop is in, I would check the gearbox and transfer case oil levels just to make sure you are not running dry.

As said before, the other guys will be along shortly im sure to offer more assistnace and views, all be some of them a bit brash, they all mean well.

As you would have read, alot of the guys speak in Afrikaans, if you dont understand anything, don't be shy to ask for a translation, all are most willing and surely able.

[Dadz Toy BFI]

Howzit Jill

A Big Warm South African Welcome to the Forum (well kind of cos' I'm an ex-Yorkshireman) :!:

Take lots (and lots more) photos of your old girl and paste as many of them as you want, photiz tell the guys the bigger picture :D

Of course you made the right decision, it's not only a Toyota it's a HILUX

So Chill Jill :!:

And most importantly.... "What's the Lady's Name???"

Cheers

Rich

[BenHur]

Hi Jill

Welcome. Yes trucks in the condition you described will go for R 40 000-50 000 in SA so you got a bargain even if it did not have an engine in

First things first. Does she have a Solid Front Axle or and Independent Front Suspension? If it is an SFA the front universal would most probably be a Double Cardan (universal) Joint. If so make sure it has no play on, and if it has rather return it as those joints are very expensive to replace. If it is OK then you are half there. The other issue with it could be its balancing. If the balancing is out it will vibrate if you drive and it will have to be balanced otherwise it will damage the Double Cardan Joint.

To line it up is easy. You will see the slip joke (the part that extends or shorten the prop shaft) can be taken apart. Take it apart and clean and grease it properly. It too should not have significant play on it. Then when you reassemble it you must ensure that the axis of the 2 universals at both sides of the prop shaft line up with each other.

The other thing to watch out for is your tyres. Do not use the vehicle with different size tyre on front and rear axles while selecting 4wd as differences is rotational speed between fron and rear axles will cause stress (windup) of the transfer case as it does not have a center dedderential.

I am attaching an extract for the 22R FSM manual. Its written in yankee so the terminology might be slightly off

[pansy potter]

Update:
Firstly, thankyou Bennie, Rich and Scott for your help, it is really appreciated and you have given me reassurance, inspiration and food for thought.
Another traveller along my track who manages to do it in a little daihatsu with only 2wd suggested a little weight in the back. I thought about it . . .my hilux has 7 springs and big wheels on the rear, as I have said . I found a couple of heavy lengths of tree trunk which I managed to throw into the back and erm , you may laugh at this bit and I hang my head and won't look you in the eye . . .but, then, I am a virgin after all . . .
I put it into low ratio . .which I had been doing, but selected 2nd instead of 1st gear.
Away she went . . .negotiated the gravel and slippy muddy bits and deep soil.
I have been up and down a couple of times since then and it seems fairly okay. . .a bit scarey at times maybe. . .I guess I will get used to the rock and roll way of moving after a while.
I make sure that my son, felix and myself are belted in and I take it real steady.
The tyre I have on there at the moment . .which she came with are: Front: Lassa 4x4 Competus235/70R161056 . Rear:Bridestone Dueler LT285/75R16 116/113R 673.
I am afraid that this does not mean a lot to me . . .hopefully it will mean more to you.
I am prepared and able to replace tyres . .though these big ones are in good shape . .better than the smaller ones.
I have been thinking about a name for her . . .it's a bit obscure maybe . . .but it really is what keeps coming into my head so I suppose it's right. ' The Spotless Ladybird.'
If you think about it you will get it . .though you might well call them ladybugs , I am not sure . .the ex yorkshireman will get it anyway.
I am an ex- yorkshire girl by the way.
thaks for all the tech stuff. Something to get my head around, and I will try hard here, because I realise it's important. The propshaft should arrive in the next few days.I am off to drive for two hours tomorrow to collect fitting bolts . .a bit mad I know . .but I am sure that some of you will understand.
I bought a new oil filter yesterday and lots of oil, so that is the project for today as the oil thats in their looks old enough

[Family_Dog]

Hi Jill, and a belated welcome to the forum.

Bennie has given you some important advice, under no conditions (because you will be tempted to try it out!) should you fit the front propshaft until you have changed the front tyres. ALL tyres MUST be the same size if you attempt to use the vehicle in 4WD.

The other thing to watch out for is your tyres. Do not use the vehicle with different size tyres on front and rear axles while selecting 4wd as differences in rotational speed between front and rear axles will cause stress (windup) of the transfer case as it does not have a center differential.

Please post some photos of the "Spotless Ladybird/Bug" as soon as you can!


-F_D