Toyota Land Cruiser Engine Problems

There's no real reason to disconnect your battery when recharging it as long as the ignition is off when you do it.

I wouldn’t be agreeing to fit new heads unless he knows that’s the cause of the overheating. Before you go to that expense have him do a leak test to determine if there is a leaking head gasket or a cracked head, also check the radiator to make sure the core is clean and maybe flush the cooling system to ensure all is well there too.

Toyota Australia spokesman Stephen Coughlan says a filter change is part of the 40,000km service. He also says the most likely cause of your problem is dirty fuel, which is common in remote areas, and agrees a spare filter is a good precaution for any vehicle tackling a long run in the Outback.

I know people who run big Toyotas on gas but the maker has never recommended gas conversions on any of its vehicles. Does that help?

For starters you need to find out what caused it to stop, there is any number of things that could have caused it to stop, and depending on what is found you might have some recourse to Toyota.

On average I would expect it to be around 16.0L/100 km driven normally, but fuel consumption is affected by the type of driving, your driving style, the load you're carrying or towing, headwinds, tyre inflation pressure, roof racks fitted, all manner of things. If you're cruising on the highway without a load and not towing you might expect it to be a little lower, but if it's fully loaded, towing a caravan, and being driven on outback roads you might expect it to be quite a bit higher.

The offer that Toyota has made is a pretty standard one across the industry, one that's generally determined by the age of the vehicle. In this case the car is seven years old and has done 180,000 km, so it would be a stretch to say you had a claim for the whole cost of the rebuild. The question is how much Toyota should contribute and that's hard to answer. Half of the cost of the parts I would think isn't enough; I would say that the bill should be split down the middle.

The 1998 Landcruiser is a popular candidate for the installation of LPG and people who have installed LPG typically save about 50 percent on their running costs. In typical use, and with the government rebate, you could expect to recover your investment within 12 months. The engines operate well on LPG and without premature degradation, however as a precaution it is recommended that you have valve clearances checked every 50,000 km rather than manufacturer's recommendation of every 80,000 km. The worst-case fuel consumption, dependent on whether it's an auto/manual, would be approximately 25 L/100km.

There is no oil consumption issue we are aware of with the 4.5-litre six. If you’re going to buy one ask for a service record, which might show oil usage.

Our LPG experts say it's unlikely to be air in the tank because the installation was done some 18 months ago. The most likely cause is a heat source influencing pressure in the tank, so check for modifications to the exhaust system etc.