1985 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ73 Part 3: 4x4 Shed

NO MATTER where you looked under the old Land Cruiser you’d find an oil leak, and investigating the leaks inevitably led to discovering worn parts. You get that on 400,000km cars, but old Cruiser are worth preserving. Take the rear hubs on the BJ73, for example. The wheels showed the tell-tale signs of the hub seals leaking, with the splattering of diff oil on the rims that any owner of an old 70 Series will know.

To fix its issues the crew at Terrain Tamer had to slip the axles out to pull off the rear diff, and removing the wheels and brake drums showed the brakes needed overhauling as well – the linings were low, drums worn and wheel cylinders were leaking. Thankfully, Terrain Tamer carries all the replacement parts for these consumable items, so a complete kit was pulled from the warehouse shelves.

That’s one of the things I love about visiting Terrain Tamer HQ in Melbourne. Not only is it like a giant candy story of 4x4 parts, but it’s also like a big family business. Whether you’re in the workshop, at the parts counter, or lucky enough to get out back in to the warehouse, the place is filled with smiling faces, all of whom know what parts are needed and where to find them. And they all make a point of smiling and saying G’day as you walk through, so it seems like a happy place to work.

While the brake drums, linings, wheel cylinders, rubber brake lines and axle seals are all Terrain Tamer replacement products, there are some parts TT don’t make anymore, so it carries genuine Toyota parts. This allows Terrain Tamer to cover all the needs for parts, without having to turn to multiple suppliers. It is worth remembering that any Terrain Tamer parts are manufactured to, or better than, the OE part.

Shadin King cleaned and stripped the old brakes off and, with them out of the way, it revealed the pitting on the hubs where the seals sit. This required him to fit Speedy Sleeves on both sides of the rear end, before the new seals, bearings and brakes could go on.

While Shadin was working at the back, Allan and Tony stripped the front end to address the leaking swivel hubs. Here, a complete Terrain Tamer hub rebuild kit was used and worn parts such as the CV joints and stub axles were replaced with Terrain Tamer parts. The beautifully machined TT stubs looked too good to fit to my smelly old Land Cruiser, but they’re on there now and they’ll only get dirty once it’s back on the tracks.

The front brakes were only replaced with new pads and rotors a few thousand kays ago, so they didn’t need attention; however, the rubber brake lines were showing their age and were replaced with new Terrain Tamer parts.

On the back of the rebuilt gearbox and steering box, new clutch and a set of new Terrain Tamer shocks and steering dampener that the guys fitted, the new brakes bearings and seals should have the old Cruiser stopping well and going hard for another few hundred-thousand kilometres. It should outlive its smelly old driver, unless Terrain Tamer has a rebuild kit for him, too.