Advice buying 2002 90 Series KZJ95R GXL

[Symo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Symo]

My Brother in law is moving to outback QLD and wants a reasonable family 4WD that is about $15k and good for a young family. My initial thought was a 90-series GCL Diesel - can anyone point out what to look out for? seems like most are north of 180,000kms

[birdboy Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close birdboy]

Before being written off mine was still going strong with 315,000km on it. 3.0L turbo Diesel of course. I bought it with 60,000km on it.
Only issues i ever had were due to aftermarket stuff. Lower control arm bushes and some other front suspension parts wore out quickly due to lift but nothing major.
Only other problem we had was a dirty switch in the pedal box that resulted in no accelerator intermittently. Hard to diagnose and dangerous at the time when you took off from an intersection and had no power! But that was the only serious issue in 12 years of very happy travelling all over Aus. Loved that car.

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

Things to look for are:
- As already said, the lower control arm bushes (usually left) - if you reverse full lock left and then go forward full lock right, and it makes a clunk sound... they need replacing
- If it is an auto check to see if the rad has been replaced. The rads can fail anywhere after 100k km leading to cross contamination between the coolant and atf. You can also check if it is about to fail by wiggling the atf union on the rad (lower left/passenger on the engine side), but be aware that if it is about to fail and you do this it will most likely break off and the owner may not be understanding.
- Rear prop UJ's - if there is a vibration between 100-120km/h, one of the UJ's probably need replacing
- The rear heater and brake pipes can corrode on high mileage vehicles that have been exposed to salt - you can visually check these under the body below the drivers and passenger seats.
- In the UK there was a bad batch of rear axle seals (not sure if this was ever a problem in Australia) - tell tale signs are oil on the end of the axle housing and brake caliper & caliper stone shield.
- Also ask when the last injector service was done - if it blows a lot of black smoke under load it could be injectors. This isn't a big deal, but can be used for negotiating.

[MelbournePark Member Find all posts View Profile Close MelbournePark]

I still haven't sold my 90 series - I ordered it and took delivery in 1996. Or maybe 1997. At that time, there were no diesels available. I bought the GXL 3400 V6, with a Toyota Alloy roo bar and also a tow bar. I towed a Sabot and Optimistic sailing dinghy - the boats weigh under 35kg, so not much weight there.

The vehicle now gets better than 13 litres per 100k, on the highway, at the speed limit, with traditional square tube roof racks and a largest size oz-tent on top. Those figures are from fuel pump litres and the odometer, which seems accurate, although the speedo is not.

The only issue I've had with my vehicle was a starter motor, which got flakey and did not start well. I think the starter just needed cleaning, but the auto electrician put in a replacement and the whole thing cost $300.

Besides that, and new springs and shockers at 120k (when I changed the timing belts), new front rotors maybe twice, rear rotors once, and mine is now onto its third set of tyres (which are maybe 4k), also headlamp halogen globes ( a few of them), wiper blades, and oil and diff oil changes, its been plain sailing. My inside light map switches have had it though. And belts needed changing last year.

I think the radiators go on them too, but mine is still perfect. I do not know why.

The chassis is more flexible than the 120 series, so the glove box shakes on off road bumps. I think those that have done a lot of rough terrain may have glove box - dash issues. The benefit of the twistier chassis is that the 90 only weighs 1,840kg in V6 auto form - which is a lot lighter than 120 series. But the 90 is not good for a second battery in the front, due to the light chassis. People do it, but I would not. But because its a chassis, the 90 doors etc shut true and perfect. Mine has no vibration at all. Not a squeak or buzz or rattle at all ... it is remarkably quiet.

Also the seats are excellent. We could not buy a GXL 150 series, because the seats were poor ... we bought an upper model. IMO the 150 GXL front seats are a disgrace. The 90 has superb seats in the GXL.

And a baffle in the muffler broke off about 2 years ago ... it makes a tinkling sound at times. Mostly its dead quite. The motor sounds as good as our Lexus RX350 motor does. I did not fix the muffler baffle, because it annoyed my wife when I dropped her off at the train station sometime - and the outcome is my 150 series. A worthwhile strategy IMO!

I would not dis-regard the V6 motor, as with high octane fuel its decent on fuel use. And they do take some mileage to respond to higher octane fuel, despite knowledgeable people saying that is rubbish!

The 90 is IMO bigger in the rear than later Prados, because it has more floor to roof height, plus it has more shelves and less plastic bulk on the rear sides.

The v6 is also not an interference engine, hence if the timing belt goes, it doesn't damage the motor. Unlike the diesel, which if the timing belt fails, will likely wreck the motor.

IMO there are a lot of excellent 90s on the road ... I now have a 150, but have not sold the 90 ... I may, but it hurts to sell such an excellent vehicle for $8k or thereabouts. Around my house there are several excellent 90s that have been around for years, and their owners haven't sold them either - I guess for the same reason. I have a 22 year old who's still at Uni and I think us camping together with two vehicles would be a lot of fun, so I may keep mine for that. But I think a 90 V6 can be brilliant buying, as mine has been bullet proof and I suspect I am not the only one who has kept their vehicle because its been so superb.

And oh - another issue. The brakes are crap!

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

I too had a 2002 95 Series V6 auto in the VX variant. The only problem we ever had with it was a leaking water pump and radiator somewhere around the 90,000K mark so we ended up replacing them and got the timing belt done at the same time. Ours was traded late 2012 at just over 100,000Ks (we got reamed there I think) mainly because of it's age, it was still driving great.

Brakes were crap compared to the 150 I have now which has scary good brakes (took some getting used to). It's steering was tighter (the 150 feels a bit sloppy in comparison) with more feedback to the driver. The vision out the front is better than the 150 (for me anyway, I'm a shortass) as the bonnet has more of a slope to it.

Ours had a few annoying rattles in the dash but otherwise the interior held up well even the cloth seats were still good.

Our never got any serious off-road so had a pretty easy life, only changed the Grandcraps at 83,000K LOL.

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

But the 90 is not good for a second battery in the front, due to the light chassis. People do it, but I would not.

The UK models come standard with a second battery and I don't know of anyone that has had a problem with this.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

The UK models come standard with a second battery and I don't know of anyone that has had a problem with this.

The UK doesn't have our bush roads :-)

[MelbournePark Member Find all posts View Profile Close MelbournePark]

The UK models come standard with a second battery and I don't know of anyone that has had a problem with this.

It seems they do in the UK ... but also, how heavy are the batteries? Is the second battery a deep cycle battery? Do they use just the one battery to start the motor?

In Australia, most put in a deep cycle battery and use one battery for starting. Some have a combination deep cycle that can also start the motor. I suspect that the total weight of the batteries in the UK, is less than our batteries would weigh.

Then, add the weight of a bull bar (likely not typical in the UK), with driving lights (weight all out the front). Or even, a winch ... which is why I guess that the 120 series chassis was strengthened. And further was the 150 chassis (with extra braces underneath up the front).

And then - the rough roads which Australian drivers typically react to by increasing speed which although it smooths the ride, works the vehicle much more.

Two batteries is not an issue for the UK, for sure!!!

[MelbournePark Member Find all posts View Profile Close MelbournePark]

I too had a 2002 95 Series V6 auto in the VX variant. The only problem we ever had with it was a leaking water pump and radiator somewhere around the 90,000K mark so we ended up replacing them and got the timing belt done at the same time. Ours was traded late 2012 at just over 100,000Ks (we got reamed there I think) mainly because of it's age, it was still driving great.

Brakes were crap compared to the 150 I have now which has scary good brakes (took some getting used to). It's steering was tighter (the 150 feels a bit sloppy in comparison) with more feedback to the driver. The vision out the front is better than the 150 (for me anyway, I'm a shortass) as the bonnet has more of a slope to it.

Ours had a few annoying rattles in the dash but otherwise the interior held up well even the cloth seats were still good.

Our never got any serious off-road so had a pretty easy life, only changed the Grandcraps at 83,000K LOL.

I could have got 100K out of the GrandTreks. I would change them at low 90s, with lots of tread left.

The beauty of the 90/95 is that its light, and the tyres are wide. Hence they last much longer. I don't know why people don't like the Grandtreks ... I went off road, and not only did they have grip in all sorts of conditions (even mud) but they never punctured. I they are good value, and quiet.

I have read that the brakes can be upgraded ... not sure how much that would cost.

My 90 (haven't sold it yet and may keep it to go 4WD'd with my son) doesn't have ABS or Air bags. IMO nothing to go wrong!!! Evidently the brake leads have some surface rust - may need replacing someday. My mileage recently went over 200K (coming back to Melbourne from the Blues Fest at Noosa). Just after we visited the Australian Balloon championships in NSW. Now its around 203K I think ...