Cool But Annoying Things About Owning a 4WD Japanese Van 

Chill out chad

Shifting with my left hand was annoying at first.

Stay tuned. Doing an update video ATM. It's looking really good so far.

Yes the salt gets stuck on them ✌️

Yes older models have that feature. Not this car.

@@nathansharma87 oh, I didn't know that. You've got a nice and well maintained model its really amazing, it offers the overall comfort for the driver and passengers.Sadly there are only a few mechanics here who knows how to handle the KZ engine. Mostly L series is the one they can troubleshoot properly and its got a good supplies of spareparts in our place. The people especially in the rurals uses this van and loads them with up to a ton of vegetables. Hiace, Delica and I dont know if you have heard about the best work horse in the Philippines or even also Indonesia which is the Toyota Tamaraw FX/Toyota kijang this are a few of the workhorses in our place. They are very reliable.

Oh cool, I have some friends from there. They have lots of Hiaces, Delica, Triton, Hilux, Landcruiser. These are a beautiful thing to own and drive. Thank you for watching and commenting.

Hey, thanks for the comment. These are definately not as capable as a 105 series but make great cruising cars. They aren't great on fuel being heavy and not aerodynamic. The tank is 70l and I get around 420ks with about 20l left in the tank. The car has a rear lsd. I've had one wheel in the air and it carried on without a fuss.

Hey what's up, Ive driven the Noah not the Voxy yet. The Noah was nice, pretty basic. Ive seen these in Tanzania and other African regions with Hilux's and Landcruiser's. Soldering on through rivers and mud and slush. If they can survive that life for 15 years then they can survive anywhere!

@@nathansharma87 sure. Here they are used for almost every purpose, such as public transport, family car even some people convert them to hearse by removing all seats and make funeral transportation business out of it.

Hey bro, no issues at all. There's no low range but, it's got truckloads of torque and instant boost so sand won't be an issue. If you put it manually into L gear it will lock up the torque converter so you'll have somewhat low range. Ground clearance is fine, slightly bigger tyres gives it a noticeable lift off the ground. I'd definitely have 15 inch rims (OEM size) and put bigger profile tyres on so you can let them down a bit and cruise over the sand.

@@nathansharma87 chur, thanks bro.

Hey you can get to the battery from behind the passenger seat, little bit easier

That's handy I'll check it out 👍

@@nathansharma87 which bigger tires do you recommend if you don't drive on sand, but just want better clearance and bit of snow? (from 15'' to ?) thanks. Wish i was in Perth.

Hi thanks Yes I've driven a few Lite Ace 4WD's and I love them. They are a bit slow and not very powerful but they are fun to drive. And they are tiny!

Is is good for daily drive. 90s are the best car to drive right. Old buts gold.

100% right. Who knows.

I haven't checked tbh haven't needed to but it's handy to know 👍

@@nathansharma87 you based in Perth? I'm just getting the head replaced on mine so been googling parts etc for the longest time wanted to convert to a camper but those rear seats are so comfortable it's hard to even consider taking them out.

Yep I'm in Perth. I can't strip mine. They're so rare now and to gut them would be a shame. Toyodiy.com will give you all the part numbers you need. Nengun.com will have diagrams and parts from Japan.

Yep mine has driver and passenger front airbags as well as ABS braking, pre tensioning seatbelts and that's about it.

From what I've found 3086lbs or 1400kg is what they are rated for BUT ive seen people tow caravans and boats around 2-2.5t so around 4500-5000lbs

Mostly 96 onwards up to 2004. But even some 2004 models don't have it.

I saw a super custom a 1999 model with water cooled intercooler std

💯 agree

Different models different years. Older models have access behind passenger seat. Newer models don't.

@@nathansharma87 I’m lucky then

I believe it was introduced for the facelift so around August 96.

Alarm from turbo unit? Nope. Is it coming from the turbo area under the seat or is it an aftermarket turbo timer? It's not the sunroof open warning buzzer after shutdown right?

@@nathansharma87 Thanks so much for getting back to me.The alarm sounds like it is coming from the engine compartment under the seat. It is quite loud and goes Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep and repeats 4 times. Didn't know there was a sunroof open warning but will check that out. No aftermarket turbo timer. You rule man.Thanks

No problems, I have no idea what it could be in the engine bay. I don't think there's a factory buzzer in there for anything. Let me know what you find I'm curious now 🤔

@@nathansharma87 Thanks Nathan. I appreciate your help. I will let you know what I find out.

The 1kz engine is refined and has plenty of torque. It's used in the Landcruiser Prado and Hilux and makes the van feel "trucky". The petrol engine is smooth and good for town use but it can't match the diesel for pulling power. Also, petrol = 2WD only.

Driver headroom may be tight.

Being here in Australia, it is as easy as he makes it sound to get parts for these. ;)

@@CloudSpirals send me some lol

@@billychristmas I've got the same problem as you... but in reverse. A lot of US products I can't get here in Australia, or that postage is ridiculous. Same with Europe.... But here in Australia, getting imported goods from Japan is all good! First world problems hey! 😛

Not too bad to be honest. Since the battery is separated from the engine compartment and it's not under a conventional bonnet that's exposed to scorching hot summer heat and winter frost, they have a much longer service life.

@@nathansharma87 better than a german car with the battery under the seat, or a chrysler who keeps them in the front fenders. that's some demonic shit. still i can imagine the bit where you actually have to lift the battery out of it's lair isn't a lot of fun, especially since i'm sure these things have a big heavy battery. ive been looking really hard at these vans. might get the townace instead but i worry that those would be too slow while these seem like they would honestly be in their element on big american highways. no fucking idea why toyota didn't sell these in america, it's a market niche that really has no one trying to fill it and these are probably the best of their breed. people in america will pay a lot of fucking money for a van which is basically just a worse version of this.

I love the Liteace and Townace. They are slower but super cool. But you are right, the Hiace is the bigger heavier cruiser. I think Japan was restricted by the US Government. They didn't want to engineer the weird retracting seat belts etc just for American regulation as well as a whole bunch of other stuff for each car sold. Around the same time, well 70s and 80s Chrysler were desperately trying to convince Americans to accept diesels but it never caught on and these vans were offered in petrol but, ultimately they were designed for diesel power. And lastly, I believe Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan etc found Americans were really afraid of the engine being under them and that it could kill them with a flying piston or/ and the rumour that it leaks carbon monoxide inside the van.

@@nathansharma87 the big three all experimented with cabover vans it's just they fucking sucked and rather than spend the time and effort to do it right they realized quickly Americans don't care and went back to conventional vans. The dodges, funnily enough, have a cult following in Japan. But yeah it's probably some bullshit. The US government heavily protects the truck business because it's all the domestic manufacturers have left, and if the Japanese were allowed to compete fairly they'd drive the American companies out of business. The Hiace is a good example. It's simply superior to any American counterpart, flat out. The only thing American vans have is cost, and they make that up over years of repairs and fuel bills. The liteace would probably work best for me really but it's very very difficult to find parts for it while with the Hiace I can at least get most of it. Think the Hiace would be easier to live with anyway. Considering the one with the hood too. Same engine as the Hiace but not cabover which has pros and cons

So true. And I'll soon be shipping parts for JDM vehicles globally so I should be able to support any maintenance and service items for these and others in the future.

She's pretty tidy. Plus I'm insane. I can't sleep if it's not perfect.

No trouble. I don't have it anymore. Had to sell it. Some parts I got from Japan. Costs the same as what I'd pay in Australia and arrives in a week.

@@nathansharma87 that's cool man I've been using toyodiy to find part numbers. Did u find a particular supplier in japan or just google search Ur parts

@@tsauces partsouq and amayama

@@nathansharma87 thanks for Ur help. Ps that van is sick I hope u sold it to someone that will take good care of it

Turning into camper. Got a message last week about fuses so assuming they blew something 😔

What?

Mine has no access panel at the back.

@@nathansharma87 under carpet? Must do. Also i know i said it in last comment but great videos! Really helping out with my 94 SC L . Keep it up! 😁 They are my dream van. Have so many features not to mention what iv added.

@@nathansharma87 Supercustom has a battery access from the back not from the seat. we have so many here in Uganda and I have driven many.

Nope. Maybe the older models. These do not have a battery access panel behind the front seat. I've heard this from a million different people, no this van does not have the access panel.

@@nathansharma87 Ahhh I see. My bad man. Cool vans though! whatever model you have.

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Older ones I think (pre August 96) were a bit crumbly. Afterwards the y beam up front was strengthened and more material up front to act as crumple zone as well as twin airbags.

@@nathansharma87 bout to buy a 92 first thing im doing is reinforcing the front and getting a big steel bumper both front and back