I usually hit the self serve car wash on my way home and give it a full spray down just on the water setting to get all of the muck out from under the fenders and anywhere it would want to rust. The engine bay I do less frequently but usually do a full soap down when I do. There are things you can mess up under your hood if you use too much pressure or aren't careful, so mostly just keep an eye on what you're spraying and make sure nothing comes loose and try not to get too close to electronics/fuse box or other places where water could get trapped and rust. Radiator should be totally fine to give a full spray down and probably something you want to do as mud stuck in the fins will reduce air flow and proper cooling.
Beyond that I mostly just fix things when they break and check fluids occasionally to make sure everything is topped up!
Last major mod on the list for a while - got some aluminum Poison Spyder Crusher fender flares in standard width. Just got them back from powdercoating and installed. I was really undecided on which fenders to get and for a while I thought I was set on some aftermarket plastic fenders - I'd read stories of metal fenders bending the body panels after hitting trees etc. and since we do a lot of thick tree wheeling I was worried that would be an issue. These fenders solve that problem by including inner brackets that sit inside the wheel well and reinforce the fenders by bolting them to the inner tub. In theory I should be able to push off trees without sustaining bad damage. Plus they're super lightweight aluminum. Some pics of the install.
Jeep aftermarket is definitely better here, but for a lot of stuff you still have to go cross border unfortunately. Both my bumpers came from the states, ended up basically paying double what someone in the US would. Ah well, you gotta do what you gotta do! It's even harder for you Nissan guys though, those parts are hard to find.
Yea Ryan I am selling the old wheels but probably keeping the rims and tires a package unless you can find a buyer for just the rims.
I have personally never heard of anyone having trouble with small 2-3" lifts, even through provincial vehicle inspections. Bigger issues for imports are usually DOT headlights and windshield, etc for RHD rigs. They'll also ding you for tire poke or narrow fenders, and sometimes loud exhausts, missing tailpipes, etc. Maybe someone here has more details but overall I wouldn't be too worried about bringing over a moderately modified landcruiser. I think your bigger issue will be the lockdowns and border closures, but hopefully you're able to make it.
Thanks guys - yea it was a hard decision switching to a Jeep but at the end of the day Toyota clearly isn't ever bringing the solid axle back and the IFS is pretty annoying limitation so you gotta do what you gotta do. I did seriously consider doing a SAS on my 4Runner but figured it was easier to just bite the bullet and go Jeep where I can bolt on whatever I need. If Toyota does ever come out with another solid axle truck though you better believe I'm going back, hah!
I usually hit the self serve car wash on my way home and give it a full spray down just on the water setting to get all of the muck out from under the fenders and anywhere it would want to rust. The engine bay I do less frequently but usually do a full soap down when I do. There are things you can mess up under your hood if you use too much pressure or aren't careful, so mostly just keep an eye on what you're spraying and make sure nothing comes loose and try not to get too close to electronics/fuse box or other places where water could get trapped and rust. Radiator should be totally fine to give a full spray down and probably something you want to do as mud stuck in the fins will reduce air flow and proper cooling.
Beyond that I mostly just fix things when they break and check fluids occasionally to make sure everything is topped up!
Last major mod on the list for a while - got some aluminum Poison Spyder Crusher fender flares in standard width. Just got them back from powdercoating and installed. I was really undecided on which fenders to get and for a while I thought I was set on some aftermarket plastic fenders - I'd read stories of metal fenders bending the body panels after hitting trees etc. and since we do a lot of thick tree wheeling I was worried that would be an issue. These fenders solve that problem by including inner brackets that sit inside the wheel well and reinforce the fenders by bolting them to the inner tub. In theory I should be able to push off trees without sustaining bad damage. Plus they're super lightweight aluminum. Some pics of the install.
Jeep aftermarket is definitely better here, but for a lot of stuff you still have to go cross border unfortunately. Both my bumpers came from the states, ended up basically paying double what someone in the US would. Ah well, you gotta do what you gotta do! It's even harder for you Nissan guys though, those parts are hard to find.
Yea Ryan I am selling the old wheels but probably keeping the rims and tires a package unless you can find a buyer for just the rims.
I have personally never heard of anyone having trouble with small 2-3" lifts, even through provincial vehicle inspections. Bigger issues for imports are usually DOT headlights and windshield, etc for RHD rigs. They'll also ding you for tire poke or narrow fenders, and sometimes loud exhausts, missing tailpipes, etc. Maybe someone here has more details but overall I wouldn't be too worried about bringing over a moderately modified landcruiser. I think your bigger issue will be the lockdowns and border closures, but hopefully you're able to make it.
Good luck with the trip and welcome to vioffroad!
Thanks guys - yea it was a hard decision switching to a Jeep but at the end of the day Toyota clearly isn't ever bringing the solid axle back and the IFS is pretty annoying limitation so you gotta do what you gotta do. I did seriously consider doing a SAS on my 4Runner but figured it was easier to just bite the bullet and go Jeep where I can bolt on whatever I need. If Toyota does ever come out with another solid axle truck though you better believe I'm going back, hah!