Purchasing 500,000+ km County with 4BD1? Too many miles?

[jtsmith13]

Hi. I'm looking at a 1989 Country with a 4DB1 motor in the USA that was imported from Australia. It has some mods, but is mostly a clean country. Starts up quickly, no smoke. No visible rust. She's a beauty.

My concern is that is has more than 500,000 km / 300,000 miles. I know these engines are supposed to have ridiculous longevity ("run forever"), but what do I need to watch out for? Would you consider purchasing at that high mileage if the price was right? What should I be considering with this high of miles on the motor?

Prices in the US for these trucks are absurd compared to UK and Aussie trucks. This is a rare find in the US, so it's temping. But should I wait for one with lower millage? I know fewer of these vehicles exist every year, especially in the US.

Thank you!

[Bearman]

Welcome to AULRO and I can tell you that 500K is nothing for one of these vehicles if it has been maintained properly. Sounds like the engine is fine but if in doubt you could do a compression check. Each cylinder should be around 400 - 440 psi. The gearboxwill be an LT85 5 speed if unchanged from new and is the only item that can give you problems. 5th gear fails eventually behind the Isuzu engine and then damages the rest of the gearbox also the mainshaft splines wear under the transfer input gear from lack of lubrication. There is a modification to fix that. If it gives a clunk in the gearbox area when you put the foot down or back off it will most likely be that. Everything is fixable - good luck.

[jtsmith13]

Welcome to AULRO and I can tell you that 500K is nothing for one of these vehicles if it has been maintained properly. Sounds like the engine is fine but if in doubt you could do a compression check. Each cylinder should be around 400 - 440 psi. The gearboxwill be an LT85 5 speed if unchanged from new and is the only item that can give you problems. 5th gear fails eventually behind the Isuzu engine and then damages the rest of the gearbox also the mainshaft splines wear under the transfer input gear from lack of lubrication. There is a modification to fix that. If it gives a clunk in the gearbox area when you put the foot down or back off it will most likely be that. Everything is fixable - good luck.

Thanks for the reply. According to the seller, it has solid compression. It's a 4 speed transmission though.

[rar110]

A 1989 County with a LT95 4 speed is not usual so was probably fitted to replace a worn 5 speed gearbox. The LT95 box is stronger and I find it good in my current 110, having previously owned a 1986 with 5 speed LT85.

[Homestar]

4DB1 and LT95 are a good combo and should be fine as stated if looked after. Engine is easy to work on and parts are readily available so no dramas there.

[tc_s1]

Welcome to the forums. Youve alrewdy heard from the best regarding 4bd1's and the differences between the lt85 and lt95, so all I have to add is encouragement, having now been through this myself in the US a few times, I can tell you to do as outlined to check the engine and, if for any reason you eventuslly run into trouble, they're easy to rebuild (relatively) and will then go another 500k+ miles (yes miles, 500k kms is just getting warmed up if properly cared for). I've had the pleasure of owning 3 (1 county and 2 perenties), have rebuilt one engine (thanks to the guidance of those here) and am in the process of rebuilding a spare I also acquired for ten years from now when I might need another.

I've driven them all over the country from florida to the great lakes to Yellowstone and back to Appalachia and have had nearly no issues, and expect you will too so long as properly maintained.

Again, welcome to the forum.

[Blknight.aus]

Im Confused, did you need some advice about how to do the post run in service?

[JDNSW]

Mine has done 660,00km, and is in good shape. Only things done on the engine itself have been some gaskets (sump and manifold), injectors, and crankshaft seals, plus multiple thermostats. Alternator and starter have not been trouble free.

The LT95 is the preferable box with this engine, as it stands up to it better.

[Bigbjorn]

I consider the LT85 is the better combination with the 4BD1. The overdrive 5th. gear makes it a far superior tourer. You do not use overdrive below 80 km/h or towing. As with all 4BD1's the rough idle destroys the input shaft and bearing so turn up the idle speed to a smooth idle on a warm engine. It is important to have a good thermostat as this engine is thirsty and does not perform well unless at operating temperature.

[Red90]

But 5th in the LT85 and 4th with the LT95 are almost exactly the same gear ratio in stock form.

0.948 versus 0.996 I can’t see how that is enough to even notice.

[Bigbjorn]

But 5th in the LT85 and 4th with the LT95 are almost exactly the same gear ratio in stock form.

0.948 versus 0.996 I can’t see how that is enough to even notice.

Overall ratio is LT 94- 4th. gear, 3.52:1. LT85 5th. gear, 2.82:1. Rule of thumb for LT85 & Standard diff. ratio is 100km/h @ 2000 rpm & 110 km/h @ 2200.

[Red90]

LT85. 0.7951 * 1.1923 * 3.54 = 3.36 It is a 4.7% difference from the LT95.

LT95 at 100 km/h is 2404 rpm. LT85 is 2286 rpm on 235/85R16.

[JDNSW]

Just to comment on the viability of a high mileage 4BD1, I would point out that a year or so ago I drove my 110, with over 600,000km at the time, from here (central west NSW) to Perth and back.

Total vehicle issues for the trip - end plate on aircleaner came loose and started rattling; fix - stopped for five minutes and tightened the wing nut. (better than last time I did this trip - had two flat tyres, one a blowout)

[justinc]

At 700,000km approx, mine got new liners pistons and bearings. The main bearings couldve been refitted they were hardly worn, and the crank just needed a polish.
In its early years it was over serviced, and even after the addition of a turbocharger at about 480k it just soldiered on...

[Xtreme]

At 700,000km approx, mine got new liners pistons and bearings. The main bearings couldve been refitted they were hardly worn, and the crank just needed a polish.
In its early years it was over serviced, and even after the addition of a turbocharger at about 480k it just soldiered on...
Justin, did you buy your County from a local Tasmanian?
The reason I ask is that I sold my 1985 County in 1995 with 110k kms to a guy from Zeehan who was going to use it to run tours and was just wondering (probably a long shot) if you had bought my old one.

[justinc]

Justin, did you buy your County from a local Tasmanian?
The reason I ask is that I sold my 1985 County in 1995 with 110k kms to a guy from Zeehan who was going to use it to run tours and was just wondering (probably a long shot) if you had bought my old one.

Hi Roger, no it was bought from a customer who bought it sight unseen from central NSW , with the intention of using the drivetrain put of it. It was a V8. I bought the amazingly rust free shell off him . The engine however was from my uncle's 1988 county. It was the very first Isuzu 110 I had driven as a youngster on their farm. He had bought it new in 88. It's a full circle where the engine I first drove was then bought from him after his 110 disappeared from corrosion, and fitted to my Range rover classic for about 5 years, then fitted to the county shell.

[tc_s1]

I consider the LT85 is the better combination with the 4BD1. The overdrive 5th. gear makes it a far superior tourer. You do not use overdrive below 80 km/h or towing. As with all 4BD1's the rough idle destroys the input shaft and bearing so turn up the idle speed to a smooth idle on a warm engine. It is important to have a good thermostat as this engine is thirsty and does not perform well unless at operating temperature.The issue on the LT85 is that there is a metal pin that came with the original from the factory that gets fatigued and can shear with wear, causing issues as I understand it. Once you have to rebuild it, you can replace that with a hardened metal pin replacement and the LT85 goes quite well. I prefer the feel of the lt95 in the Perentie when not on interstate, but am thankful for the overdrive (and the hardened pin replacement) in my lt85. A lot of lt85's seem to hold up well if driven properly even without a rebuild, but if they've been ridden hard, did towing or overloading uphill frequently in overdrive (not to be done, as noted by previous posts), then they may need rebuilding. The beauty of this vehicle is anything on it is pretty straight forward to sort out (and there's great expertise here to help one do so) if needed AND these 110's are far more capable, reliable and resilient than models from other parts of the world from the same era. Ashcroft transmissions in the UK sell the reconditioning kits with the hardened pin for the lt85, fyi.

[JDNSW]

One question I would raise - 1989 should have the LT85, not the LT95. If it is an LT95, either the box has been replaced - or this may well not be the original engine/gearbox unit. If this is the case, it is very likely that the vehicle originally was a V8 (a check on the VIN using one of the online checkers should answer this).

In this case, the question is where did the engine come from, and how much work had it done? This is likely to be very difficult/impossible to find out. It is also possible that some of the accessories are not the same as the factory installation (although this length of time after manufacture, this is quite possible with a factory installation).

[Xtreme]

One question I would raise - 1989 should have the LT85, not the LT95. If it is an LT95, either the box has been replaced - or this may well not be the original engine/gearbox unit. If this is the case, it is very likely that the vehicle originally was a V8 (a check on the VIN using one of the online checkers should answer this).

In this case, the question is where did the engine come from, and how much work had it done? This is likely to be very difficult/impossible to find out. It is also possible that some of the accessories are not the same as the factory installation (although this length of time after manufacture, this is quite possible with a factory installation).
Or it is not a 1989 model but actually an earlier model with the original LT95 'box. Once again, a VIN check should reveal the answer/s.

[Zcoota]

My Son's County runs a LT95 that's a bit on the noisy side. We found emulsified oil in in when we got the car home and did a prompt change. I suspect worn bearings, do these boxes fail in a spectacular manner or soldier on? We have a spare box but are not sure how urgently we need to do the change.

Cheers,

Mark

[Zcoota]

At 700,000km approx, mine got new liners pistons and bearings. The main bearings couldve been refitted they were hardly worn, and the crank just needed a polish.
In its early years it was over serviced, and even after the addition of a turbocharger at about 480k it just soldiered on...

Hi Justin,

I'm at around the 500km mark and was pondering a turbo conversion with a mild boost but was a bit concerned I was about to make the 4BD1 into a hand grenade...would it be fair to say I'm worrying a bit to much about this ? I'm not sure how many NA motors have been turbo-ed out there and how safe it is to turbo an NA unit with that many km's.

[Vern]

You are worrying to much, just do it.

[Phil B]

Agree with Vern
Do it you won’t regret it

[justinc]

Just do it, and keep your EGT to a lower threshold if you are concerned. 600deg upstream will be a very safe level and give you good performance. I did mine at around 480k, but it got some huge caning, towing and "testing" at big fuel settings. Took quite a while to kill it...

[Zcoota]

Righto...I've pulled the trigger tonight and ordered the turbo kit! Here goes.

[Bazzle218]

Righto...I've pulled the trigger tonight and ordered the turbo kit! Here goes.


Mate did you by the kit from KLR or another source ? Just wondering if any one else makes a kit ?

[Zcoota]

Mate did you by the kit from KLR or another source ? Just wondering if any one else makes a kit ?
I’ve gone with the KLR, I know it’s cheaper if you source all the parts yourself but it seems like a pretty good deal that they’re offering with everything in one box. If it wasn’t for all this Covid business I probably would have paid the extra and got them to fit it all up.

[Vern]

Turboglide also do a kit

[Bazzle218]

Turboglide also do a kit

I'm In Townsville Nth Qld, look like they only do an in house install. Unfortunately.

[Vern]

I'm In Townsville Nth Qld, look like they only do an in house install. Unfortunately.My county has one on it, there is a write up on the build on here by the previous owner many many years ago, he installed it himself. But looking at the 'kit' it all looks basically off the shelf from isuzu and garret

[JDNSW]

My Son's County runs a LT95 that's a bit on the noisy side. We found emulsified oil in in when we got the car home and did a prompt change. I suspect worn bearings, do these boxes fail in a spectacular manner or soldier on? We have a spare box but are not sure how urgently we need to do the change.

Cheers,

Mark

My experience is that they just soldier on. As long as the correct oil is used (note that EP90 will, in cold weather, break the oil pump). Low oil will also damage it. Note that an issue is likely to be transfer of oil between the gearbox and transfer case - but this is not an issue as long as you keep an eye on it and ensure neither runs low. Excessive driving on corrugations with the centre diff unlocked will hammer the thrust washers in the centre diff.

[Zcoota]

My experience is that they just soldier on. As long as the correct oil is used (note that EP90 will, in cold weather, break the oil pump). Low oil will also damage it. Note that an issue is likely to be transfer of oil between the gearbox and transfer case - but this is not an issue as long as you keep an eye on it and ensure neither runs low. Excessive driving on corrugations with the centre diff unlocked will hammer the thrust washers in the centre diff.

Thanks, that's good to know. Fingers crossed, lets see how she goes.