Hi all,

Looking at buying my first Landcruiser very soon. Intending to use it for towing as well as commuting etc.

I've been to see one at a used car dealer, a 1992 4.0 6 cylinder Diesel, manual transmission 8 seat wagon. Looked very clean all round but on the test drive there was a suspicious knock coming from the transmission, both when changing gear and when rolling on and off the gas. I couldn't see any evidence of a broken engine mount etc or any transmission oil leaks, and was just wondering if this was just a characteristic of these cars? I've owned a 2.8 Diesel Hilux before and would expect the Landcruiser to be more refined, but the transmission noise on this one caused me to walk away.

Was I right or should I go back and haggle with the dealer?

Secondary question, I've always considered Automatics to be no good for towing heavy loads like a boat etc - Is this correct or can I broaden my search to include an Auto?

Thanks for reading!