FurthurOnTheFly
Glamping Society
SOAZ said:OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!eepwall:
I've been waiting for you my friend....tell me about your 4Runner......
Skool me on the 80 series!
- Thread starter FurthurOnTheFly
- Start date
I've been waiting for you my friend....tell me about your 4Runner......
Life_in_4Lo
Explorer
The 4Runner will certainly get better mpg's stock but once you mod it, it will still be similar to the LC I think.
Also, why get the 3rd gen 4Runner when you already have the FJCruiser? It seems like more of the same- ifs, similar size except the FJC gets better mpg's and is more powerful.
Don't get me wrong, I like the 3rd Gen 4Runners but in this case, it seems like buying something just for the sake of default choice logic.
Don't buy based on what you don't want. Buy what you want.
Also, why get the 3rd gen 4Runner when you already have the FJCruiser? It seems like more of the same- ifs, similar size except the FJC gets better mpg's and is more powerful.
Don't get me wrong, I like the 3rd Gen 4Runners but in this case, it seems like buying something just for the sake of default choice logic.
Don't buy based on what you don't want. Buy what you want.
FurthurOnTheFly
Glamping Society
Life_in_4Lo said:
Well as I stated before, Josh is going to be taking over driving the FJC full time, so I need my own thing that will be my daily driver and weekend fun when he can't go out. The FJ is a new vehicle that has had a lot of miles put on it this last year, and as much as I love it we will probably not keep it forever so it needs to stay in somewhat a respectable state. I have a lot more opportunities to go out on Fridays or the weekends than Josh does right now, so I need something of my own to beat on that I will care less about if something should happen to it.
As for the gas mileage, the stock FJ does get better...but not ours! :elkgrin:
Right now, working only very part time and going to school buying what I want just isn't practical. Hell, if I could buy what I want it would just be a Sportmobile, or new Tacoma double cab.....but I can't afford either of those, and I will not continue to put finishing my degree on hold because of bills for things I can live without right now. I've always liked the 4Runners as well, and we've been trying for at least 2 years to get Josh's mom to sell us hers but she wont.
As for the LC listed above, he finally got back to me and as I thought is in no hurry to sell...needs it for relatives right now so it won't be available until after the 1st of the year.
Brian894x4
Explorer
It's been a few weeks since I've been on this board and I kind of scanned through this thread pretty quick, so if I'm rehashing old advise, I'm apologize.
I have page on my site that kind of covers a lot of things and mods and technical info regarding the 80 in general and my 80...
http://www.brian894x4.com/ExpeditionLandCruiserFZJ80.html
Knowing what I know now, if I had to buy another 80 to replace mine or get a 2nd one, here's what I'd be looking for.
I prefer the 95-97 generation, because I like the interior/dash set up better and there's a few minor upgrades. I have a scan gauge which works with the OBD II set up and is seriously nice to have. The only disadvantage I see is the A343 transmission, which is not necessarily weaker, but does have a few issues especially on 95 and 96 models with the reserve on some rigs. Supposedly this was fixed on 1997 models and the 100 series, which uses the same tranny has no major issues at all.
I'd try to find a 1997 model if possible, but my personal priority with be a rig with as low miles as humanly possible. Preferable under or as close 100K as possible. This would make baselining the rig much easier and would give me far more life and confidence in the vehicle over the years that I owned it.
Someone mentioned LX450s. I'd seriously considering getting one for numerous reasons. One being that they are harder to sell because they often are listed as Lexus LX450s in the ads and few Land Cruiser buyers actually do a search for Lexus and most people interested in Lexus vehicles don't want the LX450. The owners were generally very wealthy, because they were even more expensive than the Land Cruiser, which typically cost around $60-70K in today's money. My '95 cost $48K to the original owner back in 1995. And the LX450s very often have extremely low mileage. I've seen some with as low as 60,000 miles.
To make a long story, my personal priority in Land Cruisers is (1) low mileage (2) low number of owners (3) overall condition (4) years 95-97 (5) lockers.
I saw a lot of comments about lockers. My rig didn't come with lockers, but had very low mileage, was local, not one spec of rust and I was the 3rd owner, so I had no problem overlooking lockers, but pricing out what it's cost me to install two ARBs, it's not cheap.
I don't have the exact price, especially some of the deal involved trading, but just the lockers alone are somewhere in the neighborhood of $800-900 a piece. Currency fluxuations between US and Australia will affect this price. But then you have the cost of installation into the diffs. I did my own plumbing and wiring and then there's the pump and other parts. I'd guess at least $3000+ for two lockers. Which really makes finding a rig with factory lockers attractive, since typically the factory lockers has little to no affect on the price of the rig these days.
I have page on my site that kind of covers a lot of things and mods and technical info regarding the 80 in general and my 80...
http://www.brian894x4.com/ExpeditionLandCruiserFZJ80.html
Knowing what I know now, if I had to buy another 80 to replace mine or get a 2nd one, here's what I'd be looking for.
I prefer the 95-97 generation, because I like the interior/dash set up better and there's a few minor upgrades. I have a scan gauge which works with the OBD II set up and is seriously nice to have. The only disadvantage I see is the A343 transmission, which is not necessarily weaker, but does have a few issues especially on 95 and 96 models with the reserve on some rigs. Supposedly this was fixed on 1997 models and the 100 series, which uses the same tranny has no major issues at all.
I'd try to find a 1997 model if possible, but my personal priority with be a rig with as low miles as humanly possible. Preferable under or as close 100K as possible. This would make baselining the rig much easier and would give me far more life and confidence in the vehicle over the years that I owned it.
Someone mentioned LX450s. I'd seriously considering getting one for numerous reasons. One being that they are harder to sell because they often are listed as Lexus LX450s in the ads and few Land Cruiser buyers actually do a search for Lexus and most people interested in Lexus vehicles don't want the LX450. The owners were generally very wealthy, because they were even more expensive than the Land Cruiser, which typically cost around $60-70K in today's money. My '95 cost $48K to the original owner back in 1995. And the LX450s very often have extremely low mileage. I've seen some with as low as 60,000 miles.
To make a long story, my personal priority in Land Cruisers is (1) low mileage (2) low number of owners (3) overall condition (4) years 95-97 (5) lockers.
I saw a lot of comments about lockers. My rig didn't come with lockers, but had very low mileage, was local, not one spec of rust and I was the 3rd owner, so I had no problem overlooking lockers, but pricing out what it's cost me to install two ARBs, it's not cheap.
I don't have the exact price, especially some of the deal involved trading, but just the lockers alone are somewhere in the neighborhood of $800-900 a piece. Currency fluxuations between US and Australia will affect this price. But then you have the cost of installation into the diffs. I did my own plumbing and wiring and then there's the pump and other parts. I'd guess at least $3000+ for two lockers. Which really makes finding a rig with factory lockers attractive, since typically the factory lockers has little to no affect on the price of the rig these days.
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
I too recommend a 95-97. After having my Head Gasket blow on my 94, 30 miles from the 2007 ExPo Trophy, I did an entire engine rebuild. The block was bored over 1.25 mm custom pistons were made. MLS (Multi-layered steel Headgasket) used ARP studs...all top notch materials.
I then re-installed the Supercharger and attempted to tune it. I say attempt because I'm still trying to dial it in. The 95-97 has OBD-II instead of the 93-94 OBD-I. There is a difference.
The 95-97 also has other little improvements that add up to a better overall platform (In my opinion, only). Features like a one piece headliner. That doesn't sound like much until you want to add an Australian overhead fuel gauge for that aux tank you just installed.
I guess what I'm trying to convey is; I've owned my 94 for 14 months. I just added up all of my receipts for the LC since I've owned it. With the hi-po engine rebuild, coupled with replacing almost everything else under the hood, it averages out to a little over a thousand dollars a month since I bought it. Yes, that's right. Btw, that's the entire build.
Here's a link to it.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8414
I think it's safe to say, I have a new 1994 LC in the garage. And yet I'm still looking for the right 97 to transfer everything to. Not a day passes that I don't wish it were a 95-97 truck.
One could argue that if I had rebuilt the motor to stock dimensions I would not have these problems. However, I had to increase the bore size to clean up the cylinders that were damaged while it was on the Dyno at LC Engineering. The rebuild was not something I had planned to do.
Enough of that.
Here's a nice looking 97. It's even ExPo white.
http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/929878850.html
I then re-installed the Supercharger and attempted to tune it. I say attempt because I'm still trying to dial it in. The 95-97 has OBD-II instead of the 93-94 OBD-I. There is a difference.
The 95-97 also has other little improvements that add up to a better overall platform (In my opinion, only). Features like a one piece headliner. That doesn't sound like much until you want to add an Australian overhead fuel gauge for that aux tank you just installed.
I guess what I'm trying to convey is; I've owned my 94 for 14 months. I just added up all of my receipts for the LC since I've owned it. With the hi-po engine rebuild, coupled with replacing almost everything else under the hood, it averages out to a little over a thousand dollars a month since I bought it. Yes, that's right. Btw, that's the entire build.
Here's a link to it.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8414
I think it's safe to say, I have a new 1994 LC in the garage. And yet I'm still looking for the right 97 to transfer everything to. Not a day passes that I don't wish it were a 95-97 truck.
One could argue that if I had rebuilt the motor to stock dimensions I would not have these problems. However, I had to increase the bore size to clean up the cylinders that were damaged while it was on the Dyno at LC Engineering. The rebuild was not something I had planned to do.
Enough of that.
Here's a nice looking 97. It's even ExPo white.
http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/929878850.html
FurthurOnTheFly
Glamping Society
Thank you thank you to everyone! You have all been a great help in this venture, and I now know more about the 80's that I ever could have imagined.
Last night, an opportunity came around that just could not be ignored, and while I'm sure you will all be disappointed, I just couldn't let this pass me by.
After almost 3 years of bugging and prodding, Josh's parents have finally decided to give up their 4Runner and buy a new hybrid. So for xmas this year I will be inheriting a 1997 fully optioned out SR5 4Runner with 75k on the clock and the rear locker.
Hopefully in a few years when school is over and I'm back to the real world full time we will upgrade to an 80 series, but until then I'm going to enjoy every moment of this 4Runner! :wings:
Last night, an opportunity came around that just could not be ignored, and while I'm sure you will all be disappointed, I just couldn't let this pass me by.
After almost 3 years of bugging and prodding, Josh's parents have finally decided to give up their 4Runner and buy a new hybrid. So for xmas this year I will be inheriting a 1997 fully optioned out SR5 4Runner with 75k on the clock and the rear locker.
Hopefully in a few years when school is over and I'm back to the real world full time we will upgrade to an 80 series, but until then I'm going to enjoy every moment of this 4Runner! :wings:
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
That's a killer Christmas present indeed. Congratulations.
ShottsCruisers
Explorer
Westy said:
IF you can fit comfortably into them. I'm only 6'1" and my knees are to the moon!
unk03:
FurthurOnTheFly
Glamping Society
24HOURSOFNEVADA said:
Thank you! I cannot believe how fortunate I am!
Rallyroo said:
You are telling me. Just a few hours before we got the word from the parentals, we had actually called to put an offer in on a 1996 fully optioned out SR5 also with rear locker, but it had 165k on the clock and the paint on the roof and hood was faded out....they are asking $6500! Luckily for us we had to leave a message and they didn't return the call until after we got the email regarding the 97....otherwise it was going to be an awkward conversation trying to get them to take the actual KBB value of $4800!
Westy said:
I've already been looking over his website and if I can afford to go with that option I probably will. We purchased his replacement lower links for the FJ and have been very happy with that product!
I have, unfortunately, fallen in love with the TJM front bumpers that are no longer available here in the US, so if anyone knows of any that are still available or will be coming up used please let me know!!
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
A couple notes on the OE locker versus ARB that came up several times in this thread.
There are actually several issues with the OEM locker, one of which was highlighted in this thread, that being the slow engagement speed. The other and more prominent issue imo is the issues relating to a broken axle shaft. While its somewhat rare, its seemingly occurring more and more as rigs get heavier, higher miles and rougher trails. In short one has to perform "surgery" when an axle shaft breaks on the solenoid side of the rear axle. A hole has to be cut in order to remove the broken shaft, this requiring damaging some of the locker solenoid components. Not a trail friendly fix, though of course with the full-float one could plug the axle and drive it home to fix. Again this is somewhat rare, but I've dealt with a handful of these, I know Slee has likely seen many more.
Dollar wise, ARB's break down roughly as follows for install:
Rear: $1175
Locker ($850)
Bearings ($75)
Install ($250) - with seals/gaskets but not a full rebuild
Front: $1535
Locker ($850)
Bearings ($75)
Install ($500)
Knuckle Kit ($110)
Compressor & install ($250-450)
This assuming you just drop off the rig for install. One can save a ton if you pull the 3rds out yourself and just drop them off for a professional to setup the ring/pinion and plumb the air locker (we charge $185 per diff for example). Hope that helps!
There are actually several issues with the OEM locker, one of which was highlighted in this thread, that being the slow engagement speed. The other and more prominent issue imo is the issues relating to a broken axle shaft. While its somewhat rare, its seemingly occurring more and more as rigs get heavier, higher miles and rougher trails. In short one has to perform "surgery" when an axle shaft breaks on the solenoid side of the rear axle. A hole has to be cut in order to remove the broken shaft, this requiring damaging some of the locker solenoid components. Not a trail friendly fix, though of course with the full-float one could plug the axle and drive it home to fix. Again this is somewhat rare, but I've dealt with a handful of these, I know Slee has likely seen many more.
Dollar wise, ARB's break down roughly as follows for install:
Rear: $1175
Locker ($850)
Bearings ($75)
Install ($250) - with seals/gaskets but not a full rebuild
Front: $1535
Locker ($850)
Bearings ($75)
Install ($500)
Knuckle Kit ($110)
Compressor & install ($250-450)
This assuming you just drop off the rig for install. One can save a ton if you pull the 3rds out yourself and just drop them off for a professional to setup the ring/pinion and plumb the air locker (we charge $185 per diff for example). Hope that helps!
24HOURSOFNEVADA
Expedition Leader
I have, unfortunately, fallen in love with the TJM front bumpers that are no longer available here in the US, so if anyone knows of any that are still available or will be coming up used please let me know!![/QUOTE]
Seems like your last chance for a new TJM bumper would be from Christo. He bought the remaining U.S. stock.
Here's a link;
http://forum.ih8mud.com/**-ih8mud-com-vendor-marketplace-**/243275-cheap-tjm-products.html
Seems like your last chance for a new TJM bumper would be from Christo. He bought the remaining U.S. stock.
Here's a link;
http://forum.ih8mud.com/**-ih8mud-com-vendor-marketplace-**/243275-cheap-tjm-products.html