Alaska to Patagonia '93 FZJ80 Build/Adventure Thread

[concretejungle]

My few points of advice would be...

You will want the heavy springs if you plan on doing everything you have mentioned. Go ahead and do that. Also, the yellow bushings to correct castor aren't enough, so go on sleeoffroad.com webpage and get the plates or the (can't remember if they are 3 degree or what) other bushings.

Go ahead and change out your plug wires and rotor. super easy and will make it run so much better.

Get the spare tire out from under the truck. Worst place it can be. It will get sliced up bad if you don't. So go ahead and work on a swing-out for the rear tire and then you will have ample space for your aux fuel tank regardless if you go with the long ranger or an OEM type.

 

[north2south]

careful when you steam clean the under carriage, stay out of the O2 Sensors, and the wires to them should be wrapped while you are getting under there. Vibrations could rub thru and cause issues.

I've done mine twice, once a guy at a car wash used a mix of hot steam, and a bit of diesel fuel...stunk like hell, but it was shiny when done. Makes working on the axles and doing knuckle re-builds a whole lot less greasy. A simple green bottle and a lawn sprinkler placed under there will do it as well.

you in So Cal?

Yes Im in So Cal. Having it steam cleaned next thursday and will do a front axel service in the weeks following.

 

[north2south]

First some off road fun and then not so much fun

Two adventures and some sparkplug troubles.

Since I got my Cruiser in April, my friend Chad (who will be doing the Alaska to California leg of the journey with me) has relentlessly called it a Wal-Mart Cruiser. I got the cruiser to prepare if for my trip but it also serves as a daily driver. To remedy this, the day I got back from visiting family, we went to Trabuco Canyon to find out what a stock 1993 Toyota Land Cruiser could do. In addition to being my Land Cruisers first time off road it was also my first time driving off road.

We ended up having A LOT of fun and being amazed at what this thing was capable of. I was amazed at how easy it was to drive over just about anything. I put it in 4 low activating the Central Locker, pick a line, and put my foot on the gas. We had some fun in the riverbed after getting lost in the back of the Canyon near the hiking trail. Then on the way back we spotted the trail going up the side of the canyon. We charged up it in about an hour. I got some great experience handling my truck over some challenging terrain.

We had to turn around when we couldn't get past this one sandy/ loose rock uphill section. We tried half a dozen different ways up this thing, now I think if we had gotten a little more speed the Cruiser may have made it. Even though we didn't make it to the top it was an awesome day and a great way to beat jet lag.

About a week later we found a trail off the Ortega Highway we thought would be fun. So we packed up for the day and headed out around noon (hottest time of day on an already hot summers day). As we were approaching the turn off my temperature gauge went all the way up and the engine started to struggle. I drove it for 3 more min to the turn off and parked under a tree.

It was just like you see on TV and in the Movies, steam coming out from under the hood with a sizzling noise. We popped the hood and started trying to figure out what was wrong. Pretty quickly we figured out that it was a hose under the throttle body and just as quickly we realized that there was nothing we could do about it. Once the radiator cooled down enough we refilled it will some coolant I had in the back and made our way down the AutoZone in Lake Elsinore.

Our day ended shortly after with a call to Triple-A and making a new friend, Brian the tow truck driver. Luckily traffic wasn't too bad and we made it back to Costa Mesa in a reasonable amount of time.

I figured out what the problem was pretty soon after taking of the throttle body. A tiny hole (pictured below) with the help of some pressure and heat almost drained the radiator. The same day I took the hose to a dealership and had the new one the next morning.

Then just a few days ago my engine started to shake really bad, like it was misfiring. I replaced the spark plugs and discovered that one of them hadn't been torqued down properly and come loose. I also replaced the spark plug wires and my problem was solved.

I feel like im getting close to having all the little issues worked out so I can start on the fun stuff like lifts, bumpers, and snorkel.

 

[north2south]

Seqouia

Its been a while since my last post but its been a rather busy summer. Luckly I had the chance to spend 4 day in Sqeuoia National Park and National Forest.

We set out planning to spend one night in the National Park and the nest two nights in the Big Medows or Buck Rock campground areas (get away from all the people). When we got there we learned that camp fires were not allowed in the Natonial Forest because of a huge forest fire (Burning since July 16 I think) so we stayed at the Dorst Creek Campground at camp 212 (Awesoem site I recomend it). It was very quite the first two nights because it was mid week and even when the families started to set up it remained a wonderful place to be. We did some small hikes and minor off roading up to Buck Rock Lookout. We also did the Crystal Caves tour and saw bears in Cresent Medow.

The Cruiser ran well and got better than expexted gas milage on the free ways (almost 15 miles to the gallon on one tank). However she did start to have some trouble starting. About 50% of the time the car would start just fine but the other 50% it would make the click noise and nothing. I guessed it wasnt the battery or the alternator because the dash showed it to be normal and it recharged just fine. Once I got back to cell phone coverage on the way home I learned that there is a known problem with the starter as it gets old the connectors need to get replaced.

I havent gotten to this yet but it should he a realively easy fix. Just need to get the part numbers and head down to the dealership parts deartment. Pretty cheap compared to $250 for a refurbished one or $500 for a new one

Enjoy these pictures from the Sequoia trip

 

[north2south]

PAINT JOB!!!

Some of you have recomended that I wait until after the trip or do other things instead of paint but after careful consideration I decided to get it. The clear coat was pretty much gone on the hood and totaly gone on the roof. I also removed the fender flares and patched the holes. I found putting that Foil sealent tape being the hole and filling it with Quick Steel worked very well. The Quick Steel sets super fast and you can sand it down in an hour. I also took the roof rack off and cleaned out the holes really well and pluged them with Quick Steel also. From some ih8mud forums its probably the best option besides dropping the headliner and having it welded. One of the reasons I didnt drop the headliner is because in the earlier model years of the FJ80 it is this stretched fabric that is impossible to get back in place.
The local Maaco had decent reviews on Yelp, the main complaint is that they take longer than they estimated. Im posting some pictures of the car just before I took it to the shop and Ill post some after photos next week when I get it back.

 

[FZJ]

Josh, I am based in Rosario, Argentina should you need any help this side of your trip. PM me if u wish...

Leonel

 

[onemanarmy]

If I were to do this trip, I'd have a spare of every single hose under the hood. As you saw, a pinhole leak on an obscure small hose can shut you down for good, and getting the Cruiser engines just a bit too hot for any amount of time is headgasket death.

I'd skip the sliders and paint and all that and get proper tires (with spares), a winch, and tons of tools and spare parts to fix it when it breaks....and just drive.

 

[bumper crop]

any updates on your progress?

 

[open country]

^, would love to hear some more about your build!