building my 95 fj80 for overland

krokarthecrooked

New member
Well one thing i did forget l am also looking into a bigger altenator for this build as i want to run an on board welder and of course winch and Aux lighting yes it will have dual Bats but i want to make sure i have the Amp power to run all this and not have to worry about it any suggestions ?


Dan
 

sprocket3

Adventurer

sleeoffroad

Adventurer
OP should do some searches on the land cruiser site regarding gearing as it has been debated to death over there. It's been a year or more since I did much searching, but I thought that a lot of people really liked the 33s with 4.88 but I could be wrong.


4.88's with 33's if way over geared. You would ruin the high speed (ok relative in a 80) cruising that you need for overland / long trips. 4.56's is doable, but really not worth the money to do. If you really are doing overland, less complications are really what you want and a 2.5" lift with 33's is plenty. 35" tires come with a lot of factors that don't gain you anything in overland travel, unless your overland is way off the beaten track.

I have 33s and stock gearing in a built up 80. When it comes to the highway and a decent hill to climb she really needs lower gears. It's just too high geared for the load and low power engine. I have to shift it down into 2nd in order to get the RPMs up, or just floor the pedal. When i drove a 100% stock 80 a few months ago I was amazed at the difference.

It is not the gearing, it is simply a lack of power. Gearing does not make power, just puts you in the power band.
 

nakman

New member
I think you've nailed the gear debate.. if you stay at 33's stay with stock gears. Go big at 315's and do 4.88 gears, but skip the 4.56. One other consideration is the cost of re-gearing is about halfway to a TRD Supercharger.. which would go a long ways towards pulling that heavy 80 up those mountain passes.
 

sprocket3

Adventurer
4.88's with 33's if way over geared. You would ruin the high speed (ok relative in a 80) cruising that you need for overland / long trips. 4.56's is doable, but really not worth the money to do. If you really are doing overland, less complications are really what you want and a 2.5" lift with 33's is plenty. 35" tires come with a lot of factors that don't gain you anything in overland travel, unless your overland is way off the beaten track.



It is not the gearing, it is simply a lack of power. Gearing does not make power, just puts you in the power band.

Well i would have to say you should know better than me. I might have 4.56 and 4.88 confused as it's been a year or more since i looked at all this real hard. I still think the gearing is a too tall with a loaded 80 on stock gears and 33s. But it's usable for sure, just hard to keep in the power band on a lot of the roads I drive.
 

CSG

Explorer
Three years is a long time away. Leave the rig as it is and consider going now. Too many here focus on "builds" and less on actually going.
 

krokarthecrooked

New member
Ok so let me get this straight i should run 4:88's with 33's on my 95 cruiser fully loaded with gear and pullin and adventure trailer and not run 5:29's with 33's for towin with about 3500 pounds weight on this rig. like i said if i can do 65 to 70 MPH on the highway im happy dont care to go any faster dont need to i want to have the gearing to pull the trailer and deal with off highway. now im not sayin im going to get crazy but some of these trails between point A and point B could be somewhat Tech and i want to be prepared.and yes i want to keep it simple as possible but also be very capable to deal with that unexpected situation where i have to deal with off the beaton path ordeals cause im sure iwill have them. is that about right or am i wrong on what ur all tellin me Thank you

Dan

P.S Christo gonna be givin u a land line soon to chat with u about this Thank you for all ur input and advice
 

alia176

Explorer
I would say 33's and 4:88's would be more than enough and a 4'' lift.

That gear ratio is not recommended for 285s. Given that Dan has multiple Toyota's in various state of disrepair strewn all over his yard, I think this 80 may actually end up being a road tripp'n rig.

33“ – max. 3“lift – 4.56 - perfect for the trailer
35“ – 4“lift – 4.56 /4.88
37“ – 5“ or 6“ lift – 4.88

5.26 is to short

Stefan

33" and 4.56s is a good suggestion if Dan feels that his vehicle is struggling to get up the hills while towing a loaded AT. Truthfully, he ought to load the AT up to the gills and slap on a set of 285s (maybe borrow a set?) and tackle the hills around Reno/Tahoe to get a feel for the power band.

Given that this 80 is a junk yard salvage titled vehicle, I'd spend more energy on making sure the basics are covered and that the vehicle will actually travel a great distance w/o blowing up.

As has been suggested, although Dan isn't liking the suggestions, stay with 2.5". This is a great combo for overlanding w/o opening up Pandora's box of headaches and the wallet.

I'm trying to think is it even possible to drive from NM to Maine w/o touching pavement and I'm inclined to think that it is not. As soon as you pass WY, you start to hit private lands more and more and lots of private gates. So, realistically the remainder of the way will probably be on I-80 heading eastbound.

Good luck with what you decide. Your crew in Reno is giving you sage advice.
 

krokarthecrooked

New member
Well i didnt say i wasnt going to touch pavement just said i was going to do it as little as possible even if it means going off the beaten path but not off trails. I might not make Maine but im am going to go as far as i can in that direction



Dan
 

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