Give me ONE Reason NOT to buy an FZJ80...

[vengeful]

Hehe...I think I'll hold out for an LC.

 

[muchosdiaz]

The FZJ80 is an interesting but expensive rig to run around in. I had a 94 that i bought in 2000 with 85K miles. I put 120K miles before selling it and buying a Honda Pilot. They are reliable an hard to break, but when they do break WOW!!!! If you are going to buy one take it to a good toyota mechanic and have it looked at top to bottom. I took mine to a local mechanic who was supposed to be good and got a clean bill of health..... After I owned it for a couple months I took it to another mechanic for a belt and hose change (nasty little hose hides under the manifold on the driver's side)and found a cracked block. we used alumaseal and got another 20k out of the motor before it needed to be replaced(4500$ for used one). I had the check engine light issue which usually turned out to be a clogged EGR vacumn filter which I would replace every 30k. All that being said it was an impressive truck and even stock with stock sized BFG AT tires it went anywhere I wanted to.

A few observations:
1. Gas mileage was usually 13-15 around town or on the highway
2. Never ever let the temp gauge budge above normal. These engines are VERY sensitive to overheating. Even if the needle does not get into the red, but just goes a little above the norm the head gasket is at risk( I learned the hard way. the needle jumped up a little pulling a trailer in colorado and at the next stop there was oil in the coolent. Granted It is hard to overheat these things if the cooling system is in good shape, but watch out.
3. towing capacity is rated at 5000. this is pretty acurate. We towed a 4000 pound travel trailer for awhile in Texas without a problem. After the trailer was stolen we bought a chalet hard sided pop up that weighed about 3000 loaded and towed it from Austin to the Black Hills, over to Glacier and down through Yellowstone, the Tetons, Dinosaur monument in Utah and then back down to Austin via the Million dollar highway and we could maintain 60 on the flats, but the passes would get us down to 45 at times.

Would I own another one.... you bet, in fact I have a line on a 93 with lockers and cloth interior..................

 

[Skillet]

Have I ever told you I love your truck Skillet? :bowdown:

Why, thank you sir.

:sombrero:

:safari-rig:

 

[calamaridog]

It sounds like the perfect vehicle for you:luxhello:

 

[Pskhaat]

The LC engine design is roughly engineered for 3 rebuilds in it's life. It was designed to be beat to death repeatedly every day for 30 years. I wouldn't blink an eye at 100k miles. Durango_60 is selling his FZJ80 with 200k on the clock and it purrs like it's brand new. If it is bothersome, factor in the cost of a complete engine rebuild at a reputable LC shop and re-do your TCO: I think you'd still be impressed.

There are only 2 reasons I can think of NOT to buy one: 1) Fuel mileage. It's horrendous. 2) No manual transmission. Uhh, that's about it. Seriously. My 1996 FZJ80 is the most pleasing and reliable machine I've ever had the pleasure of owning.

I fix things immediately when needed, and they're few and far between. Yes, I did have the HG changed pre-emptively and I've only had MIL/CEL when something actually went wrong and that was only once with an EGR tube that came unplugged.

FWIW, if I had the $ to do it all again, I'd spend the money on a 91-92 FJ80 (instead of 93+ FJZ80) and use the remainder to do the fun expedition things. The 91-92 FJ80s are quite amazing and different beasts unto themselves.

 

[adventureduo]

Scott, why would you want to go with a 91-92? Just curious.

All the good stuff started in '93.

 

[vengeful]

I was wondering the same thing actually.

And personally, I think I'd go with a 96 or 97 for two reasons. One, they're newer, so less corrosion, and fewer miles, and two...they're equipped with OBD2.

 

[Pskhaat]

Since you asked

FJ80s have:

• Vented front brake backing plates
• Majority cloth seats
• Strong A442 bus tranny
• Mechanical center diff
• Front PTO winch capable
• H55f swapable
• 2F component integration
• Engine-off cooling fan
• Easy setup for expedition 3F/2F carb and manual dial BFE fuel dizzy
• 15" factory wheel option
• Less expensive
• Can read engine codes from the flashing dash CEL, no need for OBD scanner.
• Can take all years 80 series accessories and mods.
• You can bump up displacement with a factory 2F block

It is lacking factory diff locks, but so are many FZJ80s. It is lacking FF rear, but so is the US 100 series.

 

[vengeful]

On the later 80s...are the brakes too large to fit 15" wheels? Or were they just equipped with larger wheels for stylistic effect?

 

[Pskhaat]

Yes, the rear calipers rub a 15" wheel. There are a few who have taken the grinder to the caliper, but structural brake parts aren't something I'd feel comfortable adjusting

 

[Grim Reaper]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/313056537.html
:drool: This is exactly what I want to replace both my wife’s Honda and our Suburban. It has the lockers. It would be my wife’s DD and it should pull our Airstream (3,000lb) and be a mild trail rig for the family when camping with the Airstream. Eventually be my trail rig :safari-rig:

Unfortunately I'm not ready to buy till I sell the Suburban.

 

[blupaddler]

Since you asked

FJ80s have:

• Vented front brake backing plates
• Majority cloth seats
• Strong A442 bus tranny
• Mechanical center diff
• Front PTO winch capable
• H55f swapable
• 2F component integration
• Engine-off cooling fan
• Easy setup for expedition 3F/2F carb and manual dial BFE fuel dizzy
• 15" factory wheel option
• Less expensive
• Can read engine codes from the flashing dash CEL, no need for OBD scanner.
• Can take all years 80 series accessories and mods.
• You can bump up displacement with a factory 2F block

It is lacking factory diff locks, but so are many FZJ80s. It is lacking FF rear, but so is the US 100 series.

Thanks Scott.
I was unaware of the PTO availability.
The 5 spd would be cool as well.

 

[adventureduo]

I'd rather keep my 4.5 liter instead the PTO option. That is if you could even find a PTO winch setup. The PTO is super rare to find. Not to mention probably a slow winch. But still bitchen nonetheless to have as a factory option. Ill keep my full float rear axle and fat disc breaks too. I'd rather have 15" wheels though. Way more options for the expedition type wheels out there. Lockers I can give or take. You can always install ARB's.

But back to the 4.5 liter. I can't imagine driving around with the 4.0. The rig is already a dog with how much weight i have on it... i can only imagine how slow it would be with the 4.0.

 

[Pskhaat]

i can only imagine how slow it would be with the 4.0.

Yep, it's bad, but not as bad as you might think. As you know though, the 2F and 3F designs (overstroked for one) keep the torque curve rather steep and peaks very early in the RPM range vs. the torque apex of the overbored 4.5 at IIRC ~3200rpm?

FJ803FE on the ExPo here (who unfortunately is quite an idle user) and I are out with our rigs often. Driving his FJ80 you can certainly tell that there is a more immediate feel of power to rock climbing and the truck due to to the 3F's torque rise is able to power over some obstacles that take the 4.5 a little more of the skinny pedal to do. Put both rigs on an open flat sand road though and there's no comparison.

The absolute torque numbers aren't there, but the `quality' of the torque in it's RPM range is truly outstanding on the old 3F, plus being effectively a destroked 2F can pull a few more rotations to yield some higher HP (granted not much).

The 4.5 is still an awesome engine though...

Oh, I should clarify the PTO winch is really just any PTO winch that you could put up there, because you can mate an H41/H42/H55f easily and thus have access to the various tcases with PTO gears.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I have to say that a 3FE with a 5 speed is really woken up.. The 3FE is sort of the last of the real land cruiser heavy duty motors IMO because they are bomber and very heavy duty (actually designed for those rebuilds previously mentioned) and the 1FZ-FE is more along the lines of a modern Japanese engine, designed to be.. "replaceable..." The A440F trans is great but sucks a huge amount of power out of one of them.. I have driven a FJ62 with a standard, night and day over a stock FJ62 with the auto... They get a bad rap because of the power loss, but again I think the 3FE is a sweet engine. Pretty much the pinnacle of F/2F/3F engine design...

So my $.02 on it.. Would I still buy a 3FE over a 1FZ-FE, good question, possibly but probably not. Those factory features and the increased power of the 1FZ-FE still seals the deal on it for me..

FYI, I had a lot of trouble selling a 1FZ-FE I had that was in basically perfect shape for only $1200.. Eventually it sold on ebay.. They can be found used easily enough.. Proffitts is putting 4BTs into them also.. I think that would be killer, particularly with a manual... Cheers, Andre :beer: