Homey's FJ80 Build

[homey]

After weeks and weeks of looking, haggling, cajoling, yelling and screaming I finally landed an 80 all for myself (and my wife, son and daughter). I've been super impressed with this website and have been lurking around for quite a while for inspiration as to what we should get. We were going back and forth between a 4Runner or LC. Today I bought my first-ever 4x4 vehicle and I think I did okay. It's a 1991 FJ80 with 186,000 miles. Carfax shows it's only been sold in here in Arizona and California so it doesn't have any rust at all. I'm so impress with this truck already... it's 21 years old and it doesn't have one rattle or squeak or anything, amazing. The engine smells a bit funny and it shakes a bit more then we're used to in our cars, but overall, for what we paid for it, we couldn't be more pleased. Plus it has some sweet FJ Cruiser wheels already installed!!

The first step is to get it back to the original condition as much as realistically possible. The PO had some kind of crappy sound system installed and from the looks and sounds of it it wasn't a very professional operation. I'll be removing the stupid subwoofer cable running from the battery to the rear hatch tomorrow. I don't mind the head unit and speakers but the rest has to go, now!! Also, the steering wheel makes a minor noise when its completely turned one direction or the other and it's already driving me nuts, so the bearing (bushing?) will be replaced. The brakes felt a bit spongey so I want them replaced front and rear just to make sure they're working properly. The biggest issue i have is the "play" in the steering wheel. It seem much more sloppy then the 4Runners we tested. I think some new bushing should help tighten it up. Hopefully.

...after that it's gonna be a lift (it looks like it may have had a lift already but I can't tell) so it can fit 35's without any rubbing. I need to find some 35" tires too but I have no idea where to start (other then just poking around on this forum). ARB front bumper for sure and maybe the too pricey rear bumper. I need to find some nice sliders too but I haven't had any luck yet, suggestions?

The main purpose of this rig is to go and be capable of doing everything Sedona has to offer with some relative ease, so nothing too insane. I still have to use it to drop the kids off at school and get groceries. We live in Mesa so its not asking too much from the Legendary LC. I'm really, really looking forward to this journey.

 

[sniderexciderr]

your first 4x4! i remember mine it was a huge truck on 38s and i drove the crap out of it off road. after that i was sold to 4x4 forever. check out http://sleeoffroad.com/ they have all kinds of info on LCs as well as a newbie section for all kinds of basic info on the trucks. my advice would be to start with what you have and add what you need as you need it. i am in the process of buying a new (used) rig and hope to find a LC for a good price. i was considering some spring spacers with longer shocks and 33s to start with and if i decided i needed to go with bigger tires then i would. put down the cash for an actual lift and go from there. good luck on your rig. and welcome to off road!

 

[Sempertoy]

Congrats on your new 80! I just picked mine up a couple of months ago, you are going to fall in love. First to start with the play in the wheel, I would look at the tie rod and the ends. I noticed the same thing when I bought mine and then 1000 miles later noticed that my rod was bent and my ends were original, with destroyed bushings. If that is the case there are a few options, you can go OEM and replace them, SLEE as mentioned above sells a replacement rod that is much stronger than the original, and they are great to work with. Budbuilt also sells an urgraded version, both are about the same price. If you go OEM make sure you are a member of ih8mud, then call dan or beno at american toyota in New Mexico and get that sweet mud discount that everyone loves and uses so much!
Lastly, sliders. There are a bunch of options out there and they are all roughly the same price. ARB, Slee, Metaltech, Bumpitoffroad, 4x4labs, cruiseroutfitters. Just go to mud in the 80's section and type in sliders and all kinds of vendors will pop up. Hope that helps a little! Enjoy the new cruiser!

Jon

 

[topproscott]

Hey, I have a 92 LC (which is pretty much the same as the 91) and these trucks have the 3FE engine which isn't to powerful, but I have learned to dig it. It last forever... Anyway when I bought my truck it had 33's and the engine really struggled to push it up big hills at altitude at freeway speeds. (so I went back to 31's and it does a lot better).

You may want to do a bit of research (check ih8mud.com) and here before spending the cash on 35's, it may struggle to push em. However you may live at lower elevation.

Its a great motor, don't be afraid to rally up hills at 3500rpms (not forever...)

 

[homey]

Thanks guys for the suggestions so far! Trust me, they will be considered during this build.

Tomorrow I'm head over to Level 10 to have the stereo issues fixed. Whoever connected the subwoofer to the battery was nice enough to include a fuse so could disconnect the whole system by just removing the fuse. The speakers don't work anymore but at least now it doesn't hum when I drive it around! Tomorrow I begin getting back to stock and cleaning everything up. After that I'm sending it over to the guys at Sierra Expeditions to have the mechanicals/fluids checked out to restore everything to as good as new. Hopefully they won't have to do too much work; I'd like to have some funds left over to get the bumpers and tires replaced this week too!!

It's day two of LC ownership and I'm really, really chomping on the bit to get this thing off road and enjoy it for the real intended purpose of getting it in the first place. It'll be 4Wheeling this weekend if the repairs and restorations aren't too time consuming... but, as we were leaving my brothers house tonight I rolled the LC with his and my family in tow (the LC is huge inside!!) through the dirt field in his front yard... Not exactly the Rubicon but it didn't even faze the beast and the kids loved it. Me too.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Congrats on the new 80 Series :cool;

 

[MoGas]

Welcome. If you really want to be immersed in the local cruiser scene, get hooked up with us at Copper State Cruisers. We have meetings on the 3rd Friday of the month at Sonic on Broadway in Mesa. Follow the link in my signature.

 

[homey]

Mo, I'd love to get some LC immersion on the 3rd Friday at Sonic but unfortunately your link to Copper State Cruiser isn't working.
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So anyway..... I stopped by Sierra Expeditions today to start the build process. They just went through it to make sure i didn't just purchase a lemon; and good news, it's not a lemon! I do have some repairs they need to do to get rid of a small leak between the engine and the tranny. I'm also getting a proper tune up so the engine will run properly for a bit longer. Those guys are really cool and I can't wait to pour more money into their pockets by getting my LC built up.

I'm getting the exhaust replaced per Will @ S.E. advice. I guess it has some rust near an O2 sensor and instead of attempting to fix it and putting a hole in the exhaust I'm just gonna replace the whole thing and get back to new.

...and 33" BFG AT tires are gonna be ordered this week. I'm pumped that I have some extra cash to spend on some upgrades as opposed to just repairs or maintenance.

Also, the play I noticed in the steering was just my ignorance with solid axel trucks. Will said most of my suspension parts are actually fairly new and would't need to be replaced for quite some time. Go figure. I guess my life-long German car-only ownership has spoiled me a bit.

Overall, I'm really pleased that 'Ol Blue (i'm trying out some nicknames...) has received a clean bill of health so I can get out do some wheeling.

 

[MoGas]

I fixed it and added our forum link.

 

[homey]

So it isn't a huge modification but it has made life with my LC much, much better. When I bought it last saturday the PO told me it has a strange alarm system. A better description would have been a POS-wanna-stab-my-ears-with-a-fork alarm system. What it would do is sound the alarm after 20 seconds if the doors weren't locked, with the key, no fob was provided when I purchased the truck. This was fun for my kids, and I'm sure a few strangers, as they enjoyed watching me run like a mad man trying to unload the kids NASCAR-machanic-style within the 20 second limit from both kid seats! Needless to say this got old very quickly so drove over to Level 10, my local car audio place, and told them about my alarm issue. The owner walked over to my truck opened the door and, I kid you not, had everything out on the parking lot within 2 minutes. Plus he found several wire that he had "no idea what they were doing" and dumped them on the street too. He's more of a "doer" then a 'talker" if you know what I mean so, without so much of a peep, the wires started flying out the drivers side door. It was a bit worrisom watching it happen to my NTM truck but after 2 minutes he stands up and states "it's done" with a very, I know what I'm doing, look on his face. I asked if everything else would still work, to which he replied "it's done". Trying to get a different response from him I ask how much I owe him and he says nothing but shakes his head. He old me to come back when I'm ready and have a "real" alarm system installed. I will have it installed next week. I'm so happy with my truck, again!

 

[NM-Frontier]

That would drive me nuts! Well done getting that junk out of there.

 

[homey]

I got a new alarm installed today. I know it's not a huge Expo upgrade but it really helps getting the kids in the truck without having to put the key in the door to open everything up. All the electronics are working now and I even had them hardwire in my Garmin so I wouldn't have the wire hanging around my dash. Plus my cigarette is free now for another electronic device...hmmm.

I had a bit of an issue today with my brakes on my way home tonight and I'm wondering what you guys did to upgrade your 80series terrible braking systems? I have a '91 so i'm a bit limited by the rear drums but any solid upgrade advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Also, i'm on my second round of chasing all the oil leaks from my truck. Do you have any drips from your Cruisers? Do you just live with them like my Land Rover friends or are you like me and a bit OCD about getting everything sealed up?

 

[Sempertoy]

I got a new alarm installed today. I know it's not a huge Expo upgrade but it really helps getting the kids in the truck without having to put the key in the door to open everything up. All the electronics are working now and I even had them hardwire in my Garmin so I wouldn't have the wire hanging around my dash. Plus my cigarette is free now for another electronic device...hmmm.

I had a bit of an issue today with my brakes on my way home tonight and I'm wondering what you guys did to upgrade your 80series terrible braking systems? I have a '91 so i'm a bit limited by the rear drums but any solid upgrade advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Also, i'm on my second round of chasing all the oil leaks from my truck. Do you have any drips from your Cruisers? Do you just live with them like my Land Rover friends or are you like me and a bit OCD about getting everything sealed up?

about your drips.. I personally live with them. I am chasing them down one at a time, but until the time comes when I have them all figured out, I'll just let it leak. There are a couple places that are known problems. First is the O ring inside the dizzy. very easy fix, very cheap part. Yours, like mine is probably original. I did a small write up about it on my build thread. Secondly is the Valve cover gasket. I have the part just haven't attacked that project yet. I think I need to do a front main on mine... but that is a different story. Remember order your parts from american toyota through dan or beno and get 25% off OEM parts. As far as brakes, I know some people use 100 series pads in the front.

 

[homey]

New Tires!!

So I've been "upgrading" my truck for a while now but I didn't post anything b/c it was all boring maintenance stuff (brakes, several gaskets, odds/ends, etc) until today... I finally got around to getting the old tires replaced! As per the recommendation of Wil at Sierra Expeditions I bought the BFG AT's and man do they look great. I just got them installed today so I haven't even had a chance to see what they'll be like doing some actual off roading but I'm excited to try them out this Friday in Sedona. I'm confident they'll be amazing... plus, I think I already have someone who'll help encourage me to use them as they are intended.

 

[1911]

Nice truck! My '91 FJ80 was one of my favorite trucks ever.

The engine side (pushrod gallery) cover gasket and the oil pan gasket are two very common leak points on the 3FE. Replace them only with OEM Toyota one-piece cork gaskets, and do not over-tighten them (FSM spec is only 83 inch-pounds IIRC).