Land cruiser help?

[Rubicon51]

I've been looking for an expo vehicle, and have come across a nice land cruiser. I don't know anything about land cruisers, I have searched here an over at IH8mud. I did find the land cruiser guide for new owners and some other useful newbie help, but nothing that satisfies my q's.

The LC in question is a 1992 LC I beleive it is an 80seires the seller is not sure and I have not been to inspect it yet. Anyhow its a 92' 80series??, the seller says that it is rare AWD LC is this true or were they all AWD. He says that is a AWD but still has a transfer case and shifter for low an high. Any help for this clarification would be great. Is this model a good model, or should I stay away from the AWD. I don't know if it has lockers, I don't think so because it is a 92' from what I have read they did not have lockers in 92'. Also I believe it is the 3fe engine, unless it was a late built 92' then it might have the other engine???? Don't know. Is the 3fe a good engine? The seller said the LC has 309,xxx miles. He wants 2000$ for it, it appears to be in really good shape. We want it for a third vehicle, and to take a 2000 mile trip in next year.

What do you guys think? What should I ask or look at during the inspection?

Thanks

 

[eleblanc]

Did you post over ih8mud?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

FJ80, full-time 4WD that in deed has a high & low t-case. 9.5" rear axle, 8" high pinion front. Coils all around.

Its got high miles, if well-maintained it could serve as a fine rig at that price, if not it could be a nightmare of maintenance needs.

 

[Rubicon51]

No I have posted at ih8mud yet. Yes it has high miles, from I can tell talking to the seller it looks as though it has been well taken care of. Seller just put a new air flow sensor, and a new brake booster in it.

Is this a good model with the AWD or should I stay away from it.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...Is this a good model with the AWD or should I stay away from it.

All US spec 80's are full-time 4WD. Its proven very reliable.

 

[Hedge]

I suppose it depends upon how you define "good model with AWD". The 1992 model's full time 4wd is strong and reliable, and the center differential locks on demand. The front and rear diff locks are available only on the 93+ years. The 91-92 3FE (4.0L OHV inline six) is reliable but low on power when coupled with the mass of the 80 series, the automatic transmission and the full time 4wd's parasitic friction losses. The 93-97s have a more powerful DOHC, 4.5L inline six. You might want to test drive one of those before you decide on this one.

 

[MarcFJ60]

I agree with the above. The 93+ is generally considered a better vehicle. But the 91-92s are fine vehicles as well. That is A LOT of miles, but if it is in good shape, the price is good. I would definitely bring it to a mechanic or do a compression test. If the engine or tranny goes south in the near future, it probably wouldn't be worth sinking the money into it to replace either - they are expensive. But if you get 40K more out of it I think it would be $2000 well invested. Heck, if you only plan to drive it 5K/year, then even getting 25K more would be a bargain. But like any used car, you may have to put in several hundred/thousand right of the bat to get it into shape.

 

[Xjaddiction]

High miles on that one, unless extensive maint. I would wait. The 3FE is a great motor, but not strong enough with the stock gearing to maintain HWY speeds with hills. The stock gears are 4:10's, I switched to 4:56's with 32's (BFG AT's that measured 31"es with 10" wide rims, nearly the stock tire size), and the thing ran very well. No problem maintaining hwy speeds after gear change, and gas mileage actually improved... a little. The gas mileage is dismal with the 3FE pushing that pig, 9 MPG with stock gears, and 12 with 4:56's and a tune up. I bought mine with 150,000 miles and great service records for $5,000 privately. I still paid another $2500 to get it to DD status (that I was comfortable with). Make sure you get a non rust belt 80.

I sold that one (even though I really love the 80's, can't have 5 vehicles), and I think I would have maybe... stayed with the 80's if I had the 4.5L motor. Still poor gas mileage (12 MPG), and still underpowered for what I needed.

Here is a pic with 38's (measured about 37"es on 15 x 10" rim) just to see if they would fit... they did even drove it on the road for a day... (from my off-road Jeep MJ) and 3"es of OME heavies...

The 80's are huge, and great people movers. They are stout as can be, and a sweet rig in my book (even though I'm a long time dreaded to Yota fans, Jeep fanatic). I'll own another some day.

Watch out on the 4.5L for Head gasket leaks and over heating. MUD is an excellent sight for all your questions, and searches. Wait for the right one. Gas prices go up again... and they will... people will be back to unloading them.

Good luck with your search.

 

[bomar]

go drive it out on the highway or interstate and drive up a hill at speed and see if the trans shifts alot searching for the gears.

The 3FE is a great engine but a slow one. The transmission is the thing to watch in this model b/c it is very costly to get repaired. The 300k miles is nothing for a 3fe.

Pull the trans dipstick and smell the fluid if it smells burnt or is black use that as a bargaining point.

If it looks like they have towed alot with it, I would run b/c then the trans is going to have some issues.

Also check the window switches to see if they all work.

Other than that it is a great truck.

 

[Hedge]

The FJ80s have the same motor (3FE) and transmission (A440) as the previous model Land Cruiser, the FJ62. However, unlike the FJ62, the FJ80s (1991-1992) came with a factory external transmission cooler as part of the towing package, which has made them less susceptible to overheated transmission problems. I would be less gun-shy about a FJ80 that has done some moderate towing than a FJ62 that has been used to tow.

 

[jdayment]

I have 91 with 130,000 but I will say it is super reliable and have meet people with over 500,000 miles.

 

[Rubicon51]

Well,

I decided to pass on this one, it turns out that it had title issues.
Still on the lookout.

Thanks

 

[luk4mud]

Rubicon, does your screen name suggest you are a former jeep owner? If so, I am too. I sold my TJ for an FJ80 a few months ago, went through the same process you are now. I settled on a 1997 FJ80 with lockers and 114k miles. The intial baselining and maintenace has been a little more extensive than anticipated, but the tradeoff has been worth it. So far, so good.

 

[Rubicon51]

Rubicon, does your screen name suggest you are a former jeep owner? If so, I am too. I sold my TJ for an FJ80 a few months ago, went through the same process you are now. I settled on a 1997 FJ80 with lockers and 114k miles. The intial baselining and maintenace has been a little more extensive than anticipated, but the tradeoff has been worth it. So far, so good.

luk4mud,
Yes. And now that I think about it I'm pretty sure that I have had at least one jeep in the garage since I was about 25. I still like jeep for its offroad abilities, but I hate seeing them every where. I cant go check the mail anymore without having a jeep pass me. There seems to be no more individuality with a jeep. If I've seen one I've seen them all. Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing jeep, but I think it has surpassed the ford explorer on how many are on the road. Half of them never even leave the asphault. I'm looking for something a little less common with good offroad abilities.