Mr. Leary's 80 Series

[spressomon]

The guy says there is a plug there... he will be sending a picture of it over to me soon. We shall see... its kinda a deal breaker for me!

FWIW there were, per what I've been reading, OBDI '95 80's with the OBDII plug! So the mere presence of the OBDII port is not a 100% guarantee its OBDII compliant. Take a ScanGaugeII or similar with you to test.

Also they transitioned to the A343 transmission during the '95 model year too...and the early A343's had some type of bulletin...for whatever that means and/or is worth ;-)

 

[Mr. Leary]

Why a deal breaker?

I prefer something that is either mechanical or can tell me what sensors are showing problems. I do not like to be unable to obtain information about the running condition of a vehicle I drive. Computerized vehicles are difficult to tamper with when trouble shooting... so I want to know WHY the computer is grumpy when it throws a code.

 

[Pskhaat]

You can use a paperclip on the earlier version(s) and the dash lights will flash with error codes, pretty straight forward.

 

[Nay]

I'd want OBDII as well. These things like to pop engine codes based on O2 sensors and the like. With a Scanguage plugged in you can just reset unless it is something serious, plus the Scanguage does all sorts of other stuff. Not a reason in and off itself to buy a vehicle, but it does bring a truck that still runs like new at 150K miles more into the modern equipment world.

OBDII also provides the basis for real gains in forced induction, and if you own an 80 for any period of time you are probably going to think hard about it.

As I posted early, my '95 has a Feb95 production date and I think the crossover month was Nov/Dec so it's plenty likely that the one you are looking at is OBDII.

But I'd get a pic

 

[Mr. Leary]

Well... I'm off this evening to Kansas City to look at it. I will bring some basic tools and my scanguage. If all goes well I will be driving it back to Texas tomorrow.

 

[spressomon]

Another advantage to the OBDII 80's is related to those that live and license their vehicles in a strict smog license/test state/county. I've been told, even if its an OBDII '95 LC, most smog inspectors will do it the old fashioned way. Not a big deal I suppose but it is if you have a dual filler neck ;-)...and the time to wait around for the inspection.

 

[MoGas]

I met someone in town a few weeks ago. She had a gorgeous 95 with lockers, cloth, no third row seating (hence no cargo area sliding windows) and best of all, no sunroof. Basically, a "Poverty Pack" with lockers. She travels across the country in her rig for work and her husband wanted her to have something safe and reliable. It had 442,000 miles on it. It looked like it just came off the showroom floor. It is the highest mileage 80 that I have personally seen. She said that she takes it to the local dealer for all the services and hadn't spent a whole lot maintaining it. they purchased it brand new. She did say that she wished they had bought 2 and stored 1 because "nothing out there today can compare".

Dave

 

[locrwln]

I met someone in town a few weeks ago. She had a gorgeous 95 with lockers, cloth, no third row seating (hence no cargo area sliding windows) and best of all, no sunroof. Basically, a "Poverty Pack" with lockers. She travels across the country in her rig for work and her husband wanted her to have something safe and reliable. It had 442,000 miles on it. It looked like it just came off the showroom floor. It is the highest mileage 80 that I have personally seen. She said that she takes it to the local dealer for all the services and hadn't spent a whole lot maintaining it. they purchased it brand new. She did say that she wished they had bought 2 and stored 1 because "nothing out there today can compare".

Dave

That is inspiring, says the guy with 182k on his '96.:Wow1:

 

[Nay]

That is inspiring, says the guy with 182k on his '96.:Wow1:

No kidding. I put 7,500 miles a year on my 80 as it isn't a daily driver. I looked very hard at new Armada's and other vehicles, and finally decided that at 105K miles a fully baselined 80 would outlast a new vehicle and be far more capable than anything I could buy new that would fit a family of 6. Not bad for $13,800 with $6K of baseline maintenance and mods into it at the time.

5 years later I have hit 140K, and see no reason why this isn't a 20 year rig, which means my average monthly cost of ownership will probably be somewhere in the $200/mo range.

If you can do basic maintenance yourself, these things can be incredibly low cost over a very long period of time.

 

[locrwln]

If you can do basic maintenance yourself, these things can be incredibly low cost over a very long period of time.

Yeah, if only we could leave them alone; gears, lifts, tires, swag, farkle, etc...:sombrero:

Jack

 

[Hedge]

I'm curious what the switch is under the fuses.
Keep an eye out for rust. KC gets some salt in the winters.

 

[MoGas]

I'm curious what the switch is under the fuses.

Probably a valet switch or a kill switch.

 

[Mr. Leary]

She's home... and a pretty truck. I'll start a build thread sometime soon-ish!

I am fixing two exhaust leaks today, and then I'll take it over the get the inspection done. It is throwing a P0401 right now... EGR... I hope it will cease after the exhaust leaks are fixed.

 

[Klierslc]

I wouldn't count on it. Look on mud for exhaustive info on that(no pun intended).

 

[Mr. Leary]

Well... she's tagged, registered, and legal to DD now. :victory:

I drove her to work today, and was reminded that she pulls to the right a bit. After unseizing the e-brake lever in the rear brakes, I have to put up with constant squeeling... until I get a chance to replace the e-brake shoes, which are about shot.

I have a little play in the front wheel bearings. I'll need to investigate this further and determine whether I need to rebuilt the front axle.

My factory lockers are not engaging, although they are trying to... another reason to tear down the axles and clean everything up, but hopefully that can wait a while...

There is some surface rust on the rear axle that I need to get rid of, although it does not look bad enough to require immediate attention.

The_Mrs. and I are currently weighing lift options. I am leaning towards 315/75/R16. To fit these... OME extended height coils. She is currently leaning more towards 285/75/R16s. The only appeal this route has for me is to get away without a re-gear... but... if I have to rebuild the axles and pull them apart to clean out 15 years of gunk, I may as well put in new gears.

Right now I think 4.88s on the 315s will be a good combination, and my research on MUD seems to generally support this. This truck will not be built to the level that my 4Runner has, but an expedition rack, front ARB w/ winch, and a snorkel are gonna happen sometime. I may have another custom rear bumper done at some point, one that will carry a winch.

I've been looking into Mile Marker winches for the 80... I have had less than satisfactory performance from my WARN... and I'm kinda over it now... any red flags with Mile Marker?

Everything LC is expensive, so this build will be slow.

Floor is open for advice / discussion.

What tire size would y'all recommend? This vehicle will be primarily a Mommy hauler that will carry The_Mrs. and I and (sometime in the future) our brood out to the back country. Right now the plan is for at least two wee critters, so the third row seats are staying. This will be The_Mrs. primary off road vehicle. I would like lots of clearance to add to the factory lockers so in case she needs to get through something, minimal spotting will be required. I also admit to being partial to the look of 80 series on 35s... after seeing Guambomb's big bad @$$ 80, I just can't quite feel tickled by an 80 on 33s!