Sell 1998 Grand Cherokee to buy 1997 LX450?

[stoneydude]

I copied this from my local club's forum that I posted earlier but thought I'd ask you guys too...
So as I mentioned in my feeler thread in the classifieds (http://www.lsjc.org/board/showthread...256#post741256) my dad approached me to buy my mother's 1997 Lexus LX450 or fancy version of a Toyota Land Cruiser. The LX has 145k miles and my 1998 Grand has 242k miles. Both are 4wd. The Jeep is a 5.2 v8 and the Lexus is the iconic straight 6 1FZE engine. The LX has auto lockers on it and I can buy a switch that was oem over seas to make it selectable and the Grand does not have any lockers. Both have leather, sunroofs, and crappy gas mileage.
As far as repairs the LX has a few oil leaks from the distributor and somewhere else which are rather costly to fix because they are a PIA, much cheaper to do myself but if it's too hard I'll have to shell out some bucks to get it done. Also the radiator has a leak and probably needs to be replaced. There are a few electrical things too like the windows not working great, probably need new motors or as simple as the contacts being cleaned. The worm gears on the seats are broken too which makes it rather uncomfortable for me to drive since my mother is 5' and I'm 6'1". Side mirror is held on with duct tape (the glass not the housing). But all in all a rather solid car with some nic nacs needing to be fixed.
My Grand is needing new cv's but I've been holding out on finding a hpd30 at a junkyard, and the transmission needs to be replaced (remarkable considering this is the original tranny w/ 240k miles). Other than some age blemishes like a torn drivers seat and the headliner falling it is running great.
Both trucks have great potential to be built up into moderate off road rigs but the Lexus wins with stock e-lockers.
I'm so torn between the two I thought I'd pitch this idea to you guys. The other downside to the Lexus is it's not a Jeep lol

 

[Septu]

Forgetting that one is a jeep and one isn't. Here's my thoughts.

One has some issues that you know you'll have to fix. Perhaps you can do it yourself, but if not, you'll have to shell out some coin. Additionally, a Lexus in general (from my knowledge) will cost more to fix vs a jeep that you can find parts for in any junk yard in NA. Your current vehicle is also running (from the sounds of it) a lot better than the Lexus. Having lockers I can appreciate how nice they are when needed. However your vehicle making to and off the trail is more important.

Personally, I'd probably thank my parents for the offer, but decline. But that's me.

 

[shmabs]

As a guy who has owned more than a few jeeps, including a ZJ I will offer my two cents......

Buy the LX450. Although it has some issues (which to me seem minor, compared to a trans replacement), they are very stout chassis, meaning they are heavy, drive like a tank and to me they feel large, but the build quality is worlds above what Chrysler was putting out in the mid 90's. The 80's series is a highly sought after platform, and well respected for good reason. Personally I think they are a little too highly regarded, but that's just opinion.

Yes the LX will likely be more expensive to fix common things than your zj, but you can save some serious bucks shopping online and doing it yourself. If you are they type of person to change vehicles often, you will find the resale of the lx is much much better than a zj, but that might vary depending on location.

While recently shopping for an xj, I decided to drive an 80 series because it was there and it my price range. Despite the 80 series having twice the milage of the comparable xj's and zj's I was consider, it drove like a vehicle designed and constructed with quality and purpose. While I didn't buy that particular 80 series, I still ended up in a Toyota, and will likely never return to the zj/xj family, unless I find a nice mj.


I'm posting Toyota love in a jeep forum, but I have owned 7 unibody jeeps, I feel as though I have at least some ground to stand on.

Mike

 

[stoneydude]

Thanks for the replies, the Jeep is probably is worse condition because of the mileage and transmission issues. I'm regretting buying this particular jeep, Grands are still one of my favorite cars, but I was kinda in a rush to get some wheels. Now I'm stuck with a Heep that needs work and is probably going to be crazy hard to sell in the condition that it is in. Lesson learned.

 

[jeepdreamer]

Buy the 'yota off you folks. Fix the big issues, Expo it a bit visually and sell for a profit. Use some of that to fix the Jeep, then sell for what you got in it. Then go buy something nice that you want.

 

[madmax718]

145k vs 242k. BIG difference! lol

I'll take the lexus. Since most of overlanding nowadays requires a lot of driving before needing 4x4, I'll take the creature comforts of the lexus to knock down the miles. Toyota does have better build quality.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I would take the Toyota hands down.

 

[stoneydude]

I'll talk to my dad about giving him payments if I can't sell the Jeep right away. He kinda needs the money from me selling the jeep for him to buy the new car though. It doesn't hurt to ask I guess. Man I wish they did another cash for clunkers that would be easy to get rid of it that way.

 

[91AzXJ]

Being a Jeep guy, I would take the LX in a heartbeat especially if your parents took decent care or it.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Being a Jeep guy, I would take the LX in a heartbeat especially if your parents took decent care or it.

Did you read the original post describing the condition?

 

[Chi-Town]

Buy the LX, then head over to the ih8mud forum and find the parts and advice to fix it cheaply. Most of the parts you'll be able to find cheaply on there or car-part.com.

I love my XJ but every time I see a land cruiser I wish I had one.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Like the saying goes "Once you go Land Cruiser you never go back".....or something like that.:sombrero:
At 145K its just starting to get broke in

 

[locrwln]

Having owned two 80 series LC's, one of which was a '97 LX450 and both with lockers, I will tell you that from that era of vehicle, you will be hard pressed to find a better built vehicle. Just about everything about it is overbuilt. They were not designed for the NA market, they were designed for third world countries were pavement is unusual and they are the only vehicle the family has, so it will get used for everything.

Now having said that, it is not all sunshine and blue skies and don't let the cruiserheads tell you any different. You could not sell a brand new 80 series in today's world. The cooling system is marginal especially when operating the AC in stop and go traffic. The power to mileage ratio is abysmal. The motor was originally designed for forklift duty and Toyota should be ashamed of putting it in a road vehicle without modifying it for that use. It has all of the right ingredients to be a great motor, they just didn't finish the job. And because it should have had another 40-50 hp, the transmission ratios are a little off. One of the few vehicles I have owned (and I've gone through a few) that when you put your foot into it and the transmission downshifts and the revs increase...nothing happens other than it makes more noise and uses more fuel.

The Distibutor oil leak is common, but the one that is probably the spendy (time and effort) one is the upper oil pan arch seal. The motor has "two" oil pans, an upper and lower. Again very common on those motors and it requires lifting the motor to RR, you don't have to completely remove the motor, but there is a panhard bar support that prevents you from being able to just drop both pans to replace it. Parts can be a little more expensive because it was a $~60k when new and it doesn't know that it's not still. As suggested, Ih8mud is your complete resource for everything LC.

As noted, they are extremely well built and after you "fix" the things that need it and they all need it, it will be a great rig. I usually tell people that are looking at buying an 80 that unless you are buying it from a cruiserhead, expect to spend some coin doing all of the PM that the PO usually didn't do and now you get the joy of doing. The required PM is not cheap and it takes a while, but once you are done, you can usually go along time before you have to touch it again. I have taken them on long trips of 1500 miles or so, with a lot of highway and dirt road travels and they always impressed me from a comfort standpoint. The only low is that you have to flog the hell out of them to maintain highway speeds and that gets old.

Excellent platform let down by a marginal motor imho. I suggest you head over to the 80 forum on 'Mud and read up on 80 series before you commit to one. That way you will get an idea of what you are getting into.

Jack

 

[stoneydude]

I've been a member of 1h8mud.com since we bought the car in 2000-2001 and showed my dad the site to help him with maintenance stuff. Thanks for the great input. Oh and the "Heep" died on me yesterday because of the o2 sensors grounding out on the drive shaft. Damn thing wont stay up, now I get to check all the fuses and trace the wire and probably replace the whole thing.
:ar15::safari-rig:

 

[madmax718]

Is that motor comment in regards to the i6 or the v8?