Tired of Old Junk but no Interest in Newer 4x4s

[jgallo1]

I didn’t own a j80 till I owned a house and has a sizable play money fund. Mine was purchased from the original owner at 98,000 miles. It was custom ordered no running boards, top trim. Basic Maintenance was done correctly but even the Toyota dealer maintaining it didn’t lube the knuckles and the other J80 stuff.

at 100k I replaced the garbage radiator due to cooling issues never was run hot no Head Gasket issues for my 9yrs and 60,000 of ownership. Front axle seals / knuckles done twice only paid once Toyota dealer Screwed it up also a well known J80 issue (dealers even back in 2005 didn’t know crap about J80 services)

Pesky water hose I did. That was fun. Not.
ABS system and harness rebuild yeah that was $$$ and not fun finding parts in 2007.
Valve cover gasket that was a huge pain in the ********. The first $5 gallon gas to hit CA just so happened during a trip towing my 2000lb racing boat 500 miles. J80 only did 180miles a tank with not a drop left which was massively painful on that trip.

Due to its abysmal range and my wife needing a sports bra to ride in it, our subaru actually saw way more trips and off road action?. As a 3rd vehicle play thing the J80 can be fun but definitely not a low cost easy keeper. I sold it in 2011 for what I paid in 2003. But it was in far better condition at that point basically cherry J80.

My current 3rd car play car has been way way cheaper and one hell of a road trip rig and way more fun. Grandpa’s SLK 350 had 18,000 miles on it at 16yrs old when I got it. Today it has 28,000 on it. All it gets is oil change once a yr and premium gas. Tires tend to age out before they wear out thats $980 the J80 285 KO2’s were$900.
The 350 does 500+ miles a tank at 80-100mph ?.
Definitely not a dirt rig but hell even my J80 saw less dirt than my Subaru due its miserable range and long on pavement trips that it sucked at.

My current truck does dirt roads to trail heads great in stock form plus it rides like a Grand Marquis especially at 80+ mph lol. 500+ mile range on a tank.
Dirt trails? Yeah when I do that again its probably going to be on a Ebike. Way more fun and way less money than a full on 4x4.

Get the schooling done, land one of those awesome jobs that pay $$$$$! Lots if them out there now! Get a condo purchased then dump the cheap college beater for a nice modern rig. Pick up a fun toy car to putz with when you have time to putz. ? I’m headed out to the boat with my son in the 350 burn a little rubber off the tires. Have a great Sunday!

I could not agree more. I lusted after 30 yr old vehicles for decades but never bought one b/c I knew it would be expensive. Its not just the parts, but its your time, the time without the vehicle. My first truck was an old F100 farm rig, I bought from my uncle for $1000. It broke down all the time, luckily I had the family support to help me wrench on it. After the Tranny broke I sold it for $700. I then bought a 1997 Tacoma for about 8-10k. 2k I had saved and the rest I financed from the local credit union. I think when I sold it it had around 250k on it. I drove it for around 12 yrs. It got me through college, grad school, my first yrs of marriage, a few moves, few trips across the country ,2 house flips. The crazy thing is I think I sold it for 8k.

 

[calicamper]

Oh and if your young, active making money? Buy a condo!! The condo won’t screw up your free time doing house stuff. My condo life was my best times regarding weekend trips, week day fun. Today my condo pays for my toys while I contemplate the house maintenance list?‍♂️. ? Once the kids are out its either back to the condo or a 2bd simple cottage type place. I want my play time back!!

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

I’m reading “I don’t have time, funds and patience” grad school is priority.
Why do you need a car? Hell when I was in school a 2dr Toyota Corolla for dry transport to the grocery store was about all I had time or funding for. My off road was by bicycle which was my daily commuter on campus.

I live 20 minutes form campus. Donlt need to be there every day, but still then LC is about the worst commuter you could have lol. I feel like trading it for another WRX or 5sfe Camry sometimes.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

I don't get where you need to put a ton of money into an older ride to have something reliable. I've recently finished the latest round of mods on my pickup-err...1994 4runner, and its been completely reliable. I too have redone quite a bit on it (swapped to a GM 4.3 engine and trans, dual cases, custom rear axle with lift springs, custom front axle with coil overs and links, custom made bumpers, sliders, and tire carrier, I even built a fridge slide and shelf in the back), but I'd be amazed if I had $15k into it at all.

I work with new jeeps and we recently acquired a new bronco. They are super nice, and they should be at roughly $50k plus.

Nothing wrong with wanting new, its just gonna cost you. Nothing wrong with having something old, and no reason why it has to cost a lot either. I'm guessing though that you can't do the work yourself and maybe that's why its costing you?

I can do some bits and pieces but I get overwhelmed with all the "while you're in there" stuff and jobs that require specialized tools and/or call for a lot of hours. Also I tend to get vertigo and nausea after working on it, so I end up putting off repairs. I also tend to lose focus and make even simple repairs into an ordeal.

But yea older cars usually aren't too bad as long as you don't get too OCD and can do some bits and pieces yourself.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

Probably because something else breaks a week later and the customer says you broke it.

Most reputable mechanics will quote for all the WYIT stuff: either do it right or don't do it at all.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

Meh, I went back to stock nylon guides when the supposedly better metal guides gave up very prematurely. Now it's only fair to say this was not a factory setup but that short lived (guess why) single row conversion that used machined down double row guides.

Lifespan was installed at 145k, blowed up at 187k. The stock parts I used after rebuilding (I can tell you first hand the late 22R is without question an interference engine) are still in the truck AFAIK well beyond 300k now. I sold it about 5 years ago to a friend who uses it for daily chores.

Basically my $0.02 is for late 22R and all 22R-E that the M.O. should be to do a new headgasket (another weak point on iron block/alloy head Toyotas) and guides and tensioner on a periodic schedule of probably 125K or so.

Nothing lasts forever and even the fabled Toyotas of the 80s and 90s only might tolerate and last longer with abuse. I find the most important aspect of old Toyotas, in particular mini trucks, is the quality of the parts. When you use factory or OEM suppliers (like OSK timing parts) they run well. Use cheap parts and they don't.

In my case I think the tensioner was the issue rather than the concept or the guides really. I also don't discount that I didn't pull the head when I did the conversion, just dropped the pan and did a hack job when I put them in. I got to do things "right" by skimping on them initially...

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I'm not a mechanic and I've never owned a 22re, but a headgasket every 125k seems a bit extreme, in fact that sounds more like the 3.slow that came in those pickups. I've also heard people say the top end should be rebuilt every 150k on the 1fz, but plenty have over twice that on the original gasket. Even the most meticulous owners probably wouldn't open it up as soon as they hit a certain mileage without any signs of an issue.

Anyway this is part of the point I was making earlier: you wouldn't dream of having to tear into a newer engine like the 2TR-FE before 300k unless it was badly abused.

Well, unless it's a Bronco dropping valves at 1,000 miles.

2021 Ford Bronco's 2.7-Liter Engine Has a Catastrophic Problem, Dozens Affected

Dozens of 2021 Ford Broncos with the 2.7-liter V6 engine suffered a catastrophic failure that can be traced to a dropped valve, Ford is aware of the problem

www.autoevolution.com

 

[calicamper]

I live 20 minutes form campus. Donlt need to be there every day, but still then LC is about the worst commuter you could have lol. I feel like trading it for another WRX or 5sfe Camry sometimes.

My 1/2 sister is 2 miles from campus rides the bus. No time or $ for a car. My little brother was the same way but rode his bike most of the time. I had junky old Ranger that basically only moved during summer, winter spring breaks. I sold it my 2nd yr working in my career job with 230,000 miles on it. Replaced it with a pile of junk 3.0L 91 4runner that blew up twice after Toyota spent weeks “fixing a bad head gasket” that engine was the biggest pos Toyota ever sold. I dumped the 4runner after the second rebuild got a brand new Legacy GT 5spd Limited. That 2001 GT got lower closer gearing than any of the other Subaru products. It towed my race boat like a beast. 140,000 miles when the release bearing got rough, clutch still had 10% meat on it. Sold the car to a local kid 100% working at 160,000. He sold it a few yrs later to another local kid at 220,000, I still see that car around. 2010 Outback was ok but quality was garbage compared to the 2001. Sold the 2010 in 2019 to a local teacher 100% its still getting it done no issues she loves it. Had the J80 and the 07 Sequoia as 3rd vehicles while the Subaru was the daily. No more subaru Dealer BS for me. We run two Fords and Mercedes now no complaints great vehicles easy to get fair service work done etc. The merc is cheaper to service than the Subaru?

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

My 1/2 sister is 2 miles from campus rides the bus. No time or $ for a car. My little brother was the same way but rode his bike most of the time. I had junky old Ranger that basically only moved during summer, winter spring breaks. I sold it my 2nd yr working in my career job with 230,000 miles on it. Replaced it with a pile of junk 3.0L 91 4runner that blew up twice after Toyota spent weeks “fixing a bad head gasket” that engine was the biggest pos Toyota ever sold. I dumped the 4runner after the second rebuild got a brand new Legacy GT 5spd Limited. That 2001 GT got lower closer gearing than any of the other Subaru products. It towed my race boat like a beast. 140,000 miles when the release bearing got rough, clutch still had 10% meat on it. Sold the car to a local kid 100% working at 160,000. He sold it a few yrs later to another local kid at 220,000, I still see that car around. 2010 Outback was ok but quality was garbage compared to the 2001. Sold the 2010 in 2019 to a local teacher 100% its still getting it done no issues she loves it. Had the J80 and the 07 Sequoia as 3rd vehicles while the Subaru was the daily. No more subaru Dealer BS for me. We run two Fords and Mercedes now no complaints great vehicles easy to get fair service work done etc. The merc is cheaper to service than the Subaru?

You didn't have any HG issues with the Subie?

Honestly buying this LC was a huge blunder in retrospect. I'm tired of constantly worrying about it and it's distracted me from finishing my thesis.

not saying it’s anyones fault but mine.

 

[calicamper]

My 1/2 sister is 2 miles from campus rides the bus. No time or $ for a car. My little brother was the same way but rode his bike most of the time. I had junky old Ranger that basically only moved during summer, winter spring breaks. I sold it my 2nd yr working in my career job with 230,000 miles on it. Replaced it with a pile of junk 3.0L 91 4runner that blew up twice after Toyota spent weeks “fixing a bad head gasket” that engine was the biggest pos Toyota ever sold. I dumped the 4runner after the second rebuild got a brand new Legacy GT 5spd Limited. That 2001 GT got lower closer gearing than any of the other Subaru products. It towed my race boat like a beast. 140,000 miles when the release bearing got rough, clutch still had 10% meat on it. Sold the car to a local kid 100% working at 160,000. He sold it a few yrs later to another local kid at 220,000, I still see that car around. 2010 Outback was ok but quality was garbage compared to the 2001. Sold the 2010 in 2019 to a local teacher 100% its still getting it done no issues she loves it. Had the J80 and the 07 Sequoia as 3rd vehicles while the Subaru was the daily. No more subaru Dealer BS for me. We run two Fords and Mercedes now no complaints great vehicles easy to get fair service work done etc. The merc is cheaper to service than the Subaru?

You didn't have any HG issues with the Subie?

Honestly buying this LC was a huge blunder in retrospect. I'm tired of constantly worrying about it and it's distracted me from finishing my thesis.

not saying it’s anyones fault but mine.

driver side coolant weep, subaru dealer pulled the head tossed a new gasket on at 30,000 Subarus dime took a day. ZERO issues for 160,000 I had it beat the living crap out of it. Two college kids no leaks.

 

[bkg]

My 1/2 sister is 2 miles from campus rides the bus. No time or $ for a car. My little brother was the same way but rode his bike most of the time. I had junky old Ranger that basically only moved during summer, winter spring breaks. I sold it my 2nd yr working in my career job with 230,000 miles on it. Replaced it with a pile of junk 3.0L 91 4runner that blew up twice after Toyota spent weeks “fixing a bad head gasket” that engine was the biggest pos Toyota ever sold. I dumped the 4runner after the second rebuild got a brand new Legacy GT 5spd Limited. That 2001 GT got lower closer gearing than any of the other Subaru products. It towed my race boat like a beast. 140,000 miles when the release bearing got rough, clutch still had 10% meat on it. Sold the car to a local kid 100% working at 160,000. He sold it a few yrs later to another local kid at 220,000, I still see that car around. 2010 Outback was ok but quality was garbage compared to the 2001. Sold the 2010 in 2019 to a local teacher 100% its still getting it done no issues she loves it. Had the J80 and the 07 Sequoia as 3rd vehicles while the Subaru was the daily. No more subaru Dealer BS for me. We run two Fords and Mercedes now no complaints great vehicles easy to get fair service work done etc. The merc is cheaper to service than the Subaru?

I did 6x more headgaskets on 22re’s than 3vze’s….

Really like my 94 4runner after lift and DOA ported heads. Wish I had never sold that one.

 

[calicamper]

I did 6x more headgaskets on 22re’s than 3vze’s….

Really like my 94 4runner after lift and DOA ported heads. Wish I had never sold that one.

There was definitely a head vs block issue in the 3L I later found out from a machinist that the mating surfaces were super narrow compared to all the other Toyota’s and typically the fix was an updated gasket along with machined deck and heads to try and improve the surface mating. He said that engine made him $1000’s all payed out by Toyota.
I saw the dealer bill for my first job $8000?. I was in a new Camry on their dime for 3 weeks. Second time a yr later it let go while I was fueling up in a gas station. Coolant just started dumping into the cylinders and steam out of the exhaust while shut down. I knew right away jumped in and cranked it non stop till it fired up totally fog banked the entire gas station people were ********************** out of there like my truck was going to blow up?. I drove 10 minutes home. Dealer picked it up the next morning. Said umm yeah sorry we’ll fix it. I had a Miata rental for two weeks.

Turns out several buddies that thad that 3L all had the same experience ditched it after the second failure.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

There was definitely a head vs block issue in the 3L I later found out from a machinist that the mating surfaces were super narrow compared to all the other Toyota’s and typically the fix was an updated gasket along with machined deck and heads to try and improve the surface mating. He said that engine made him $1000’s all payed out by Toyota.
I saw the dealer bill for my first job $8000?. I was in a new Camry on their dime for 3 weeks. Second time a yr later it let go while I was fueling up in a gas station. Coolant just started dumping into the cylinders and steam out of the exhaust while shut down. I knew right away jumped in and cranked it non stop till it fired up totally fog banked the entire gas station people were ********************** out of there like my truck was going to blow up?. I drove 10 minutes home. Dealer picked it up the next morning. Said umm yeah sorry we’ll fix it. I had a Miata rental for two weeks.

Turns out several buddies that thad that 3L all had the same experience ditched it after the second failure.

Yea that engine was total junk from what I’ve seen, maybe there were a few decent ones idk.

At least they redeemed themselves with the 5VZ. I’d rather have that than any of their 4 bangers.

 

[calicamper]

Yea that engine was total junk from what I’ve seen, maybe there were a few decent ones idk.

At least they redeemed themselves with the 5VZ. I’d rather have that than any of their 4 bangers.

Yeah I think the amazing 3.4 was the result of major butt chewing and probably many lost jobs.

 

[Ozark_Prowler]

Anyone know of a way to ween yourself off old Toyota 4x4s? I think I may have a problem with them. Can't bring myself to sell the LC; I always back out of deals.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Anyone know of a way to ween yourself off old Toyota 4x4s? I think I may have a problem with them. Can't bring myself to sell the LC; I always back out of deals.

Well you can sell it- but it’s like the saying “once you go black”…?