My FJ80 - the one I kept

[ZAMIRZ]

My uncle has a Lexus LX450 with 250K+ miles on it (bought used with 36K). It burns some oil, but besides that it's been solid as a rock and NEVER had any problems besides the pass side fore/aft electric seat adjustment that just quit on him about a month ago. It's 100% as it left the factory down to the headlight bulbs, besides consumables.

My first daily driver was a '92 Isuzu Trooper that I beat to hell, but the transmission started to go out at around 130K when I decided to sell it. That was also a great truck, but not nearly as solid as the FJ80.

[m21sniper]

Old Troopers lasted a long time. Pretty solid vehicles.

[porsche4life]

Trooper? Really? My parents bought a '91 brand new... My dad swears that was the most under powered POS he has ever owned.... Thats including the Fiat he had on his note lot that had no reverse gear....

[ZAMIRZ]

^The second generation came out in '92, and that included a new 3.2 liter V6 engine. Prior to that they were underpowered POSs though.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by ZAMIRZ

My uncle has a Lexus LX450 with 250K+ miles on it (bought used with 36K). It burns some oil, but besides that it's been solid as a rock and NEVER had any problems besides the pass side fore/aft electric seat adjustment that just quit on him about a month ago. It's 100% as it left the factory down to the headlight bulbs, besides consumables.

My first daily driver was a '92 Isuzu Trooper that I beat to hell, but the transmission started to go out at around 130K when I decided to sell it. That was also a great truck, but not nearly as solid as the FJ80.

Otherwise, how's the condition on his Lexus? Does he want to get rid of it? I need a somewhat large vehicle to haul people like clients and bit and pieces of materials at times. I have a 93 LC which I love to death. Its a little dirty and faded paint so I don'e like to drive clients in it. IF I do, I would have to at least wash it first. Not a bif fan of washing cars.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Trooper? Really? My parents bought a '91 brand new... My dad swears that was the most under powered POS he has ever owned.... Thats including the Fiat he had on his note lot that had no reverse gear....

They were underpowered, yeah, but very reliable. My old man sold about a thousand of those things over the years. Never had many problems with returns or warranty work.

[ZAMIRZ]

Originally Posted by look 171

Otherwise, how's the condition on his Lexus? Does he want to get rid of it? I need a somewhat large vehicle to haul people like clients and bit and pieces of materials at times. I have a 93 LC which I love to death. Its a little dirty and faded paint so I don'e like to drive clients in it. IF I do, I would have to at least wash it first. Not a bif fan of washing cars.

He's pretty anal, so it's in good condition. Paint's a little faded, but it doesn't have any dents. He commutes on the 101 from Woodland Hills to Westlake and back with it, I'll ask him if he wants to sell.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

So a typical owner could expect to have to replace that $1000 axle 4 times in the span of the vehicle, for $4000 just on scheduled axle repairs...and this is what is considered a "great" truck?

Hmmmm.

It's an axle reseal, not a replacement. Remember that these things are designed to be fording creeks and driving through mud, it's just maintenance. The parts are $200-$300 depending on whether or not you replace bearings. It's really a pretty straightforward DIY job.

How much does a 928 timing belt job cost? Must be a real POS too, huh?

[mattdavis11]

30K miles is just a service interval, usually you won't need new parts. Outside of changing the diff oil, I can't recall any of the 80's in our family having ever had it's axle/birfield serviced, all of which have north of 250K miles. They are very low maintenance. My spark plugs have over 100K miles on them, and my gas mileage is still a lot better than most 3FE's.

Nice rig, Matt. It's a lot cleaner than mine. Holler when you need parts.

[rick-l]

I'm betting if you really like this thing it will be for sale here in the next 30 days.

[vash]

my sister had an early trooper. tuff as nails. by the time she was through with it, there was no surface un-bondo'd. it never quit running. she rolled it!
gutless.

now the FJ...LOVE THEM. i followed a black one all set up, towing some extreme expedition, offroad, tent trailer. he looked like he was "loaded for bear". it was awesome. i watched a show where some japanese extreme team, set up two of them to drive across antartica or something. they had huge balloon tires, and struts poking out front/rear to hold them up if they drove into a crevice. amazing stuff.

[speeder]

A little more $$ but I like this one. (In a darker color). V-8 w/ TRD supercharger.

Toyota : Land Cruiser:eBay Motors (item 130355433757 end time Jan-05-10 13:00:14 PST)

You guys w/ lots of miles on the 6-cylinders, how bad is your fuel mileage? City vs. long trips? I'm just thinking probably no better than this one.

[mattdavis11]

10-12 city, 14-15 highway, 250K. That is by no means average for the majority of the 3FE's, most are around 8 city, 12 highway. I put my old drive line in a new to me chassis and the mileage shot up significantly.

[fumanchu]

I've seen you post on mud in the past under the same name as here on Pelican.

Love my '93 LC as well, had it for 5 yrs now and only have had to to do the seals in the front axle. $120 for parts and lots of time but easy. I'm surpried you went with a 3fe. The head gasket thing is way overplayed on the 1FZ-FE... and the thing has been bullet proof outside of regular maintainence. I make up for that with11 mpg, but again,... it never breaks.

good luck w/ yours.
I've bought sold many cars but still keep this thing.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by speeder

A little more $$ but I like this one. (In a darker color). V-8 w/ TRD supercharger.

Toyota : Land Cruiser:eBay Motors (item 130355433757 end time Jan-05-10 13:00:14 PST)

You guys w/ lots of miles on the 6-cylinders, how bad is your fuel mileage? City vs. long trips? I'm just thinking probably no better than this one.

really no difference but 2-3 of miles per gallon. I drpve up to Mammoth last summer with the family and loaded with all kind baby stuff and got 13 miles on the high way doing 75 the whole way.

[Sapporo Guy]

Nice!

Strange color combination for a LanCrew (RanCru) ...
Very cheap too!
Couldn't touch one over here for less than US$5k min ...
Awesome beasts but horrible on gas and diesel though

Something ... doesn't look right though. The body seems very narrow and is missing some of the lines that a domestic would have.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

It's an axle reseal, not a replacement. Remember that these things are designed to be fording creeks and driving through mud, it's just maintenance. The parts are $200-$300 depending on whether or not you replace bearings. It's really a pretty straightforward DIY job.

How much does a 928 timing belt job cost? Must be a real POS too, huh?

I don't think anyone has ever claimed a 928 to be "the most reliable" or "best offroad vehicle."

I'm thinking i'd stay completely away from any vehicle that needed a $1000 axle reseal/rebuild every 3 years (if this is indeed the case)- no matter how cool it is.

Changing a timing belt every few years is enough hassle/expense for me.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by ZAMIRZ

He's pretty anal, so it's in good condition. Paint's a little faded, but it doesn't have any dents. He commutes on the 101 from Woodland Hills to Westlake and back with it, I'll ask him if he wants to sell.

Thanks, let me know. It doesn't sound like he take it off-road? what year is it? Do you do any work on it? I met you when you worked at Dave's shop. I think that was you? I am not sure if you ever work on my 930? It was there for a while. Red 903 cab with Ruf wheels.

jeff

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by fumanchu

I'm surpried you went with a 3fe. The head gasket thing is way overplayed on the 1FZ-FE... and the thing has been bullet proof outside of regular maintainence. I make up for that with11 mpg, but again,... it never breaks.

It is overplayed, but they lack something that the 3FE has. I don't know if it's attitude, or character, but it's significant, and it's not the CDL switch. Having spent a lot of seat time in both the 3FE and 1FZ, as well as having wrenched on both, the 91-92's are a better built vehicle. No offense, I like the 1FZ cruisers, but it's too much of a soccer mom ride. It's kind of similar to having a Porsche with power steering. It's hard to explain, but you know when you feel it.

Of course I'm quite a bit biased, if it weren't for leaf springs on the FJ62, or if the 60 had a 2FE.....

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Sapporo Guy

Nice!

Strange color combination for a LanCrew (RanCru) ...
Very cheap too!
Couldn't touch one over here for less than US$5k min ...
Awesome beasts but horrible on gas and diesel though

Something ... doesn't look right though. The body seems very narrow and is missing some of the lines that a domestic would have.

You're in Japan, right? The Japanese market 80s got a number of cool features that the USA didn't. Externally they had different body moldings, factory winch and bumper mounted rear tire, different lights, and a few other little things. Inside they got cool stuff like a center console fridge and rear A/C. They also got a diesel engine and manual gearbox, not fair.

Originally Posted by m21sniper

I don't think anyone has ever claimed a 928 to be "the most reliable" or "best offroad vehicle."

I'm thinking i'd stay completely away from any vehicle that needed a $1000 axle reseal/rebuild every 3 years (if this is indeed the case)- no matter how cool it is.

Changing a timing belt every few years is enough hassle/expense for me.

Congrats on not buying one. These things were designed to drive through creeks, mud, desert sand, etc. Basically the most hostile terrain on earth, as such they are incredibly over-engineered. The axle overhaul is replacing the seals associated with the front axles, the parts are $200 max. For what its worth, mine doesn't have any record of an overhaul and at 195k has only minor seal seepage. I plan on an overhaul this spring. The two biggest repairs to mine have been a fuel pump at 150k and a water pump about a month ago.

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

It is overplayed, but they lack something that the 3FE has. I don't know if it's attitude, or character, but it's significant, and it's not the CDL switch. Having spent a lot of seat time in both the 3FE and 1FZ, as well as having wrenched on both, the 91-92's are a better built vehicle. No offense, I like the 1FZ cruisers, but it's too much of a soccer mom ride. It's kind of similar to having a Porsche with power steering. It's hard to explain, but you know when you feel it.

Of course I'm quite a bit biased, if it weren't for leaf springs on the FJ62, or if the 60 had a 2FE.....

I dig the 3FE because it's so damn simple. Mine is desmogged, so basically it's just a motor and automatic gearbox. The simple EFI system is the only electronic system. No airbags, no ABS, and very little to go wrong. Compared to the modern euro stuff I normally wrench on, simple is VERY nice.