Landcruiser Questions

tadink · tadink's Garage

Hey all -

Looking for a replacement SUV, and am liking the 90's and early 00's Landcruisers.

On the ads for sale, it seems a LOT of them are for sale around the 200k miles mark - is this an emotional hurdle for the sellers or are major service items lurking?

There are lots of the 90's LCs in the $5-7k range.....those are 6cyl engines.
Getting into the V8's look to be a $3k adder at least to $8-10k+....is it worth the bump in price for a better engine?

Anyone know of a good LC board out there?

thanks in advance brain trust.....

td

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

For the 80 and 100 series V8 is best. 200k on a Cruiser isn't anything to be afraid of, lots of high mileage cruisers running around out there. IH8mud,com is a great forum.

look 171 · 12-11-2013, 09:13 AM

Tadnik,

LC are good solid vehicles. I would buy the V8, also known as the 100 series in a heart beat. But the 80 series are great trucks. They do have known issues but are minor, except for the head gasket on some of the 80s. I had two 80s and one of them had the HG issue but I also had a lot of miles on both of them. I would buy another 80 without thinking twice as long as the body and the interior isn't beat too crap. I can't stand that as my daily driver. Engine and everything else can be worked on. That's one strong straight 6 motor in there. 200k miles is only 2/3 of engine life for these things. I think you can go a lot more, but you pay for that in gas. They drink it like we drink beer.

slakjaw · 12-11-2013, 09:15 AM

i miss my old LC. it was an 83 but was one of the best trucks I have ever had.

sck007 · 12-11-2013, 10:11 AM

I have had both the 80 & 100 series. Both are built tough. I traded my 93 for my 1998 @ 225K miles. The only issue I have had with my 100 is the starter. Pia to get to because you have to remove the intake.

The torque makes a big difference in the V8. Do you plan on pulling a trailer, etc because the towing capacity is 4,500(80 series) & 6,500 (100 series)?

GLWS!

tadink · tadink's Garage

Thanks for the remarks so far gentlemen -

I'm leaning to the V8 for both capacity and gas mileage, it seems it gets better hiway mpg than the -6cyl.

No real plans to tow huge things, although a light racing sailboat may enter into the mix at some point. max would be 3k lbs.

Can anything be done to the -6cyl engines to improve mpg? I suspect full time fwd is the culprit, but big, heavy, boxy profiles can't help much.

Most of the driving will be to snow and around the vineyard....4wd is good.

thx

td

look 171 · 12-11-2013, 11:41 AM

The 100 will go to about 90 percent of what a 80 will go. The 80s are are true off roader built tough and rugged. As far as milage is concern, people have talked about doing something to the dog pump to get a bit more power and milage out of it, but its a PITA if its used as a drily driver in our state to dal with smog. The V8 has more top end, but I found the straight 6 is more then enough for low end work. I drove my 80 right through the rockies into Edmonton, Alberta in the dead middle of winter twice and never got stuck or had any problems in the white stuff. How about a 4 runner? The new ones have a bigger interior space similar to the 80s. the 80 is still taller which I liked and only 2 inches wider. The 4 runner will go anywhere as well.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-11-2013, 11:48 AM

Fantastic, fantastic trucks. I had a 1991 FJ80 that was an absolute tank, easily the most overbuilt vehicle that I have ever owned. At 200k it didn't burn a drop, and major work done consisted of a water pump, fan clutch, and fuel pump. The FJ80 is pretty gutless but capable of highway speeds, the FZJ80 is better but still slow, and the UZJ100 with the V8 is more than adequate. For daily driving the 100 is really better in every way, though they weren't built with the singular focus that the 80 series was. I would own either of them in a heartbeat, my 80 is one of the few vehicles that I really regret selling.

Go to ih8mud.com, it is the only technical forum that I would consider the equal of Pelican. Both the 80 and 100 series forums have a very good FAQ, dedicate some time to reading it. Then go buy one, you won't regret it.

sck007 · 12-11-2013, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tadink

Can anything be done to the -6cyl engines to improve mpg? I suspect full time fwd is the culprit, but big, heavy, boxy profiles can't help much.

td

The 100 gets slightly better gas mileage but you will learn to appreciate the overall utility of vehicle plus maintenance savings of this great truck and worry less about mileage. When I had my 93 LC, all I could think was putting a TRD supercharger. My buddy had a SC on his 95 LC. It was awesome...

Jeff Higgins · 12-11-2013, 12:44 PM

I've been into Cruisers since 1980, starting with a '71 FJ40 and now with a '93 FJ80. The guy who sits right next to me at work has an FJ100, I believe an early 2000's.

Up through the 80 series, Cruisers were no-compromise off-road rigs that were o.k. for street duty. Beginning with the 100, they have been being slowly transformed from that original mission to one hell for stout street vehicle that is o.k. for off road. It's lost its hard core focus. That's good news for most, and most really are better off with the newer 100's, replete with V8, independent front ends, and other niceties. They are still tougher and more capable than most. When in doubt go with the 100; if your are going to seriously work it off-road, go with the 80.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Can't add much to the above other than I bought an 80 (a 1997 Lexus LX450) last summer. Awesome vehicle. Built like a tank. I looked long and hard to find one with reasonable miles that had a nice interior. I found one with 140k miles and like new inside. Those are getting rare. Finding one with the factory lockers is even harder.

I've since installed a lift kit and some 33" tires. The 4.5 liter FZJ engine has a lot of torque but is relatively gutless by 2013 standards. I get about 14-15 mpg no matter what. That pretty good by 80 standards. I would suggest driving an 80 and a 100 and see what you think.

IH8MUD is the forum for sure.

look 171 · 12-11-2013, 01:34 PM

Tadink,

What is the main focus for this LC? Mall cruiser, get the 100 (I want one because my days of playing in the mud is long gone. Been there and done that). If its mainly for off road used, then I would get the 80 because its cheaper and are better due to the none IFS. From your original post, I am not sure if the V8 is a better engine then the 6. They are different but both will get you out and back. I have had two 80s, so I am more then ready for the 100 instead, I bought a 4 runner for better fuel economy and use it mainly for skiing around here. Both will be fine in vineyard and snow.

porwolf · 12-11-2013, 03:28 PM

I keep hanging on to my 1982 FJ60. Why? It is indestructible. My odometer stopped at 160,000 in the early 90's. I can only guess how many miles ore on it now. 600,000? It is my DD. And it still has the first, untouched, engine and main transmission. It just keeps running and still makes the California smog test.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-11-2013, 04:29 PM

Expedition Portal named the 100 series as their top choice for a used expedition vehicle, I think the 80 series was #3. The fact is that except for serious hardcore rock crawling off road action the 100 will be equally good, and it is dramatically better at on road duty. Let's face facts, as fun as it is to talk about off road capability, the vast majority of time will be spent on pavement.

Jeff Higgins · 12-11-2013, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Expedition Portal named the 100 series as their top choice for a used expedition vehicle, I think the 80 series was #3. The fact is that except for serious hardcore rock crawling off road action the 100 will be equally good, and it is dramatically better at on road duty. Let's face facts, as fun as it is to talk about off road capability, the vast majority of time will be spent on pavement.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

When I was younger and doing some pretty serious off-roading, my FJ40 was the schiz. As I got older, its off-road prowess became less and less used, and its on-road compromises really got to be annoying. So it got sold.

I bought the FJ80 in part because a good friend gave me one hell of a deal on a very nice, fully optioned (including factory front and rear diff locks), low miles, freshly re-engined (at the dealer) example. I just couldn't pass it up. That, and that tiny little voice in the back of my head (leftover from my four wheeling days) told me I "needed" a "real" Landcruiser.

Well, I'm here to tell you - my co-worker's 100 is a far better rig for a guy like me. A guy who still goes off-road, but not like I used to - no longer just to see how far I can get, how hard I can push it, how much the rig can take. The 80 wins that contest hands-down, but that just doesn't matter so much anymore. The 100 would more than get me anywhere I want to go and, more importantly, back home again. And its on-road manners are so much more civilized. I would lean in that direction, if I hadn't gotten such a good deal on the 80.

Oh, and Mike - seriously? 14-15 mpg??!! That's just crazy talk in the FJ80 world. Good on you. Mine gets 12-13 on its very best day on the freeway, and closer to 10 all around as a daily driver. My buddy's 100 doesn't do as well as your 80. That's really something.

Jeff Higgins · 12-11-2013, 05:26 PM

Oh, almost forgot: It's Katie approved:

speeder · 12-11-2013, 06:26 PM

In Europe, they sell new TLCs with a very torquey TDI that gets over 20mpg. My friend's mom has one in Italy.

Why, oh why don't they sell that here?? Who could resist that?

Jeff Higgins · 12-11-2013, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

In Europe, they sell new TLCs with a very torquey TDI that gets over 20mpg. My friend's mom has one in Italy.

Why, oh why don't they sell that here?? Who could resist that?

No kidding, wouldn't that be cool? There have always been ROW diesel Cruisers. Why don't we get them?

A number of outfits sell conversion kits to put the Cummins 4BT or 6BT into 80 series Cruisers. Sounds like a great idea, but it sure looks like a lot of work. Just about doubles the fuel mileage, though.

look 171 · 12-11-2013, 07:10 PM

This college and his dad who live over the hill from us about spend the whole summer stuffing a surplus v8 diesel in his 60 series LC. He claims that it get over 20mpg and has tons more power compared to the original gas motor in there which was a real dog. I think you can get the diesel LCs in Canada. if they imported the diesel LC to the US, I am running to the dealer.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-11-2013, 07:25 PM

There's quite a few people that have spent big bucks to import diesel Land Cruiser "half cuts" to swap into their trucks. If you have the money it's a pretty easy approach, they are quite literally a bolt in swap. Seems that 20-25 MPG is pretty easy at that point. Oh to dream.........

Since we are sharing the love, here's my old FJ80 that I should have kept.