Buying an 80 warning/advice (2 Viewers)

[landcrusher80]

Front/rear diff lock only works when lo is engaged,

Not true my friend. As long as the CDL is engaged you can lock them in both HI and LO.

LandCrusher80

 

[corsair23]

What is this and how do I get information off of it? I am looking at lot's of 80's and will be purchasing one in the not too distant future. I've got the switch thing down but I am not too keen on other ways of gaining the most needed information...does it indeed have lockers?

Todorado,

There are plenty of threads out there and probably some good info in the FAQs (which might be how you arrived at this thread ) but I'll add this info since it is a linked FAQ thread.

For FACTORY lockers, here are the FOUR things I suggest you do to verify if an 80/LX450 has them and that they work:

1. Check for the magic dial either in person or via a close up photo of the area
   1. Rotary switch, immediately to the left of steering wheel
   2. Dial says "Diff Lock" on it with off, RR, and FR-RR positions/selections (see pic)
2. Check the Data/VIN tag on the lower portion of the Driver's door either in person or via a close up photo of it (see pic)
   1. K292 = NON locking axles (from factory)
   2. K294 = Locking axles (from factory)
3. Check the axles for the locker actuators either in person or via a close up photo (see earlier post)
4. VERIFY that the lockers work (hopefully in person)
   1. Find a dirt/gravel/etc. road or area
   2. Put the 80 in park or neutral
   3. Shift the center diff (tcase) into Low
   4. Verify the CDL engaged and the ABS is off (may have to drive forward a little)
      1. CDL icon should light - below the left side of the tach
      2. ABS icon should light - below the temp gauge
   5. Turn the magic dial to lock the axles - Either one at a time or both at once
      1. Diff lock icons on the dash should light - right side, below the speedometer, to the left of the "Open door" indicator
      2. Icons should blink while the lockers are trying to engage. They will light steadily when engaged
      3. If lockers don't engage, try some SLOW tight turns or figure 8s
      4. If the lockers STILL won't engage (sometimes it can take awhile if they aren't 'exercised' regularly) then that could be an expensive fix - sometimes they just need to be cleaned up and other times the entire actuator needs to be replaced ($$$)

Of course there are always exceptions to the above. It is possible that a rig came locked from the factory and then had parts removed (as mentioned above) but that rig won't pass test #4. On the other side, it IS possible to swap factory locking axles into an originally non-locked rig and the only difference is that the tag won't reflect that (test #2). And of course there is always the aftermarket locker mod (ARB etc)

 

[firetruck41]

Not true my friend. As long as the CDL is engaged you can lock them in both HI and LO.

LandCrusher80

Holy dead thread revival! It is true for the post it was in response to, a "new to the original poster", stock 80 series. Lots of things are possible outside of that...

 

[arbetrader]

All this kinda seems like a waste of time for me. I bought mine over the internet and just confirmed with toyota by giving them the vin # and asking them to tell me what the factory installed options were. In-among the list, she told me it had lockers. I double confirmed it at the dealer by having them run the vin #, which as well confirmed it came factory delivered with front/rear lockers.

Anyway, a couple 3 minute phone calls made it super easy.

 

[tommytuttle]

Do those axel codes work for JDM vehicles imported to canada?

I've found one I want to look at this week.

 

[FirstToy]

All this kinda seems like a waste of time for me. I bought mine over the internet and just confirmed with toyota by giving them the vin # and asking them to tell me what the factory installed options were. In-among the list, she told me it had lockers. I double confirmed it at the dealer by having them run the vin #, which as well confirmed it came factory delivered with front/rear lockers.

Anyway, a couple 3 minute phone calls made it super easy.

so if they made a mistake over the phone??

no harm in double-checking and learning how to read a tag...

 

[corsair23]

Do those axel codes work for JDM vehicles imported to canada?

I've found one I want to look at this week.

Never seen a JDM tag...Maybe Mot could tell us , or one of the current JDM owners can look at their tag.

I assume the tag is in Japanese and not English but numbers are numbers right?

 

[jasonmt]

Do those axel codes work for JDM vehicles imported to canada?

I've found one I want to look at this week.

Lockers:

No Lockers:

 

[GXO]

I would add to this revived thread (wow, old!) that if you plan on building a VERY extreme truck (37s, etc) I would not care if it has lockers or not as I would prefer to put in ARBs for strength.

Again, only if you extreme wheel. If you keep the tire size down and wheel less extreme stuff factory lockers are nirvana.

 

[john_eckels]

Asking if it has lockers is a worthless question in almost every case.

If they know what they are, they are telling everybody.

If they don't, asking about them doesn't help unless you guide them through the process. 93% of 80s didn't come with lockers. 99% of the owners don't know what the term means.

Ya gotta ask about the knob or the door sticker. Then ya gotta have somebody who knows what's up check it out.

A local dealer had a 40th anniversary cruiser when I was in the market. I called them and specifically asked if it had the diffrential locks. They guy had to check and when he called me back, he said yes. So I asked if the dial on the left of the steering wheel had just RR or both RR and FF. He said it had the automatic version that engaged when you put it in low range. This was from a Toyota dealer too.

 

[97lexus]

Kind of the reverse for me, I found my 97 lx450 on line it is in a1 brand new condition, diff locks,and 6 disk changer were NOT listed in the add, everything else was. I saw, and tested the diff locks +disk changer on the test drive. As soon as I got back to the dealer I offered the owner 2 grand less than asking cash & carry, he accepted. Two weeks later I got a CEL, I took it back he had it fixed, and he picked me up at home to bring me back to his dealership so I could get the truck, I asked the dealer "who dose your internet adds I'd like to thank him" the dealer seas for what I say I'll show you when we get back. When I showed him the diffs, CD changer, and the Lexus pre owned paperwork I found showing Lexus warrantee up ontil 300 miles ago he yelled out tony you SOB get out here this guy wants to thank you.The dealer had no idea the options were there he exclaimed if I knew I would have started out much higher, and sold it for asking. I told him yeah but look at how happy I am and thats got to be worth something. Just so you fellow mudders don't think I'm an AH for throwing Tony under the bus like that I happened to know that Tony was the bosses brother in law, so what could he REALLY do to him

 

[IronYuppy]

I think someone took the actual production numbers and figured out that 17% of NA 80s have lockers.

I lucked out on mine. With 80s as relatively scarce as they are in Canada, finding one with lockers was a total fluke.

The PO thought it was a lock to keep passengers from opening the doors while you're moving.


My $0.02, even if you get the K294 tags, get under your prospective truck and LOOK for the locker actuators before you hand over the dough. It's not as if you're never going to be crawling under your Cruiser, so you might as well start early.

 

[badmuthatrucka]

I would definitely second the idea to get someone who knows 80 series to help you check out a possible purchase. That and buy from someone, like FJBen who is honest with you. The buyer always needs to be either extremely knowledgeable or patient enough to check things thoroughly!

 

[97lexus]

Don't just look at them, ENGAGE THEM before you hand over the cash. If they won't engage, try and re negotiate. Actually try EVERYTHING make sure it all works.

 

[IronYuppy]

Don't just look at them, ENGAGE THEM before you hand over the cash. If they won't engage, try and re negotiate. Actually try EVERYTHING make sure it all works.

x100000000000

I spent 3.5 hours going over my Cruiser in the PO's driveway. You should have seen the look on her face when I pulled coveralls, gloves, tools and a tarp out of my backpack.... I am convinced I drove her nuts. ...And then I paid her $7000 in 140x$50 bills.

 

[Sarmajor]

Axle Codes

Yes the codes work for JDM 80 series at least HDJ81's. I have two and they both have the K294 transaxle code and factory fitted lockers.

Cheers

 

[tommytuttle]

I would definitely second the idea to get someone who knows 80 series to help you check out a possible purchase. That and buy from someone, like FJBen who is honest with you. The buyer always needs to be either extremely knowledgeable or patient enough to check things thoroughly!

Any members in the Toronto Area?

 

[mazder]

I just got mine!

Just purchased my 80 (95) with factory lockers, leather, optional third row seat, sunroof, Oh yeah Grandpa owned w/all maintenance records. Oh Yeah It's on.

 

[CappyKD]

Just purchased my 80 (95) with factory lockers, leather, optional third row seat, sunroof, Oh yeah Grandpa owned w/all maintenance records. Oh Yeah It's on.

Congrats and welcome! Where in Cali are you?

 

[tommytuttle]

Just looked at a JDM 91, not in the shape I was looking for but it had a factory winch to which the dealer said didn't work and they were crap anyway.

Anyone have any experience with the factory winch. I remember a posting but don't recall if it went anywhere. Someone had asked what the line speed etc was compared to a Ramsey or Warn model.