Copenhagen1 Intro Thread 1992 FJ80 3FE (1 Viewer)

[Copenhagen1]

I am not new to Land Cruisers or IH8MUD. Been a member since 2006. I am new to 80 series trucks.

I have a 1977 40 series and my DD is a 2001 100 series. Both build thread links are in my signature. I have been putting 25k-30k miles per year on my 2001 since I bought it a couple years ago. I also put about 5-10k a year on the 40 series when the weather is nice in Texas and the temperature outside is not too high. No a/c in my 40 and no plans to install any.

I have been watching craigslist for a year or more waiting for the right FJ80 to come along for the right price. I specifically wanted the 3FE because I was trying to avoid a lot of the "new" technology. This truck got posted late on July 26 and I drove to Dallas and purchased it on Saturday morning July 27. I have had it a week now.

Here are some pics the day I got it home:

 

[Copenhagen1]

Front driver seat is trashed but the carpet and the rest of the truck looks very good. I was a little disappointed that it had leather and not factory cloth. The leather was probably port or dealer installed. I had the passenger door panel off in the first pic. It is in good shape as well but the passenger window was down and would not roll up. I got it up by using a different switch from another door. I have new switches on order.

Interior pics...








I pulled the third row seats. They are gray leather as well and in very good condition. If you are close to East Texas, you could easily own them.

 

[Copenhagen1]

On Sunday after I got it home, I spent most of the day cleaning. I pulled the Manik grill protection and the taillight bars that match. I am not a big fan of that look so they are available as well. I also pulled all of the door panels and sprayed silicone on all of the window rubber and greased the window channels. Windows roll up and down much better and faster now. The whole rig probably had 21 year old window tint that had all turned purple looking. I stripped all of that off and cleaned the windows thoroughly.

The tough part is cleaning the old tint off the rear hatch window without ruining the factory defrost. I am still working on that. Any shortcuts or suggestions?

I also uninstalled the hideous aftermarket running boards. Then basically just washed the truck.

Here are pics of the day after I brought it home..

 

[Copenhagen1]

This week I have been "baselining" all of the fluids. I drove the truck home from Dallas about 100 miles and it ran perfectly. No crazy vibrations or pulling from one side or the other. It does have a little bit of a rough idle so I put a bottle of Redlne in the first tank of gas I purchased.

I changed the engine oil and filter and changed the transfer case and both differentials fluids. I am still studying on what to do with the A440F tranny fluid. It runs and shifts fine but I know that the PO never fooled with it.

The truck has 212,000 miles on it and the owner that I purchased it from bought it in 2005 with 130-140k on it already. He seemed like a meticulous owner and said that he always used Toyota OEM parts whenever it was worked on. But, he also said that he had not changed the transmission fluid since he had owned it. I will definitely be draining pan and refilling OR performing the drain and fill by taking loose the return line from the cooler. Like I said, still studying.

I ordered new custom fit seat covers and am waiting on them to come in. They are very similar to the Tuff Duck seat covers that are sold by SOR. I have used them before on my 2008 Tacoma DC and the fit and finish was very nice for considerably less $$'s. I will post up when they get here and are installed.

 

[inkpot]

Pullling the tint without the defroster wires may be a bit of a challenge. They both require about the same amount of heat to remove. I am going to wait until I find a good used one to fix mine. John

 

[Copenhagen1]

I had a brainstorm last night while sitting in my lazy boy. My 40 series has 33-10.50x15 BFG MT on factory 40 series steel wheels. I got to wondering if they would fit on the FJ80. So this morning I got up and took them off the 40 and put them on this 80. I am very pleased. I will be ordering a new set of BFG's and looking for a set of factory steel wheels. I just recently ordered one from Toyota for my factory spare so I know they are still available from the factory. It actually rides and drives nicely with this combination on it.

Here are the pics...

with hubcaps



and without hubcaps









Can you lift these trucks with a spacer above the coils? I really don't want to lift it a lot. Maybe just 1-1.5" on rear and 2-2.5" on front. I lifted my 100 series 1.25" in rear using Slee spacers. Looks like Christo only has 25mm (1") for front and 30mm (1.25") for rear. I really don't want a lot of lift. My 76 year old dad rides with me a lot and he is still really spry for his age but I always feel bad when he has to climb up in my trucks. I always try to park next to curbs when he is with me.

 

[Alleycats]

FYI, drain and refill tranny with DEXRON III ATF (Mobil 1) 4.25 qt. / new drain plug crush washer and torque to 15-19 ft/lbs and call it a day .

Alleycat

 

[2003LC]

I think those wheels look very nice. Hub cap gives it a nice retro look.

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[BlackLS1]

pm sent

 

[jjfj80]

Yes, those look very nice. I had wondered if the 40 series steelies fit.

 

[jonheld]

I never understood the fear behind changing transmission fluid. I have done yearly drain/refills for the last 21 years. I pulled the pan for the first time 2 years ago and it was like new inside.

On an unmaintained unit, I would just do a simple drain/refill as mentioned already. I prefer a more passive approach than flushing out the system with a machine or other method.

If you drain what's in the pan and replace the plug and let the truck sit overnight and drain again, it gives the old fluid a chance to drain out of the valve body. This is a very non-invasive way of changing fluid. No, you won't get it all out of the torque converter, but you'll be replacing about 1/2 the fluid in the system this way.
Be sure to only add 4 quarts at a time to the pan, start the motor and shift through the gears, then shut it down and continue to fill to capacity. Otherwise you'll just make a mess.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Pullling the tint without the defroster wires may be a bit of a challenge. They both require about the same amount of heat to remove. I am going to wait until I find a good used one to fix mine. John

You are right. Unfortunately, the back window looked the worst out of the bunch. I got most of the purplish tint off without the use of a 4" razor blade yet but I still have the leftover glue to contend with. I have experimented with Goo Gone and another product called Oops, but I have a feeling I am going to eventually have to scrape the defroster lines off as well and wreck the factory rear defroster.

FYI, drain and refill tranny with DEXRON III ATF (Mobil 1) 4.25 qt. / new drain plug crush washer and torque to 15-19 ft/lbs and call it a day .

I never understood the fear behind changing transmission fluid. I have done yearly drain/refills for the last 21 years. I pulled the pan for the first time 2 years ago and it was like new inside.

On an unmaintained unit, I would just do a simple drain/refill as mentioned already. I prefer a more passive approach than flushing out the system with a machine or other method.

If you drain what's in the pan and replace the plug and let the truck sit overnight and drain again, it gives the old fluid a chance to drain out of the valve body. This is a very non-invasive way of changing fluid. No, you won't get it all out of the torque converter, but you'll be replacing about 1/2 the fluid in the system this way.
Be sure to only add 4 quarts at a time to the pan, start the motor and shift through the gears, then shut it down and continue to fill to capacity. Otherwise you'll just make a mess.

This is the way I have been doing my 100 series since I bought it. I drive it so many miles that I use M1 and a M1-209 filter and I change the oil and filter very 10k. So also every 10K, I drain the AT pan into a calibrated container and then add back exactly the amount I took out. I have done it about 6 times now and my fluid looks very nice.

I appreciate you guys telling me what you think. My only hesitation was the fact that it has 212K on it already and I wasn't sure this method was aggressive enough. Sounds like yall are giving me good advice. I will start the 'non-invasive' fluid therapy tomorrow.

I think those wheels look very nice. Hub cap gives it a nice retro look.

Yes, those look very nice. I had wondered if the 40 series steelies fit.

Thanks. I like the look of the steel wheels and hubcaps. I also think it has a retro look. I think without the hubcaps it kind of has a very "United Nations" look to it. I am not sure I am going to leave the 40 series wheels on there or not. I will probably end up painting the factory 15x7 aluminum wheels the same Duplicolor Graphite gray that I painted my 100 series wheels and then use them.

In order for the 80 to have steel wheels, the 40 either has to stay on blocks or I will have to spend $500 for brand new steelies from Mr. T and that is a chunk of money to me. I will probably just watch craigslist or the classifieds here and try to pick up a set of these steelies used. My main reason for posting was for posterity. A 40 series steel wheel WILL fit on an FJ80! I can't answer if it will fit on an FZJ80 or not?

pm sent

pm replied

 

[kiter18]

Copenhagen1, good job, I like very much how the steel wheels looks, can you say me the dimension of it they are 15 or 16 and how many inches wide are to support that rubbers, thanks and continue working on it

 

[Tapage]

Can you lift these trucks with a spacer above the coils?.

yes .. but the amount of lift you are talking I would use 2.5" coils on front and spacers on rear to get a level stance ..

 

[slowsuki]

the problem with changing trans fluid is only for hi mileage trannys that have never been serviced ,the theory is that most of the clutch material is warn off and is now in the fluid,if you flush tranny all the material is lost causing tranny to slip.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Copenhagen1, good job, I like very much how the steel wheels looks, can you say me the dimension of it they are 15 or 16 and how many inches wide are to support that rubbers, thanks and continue working on it

Kiter they are Toyota OEM 40 series disc brake wheels. They are 15x5.5" and the tires are 33-10.50 x 15 BFG mud terrains. The tires in the picture are older and the original tread pattern that is no longer available fro BFG. The new tread pattern is called KM2.

Here is a pic of a wheel I just bought from Toyota and the paint I used:




Here is the tread pattern on the newer BFG KM2:




Here is the whole thing mounted up with a brand new 40 series hubcap and mounted on my 77 FJ40:




I can probably get you the part #'s if you need them.

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[Aggiesdm]

I recently removed all the tint from my '91 including the rear window and I used a little hand steamer and a razor blade. Took about an hour to do the rear, but I didn't damage the defroster and it all came off smoothly. There are a couple of YouTube videos that show methods using some solution and a black trash bag on the window and letting it sit in the sun to loosen the glue. Might be worth a try?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Might check to make sure the defroster actually works...

 

[Darasick]

What seat covers are you putting on? I'm in dire need of some and not looking forward to giving SOR what they want for them.

Your 40 is looks great by the way!

 

[sl3807]

There are a couple of YouTube videos that show methods using some solution and a black trash bag on the window and letting it sit in the sun to loosen the glue. Might be worth a try?

I worked at a tint shop back in high school, and we used a similar approach. We would take a piece of the liner that came off the tint, soak the back window in 409, apply the liner to the wet surface, then we would let it sit for a few hours in the sun (all windows rolled up). This would kind of steam the adhesive. The film could then be removed fairly easily, and the adhesive was scrubbed off with more 409 and a scotch brite pad, all while the window was still warm.

This technique worked very well. I would personally do 2-3 cars a week (don't know what it was about Honda class, but almost every rear window would eventually delam and start to bubble).