Fj Cruiser headaches.... (1 Viewer)

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WarWagon

WarWagon

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Need solid advice from this forum; I've owned 4LC....loved two of them very much. Bought into the FJ Cruiser brigade, sold my LC's and now own an '07 FJ.

I'm no expert but can profess I knew my LC's inside and out....issues, maintenance items etc. Loved how stoutly built they were.

FJ...love the upgrade in power. Suicide doors and space kinda suck. What's more concerning is how Toyota built these early FJ's. I had a transmission issue which I resolved by flushing the fluid etc....but now the most concerning issue of all is my rear diff has given up the ghost!! Three teeth sheared off. 8.0 weak ass diff for ya.

Contemplating fixing and selling the FJ and heading back to the 80 with something in the 200K 230K mileage range. I owe about 15K on the damn FJ.

Thoughts? Pros/cons?

Thanks!
 
15k would buy a pretty darn nice example of an 80 right now, more than likely it would cost even less. Examples under 200k miles can be found, although none of us are getting any younger or shorter of miles.

I checked out the FJCs and just too dark in there. LandCruisers always seemed to have plenty of windows as a hallmark, I'm not quite sure what they were thinking. And it take a bundle of money to get them to trailworthy status on par with a stock 80 -- and in several respects that may not even be possible, unless one considers a SAS transplant within the realm of possibility.

IIRC the FJC at least had a 5-speed option? That's one advantage I can think of vs US-spec 80s, but about the only one.
 
They're a lot more waterproof than an 80 ;)
 
FJ Cruisers hold their value better than almost anything else on the road, so you have that going for you - although with $15K still owed I'd guess you're at break even if you can sell it private sale. Throw a locking rear diff in, sell it on....
 
Rear ring gear is a known, although not that common, issue with the '07 FJC. As for the comments about what it takes to make it trailworthy and all, I have seen completely stock rigs tackle trails that I would have never thought they would have been able to do. If we hadn't needed a pick up we would have kept our '07. We loved it. It was my wife's DD but I "stole" it from her every chance I got. We have 70 members in our club and half of them are FJC's. They are built from mild to wild. If it were me, unless there were other extenuating circumstances, I would repair it and keep rocking it.
 
Bought a FJC new in 07, loved it. Had everything I needed, in which I was upgrading from an 84 xcab all built up. Factory locker, inverter, seated five (huge upgrade from 2) and plenty of power, did a 3" rough country lift and 295/70r17's, went anywhere I wanted to take it that was logical. Rubicon a few times, Deer Valley and a few other Northern California trails were all handled very well, and sliders saved my ass at the Rubicon. Lost my awesome prevailing wage job, and lost the rig a few months later( ate it in about 22 thousand) which made me never take on another payment. Had an 01 4runner, good, but a little small being 6'2", 245. Picked up my 80 back in April, first one, and wish I did this purchase back in 07, but it would have been outta the field price wise. Solid axle, lockers, now on 37s, it'll go farther than the FJC could only dream of. I couldn't stand that funky traction control wheeling thing they have, and now having a locked sfa, I had forgotten what real wheeling was like, and damm I missed it! My $.02, ditch the FJC, grab an 80, and have at it! Being a previous owner you know what to look for, and if that's your budget, you'll be wheeling in no time!:cheers:
 
Phildoh said:
Picked up my 80 back in April, first one, and wish I did this purchase back in 07, but it would have been outta the field price wise
Click to expand...
:huh:
 
Bang Bang said:
SNIP
As for the comments about what it takes to make it trailworthy and all, I have seen completely stock rigs tackle trails that I would have never thought they would have been able to do. SNIP
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, my comment did not suggest the FJC wasn't trailworthy, only made the observation that it's not as trailworthy as an 80. The OP was looking for a comparison here. I'm sure the FJC is trailworthy, it's got good DNA. A comparison of the two in stock form shows it's not an 80, though.
 
Thanks for all the opinions guys. If I sold it I would break even....they do keep their value like a mutha.

Guess I'm just irritated right now. Taking on a payment and then something so important and crucial to a 4x4 like gearing to bite the dust to a pretty nasty tune isn't sitting well with me. My 80's had little things here and there at times that needed repair but they were also 20 years old....not 8.

To make things worse I see my beloved '91 being driven around town.....guy recognizes me, smiles, and waves happily.

Son of a grrrr.
 
I bought an 07 new in 12/06. 3" lift, bumpers, sliders, full skids, rack, winch , compressor and some lights/. Wheeled the snot pout of that truck. Fixed the body work, painted it and sold it for $21.5K last year after pulling all but the lift and tires off it and going back to stock. I blew my ring gear in mine as well, puny ring gear. All in all a pretty tough truck.

Like stated above, I too sold my FJC and went with an 80, well an 80 a 40, 60 and a 4RNR, sold the 60 and 4RNR. I prefer the platform of the 80.

This is an 8" gear and an LC 9" gear

Nitro-Gear-100-vs-FJC-640x360.jpg

Nitro-Gear-100-vs-FJC-2.jpg
 
NCFJ said:
I bought an 07 new in 12/06. 3" lift, bumpers, sliders, full skids, rack, winch , compressor and some lights/. Wheeled the snot pout of that truck. Fixed the body work, painted it and sold it for $21.5K last year after pulling all but the lift and tires off it and going back to stock. I blew my ring gear in mine as well, puny ring gear. All in all a pretty tough truck.

Like stated above, I too sold my FJC and went with an 80, well an 80 a 40, 60 and a 4RNR, sold the 60 and 4RNR. I prefer the platform of the 80.

This is an 8" gear and an LC 9" gear

Nitro-Gear-100-vs-FJC-640x360.jpg

Nitro-Gear-100-vs-FJC-2.jpg
Click to expand...

OMG!
Must admit I've been taking a peek at used FJs...maybe not so much anymore. Why do 80s have to be so damn BADASS?!?!
 
I saw a guy driving a built up FJC today. Nice rig. I gave him the head bob/wave that is standard practice among Land Cruiser owners. He didn't wave back. Then I realized, he didn't wave because he didn't see me wave at him. He was too busy envying my stock, $3000 80 that is more capable than his $30-40k built up FJC.

Admittedly, I was super stoked when I first heard the FJC was coming out. I wait listed for one from Toyota of Plano. It came in. I drove it for less than a mile. Released it to the next owner. I have never been more disappointed in a vehicle in my life. Not that it isn't a fine vehicle for 99.9% of the population. But make no mistake, it is not a Land Cruiser. Not even close.
 
After years of driving a 1st gen 4runner, I bought a used 2008 FJC - paid $20k, was a pretty low mileage Trail Teams edition, rear locker, 6-speed manual. Drove it for a little over a year. It was fun at first, good power, but visibility was terrible - nearly hit pedestrians several times, dog couldn't stick her head out of a window, super heavy rear door was a pain, and once my kid was born, my wife would ride in back with him and they couldn't see anything through those tiny windows. It was like being in a cave in the back seat. The transmission would occasionally grind going into 4th gear, which was kind of annoying, but if I shifted slowly it wouldn't grind. It seemed kind of "plasticy" too - lots of big pieces of plastic all over, which seemed kind of flimsy and cheap.

I'd always had a thing for 80 series since my geology department in college had 2 of them. Checked out a friend's nice 80, and searched for a month to find the right one. Made a crazy 22 hour day of driving to San Jose, meeting a guy who wanted to buy my FJ (for $20k!), waited while he arranged his loan, then he dropped me off at a used car dealership that sells a lot of LC's (guy is from Tunisia) - I was ready to take the train home if I had to, but the rig was perfect and the price was OK, so I bought it and drove home, never looking back. It's hard to say what my favorite thing about my 80 is, but visibility is amazing, for driver and passengers alike.
 
WarWagon said:
Thoughts? Pros/cons?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

80 LC Pros:
FJ Cruisers look stupid AF.
80 Series LCs do not look stupid.
FJ Cruiser has a bunch of new electric BS.

80 LC Cons:
FJ Cruiser has a newer interior.

.02c
 
2 Doors Suck! I hated my 4 Runner for it. Vowed to never own another.....Lusting After 40's now
 
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