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rc51kid

rc51kid

Joined
May 31, 2010
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675
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I am three years in to ownership of a neglected 94 fzj that I bought with 185,000 on it. Sitting at 225,000 after a ungodly amount of pm. Just drove her from Georgia to Wyoming for the third time. She made it flawlessly 2100 miles. Not a hitch. She was using a Qt of oil every 750 miles before the hg job. Has not used a drop since. She was loaded down and with three Pelican cases, hilift, two jerry cans and a 16' kayak on the roof. Plus 5 months of gear inside. She slowed down a little through Kansas a little with a head wind. But other than that perfect. Just kind of proud of her.
 
Nice. Glad it's working out for you. There's a reason these things are still in service all over the world.
 
I guy in our club works for Transport Canada testing vehicles and investigating defects. He had a "new" Ford pickup with the Eco boost they were testing, and mentioned how it was literally falling apart and what a piece of junk it was. He said it made him appreciate his old, beat up Land Cruiser even more. Keep Calm and Cruiser on. :cool:
 
No pics? Didn't happen.
 
I know 2100 mies is it is not really that much. But the first time I did it I had a brake booster go out. No time or reason there. Just a random event. The second time I did the trip I noticed it running warm, not hot. Did a radiator a few months later and fixed that. This is time nothing. I had a vibration with my tires before I left. Played with tire pressure and got it 90% sorted out. It was just a slight him at 55-60. But I was really worried about it with the boat on top. But it was just fine. Really didn't even notice it too much.
 
I didn't see the end of that HG thread. All in all...how tough was that job?
 
The only think I would worry about is burning up my fuel card LOL
 
nukegoat said:
I think mine is only still running because I dump tons of money into it. I neglect my daily driver much worse.
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I agree, but would say I have been lucky IMO. Apart for the T/Box failure in general the 80 has been pretty reliable and reasonable to maintain........if I wanted it to be. For example, I wanted to do a full brake overall........everything bar the ABS unit and the metal pipework. I paid out more for better discs, new callipers instead of rebuilding etc.

It goes without saying, that if you are the third or fourth owner of a vehicle that has been maintained....cheaply, then you will not get the longevity the previous owners enjoyed. If you can afford to go OE or better you will reap the rewards further down the line.


regards

Dave
 
i love my 80 too but if you factor in all the cash spent on parts and fuel you could have something else just as reliable and cheaper over all. you can fool yourself all you want but at some point you will see that you just love the truck. i know i do, i cant help but keep buying everyone i find.
 
ewillis said:
I didn't see the end of that HG thread. All in all...how tough was that job?
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There are only a few bolts and nuts that hard to get to. So I would not say it is a hard job but it is a big job for sure. I also think getting the head off and back in place is a two person job. It is just a big long head and you want it going in straight with out buffering the gasket.

It took me a long time to do the job. But I had a spare car to drive so I was able to do that. Say 2 full days taking it out and 3-4 full days puting it in. People do it MUCH faster but I like taking my time.

Also the down time for machine work and parts you didn't expect to need. I was lucky. I had a very good machine shop that does a lot of LC heads local and Beno local for fast OEM parts.

Don't cut corners on a job like that. Take your time and try to have fun with it.
 
slow95z said:
i love my 80 too but if you factor in all the cash spent on parts and fuel you could have something else just as reliable and cheaper over all. you can fool yourself all you want but at some point you will see that you just love the truck. i know i do, i cant help but keep buying everyone i find.
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True, I never said it was financial good. My wife followed me out to Denver in her car to visit her sister. She is in a 98 CRV with 350,000 on it that I don't do crap to! That thing just runs and runs. It a great car but does not excite me like the LC does.
 
I have never posted a picture from my phone so let's see if this works. This is how she was sitting as we rolled out of Atlanta. Lookin a little top heavy.

IMG_20160501_083227597.jpg
 
Nice. Guess it did happen.
 
@rc51kid
no offense, mate, but that is not a 16' kayak. Even so, I'm glad you had a good time and a (mechanically) uneventful trip!

I can't tell from your pic what your mounting method is for the kayak, but I'm interested to know. My reason is, I have two 10' Perception kayaks that I want to haul around on the roof (bottoms up, just like you carry yours). I already have a full-length safari-basket roof rack, and a lot of stuff goes in there, (Jerry cans and gear in cases). So I am researching how to fab something that will carry the kayaks about 10" above the floor of the safari basket. Any ideas would be welcome :)
 
canman said:
I guy in our club works for Transport Canada testing vehicles and investigating defects. He had a "new" Ford pickup with the Eco boost they were testing, and mentioned how it was literally falling apart and what a piece of junk it was. He said it made him appreciate his old, beat up Land Cruiser even more. Keep Calm and Cruiser on. :cool:
Click to expand...

These stories make me cringe. The reason OEMs engage "heavy users" to test vehicles is to find the faults. Vehicles today are ballistically reliable because they get tested, tortured and tested some more. Then some ass hat doing the testing proclaims that a pre-production vehicle never intended for civilian use is crap because something broke. Ford makes a spectacular product. As does GM and Dodge. We pretty much live in an age where there is no such thing as a bad car.
 
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Schmutz said:
@rc51kid
no offense, mate, but that is not a 16' kayak. Even so, I'm glad you had a good time and a (mechanically) uneventful trip!

I can't tell from your pic what your mounting method is for the kayak, but I'm interested to know. My reason is, I have two 10' Perception kayaks that I want to haul around on the roof (bottoms up, just like you carry yours). I already have a full-length safari-basket roof rack, and a lot of stuff goes in there, (Jerry cans and gear in cases). So I am researching how to fab something that will carry the kayaks about 10" above the floor of the safari basket. Any ideas would be welcome :)
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You are probably totally right on it not being 16'. What can I say I measure like a guy. Honestly i am boy sure how long. It is a flat water boat with a rudder. A little bit of a do everything flat water boat. Great in lakes and river and in the swamps we have had it in. But I would use it in the ocean if it was calm and close in. Maybe 13 or 14' in hind site.

Basicly I have a flat gamaviti rack. I put crappy old foam padding around the bars under the boat and just lay it up there. Then use as multiple ratchet tie down straps. If you get them to tight it is easy to crush the boat. So just get them tight but not super tight. I use twice as many as I think I need. About 6-8 strapps.
 
midfat said:
These stories make me cringe. The reason OEMs engage "heavy users" to test vehicles is to find the faults. Vehicles today are ballistically reliable because they get tested, tortured and tested some more. Then some ass hat doing the testing proclaims that a pre-production vehicle never intended for civilian use is crap because something broke. Ford makes a spectacular product. As does GM and Dodge. We pretty much live in an age where there is no such thing as a bad car.
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WTF - no such thing as a bad car!? They were testing the Ford production model because of corrosion issues raised by consumers which was a potential safety issue. System was located low in front of front drivers wheel where it was exposed to road salt. Of all manufactures approached by Transport Canada for potential safety issues, he said Ford was worst (denied any problems existed, whereas Toyota listened and appreciated the input). Have you read the news about the air bag recall? Bad parts, bad designs makes a bad car. I have two recall notices for my vehicles. One airbag related (Honda RDX) and the other is corrosion related (brakes lines) on my Subaru.

[EDIT]

BTW, Transport Canada is not a "Heavy User", but rather "promotes safe and secure transportation systems". Some open defect investigations:

Active Defect Investigations - Transport Canada
 
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midfat said:
Ford makes a spectacular product. As does GM and Dodge. We pretty much live in an age where there is no such thing as a bad car.
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I will have to politely disagree, there are some real "wow, just craptastic!" - that make their way to market from all the big 3.

The J-vin vehicles from most any of the bunch seem to last far longer, or at least with fewer hiccups. I worked at a Honda lot as a teen in 1990-92 - there were Accords made in NA & Japan, Civics were Canada & Japan -and there were "wait lists" for Japanese made ones with 1- & 2- vin cars sitting in stock.
While the powertrains were shipped complete, NA made models had higher instances of defects, JD Power index had the #'s to prove it. We simply don't/didn't do things to as exacting of tolorances as the Japanese did in the '90's. Powertrains are now more a global market (Izuzu makes the Chev diesel, Caterpiller does a few Fords, etc) - but we're talking vehicles assembly standards 19-25 years ago.

Remember "Sterling" brand cars - Acura Legend powertrain in a custom body? I bet you don't - they simply were horrid bodies, left NA market some 10-15 yrs ago.

Point being, if given keys to either a 250K 'Cruiser or a 250K domestic gas powertrain (any of the big 3, comparable body/capability) - which would you rather make the same trip rc51 kid just made?

My 40th has 360K on it, and as a percentage how many of the big 3 powertrains can get there like an old 80, let alone are still roadworthy?

If I was to go buy a fullsize p/u - aside from a Tundra, I'd pick it by powertrain - not by marque. And only then if I was bent on a diesel, since that's the only reason I'd ever have to look beyond a Tundra.
 
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