I've had my '88 FJ62 since 2014, and use it mostly for camping and snow adventures. The whole family has loved getting to the places we can get to in it.
It's currently at 198k, and I've done my best to stay up on maintenance. I'm not a mechanic, just a confident diy-er. I've had it in shops for new brakes, new radiator, a transmission overhaul, and an A/C overhaul. I've worked on various electrical gremlins myself, plus replacing belts and fluids. For the most part it's been an awesome, reliable ride!
Quick story, though:
Last week while driving mountain passes on I-5 coming home from some great camping at Lassen NP, we had the not-so-fun experience of crazy temp and fuel gauge readings. I hadn't yet read the threads here about this known "quirk," so made the call to have a shop in Medford, OR troubleshoot the cooling system. They said my radiator was in terrible shape, and recommended replacing it. I had them proceed, and now I have a shiny new radiator. I'm pretty sure they were right about the radiator, but of course I still have crazy temp gauge spikes that come back down quickly when I let off the accelerator.
Now that we're back home, I'm re-assessing just how reliable I should consider my 62. In the interest of not getting stranded on the side of the road with a truck full of kids, outside of cell range, here are my questions:
1) What's your checklist before a long trip?
2) What critical systems are most likely to leave us stranded when they fail?
3) What spare parts would you always take with you before heading into the middle of nowhere?
4) Am I insane for taking my family into the wilderness in a truck that's only 7 years younger than I am?
It's currently at 198k, and I've done my best to stay up on maintenance. I'm not a mechanic, just a confident diy-er. I've had it in shops for new brakes, new radiator, a transmission overhaul, and an A/C overhaul. I've worked on various electrical gremlins myself, plus replacing belts and fluids. For the most part it's been an awesome, reliable ride!
Quick story, though:
Last week while driving mountain passes on I-5 coming home from some great camping at Lassen NP, we had the not-so-fun experience of crazy temp and fuel gauge readings. I hadn't yet read the threads here about this known "quirk," so made the call to have a shop in Medford, OR troubleshoot the cooling system. They said my radiator was in terrible shape, and recommended replacing it. I had them proceed, and now I have a shiny new radiator. I'm pretty sure they were right about the radiator, but of course I still have crazy temp gauge spikes that come back down quickly when I let off the accelerator.
Now that we're back home, I'm re-assessing just how reliable I should consider my 62. In the interest of not getting stranded on the side of the road with a truck full of kids, outside of cell range, here are my questions:
1) What's your checklist before a long trip?
2) What critical systems are most likely to leave us stranded when they fail?
3) What spare parts would you always take with you before heading into the middle of nowhere?
4) Am I insane for taking my family into the wilderness in a truck that's only 7 years younger than I am?