My FZJ80 journey begins... (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Threads
18
Messages
250
Location
Colorado Springs, CO
So I just bought a CE 1997 FZJ80 from @flow. He was generous enough to sell me the fruits of his labors. The advert can be seen here.

IMG_20191001_161051.jpg


I'm not new to Toyota's, but I am a fairly novice mechanic. I've previously owned a 1995 Pickup, 1985 FJ60 (all too briefly), and a 1988 Samurai (that was mostly Toyota). I've been hunting for the right LC for awhile now, and I'm sorry if I wasted anyone's time in the classifieds section here at mud.

Things I'm looking to take care of first and foremost:
  • Tires - Nitto Terra Grappler G2's (who's running these? How do you like them?)
  • Fix the caster (it seems to be off)
  • 4.88 gears so I can drive in Colorado without rolling backwards
Of course I've got questions and guidance that I'm hoping ya'll can help me out with.

Let's just start with the caster correction:
@flow was generous enough to pass down all of the associated paperwork, and part of that paperwork was an alignment sheet. The previous alignment showed a caster of about .3 with the current ~4" of lift (I can get a more accurate measurement tomorrow).
IMG_20191001_201801.jpg


I've read a couple different ways to get the correct amount of caster. Seems to be bushings, caster correction plates, and new radius arms. I'm not a welder, yet, so I don't think I'll be doing the washer-mod...

I crawled under tonight and snapped some pictures of the current bushings, they are NOT stock and seem to be off-center.
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I'm guessing the previous owner(not flow), attempted to correct the caster with bushings. Clearly not enough. My question is, what would you recommend for correcting the caster?

I'm currently leaning towards new OEM bushings all around up front and getting some caster correction plates from metaltech. But, I have been eye-balling new radius arms from @Delta VS and could be persuaded to go that route if that's the way to do it right the first time.
 
Those bushings look like the old Slee blue caster correction bushings. IMO, I would put OEM bushings back in and run @landtank plates.
 
@landtank plates from wits end or arms (obviously biased on this one) are the two best ways to fix. Either option allows use of OEM bushings. Curious if you have any evidence of tie rod/radius arm contact with current setup?

You are probably sitting somewhere around -1.5 to -2* if you pulled the bushings. Personal opinion would be a minimum of 5.5* additional caster for nicer driving.
 
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Thanks for the input. @Delta VS , I've attached some pictures of each side. Looks like there might be a little bit of rubbing. What do you think?
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Those were the only signs of rubbing I could find.

As of right now I have the following two items for purchase:

Complete front Bushings from yotamasters.
4" @landtank plates from wits end.

Can ya'll think of anything I'm missing?
 
My 80 is not that nice and I wouldn't think about selling it for the price you paid. You got a good deal.

I've had nitto terra grappler in 295/70/18. On my f150 and they've been great. They need to be replaced now but I've put over 85k miles on them and they passed inspection a couple months ago. Great in snow and sand and tolerate frequent aired down rides on pavement.
 
Thanks for the input. @Delta VS , I've attached some pictures of each side. Looks like there might be a little bit of rubbing. What do you think?
View attachment 2096963
View attachment 2096964

Those were the only signs of rubbing I could find.

As of right now I have the following two items for purchase:

Complete front Bushings from yotamasters.
4" @landtank plates from wits end.

Can ya'll think of anything I'm missing?

hard to tell from these pics? just feel around a little to try and tell if any metal has been removed over time
 
So I just bought a CE 1997 FZJ80 from @flow. He was generous enough to sell me the fruits of his labors. The advert can be seen here.

View attachment 2096748

I'm not new to Toyota's, but I am a fairly novice mechanic. I've previously owned a 1995 Pickup, 1985 FJ60 (all too briefly), and a 1988 Samurai (that was mostly Toyota). I've been hunting for the right LC for awhile now, and I'm sorry if I wasted anyone's time in the classifieds section here at mud.

Things I'm looking to take care of first and foremost:
  • Tires - Nitto Terra Grappler G2's (who's running these? How do you like them?)
  • Fix the caster (it seems to be off)
  • 4.88 gears so I can drive in Colorado without rolling backwards
Of course I've got questions and guidance that I'm hoping ya'll can help me out with.

Let's just start with the caster correction:
@flow was generous enough to pass down all of the associated paperwork, and part of that paperwork was an alignment sheet. The previous alignment showed a caster of about .3 with the current ~4" of lift (I can get a more accurate measurement tomorrow).
View attachment 2096738

I've read a couple different ways to get the correct amount of caster. Seems to be bushings, caster correction plates, and new radius arms. I'm not a welder, yet, so I don't think I'll be doing the washer-mod...

I crawled under tonight and snapped some pictures of the current bushings, they are NOT stock and seem to be off-center.
View attachment 2096739
View attachment 2096745
View attachment 2096746

I'm guessing the previous owner(not flow), attempted to correct the caster with bushings. Clearly not enough. My question is, what would you recommend for correcting the caster?

I'm currently leaning towards new OEM bushings all around up front and getting some caster correction plates from metaltech. But, I have been eye-balling new radius arms from @Delta VS and could be persuaded to go that route if that's the way to do it right the first time.
Congrats and welcome to the 'Tokyo buyers club'. I live in the springs and think I've seen your truck. Perhaps we'll cross paths on Old Stage. 👍
 
Congrats and welcome to the 'Tokyo buyers club'. I live in the springs and think I've seen your truck. Perhaps we'll cross paths on Old Stage. 👍
Thanks! I'll keep a lookout for you and your rig around town. If you need a hand wrenching on anything, let me know. I don't know a lot, but I guess I'm pretty good at lifting heavy s***.

My 80 is not that nice and I wouldn't think about selling it for the price you paid. You got a good deal.

I've had nitto terra grappler in 295/70/18. On my f150 and they've been great. They need to be replaced now but I've put over 85k miles on them and they passed inspection a couple months ago. Great in snow and sand and tolerate frequent aired down rides on pavement.
Yeah I got really lucky! I couldn't believe it was still available when the time came for me to pull the trigger. Luckily for me Flow hadn't really advertised it here in the springs/denver or else it would have been gone in a heartbeat.


I took some measurements and the lift looks to be just a hair over 4" from measuring the front/rear panhards.

Also no discernible rubbing on the tie rod/radius arm.

And the other day, I picked up two color matched jump seats for $80. In pretty good condition too...
IMG_20191002_153755.jpg
 
And the other day, I picked up two color matched jump seats for $80. In pretty good condition too...
Should have asked here for some. I'm sure there are dozens of us that would gladly have gotten rid of the ones that are taking up space in the garage. And by the way, they are almost all in good shape since no one used them.
 
Should have asked here for some. I'm sure there are dozens of us that would gladly have gotten rid of the ones that are taking up space in the garage. And by the way, they are almost all in good shape since no one used them.
Hindsight...

I found out yesterday that this thing will BARELY fit in my garage with an inch or so to spare up top... Looks like there wont be a roof rack in my near future.
 
Hindsight...

I found out yesterday that this thing will BARELY fit in my garage with an inch or so to spare up top... Looks like there wont be a roof rack in my near future.

Just put on some sweet 29" tires....or 31's!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Hindsight...

I found out yesterday that this thing will BARELY fit in my garage with an inch or so to spare up top... Looks like there wont be a roof rack in my near future.

It’s a common problem. :lol:

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So the front ARB has some gnarly spots on it...
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I busted out the wire-wheel for a little bit yesterday and quickly came to a dilemma.
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I don't really want to wire-wheel the ENTIRE bumper so, do I try to repaint it myself and give it the 20' treatment with some black rattle-can or just throw some clear-coat on there to protect it from future rust? I kinda like the idea of clear-coat... But I'm afraid it would dumb because it's not a patina'd barn find...
 
If it were me, I'd take the time to get it properly sanded. Then I'd throw some rattle can primer on it and then some rattle can black.
 
Remove it, blast it, paint it with John Deere epoxy primer and Blitz Black.
 
I'm slowly blasting the front bumper... In the mean time, Lucy has new shoes:
IMG_20191017_143409.jpg


I've been doing some reading, and I've seen some people say that after a 4" lift, and then fixing the caster, they experience driveline vibrations using the stock drive shafts. Right now my caster is at about 0 degrees, and there no discernable driveline vibrations. I'm about to order some caster correction plates from SLEE, should I be looking for a DC front drive shaft as well? Should I expect driveline vibrations after I install the caster plates and get my caster back near stock with my stock drive shaft?

If so, I think I'll run 0 degrees of caster until I can source a used DC shaft from a wrecked tundra and get it refurbished for Lucy.

All input is appreciated, thanks guys!

-Patrick.
 
Looks good man!
 
We just got back from our first trip with Lucy to Mount Princeton Hot Springs. She was amazing, other than two incidents, which I'll ask about later.

The dog fell asleep in the back before we even left the driveway:
IMG_20191020_132338.jpg


Took us about 2 hours to get to where we were going, nice and slow and easy. For stock gearing and 35's she does much better in the mountains than I was expecting... We didn't rough it in a tent, I haven't been able to convince my wife that'd be fun yet...
MVIMG_20191020_183121.jpg

My daughter loves riding in Lucy, so that's a pretty awesome feeling. We did some horse back riding and enjoyed the hot springs. If you haven't been, it's a beautiful place. It was pretty damn cold and we were still able to enjoy the hot springs.
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For those of you who have young kids and a geriatric dog... it wasn't all enjoyable. But we made the most of it. I'll end the post with gratuitous fzj80 shots...

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Now for the issues... There were two instances where Lucy didn't want to turn over. Every cold start went off without a hitch. However, after being warmed up and then shut off for about an hour or so, maybe more, she didn't want to start initially. It only happened twice though, and not every time. Quite often we were in and out over the three days and she was constantly on/off. Here's the sequence of events:

1. Turn key, starter clicks, engine seems like its going to start, and then stops. Turn key again, starter clicks, and you can feel the engine rolling, but never kicks on. If I hold the key, the starter keeps clicking.

2. Wait a minute, turn key, starter clicks about 4-6 times and the engine roars to life.

All the other times the engine roars the life on the fist click of the starter.

Excuse my non technical terms...

The truck runs perfectly once started,with no loss of power and no odd sounds or rough running.

I did some reading on the forums, but nothing too similar popped up, but it almost seems like the engine isn't getting fuel initially.

I'll take some video of the issue next time it occurs. Fingers crossed it's something easy...
 
No issues with starting *knock on wood*. So I'm not sure how to diagnose something that isn't happening. In the mean time I've ordered a lot of stuff, and pulled my front radius arms last night. I needed a breaker bar for all 6 of the nuts/bolts. Those things were in there. And funny enough, as I was pulling them out, the caster correction bushings basically fell apart.
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The blue bits were just falling out too. I imagine that's why my caster was all messed up? Either way, I'm dropping these off today to have the old bushing pushed out and all new OEM ones put in.
 

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