Builds Jackie: 1996 FZJ80 Survivor. A rolling resurrection (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 18, 2019
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Location
Mississippi Gulf Coast
This is a rolling build thread for a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser. I'd been wanting an 80 for a while. I had sold my 87 FJ60 and looked at a 1994 3x locked truck, but decided for the money what I wanted to do was to find a rust free unlocked truck with solvable problems within my skill set. I wanted a 95-97 for OBD2. The wife's requirement was that it couldn't require "significant" work and be a "project". So the truck needed to be running/driving/stopping at time of purchase.

I found a CL ad for a 96. The ad said:

373,000 miles on odometer. Replaced with new motor at 188,000 miles.
Gray Leather seats.

Here are the photos from the ad

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My friend and fellow Cruiserhead went to look at it. His specialty was interiors, and he's owned 4 80s, so I let him have the interior inspection. I handled the exterior and the mechanical. It is a very clean car. The seller has owned the car since 1999 and has never taken it offroad. Car has been in Mississippi and Alabama since new. Only corrosion is some minor damage where she backed into a mailbox and the typical right lower corner of the liftgate window spot. The truck had been sitting since January of 2020. It came off the road for a "thunk in the front end". Clean car fax.

It has all the typical 80 issues. Shaky mirrors, seat gears stripped, front main seal/oil pump cover leaking, rear oil pan arch or RMS leak. But the birfs are only starting to leak, and everything mechanical is fine (with one exception I'll describe later). The initial inspection situation was atypical because the alternator had failed and the car would not stay running after being jumped. The test drive was quick and abbreviated as the car stalled on the side of the road. AC didn't work and the windshield was cracked in several places.

But the car was unmodified and very clean. So after a few days of haggling, she followed me home on a trailer behind the Tundra.

trailer ride.jpg


Off we go. Named her Jackie after the previous owner, a very stately older lady. Seemed fitting.
 
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That's gotta be a typo, your saying it was only 4 years old when it got benched and it got 373k miles in that short time?

Congrats on the purchase! Seems like a good fun *not* project. My wife says the same thing after I rebuilt somebody's 94 as a means of financially surviving 2020.
 
That's gotta be a typo, your saying it was only 4 years old when it got benched and it got 373k miles in that short time?

Congrats on the purchase! Seems like a good fun *not* project. My wife says the same thing after I rebuilt somebody's 94 as a means of financially surviving 2020.
Yes, that’s a typo. Thanks for catching it. I fixed it.
 
So the only real concerning mechanical issue is the compression test results. They are

#1: 185
#2: 190
#3: 200
#4: 190
#5: 130
#6: 195

Its above the minimum of 128, but fails the "within 14 psi of the rest" test. When I went back and did wet compression on #5, it went up 20+ psi. So the rings are worn, or stuck from sitting two years. I also don't know the sludge situation on the engine. The PO had receipts for oil changes from 307,000 miles on the odometer. They averaged an oil change interval of 4,900 miles. Assuming she always changed then at about that interval, sludge is not likely a scenario. The PCV valve was not clogged (I did change it and the grommet anyway).

So hoping that it is sludge or stuck rings, I did an oil change, took a sample for Blackstone, and added a Auto Rx treatment. I'll check again in 3000 miles and see if anything changed. I'll also post up the Blackstone analysis when it comes.

I am also getting a CEL for cylinder #5 misfire.

What is somewhat germane is the fact that the truck has a new radiator because it overheated. I've done a number of exhaust gas in the coolant tests, which have passed, but I am monitoring the coolant level very closely. Time will tell if the low compression is also a head gasket.
 
Alternator is in. Got pretty good at changing them out. Took the one that was in it out. Put my friends used one in from his 97 that has been off the road 7 years. That was was also bad. Put in a Denso reman from Rock Auto. All good. Tested the old one, brushes were worn and 3 of the 4 diodes were shot in the rectifier. I'm going to rebuild it and save it for a trial spare.

alternator.jpg


After about a can and a half of silicone spray on the runners, the windows go up and down pretty good. I have new runners on the way, but it is good to have them working for the time being.

Took the passenger door card off to get the cylinder lock code. Went to the dealership and watched them dust off the old equipment to cut a new key.

Starting to notice this ticking sound coming from the valve cover. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll open up the valve cover and check the valve clearances. I'll replace all the "while you are in theres" for that job.

Also tackling the seat motors tonight.

seat repair.jpg
 
Your already ahead of the game because it's white. Good looking rig!!!
 
Seats are fixed. The Otramm and Gamavita videos are all you need. Not hard at all.

On to that ticking sound....

I have one intake valve that is out of spec ( 2 thou over spec) and one exhaust valve out of spec (2 thou under spec). Would be nice to just swap the shims but they are both not accessible on the same engine revolution, and I learned you can't leave one lifter without a shim and spin the engine to swap it.

Of course I got one out to measure it, measured it, and promptly lost it. So now I need to find it or buy the right one to be able to spin the engine.

I have lots to do while I wait on the shim. Clean the throttle body, replace the spark plug tube seals, clean the head (last mechanic in here just used permatex and the old OEM valve cover gasket, no wonder it leaked), clean the valve cover, start replacing all the 26 year old vacuum and coolant lines, and a litany of other things not related to this repair.

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Found the missing shim in the light of day. Now I need a #6 and a #10. Anyone have one?
 
New Dizzy o-ring installed. Cleaned all the old oil sludge off. Next challenge: Broken bolt in the valve cover. Vice grips didn't work (do they ever?). Time to break out the welder, I suppose.

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I mustered the courage to go welding on the head to get that broken bolt out. I had to maneuver the truck to within reach of the welder, which brought in the daughter's FJ Cruiser and its winch.

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Then the patient had to be prepped. Recall I have the valve cover removed, so I had to protect all that from the splatter. I removed the dizzy for access and to protect the electronics inside the dizzy from stray current from the welder. I can't remove that coolant line without spewing coolant from the throttle body de-icing line that is loose.

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Took me 5 attempts, but I got it out. Very thankful. As bad I am as a welder, I am 10 times worse as a broken bolt driller outer. Nothing more satisfying than the feel of that bolt breaking loose. Thankfully the MIG welds will not stick to aluminum.

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I have moisture in the passenger headlight. I removed the headlight and did a soap and blow test to look for leaks. I cinched off both vents and put a headlight bulb in one opening. Then blew with the shop vac. I could not find a leak. When I blew out one vent, I may have noticed a slight obstruction. But the other vent was clear and should have made up for it.

Anyway, I dried it out and reinstalled it. I'll watch it to see if the moisture comes back.

Look at the clips that hold it together. Very TLC of them to glue and clip them, plus have TWO vents. Gotta love how they build these trucks.

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light 1.jpg
 
The oil analysis came back from Blackstone. I talked to the tech and she said that it doesn't look like a head gasket based on this sample, but the fuel % is high, and there are definite signs of wear metals. I have an odd idling issue, where it seems to stumble a bit at 600 RPM (which is where it should be, right?). I had been thinking that is a vacuum leak from all the old vacuum lines, but this makes me wonder if I have an injector issue.

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So it turns out that the "Toyota/Lexus" valve shim tool that everyone uses and struggles with is not to be used on 1FZ-FE engines. says it right on the manufacture's page. Its too short.


What is the saying, "when you have a welder, any tool is whatever you want it to be"?

So I added some material to make it longer, ground it to shape and I had those shims out in 10 minutes. All the shims are replaced and she goes back together in the morning. Let's hope that rattle goes away, or at least lessens after all that work.

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After the valve adjustment, there is still a fair rattle from the front of the valve cover. Only thing left is the timing chain. I went to listen to a friend's 80. His has the same sound, but its faint. His engine was just rebuilt.
 
I found the source of the ticking sound...

 
Congrats on your new "yeah, um... not a project hon" ! This all feels familiar, I was right here almost four years ago. May everything go smoothly for you, and may those engine issues not be major.

Jason
 
Congrats on your new "yeah, um... not a project hon" ! This all feels familiar, I was right here almost four years ago. May everything go smoothly for you, and may those engine issues not be major.

Jason

Thanks for the well wishes. I'm going to get a core engine and transmission for the "not a project" this weekend in case the engine issues take a turn for the worst.
 

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