Want To Buy FJZ80 - Need Advice on this one! (1 Viewer)

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Hey everybody,
So I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of weeks now and thought I would send in my first post. I'm really interested in ditching my '04 BMW 330Ci for a FJZ 80. From what I've been reading on here, my primary focus is looking for a '96-97 with lockers. My 330 is in great condition, so it is important to me that the 80 I purchase be in great condition as well. I guess the profile of what I am currently looking for is as follows:
Year: 96-97
Mileage: less than $150,000
Lockers: Yes
Color: Superwhite, Antique Sage Pearl, or Emerald Green in that order.
Interior: beige leather with very little wear (no exposed foam), and very clean elsewhere. 3rd row seats, I could really go either way...
I would also want it checked out by a knowledgeable mechanic.

Can you guys guestimate a fair price for a vehicle like that?

In the meantime, can you take a look at the specimen I have found and give me some pointers?:

1995 / 180k miles / Emerald Green / WITH LOCKES (and yes I had him send me a photo of the VIN sticker, verified K294, he has no idea that he has them for sure) / ?!$7,900?! Even though it has more miles and is a year older than my perfect rig, it sounds too good to be true...

FJZ80_01.jpg

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My dad has really nice 3 car shop in his backyard with all of the tool's to work cars that I need, so it would be nice to have the OBDII, which is the primary reason I want the 96-97 instead of the 95. Am I over thinking this? Are there any real reasons why I would want a 96-97 over the 95?

Also this car is at 180k miles, which is more than I would prefer. Without any maintenance records, can you tell me things that I should watch out for in this model/year with this many miles? I know that I can easily get another +100k miles out of this one, but I just want to make sure I have a general idea of the PM I will need to put in (assuming it was as well maintained underneath as it appears up top).

I'm really looking for an daily driver / road trip / camping / excursion vehicle, that I intend to eventually convert to full blown weekend warrior once I get a couple promotions and have the $$ for a new Subaru.

So sorry for the novel, but I thought you guys might appreciate the detail?

Let me know what you think, and I really appreciate the feedback.
FJZ80_01.jpg
FJZ80_02.jpg
FJZ80_03.jpg
 
That LC looks very clean. If the entire car is like that, including the Drivetrain, its a great buy. One thing to really think about when coming from a small car like a 330; gas milage. No more 25mpg, more like 13-15. Another thing that I found out is that at that milage, things will start to falter, so expect to do some repairs soon. Other than that, I took the plunge and have no regrets. It is one of the few cars ever built that was actually over built, instead of under built. Good luck in your search
 
Use that VIN sticker to verify it, but Toyota made 1995 Land Cruisers OBDII before it was required. Mine is.

Those seats have been recovered and they look sweet. Are they leather or pleather?

Can you tell me what to look for on the VIN sticker? I've got a clear photo, just need to know what I'm lookin for.

I emailed him about the seats and I am awaiting a reply. Will post back soon. Any idea how much it costs to recover FJZ80 seats with leather? Second and 3rd row seats all look identical to the front ones (cant figure out how to upload those photos without exceeding limit...).
 
That LC looks very clean. If the entire car is like that, including the Drivetrain, its a great buy. One thing to really think about when coming from a small car like a 330; gas milage. No more 25mpg, more like 13-15. Another thing that I found out is that at that milage, things will start to falter, so expect to do some repairs soon. Other than that, I took the plunge and have no regrets. It is one of the few cars ever built that was actually over built, instead of under built. Good luck in your search

As for the condition, that's what I was thinking, it just looks so clean on the inside...

As for the gas mileage: Luckily I came from a 97 Discovery that got 8mpg, and my current commute is under 3 miles (and if even that is too much, I can choose to take the 15 minute bus ride from 3 houses down to the front door of my office). One of the main reasons that I want to get a different car is because my long term girlfriend has a coupe as well that gets better gas mileage that mine, which we will continue to use in trips that don't need a bigger car. Its really a pain in the ass to have 2 coupes and try to go on a multi day trip. I have driven my BMW to Colorado from San Antonio twice for a 10 day trip, and damn that thing gets packed and uncomfortable.

What I'm really looking for is a nice 4x4 that I can take up to Colorado and Utah (my intentions are to move to Salt Lake in the next 2 years), with plenty of off road capability and space for gear to take into the back country. That being said, I need it to be reliable enough to take on 3,000+ mile trips without worrying about breaking down and getting stranded.

What kind of PM / repairs do you expect I would need to take care of within 40k miles of ownership?
 
Can you tell me what to look for on the VIN sticker? I've got a clear photo, just need to know what I'm lookin for.

I emailed him about the seats and I am awaiting a reply. Will post back soon. Any idea how much it costs to recover FJZ80 seats with leather? Second and 3rd row seats all look identical to the front ones (cant figure out how to upload those photos without exceeding limit...).
I'm not sure what to look for on the VIN. Talk to a dealership? There are a couple running around here on the forum. I haven't even heard of a 1995 that wasn't OBDII, but have heard that they exist. You can also look at the plug located on the fuse box right under where the locker switch should be located.

For the leather to replace front and 2nd row I think your looking at about $800 from the leather guy on the forum (Atlaax or something close to that). Labor would be in addition to that. 3rd row probably wasn't replaced, but I guess its possible since it is offered.
 
I'm not sure what to look for on the VIN. Talk to a dealership? There are a couple running around here on the forum. I haven't even heard of a 1995 that wasn't OBDII, but have heard that they exist. You can also look at the plug located on the fuse box right under where the locker switch should be located.

For the leather to replace front and 2nd row I think your looking at about $800 from the leather guy on the forum (Atlaax or something close to that). Labor would be in addition to that. 3rd row probably wasn't replaced, but I guess its possible since it is offered.

Now that you mention it I do remember hearing that there was a transfer year when some had OBDI and some had OBDII. This one was Manufactured in 07/95... I'll have to find that old thread again...
 
Head Gasket (If not already done) Small stuff like Oil Pan gasket, maybe radiator, If lockers have not been used in long period of times, they might not engage, and have to service them (not cheap). Also if you are going to be doing light to medium trails, you might not need the front and rear lockers. Its very capable with just the center lock.
 
ODB1/2, Pop the hood, there should be sticker with a basic engine diagram, in the details it will list ODB1 or II. At least mine does front drive side.
 
Head Gasket (If not already done) Small stuff like Oil Pan gasket, maybe radiator, If lockers have not been used in long period of times, they might not engage, and have to service them (not cheap). Also if you are going to be doing light to medium trails, you might not need the front and rear lockers. Its very capable with just the center lock.

Sounds like mostly stuff that I could manage in my dad's shop (with exception of the differentials and lockers), unless I'm underestimating the labor? For example the oil filter housing gasket on my 330Ci is a $2 piece and it takes 5 minutes to take the oil filter housing off to replace, but it takes 4 hours of tear down to get access :bang: ....

How much $$ to repair a non functioning diff lock?
 
ODB1/2, Pop the hood, there should be sticker with a basic engine diagram, in the details it will list ODB1 or II. At least mine does front drive side.

This 80 is a good 5 hour drive away, so I'm trying to get as much information on it before doing so as possible.

How much of an advantage is it having an OBDII on these vehicles? I haven't ever needed to use one personally...
 
This 80 is a good 5 hour drive away, so I'm trying to get as much information on it before doing so as possible.

How much of an advantage is it having an OBDII on these vehicles? I haven't ever needed to use one personally...
There are other differences in the way the computer works. The FAQ posted at the top of the 80s forum may have more info, but I think you need to have the OBDII to use Landtank's MAF and to best use forced induction.

It probably is OBDII.
 
It will give some more diagnostics and ability use run a ScanGauge or UltraGauge or diag tool for troubleshooting and realtime temps, etc. Nice to have, not the end of the world w/o (IMO)
 
If you dont want to spring for a scan guage and you have an android phone you can get a bluetooth elm327 module from amazon (15$) and use the torque application on your phone to look at and clear the odbII codes.

My 95 is 6/95 and is ODBII, the best way to tell if the plug is located in the driver footwell fuse box.

Looks like a clean rig - have a mechanic do a compression test and look for 150psi across the board to ensure good compresison and rule out head gasket problems.
 
My 94 is at 288000 miles and runs better than most other cars with less miles. 180,000 isn't s*** for miles.
 
thats a nice looking LC, im pretty sure its obdII the port in located under the driver fuse panel. make sure you ask for service records. in order to test lockers, you have to engage 4 low first and look for the orange diff lock light on the cluster to illuminate, then turn the front and rear lock on and try driving the car in a figure 8 pattern, do this on dirt, or on grass that you dont care about.
 
Is Romer's still for sale for $17,500? I'd get that one.

I did this about a year and a half ago. I hope you have more time and money to apply to the search than I did. I made a big mistake but still don't have regrets. We've transformed the vehicle so much that we don't even think about it. Did waste a few thousand dollars though.

When I was looking, I saw some pics of LC's which looked as good as new and a 4-5 hour drive later they were a total POS. I don't know how pics could lie that much but they did. I literally drove 4+ hours to look at a vehicle for less than 5 minutes before heading right back home. It was so bad there was nothing to discuss.

Anyway, my only advice is patience, patience, patience. Have a substantial budget prepared for repairs and maintenance. $5000 minimum would be safe IMO, if you're buying what looks like a great $8000 LC. That, and have an unbelievably long and thorough checklist. Even with a mechanic checking mine out it's unbelievable how many things were missed. It's gotten to the point that we are happy to have so many new parts on ours though. CDan has helped some.

Have you found an experienced 'Mudder in your area who could help?

Oh, and a 330 is a nice car, but remember that a Cruiser is more equivalent to an M5 in price and parts.
 
newbie

WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF MUD :flipoff2:

BY FAR the best vehicle i have ever owned.. got mine @ 120k now has 210K the only major repair was a head gasket @ 180k
keep looking and find a one or two owner clean 96-97 with repair history(LEXUS DEALERS PROVIDE THEM) . when you find the one,grasshopper, you wil know :grinpimp:
 

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