Lx450 - thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Steven Moua]

Hello all,

Im going to check out this Lx450 tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

Could the exhausr leak be a crack in the exhaust manifold?

How likely is the AC just needing a recharge rather than a bad compressor?

Miles a little high or ok?

My old man who had 3 FJ80s told me to stay away from this one, but it looks ok to me.

Thanks!

Lexus LX450

 

[shawnFZJ]

Hello all,

Im going to check out this Lx450 tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

Could the exhausr leak be a crack in the exhaust manifold?

How likely is the AC just needing a recharge rather than a bad compressor?

Miles a little high or ok?

My old man who had 3 FJ80s told me to stay away from this one, but it looks ok to me.

Thanks!

Lexus LX450

It is a little pricey to have 3 possibly not-so-small issues (that you know of). If you do go look I would take an OBDII reader and pull the error code(s). Start there and do some research, I am betting there are better deals out there around you.

I stay away from cars without original engines. Im a matching numbers snob and I always encourage others do be!

 

[BigAxeJack]

Beach pics?

Birthfields?

Engine swap?


Take Dad's advice.

 

[ppc]

Your dad is a smart man, trust his judgement.

"This vehicle is equipped with the legendary FJ 80 Series Toyota straight 6 cylinder, when proper maintenance these engines are known to last 400-500,000 miles. With Unparalleled Reliability, "

What the dude is telling you is that he had to replace the engine because he didn't properly maintain it. The rest of the truck might be the same. In a full time system all the tires should always be replaced at the same time. If not that can cause problems with diffs, transfer case/viscous coupler. New paint is just putting lipstick on a pig and can hide a bunch of crap.

 

[LINUS]

Is $5700 a significant amount of money for you, or will you have a few $K in reserve if it needs stuff? If it’s all your $$ & a few borrowed, then no. Save more $ & wait.

Why specifically did dear ol’ dad have an issue?
Has he strictly has 3FE’s or has he been a 1FZ owner?
If he has, and has had a few - take his word as gospel.

Are you a wrencher or a bill-payer when it comes to maint?

If you have a chubby for black, and e-lockers, -then go look. Never know.

Aside from that - if it has rust or anything hinky, cut bait & run.

 

[Steven Moua]

Pops never had reliability issues with his FJ80s.
1st-sold it to get a 97 40th ann
2nd-tough financial times, got it repoed
3rd-mom got it in an accident and it got totaled

He used to be a mechanic so of course he knows. I think he's tired and dont want me to be fixing older cars all the time. The guy just thinks of cars as transportation vehicles, not off roaders, or weekend fun. Nothing wrong with that, but he would never buy something to fix or work on long term.

I had a 97 Jeep TJ and it was a weekend offroader, loved it. I always wanted a FJ80 since we had them growing up.

I can turn a wrench, do basic maintenance.

I appreciate everyones input.

 

[auttiman]

Hello all,

Im going to check out this Lx450 tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

Could the exhausr leak be a crack in the exhaust manifold?

How likely is the AC just needing a recharge rather than a bad compressor?

Miles a little high or ok?

My old man who had 3 FJ80s told me to stay away from this one, but it looks ok to me.

Thanks!

Lexus LX450

Stick $4,000 in his face and get it. Prolly has some rust so look for it and point it out to him. But any running 80 with dif locks and clean interior like that one is worth 4k

 

[Cass007]

1. Your Dad either knows whats up and should be more specific or maybe he just doesn't want your weekend projects to become his weekend projects.

2. The pic of the Birthfields being replaced appears to be getting done in someone's driveway. I'm not sure I would trust someone with that repair that refers to it as a Birthfield.

3. The drivers seat appears to have been done with Cruiser leather, not the Lexus skin, so the front seats likely won't match in pattern. This is why he states it in the description, but only shows the drivers seat in the pic with that weird angle.

 

[Steven Moua]

Just a follow up...

I drove 2 hrs from PA to Annapolis, I took the family so we decided to make an overnight trip with it.

I met the guy and looked at it. Interior was beat, no rips, but not great either. The owner says the drivers seat didnt work, so it would need to be adjusted with a screw driver or a power drill on the fly. Leather cracks, smoke odor. I would give it a 6/10.

The rear pan??? Had some surface rust on it. The cat shows some cracks. I know for sure it wouldnt pass PA emissions.

Owner says he had it for 1.5 years and got it from an auction.

When I asked if he ever tried the lockers, he said no. He did take it to the beach a handful of times.

The ad said no A/C, and I was prepared by bringing a bottle of refrigerant to charge it if I wanted to proceed with the sale. If someone is selling a car, wouldnt they invest in $20 to charge it?

The test drive just felt "loose". The steering wheel was off centered. The acceleration felt sluggish, maybe due to the exhaust leak.

After the test drive, I just told him I felt it needed more maintenance to make it a daily commuter for my work thats 50 miles away.
I decided not to purchase the vehicle.

Im merely just sharing my test drive review and my intentions werent to offend anybody.

Thanks.

 

[Red Merle]

Just a follow up...

I drove 2 hrs from PA to Annapolis, I took the family so we decided to make an overnight trip with it.

I met the guy and looked at it. Interior was beat, no rips, but not great either. The owner says the drivers seat didnt work, so it would need to be adjusted with a screw driver or a power drill on the fly. Leather cracks, smoke odor. I would give it a 6/10.

The rear pan??? Had some surface rust on it. The cat shows some cracks. I know for sure it wouldnt pass PA emissions.

Owner says he had it for 1.5 years and got it from an auction.

When I asked if he ever tried the lockers, he said no. He did take it to the beach a handful of times.

The ad said no A/C, and I was prepared by bringing a bottle of refrigerant to charge it if I wanted to proceed with the sale. If someone is selling a car, wouldnt they invest in $20 to charge it?

The test drive just felt "loose". The steering wheel was off centered. The acceleration felt sluggish, maybe due to the exhaust leak.

After the test drive, I just told him I felt it needed more maintenance to make it a daily commuter for my work thats 50 miles away.
I decided not to purchase the vehicle.

Im merely just sharing my test drive review and my intentions werent to offend anybody.

Thanks.

Buy a Sienna.

 

[Steven Moua]

Buy a Sienna.

Lol

 

[ironhippy]

When I asked if he ever tried the lockers, he said no.

At this point, OEM lockers that have not been used in a number of years are pretty much worse than not having lockers at all.

Without lockers, you can throw an ARB locker in and be done for relatively cheap.

The OEM lockers will most likely at least require new/fixed motors which alone could be more than the ARB install.

 

[Cruzerman]

Without lockers, you can throw an ARB locker in and be done for relatively cheap

You can throw a ARB in the front for cheap? Obviously your definition of cheap differs greatly from mine.

 

[auttiman]

You can throw a ARB in the front for cheap? Obviously your definition of cheap differs greatly from mine.

I think he meant as compared to repairing bad factory lockers.

And as always, if you're only getting one, the rear end is where that ARB should go.

 

[Tools R Us]

At this point, OEM lockers that have not been used in a number of years are pretty much worse than not having lockers at all.

Without lockers, you can throw an ARB locker in and be done for relatively cheap.

The OEM lockers will most likely at least require new/fixed motors which alone could be more than the ARB install.

Really, how much were your actuators? We work on a bunch of factory locked rigs and only recall replacing a couple of actuators. Even if it needed both, it's ~$600, the price of an ARB conversion must of come way down since I last priced one?

 

[peteinpeb]

Your dad is a mechanic and has a history with FZJ80s and is telling you to stay away from this one?! Don't let the lockers blind you. Listen to your dad. A well maintained 80 is worth it in my opinion and they still take $ from your wallet. You can always put in a locker later. Personally I would rather spend money on mods than on PM. Spend the money up front and get a clean well maintained one rather than spend later and look at the car in the driveway not going anywhere.