1991 Land Cruiser

[Geoff Callarman]

Thanks for allowing me to join! I am a current owner of a 2010 4runner (2wd) and am in the market for a Land Cruiser for obvious reasons! wanted to get y'alls take on a 1991 Cruiser I found with only 137k miles. Just looking for pro's and cons of this particular vehicle. Thanks in advance!

 

[Red Merle]

Check the FAQ section and read the Slee Buyers Guide that is linked within.

FAQ for 80/LX450 -Mar 2015 -Added Battery Information Thread

 

[pengfinn]

I've got a '91. I'll list some pros and cons, but it's still early in the day so my brain isn't think so gud; feel free to add/remove as you see fit.

Pros:

• The 3FE motor is insanely reliable, most 80-series head-gasket worries won't apply to it.
• The A440F trans only has one solenoid (cruiser control), and is fully hydraulic; eliminating many electrical points of failure.
• Comes with the pre-facelift T O Y O T A on the front grill, which is p awesome.
• I haven't been stranded yet in mine, they're really _really_ hard to kill, even by TLC standards.
• You get the Center Diff Lock switch without having to mod (unless someone has already borrowed it out of your truck)

Cons:

• 91 & 92 didn't come with factory lockers (except the center diff/xfer-case)
• The 3FE is reliable, but quite slow. If you do some baselining and it's in good condition, its not too bad, but a later 80-series cruiser will be peppier with the 1FZ-FE. That said, wouldn't trade my 3FE for the world.
• The emissions/smog stuff was (according the mud lore) an afterthought and shoehorned on. If you don't have emissions in your area, you may want to remove some of it. I've heard mixed reviews about whether it improves performance. YMMV.
• It's a 25-year old truck, and will have 25-year-old-truck problems. Do a full lookover first to ensure you know what you're getting into. The FAQ posted by @Red Merle is an excellent resource for all 80 owners.

Just do some PM if you get it, baseline the truck, and rotate the urine and beer in the motor and you shouldn't have any big problems. Welcome to mud

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Almost 400,000 miles on ours. Same engine, normal maintaince , we will probably never sell the 1991. Gears and no timing belt to replace every 100,000 miles along with all the other parts you replace at the same time with newer models. Highway speeds of Texas, no problem . Mike

 

[Lefty3247]

I have 192xxx on mine and it's rock solid and as slow as a rock, wouldn't trade it for anything, but it's not my daily.

I've done a fair bit of baselining which can add up, if it's been maintained with 137xxx on the clock and the price is right, seems like a no-brainer.

Keep in mind, this is a 25 year old rig, and there will always be something to fix, but That's 1/2 the fun of it.

 

[Alleycats]

The thing I've noticed about the 3FE is that it has little HP but makes up for it in torque. Cruising highway speeds loaded down is not a problem. If your looking for pep though then maybe a 1FZ would be better. 137,000 is low miles for one of these though, good luck.

 

[ToothDr]

The 80 series is a heavy truck. The 3FE was a carry over from the FJ62. Reliable but slow. I know first hand. I bought a new 91 of the lot. Later upgraded to a 94. Another thing to consider is most 93-on up have a full floater rear end and 4 wheel discs. All 80 series are reliable. Drive a 91 and a 93-97 and the differences will be apparent.

 

[cc93cruiser]

Hey, FJ80's need love too!

 

[2 E L O]

I agree with everyone else. I've had a '96 LX450, then an '84 FJ60, and now a '92 FJ80.

While I absolutely loved my LX450/FZJ80, I'm really digging the simplicity of the 3FE in the FJ80. For me, since it's not a DD, I just want something that's reliable, simple, and easy to work on--and it's hard to beat a desmogged FJ80 for that!

As far as 'pep' goes, yeah, the 1FZFE in the FZJ80s obviously have more power but the 3FE has plenty for what it needs. They're both totally dogs and slow as heck, so it's hard to really pump one up over the other.

As far as the rest of the vehicle goes, there are differences but for the average user I wouldn't think they would matter much. Except for airbags...I believe those showed up in '95. Those would be nice to have...