1997 FzJ80 - Let's Begin a Baseline! (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Threads
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Location
WA/OR
Hey everyone!

I'll update this regularly but for right now, we're going with the basics for a baseline :)

1997 Fzj80 purchased in January 2015 with 200,xxx Miles for $2300.00
Current Mileage: 222,xxx
NOT triple Locked
Black Onyx with tan leather interior (6.5/10 interior condition - front seats are worn & DS is split)
New 265/70r16 Cooper Adventurers (As of May 2022)
Third row seats already removed
Stock suspension and height

And thanks to everyone/anyone who has chimed in with my other posts & questions!

  • She’s a bit dirty under the hood and needs a general cleaning but you have to start some place, right? I’m baselining her; tires were first because the old ones were way too unsafe and now I'm moving onto under the hood…the engine is super tight and runs extremely smooth for 222,xxx miles…I’ve had her seven years (200,xxx miles when purchased)…

  • Air Cleaner Intake Hose was one of the first parts replaced (OEM) back in January (?) 2015 (Before I started my recent/new spreadsheet). The Air filter was replaced at the same time as the intake hose and is still beautifully clean after 20k miles.

  • Radiator doesn’t have the telltale yellow staining indicating it’ll need replacement (which seriously makes me happy) but I’m going to have a pressure test performed, and if that’s good, then a flush. Most of the main hoses LOOK good but could probably use a replacement; I don’t know what the PO did and didn’t do so the hoses could be original 1997 for all I know; considering all the hoses seem to have o-ring style screw clamps, a lot may have already been changed out. But I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially since the hoses on the Heater Control Valve look a bit worn...AND the heater control valve at the fire wall is half yellow so that will need to be replaced ASAP

  • The distributor gasket needs to be replaced as apparent in the images (blowback). The valve cover gasket doesn't seem to have ANY seepage at all upon inspection.

  • The battery...yeah, I don't know what's going on there. The PO did some janky ass stereo wiring with an off brand single Din and shoddy amp to include some weird fuse set up to the battery…so I’ll need to fix that when I replace the stereo with a double din. Right now, after reading through a bunch of posts about stereos not working, there was one thread that indicated that a fuse set up under the hood, if not done right (?) can blow most of the electrical in the cab...which seems to have happened. The stereo cuts in and out, the clock barely works, cigarette lighter refuses to work (charging area) and the dash lights only light up the tach.

I've already started an OEM parts pile as well as a fund for the "Rite of Passage" HG (whenever that happens), so...what's on deck to replace next over the next few weekends?

In no particular order:
  • Heater Control Valve - After seeing it last night, I'll order this today or tomorrow.
  • Fan Clutch - OEM (Replacing because it's from 1997) - Fan blade / shroud look great!
  • Hood Struts - Off Brand - the stock ones barely hold the weight of the hood anymore!
  • Drive Belts - OEM - OP literally FORCED incorrect belts to fit
  • Drive pulley(s) for belts - OEM - originals are showing their age and I figured it was best to replace
  • Water Pump - ASIN from Rock Auto with gasket
  • Thermostat - OEM
  • Upper/Lower Rad hoses - OEM
  • Other misc hoses - OEM
  • Spark Plugs / Wires - OEM
  • Distributor Cap / Rotor (including DizzyRing) - OEM
  • Oil Change - OEM Filter
  • Clean out sunroof drains

Then the REAL fun begins of building her as a camping/overland rig!


Xposted to my IG account (thedirtywarthog) so forgive me if you've already seen this.

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Control valve.JPG


Full front.JPG


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Take a hard look at the PHH. Since you are draining the radiator to do upper and lower hoses and the water valve and tstat I'd probably go ahead and replace that. Might also replace both crankcase ventilation hoses and PCV valve and grommet.
I'll add those to my list, thanks!
 
I d
The hose clamps there are not OEM. It should be easy to pull those off to check condition of the valve.
I didn't think they were OEM...OEM are the squeeze kind of clamps, right?

I have no idea if the PO had any HG issues and had them fixed...there's absolutely no seepage around the valve cover that I can see. I'll try to get a few more photos of the block and valve cover this weekend.


Thanks!
 
While you are in there can get pretty far and deep.... But if you are, and you should, replace the heater valve, then you should be going after the peaky heater hose too... Now you can bundle a bunch of other stuff in there to make some of those tasks easier and if that is the choice then the little hoses for cooling that are in and around the intake....so you can do the fuel lines and vacuum lines as well. All at once keep you from going back in there and th cost is not much at all. It will give you lots of room to wrap insulation around the wiring harness near the EGR. Also let you clean the throttle body etc and you won't be adding too much time or cost. It is annoying to drain the coolant multiple times so a flush and this hit everything that would also require draining coolant done at the same time will save you time in the long run.

The water pump pumps fast .. so if something goes, it can go dry very fast.
 
Ordered the Heater Control Valve and hoses...So, I can check that off my list.

I was going to go non-OEM via RockAuto for $30 (which is the same one I read in another forum post that is used by NAPA) but OEM through Ebay (NIB) was only $49 Buy It Now...which was better than the TPD of $90

:)

Toy_HCV.jpg
 
Ordered some additional baseline parts (below) to include the Toyota OEM spark Plug wires/harness from another OEM distributor. A buddy of mine gave me his 6.1" Kenwood bluetooth cd/dvd/usb touchscreen stereo that's been sitting in a box on his shelf for four years...He found he can't install it into his Disco2 so it's just been collecting dust. It'll be installed once I get to the stereo.

I'll add some more pics some time this week with interior and body as well as a video.

I'm purchasing a new waterpump, thermo, thermo housing, and upper/lower radiator hoses after I come back from camping this weekend.

Those items don't seem to NEED a replacement but I don't know when they were replaced by the PO so I'd rather just buy them now and replace everything over the course of a weekend so i don't have to remove belts and hoses a second, third, or sixth time.

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Here's the next series of parts that will be ordered (probably next week).

I'm going to have the radiator tested first before purchasing a new one though...Green equals purchased, yellow signifies "on Deck"

Yeah, I'm a nerd...I have a spreadsheet for my baseline / build.

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UPDATE.

More parts arrived today for the cooling system...And I'm ordering all the hoses this weekend.

QUESTION - The radiator is the factory radiator...Not sure if the PO ever flushed it...with that in mind, would it be advisable to simply replace it or just give it a flush? There are no signs of yellowing on the top part of the radiator and no leaking that I can see.

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I d

I didn't think they were OEM...OEM are the squeeze kind of clamps, right?
Something like squeeze clamps. Can't remember the name for them. Anyway, apparently someone has been there in the past. You will want to use new clamps for the PHH.
 
I'm still flushing mine. but it feels endless. I still have to find time to get the hoses off the heater core ports to flush that. my new cooling parts have been sitting in the garage for weeks. just my 2 cents. I'll defer to the others if it's recommended to do before replacing the hoses, etc.
 
UPDATE.

More parts arrived today for the cooling system...And I'm ordering all the hoses this weekend.

QUESTION - The radiator is the factory radiator...Not sure if the PO ever flushed it...with that in mind, would it be advisable to simply replace it or just give it a flush? There are no signs of yellowing on the top part of the radiator and no leaking that I can see.

View attachment 3069731

View attachment 3069735
Look inside the radiator to determine the amount of "crud" in it. The coolant comes in from the top left (as you sit in the driver's seat) so the top tank will have the "most" crud.

If it's visually clean, then go with it. Just do flushes with distilled water.

Check www.partsouq.com for all the rubber parts. That saved me $150+ versus domestic and they are Toyota parts. Shipping is as fast or faster than domestic.
 
Look inside the radiator to determine the amount of "crud" in it. The coolant comes in from the top left (as you sit in the driver's seat) so the top tank will have the "most" crud.

If it's visually clean, then go with it. Just do flushes with distilled water.

Check www.partsouq.com for all the rubber parts. That saved me $150+ versus domestic and they are Toyota parts. Shipping is as fast or faster than domestic.

I checked the fluid level over the weekend at cold temp and just beginning to rise...coolant is green.

As a note, the last time I put coolant in was near 12k miles ago, and it was still bright green then, but just a hair lower than I'd like. As in, you could still see coolant but I prefer to see it to the cap line. And when I pulled the cap, the coolant was sill just below the cap line.

I wonder sometimes if the PO had a HG replacement...btu then I look at all of the hoses and...they look old; some bulging, some cracking...the hoses at the heater control valve have been replaced but everything else has the clamps, unless PO reused clamps.

I'm not sure if I NEED to replace the water pump and thermostat, but I'm going to for baseline / PM reasons. I want to KNOW they've been replaced.

Is there a way to visually TELL that the HG has blown and been replaced? Are there any external signs that would allow me to look and go, "Yeah, that's been replaced..."?
 
This weekend my Cruiser gets refreshed...cap, rotor, wires, plugs...cooling system overhaul.

The only items on this list that are not "ready" is the stereo and Fuel Injectors...those are both set for another time (and it's not my full WIP spreadsheet, only the "purchased/Ready to Install" portion).

Pics and updates to follow at the end of the weekend (Or shortly there after) - Other than the PHH, I'm hoping for a fairly straight forward update to everything listed.

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This weekend my Cruiser gets refreshed...cap, rotor, wires, plugs...cooling system overhaul.

The only items on this list that are not "ready" is the stereo and Fuel Injectors...those are both set for another time (and it's not my full WIP spreadsheet, only the "purchased/Ready to Install" portion).

Pics and updates to follow at the end of the weekend (Or shortly there after) - Other than the PHH, I'm hoping for a fairly straight forward update to everything listed.

View attachment 3094076
samsung tab a will let you use the toyota techstream?
 
Order your vac lines and the small water lines that you will have access to with the intake off while doing injectors. May need to get an EGR valve gasket too.
 
samsung tab a will let you use the toyota techstream?
That I don't know about...I'm using the Samsung Tab tethered to the Torque Pro app - I would have used my iPad but I've followed up on the app enough that most users state the app and apple don't like each other at all, mostly because the app wasn't written for Apple...?
 
Order your vac lines and the small water lines that you will have access to with the intake off while doing injectors. May need to get an EGR valve gasket too.

Good suggestion, thanks! I'll look into that.
 
Special service tool for the intake manifold. Oh and you have some short fuel line you can replace while in there too.

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