1997 FzJ80 - Let's Begin a Baseline!

[DirtyPepper]

Will get your knuckles rebuild next month I’m booked out this month. Maybe we can poke around for your electrical gremlins while I watch you clean parts and drink beer!

Soooooo, it’ll be like being 15 again in the garage with my father…only he drank Diet Coke and not beer 😂👍🤷‍♂️

Hey, whenever you have the time! 👍
I know you're busy...I saw the thread with that engine update.

I'm definitely game to have those gremlins stabbed.

Let me know what beer you like and I'll bring it!

 

[FMC80]

Man, you’re just rubbing it in at this point

 

[DirtyPepper]

I’m envious that you have so many resources nearby and at your disposal.

Good work working you way to get your cruiser back to its former glory.

Thanks!

Yeah, I don't want to do an over the top build - either a 2' lift or OEM springs/shocks...BUT, I'm planning on a sleeping platform/cargo drawer system that my buddy is designing, so I'll probably need something more "heavy", especially with the swing out tire carrier; I've had her for seven years and I'm finally in a position in my life where I can baseline first and then build.

 

[DirtyPepper]

UPDATE:

Got my '97 back from the glass shop - they kept it over the long weekend to test the main windshield gasket. They went above and beyond to verify that the windshield gasket is not the issue with letting water in.

A few weeks back I did something I didn't want to do and that was to seal up the sunroof with both Flextape and Gorilla weather tape...but only the sides and rear because I figured the front was fine and sealed without issue. Plus, it was covered by the wind deflector. With the amount of rain we had over a week AND mix in the fact that it slowly froze, the shop pinpointed the culprit as the front part of the sunroof allowing water in. Since I have an electrical gremlin(s) present the sunroof won't open or close so they aren't sure if it's just not sealed all the way or if the seal is bad. They noted that the front seal looks good, but have no way of knowing 100% since the other three sides have Tape on it (yeah, yeah, I know...)

SO...they surmise that water filled the drains and slowly froze...since new water had nowhere to go, it filled the pan slowly enough to slowly freeze also, but still overflowed...then that froze...AND THEN since the temperatures bounced back up, it all melted...fast, causing my own flood system.

They pulled as much water out of the floorboards as possible...she's still damp right now, but...at least i know the front windshield gasket is good and held under 90 PSI of air.

I have to mention that the shop went above and beyond to make sure the matter was resolved on their end. I wasn't even charged a diagnostic fee.

Once home, I grabbed a screwdriver and went to take the front wind deflector off of the sunroof so I could seal it up.

And that's when I found out the PO had the visor off at one point ...which means I don't know if he had done anything janky to the sunroof. The DS screw was stock, down to the little plastic rivet in the metal fastener but the PS was a star bolt/screw with an incorrect sized nut holding it on the underside. And...the screw is stripped. And the nut is rusted so bad, it won't move. So, it's doused and sitting. I was able to move the deflector enough to get flex tape on the front...it's sealed and SEEMS to be holding. We had more rain last night and upon inspection this morning, it appears to have held back the water.

No pics of the seal but I'll try to add them later today.


Once summer comes around and provided the electrical gremlins are taken care of (February appointment) and everything seals as it should, I'll update the carpet and do the sound dampening mod...maybe throw in updated seats also.

***

I also added the dual cup holder from @bhicks once the sunroof was sealed and I'm super happy with it.

Small steps forward are still steps forward

 

[avdeveloper]

Thanks for the update. I just opened my driver side door and found chunks of ice and water on the side and the carpet is damp. Looks like I'll have to take mine to a glass shop for this diagnosis and not my neighbor who just replaced the windshield of my other car on the driveway?

 

[DirtyPepper]

Thanks for the update. I just opened my driver side door and found chunks of ice and water on the side and the carpet is damp. Looks like I'll have to take mine to a glass shop for this diagnosis and not my neighbor who just replaced the windshield of my other car on the driveway?

Hope you get it figured out!

Definitely check your sunroof drains also...they might be clogged.

Something the glass shop noted...as they do most of ther Land Cruisers in the Portland area (including 60/62 models), they noted that if a shop does the gasket that doesn't follow the FSM and water gets in and then freezes, it'll crack the gasket. That's why they pressure tested mine to 90 psi...and since that held, and they let water fall (on a decline) for over 30 minutes with no trace...they went with it coming from the sunroof.

I hope that also helps with the diagnosis!

 

[avdeveloper]

Hope you get it figured out!

Definitely check your sunroof drains also...they might be clogged.

Something the glass shop noted...as they do most of ther Land Cruisers in the Portland area (including 60/62 models), they noted that if a shop does the gasket that doesn't follow the FSM and water gets in and then freezes, it'll crack the gasket. That's why they pressure tested mine to 90 psi...and since that held, and they let water fall (on a decline) for over 30 minutes with no trace...they went with it coming from the sunroof.

I hope that also helps with the diagnosis!

I checked my sunroof and I did notice a plastic trim cracked off. I wonder if ice broke that or it has been broken before. I'll go get the windshield gasket replaced. That hasn't been replaced since we got it. It most likely is still the original lol

 

[DirtyPepper]

A much deserved UPDATE.

This was a big one off the “To Do” list for me.
Shout out to the shop I went to who deals specifically with auto electrics. The three guys there have a combined 100+ years of working in the auto industry, predominantly on auto electronics.

Three hours and the issue was resolved. I’ve had the Land Cruiser almost 8 years and except for a brief moment after it coming home, the windows have never gone down. The sunroof hasn’t opened, either. The radio would occasionally work but a few years ago it just completely stopped. The clock would work from time to time, same with the cigarette lighter (for charging)…gauges would work but not the gauge lughts. AC controls all worked and so did those lights…door lights worked but two of the three dome lights wouldn’t…door locks would lock themselves…mirrors wouldn’t move…a whole bunch of electrical gremlins seemed to have found a home…until this past Friday.

After years of not having any of the above mentioned…it’s all been fixed. In the span of three hours, I now have the ability to drive home with my windows down and it’s great! I’ll need to replace the motors (I think) as they are SLOW to come up, even with some spray silicone. And three of the five door lock actuators are bad…no big deal since I was locking it manually anyways.

This was one BIG thing of a “To Do” to check off the list. I’m a lot more comfortable heading out on a trail now that I can charge a phone and bring the window down to talk to a spotter or watch the trail on the side.

The problem?

Water corrosion…mostly. Which was due to the sunroof not being sealed due to it not having power. All of the behind the dash, at the kick panel, and at the fuse box electrical points were cleaned, and with power restored to the sunroof, the 1/16 inch that was opened (and flex taped) is now sealed…so, electrical connection points were cleaned of corrosion, a relay that was bad was replaced, and we found WHY the P.O. placed a circuit breaker buss in the fuse panel; a wire in the door panel wiring loom came loose and was leaning on the sharp edge of the door sheet metal under the panel…after almost thirty years, the vibrations cut through the insulation and when the hot wire hit the metal, BAM! it finally fried everything. Hence the breaker. Before finally frying everything it would make contact and simply short things out…hence the intermittent stereo and clock.

Fuse connections were found to be “widened” so that was corrected also.

It’s all fixed now.

I cannot begin to explain how happy I am.

The next “big fix” is the front end knuckle rebuild and then I can get to doing a moderate 2” OME lift and armor 👍

Definitely putting this into the “what did you do with your 80 this weekend”

 

[DirtyPepper]

More photos including the offending wire in the door panel.

I never knew the dash cluster was that dirty until I saw it at night 😂😂🤷‍♂️

But since he had the entire cluster out, he went ahead and replaced all the bulbs with new ones as they all were original and “looking real tired”.

 

[DirtyPepper]

 

[DirtyPepper]

UPDATE for 2/18/23:

I'll try to grab and add some photos tomorrow...It started to mist/sprinkle on Saturday morning while we had the sunroof open so my buddy and I were more concerned about getting the lines cleared than getting photos...BUT...I spent Saturday (early) getting the last of the Flex/Gorilla tape off of the sunroof (Yeah, yeah...I know. But it was needed) so we could check the sunroof seal now that the sunroof, actually, you know...closes all the way.

Now that my electronic gremlins are no longer present and with the tape removed I'm happy to say that the sunroof seals completely. Once we verified it sealed properly we opened it back up and checked the drains, and…hoh’boy, were they bad. The drain holes were plugged solid with muck and the pan had so much dirt and debris in it...it literally looked like someone filled a pepper shaker with dirt and shook the dirt into the track and railings. The drain hole was plugged solid; black gray ooze mud sitting there, laughing at both of us as if to say, "Come at me bro..."

And we did...we punched away the muck, wiped the drain openings clean, and then snaked each line with thick wire. Then came back with a double punch of compressed air. The sunroof still closes slower than I would like...most likely need to get into the rails and spray some silicone lubricant, as well as clean the rails. But I'm happy it's now sealed.

And it rained all last night...doesn't seem to be a drop of water or condensation in my rig. This all has appeared to quell my water seepage into the cab/behind the dash/drain to the floorboard.


Next big fix will be the front knuckle rebuild and then I can get to going on pricing sliders and order the rear swing out, get the lift, armor...etc.