2001 With 237000 miles. Worth customizing?

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Stryder03

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10 Year
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Bozeman, Mt
Hi, new member here. I bought my 100 last year as a family vehicle. Put 16000 miles on it and loved every on of them. We have now gone to a minivan for the family, and I have been thinking about turning this into my off-road/hunting toy.

I bought this local to me and it had service records dating back to 2005, so I know it has been reliable. My main concern is if it is worth putting the money into, or if I would just be wasting my money because of the age and mileage.
 
It's really up to you. May not get that money back but never going to do bad on a running 100. If you are gonna keep it and enjoy the things that you do to it then go for it. Just don't expect to get your money back. I had a Tahoe I put a ton of money into. Loved the truck. Lost my tail on it but I enjoyed the three years in it. That's my .02


Sent from my iPhone

2005 Lexus LX470
 
Yeah I don't plan on getting anything out of it. I've done the customizing thing on jeeps and tacomas and know that it never pays off financially, lol
 
Lol, then as long as you understand that going in I say go for it. So may people love to tell you all they've done including me but it never adds to the bottom line lol.


Sent from my iPhone

2005 Lexus LX470
 
I guess my main concern is unknown to me costs as the LC ages. I know about the standard wear items and have a budget for them. Other than the engine, which I know lasts for obscene amounts of time if taken care of, what big ticket items would I have to plan for in order to see 400k with this vehicle?
 
I have seen big numbers which blow my mind coming from the Chevy world. But trans I saw 5k. Motor was also quite high. Haven't looked into this and seems real high. Otherwise many people get stupid miles out of these things


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2005 Lexus LX470
 
I got my 2000 LC with 210k miles. I had similar concerns. Now that I've had it for a while, in one swoop, I had new r/p, new axle and all seals underneath and CV's replaced, including new p/s pump, new oil filter gasket and a few other things. Boom, $3500! It hurt, but with all that, and what I paid for it, I know it's a solid truck. My motor and my trans run great. Even checked my heater hose T connectors, and it appears those were replaced by PO, along with timing belt at 100 and 200.

Like you said, with proper care, these run forever. I don't abuse mine, even when I'm on dirt. It's mainly for light excursions and camping with the kids. It's not my daily driver and I garage it (even with 2.5" OME lift!). My point...I added rock sliders and just finished building my own drawer system. I taught myself how to weld a couple years ago, so guess what, I'm building my own bumpers with swingout in the rear.

To the point - I have a fear of dropping too much $$ and then suddenly, the motor or trans dies. Thus, I've decided to upgrade with necessary mods for wheeling, but I'm doing as much of it as possible, myself. Partly for the sense of self-satisfaction and partly, to avoid putting insane amounts of money into it on the off chance that something expensive breaks. Like others said, the investment is in the experiences you'll have with it once its built up, but keep I'm trying to be reasonable with what I do and how much I spend
 
@kevine thanks for your reply. What you are doing is exactly what I am looking to do, build gradually but with a view towards longevity. I plan to do what I can myself, but for some of the more involved things, I have a local shop that is well respected that I take it too. My first mod will be lockers, regearing at the same time. By then it will be time for tires so I will have to decide on a lift or not. List goes on from there, lol.
 
So you're going to regear with stock tires? Need lockers cause? Assuming maintenance is up to date I would get a winch and some decent 33s. Crank the torsion bars and get spacers or taller rear springs.
 
What's the alternative? Spend 30k on a new truck? Wait, 40k on a new truck?

People build expedition rigs with trucks that have a quarter million miles.

I wouldn't hesitate to modify a 237k mile hundred series. These are arguably (very arguably) the most reliable Landcruiser platforms ever!
 
ton504 said:
So you're going to regear with stock tires? Need lockers cause? Assuming maintenance is up to date I would get a winch and some decent 33s. Crank the torsion bars and get spacers or taller rear springs.
Click to expand...

It already has 33" tires and they will need replacing this year, looking at going bigger, but either way a lower gear ratio will help. Why lockers? Because they make life so much easier in low traction terrain. I'm not building this as a mall crawler, I want to get back into the areas that I can't access right now.
 
jhanley said:
What's the alternative? Spend 30k on a new truck? Wait, 40k on a new truck?

People build expedition rigs with trucks that have a quarter million miles.

I wouldn't hesitate to modify a 237k mile hundred series. These are arguably (very arguably) the most reliable Landcruiser platforms ever!
Click to expand...

That is what I have read, but coming from the jeep platform, it still strikes me as crazy to drop money into a 240k mile vehicle. Hell, I sold my jeep when it was at 45K because I was tired of fixing crap.
 
09 JK, had about $10,000 done in warranty work over a 2 year period. Most of it electronics related, like the factory front locker shorting and engaging when I was doing 60 on a highway. They had to replace the entire front end. I was just fortunate enough to have a good service department who I didn't have to fight with. I count myself lucky that I bought it when they were going bankrupt and had a fire sale. Only lost $2k when I traded it in for another Toyota.
 
Stryder03 said:
That is what I have read, but coming from the jeep platform, it still strikes me as crazy to drop money into a 240k mile vehicle. Hell, I sold my jeep when it was at 45K because I was tired of fixing crap.
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Jeep? whats that?
 
Stryder03 said:
That is what I have read, but coming from the jeep platform, it still strikes me as crazy to drop money into a 240k mile vehicle. Hell, I sold my jeep when it was at 45K because I was tired of fixing crap.
Click to expand...

45k miles? Land cruisers aren't even considered Landcruisers until 100k miles.

Last I checked, Jeep was made by Chrysler. Chrysler, (in my very humble, non-professional, non-offensive opinion) has the worst parts bin this side of your 8 year old's Lego box. I'd never buy a passenger vehicle made by the same company that manufactured the Neon, Sebring and Prowler (just to name a few).

A couple months ago one of clients drove up in a 2003 landcruiser with 405k. It ran like a top.
 
I've read that the JK have many issues. I like them and almost bought one as I missed my YJ so much. Started reading and too many people had problems with electronics and engine


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2005 Lexus LX470
 
I have the same vehicle you do. 2001 w/ 245k+/- miles. The only difference is that I have put the last 110k on it myself. The law of averages is in your favor with a 100 series LC to NOT have a catastrophic failure (i.e. engine, transmission, or transfer case). That is not the case with a jeep product. Does it happen to land cruisers? Yes. But is it common? No.

My suggestion is this.... maintenance wise, stay on top of it. I change my oil every 10k miles. I use Mobile 1 and a Mobile 1 filter. These motors are very gentle on oil. I also open the drain plug on my transmission and measure how much comes out, usually around 4 qts. I add exactly that much back into the transmission using Mobile 1 synthetic AT fluid. Your trans actually holds about 16 qts so eventually it is all very fresh and clean. I change my TC oil and differential oil to Mobile 1 synthetic and run 100k between changes. Repair anything that does not function properly immediately and that way the prices stay relatively small instead of a lot of repairs at once that drain the bank Acct.

I agree that you don't get your money back on upgrades but I also know that I AM going to own another 100 series LC. Aftermarket bumpers, lift, sliders, skid plates, wheel/tire combinations etc, can be unbolted and put on my next one if this one becomes unreliable.

Just my .02. :meh:
 
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