80 Questions about what is best

[MrZumma]

... I would just buy a sesna ...

Not to be anal here, but it's Cessna...

I basically did what Christo recommended when setting out to buy the 80. My criteria was to find the latest model with the options I wanted and minus the options I did not want. I found a '97 with the desired lockers, fairly low mileage, no rust, R134 A/C (much less expensive to recharge), and no dealership installed roof rack or rear spoiler which tend to cause rust. The search took a little over 4 months..

I've been through a blizzard around Tahoe in a buddies Pinto and I was scared shiatless... Nothing like heading east over the summit on 50 looking straight down a vertical cliff with only a few feet of visibility.

 

[Riley]

>> Even if the previous owner had it dealer serviced and swears that everything was done. We see it every week at the shop <<


I bought mine last year and the PO just spent $1800 at the dealer servicing a bunch of stuff including the knuckle seals.

However with in 3 months I re-did the knuckle in order to replace the axle seals which they seemed to forget about.

I'm glad I spent he extra $$ on lower miles and newer model as well.

 

[RavenTai]

Why no air-bags? I think you are safer with them unless you are under a certain weight (100 lbs???), I have seen a lot of airbag equipped Toyota's take a severe beatings off road never seen nor heard of bag deploying

While we are talking about airbags are ours "reduced force" or the original high powered “knock your head off” versions? The high powers are good for me at a sturdy +/- 2 bills, but not sure about the passenger side

For many reasons I like the 96/97 (the two are identical AFIK), 97 gets a slight edge just because it is the last year of solid axle LC's and the 40th anniversary (weather you get the 40th edition or not it still is) and I only shopped those two years, if you are looking for later trucks don’t forget to think about the LX450, there is another set of variables to that decision

 

[Scamper]

I have seen a lot of airbag equipped Toyota's take a severe beatings off road never seen nor heard of bag deploying

Just yesterday on the way home from work, I heard this loud cruch a few cars in front of me at an intersection (couldn't see what was happening 'cuz I was in my Spyder), and when I got to the intersection, there sat this 4-Runner with bits and pieces of car/truck laying about the front of it. The front end was badly bashed in about a foot from where it should have been, and the woman driving it was already on her phone to call someone. No deployment of the airbag. Guess she wasn't going fast enough.

 

[MoJ]

POSEIDON: What I pick up in your first question was the fact you have BAD weather situation like in the passes (icy, slippery, snowy, etc). I would strongly suggest investing into a 100. One with traction control, year 2000+. In these conditions there IS NO COMPARISON between a locked or unlocked Cruiser (any model) and a 100. You have 10-fold amount of control over an 80 in these situation, and of course a far nicer rig in better weather. The added price may be worth it to you as you will have the rig much longer. Take it from an owner of both. No comparison especially under those conditions.

Yeah, take snow driving advice from a guy living in Arizona.

 

[robbie]

Really no need to worry about the later years versus the newer years. guy the latest model year you can afford. I would also reccommend that you get the lockers as they do come in handy. I also would do what John suggested if you have the money. For the USA the 100 series makes sense for what you are planning to do. But if you have your heart set on the 80 then get the one you can afford with the knowledge you will have to spend some money on maintance. Personally I would love to get a 40 anv with the sage green and lockers as my next rig. OBDII is so much nicer of a computer system, Actually if you get a good one the fuel milage is better then the 93-94 model years by a couple of MPG. Not that much to quibble about, but ! As for the air bags, Yes there is no documented relaease of air bag that most know about, but one urban myth that happened 5-6 years ago. I only heard about it, but never seen the write up. but the system is baised on a decelration Algorythem and a senser. You have to be going so fast and stop way too sudden for the brakes to have done the stoping. And as far as I know the system is not suppose to work in low range if that is any consulation. Also if you did not want that big of a rig there are better things for snow and ice up roads, than a land cruiser (I know this may shock many). later robbie

 

[cruiserman]

'95 and later come with optional failed head gasket. Just stirring the pot.

I agree a lighter rig would be better in the snow/ice.

 

[robbie]

I did forget a couple of things, I do believe that the later model years have better ABS system, better sensors, and braking on snow and Ice. personally I do not drive on really snowy and ice roads with the ABS on, I hate it> I have driven many different cruisers and the best of them is what John Shots reccomended. The traction controlled 100 series. Out of the 80's, 97 is the better of the years in my mind. Usually the last model has just about all the bugs worked out, they usually have the best computers that control the vechicle, then they start all over with the new model. later robbie

 

[poseidon]

Not to be anal here, but it's Cessna...

I've been through a blizzard around Tahoe in a buddies Pinto and I was scared shiatless...

You can spell Cessna but you cant spell s***less? You will have to excuse my spelling I got a bachelors degree from Oregon State University. You know how us state skool kids ar with our reedn and rightin.

The airbag is most certainly not that big of an issue for me and most certanly will not make or break a deal.

As far as the climate control is concerned one of my other rigs is a Dodge stealth RT/TT and it has the climate control and I love it! Some others have complained about it too but I think it works great. I have also formed an opinion about those that aren't smart enough to operate it.

The 95+ sounds tempting but what exactly is the head gasget situation that people are mentioning? Is it a simply a situation where one the toy gasget is replaced with a diffrent gasget and you are good to go or is it a recuring situation? If it is a recuring situation is there any regularity to it like every 80k miles or after sitting too long or driving in cold condition or driving in hot conditions?

Yes I know that driving a smaller lighter vehicle might be better in the snow. my GF has a Subaru WRX and it performs great in the snow and we use it often BUT I do BIG shopping trips durring the winter at Costco and drag a month or twos worth of supplies back to our little hole. I also wanted the room to get a group out to camping spots and fire lokouts and the like. Also out here the posibility of an accident while driving in that weather, incuding being hit by idiots and the Deer and Elk on the roads so I would prefer to have a heavier vehicle for safety reasons durring the dead of winter.

ODB1 or ODB2 make little diffence to me. I am much more familiar with ODB1 because tat is what my car has but they both work fine for me and wouldn't make or break the deal. I doubt I will be data logging or that kind of thing much with the LC but reading error codes is easy as can be on ODB1.

I think the 100 series is out of the price range I am looking at right now. I was actually trying to decide between a 60/62s and 80s when I started this thread. I want to still have cash to do the work I want on my other rigs and get that fj-55 how I want it. (engine swap, disk brakes, trans swap, possible SOA....)

Thanks for all the input guys this is really helping me. I called about a couple cruisers on auto trader yesterday but none of them had the selectable lockers.

E

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

Yer baaaad MoJ! Yer mean! I'm hurt and crying right now.

Hey, there's plenty of snow in AZ. Come on out this winter. Mt. Lemmon (Tucson rests on this mt) gets a bunch and has a ski area.

What I'm even more picked on out here is the fact our Cruisers have snorkels. People ask "where in AZ will you use that?". Believe it or not it happens! Look:

http://www.expeditionswest.com/2003Box-Ovens/index.html
(and there were holes where it came up to and over the windows in many places.)

So yes, AZ isn't all desert.

 

[semlin]

good luck choosing.

the possible head gasket problem is there on all 93-97s once they hit about 70k. No one knows why it seems to happen more on 97s but there are theories about the more advanced ECU making it run hotter and the inadaquecies of the aluminum 2 core radiator used after 95. You can go to the newby section here to find out more www.sleeoffroad.com There is a replacement design HG from Toyota but no warranty/recall campaign. The job is somewhat labour intensive.

The possibility of HG trouble is not a reason not to buy one but it is a concern for buyers to look for the signs and makes owners pay closer attention to their cooling system than on most vehicles. You will find old threads here about the deliberate flat spot in the factory temp gauge which conceals the fact you are running hot, the dreaded grey grit in the radiator and overflow, and the unspeakable consequences of mixing toyota red coolant with any other coolant thus producing rad killing sludge. Oh the horror. Basically you are ok if you flush the rad and block once every year or two then watch carefully to make sure you don't use fluid.

 

[poseidon]

Good info.

I am now still looking but I have found a 96 with lockers and a 94 without. THe 94 is the green and I like that color. They are also within a few miles of one another in the Puyallup area so in a couple weeks I may drive up there and take a look at the two. There is a 2k price difference that I may be able to negotiate. I figure for 2K I can drop ARB in the 94 and then I would have the green and lockers.

E

 

[semlin]

green is the most common colour in my experience.

don't waste $ on arb air lockers. they are not as good as the oem elockers.

 

[Scamper]

Were lockers more common on the 80's pre 1997? I was browsing the local Toy dealer a couple of weeks ago, and they had a few earlier 80's in the lot. All had lockers, though the trucks looked as if they were never used offroad. I was kinda surprised (that they had lockers, not that they never left asphalt).

 

[GXO]

As a owner of a Cheby with Duramax and Alison transmission, that is not even close. If I had the choice I would have he Duramax and Alison in a 80. That would be awsome.

Amen brother. Now to source one and adapt it for less then a small fortune.

 

[alaskacruiser]

semlin said:
"Supposedly the 95+ "343" trannies (taken from a 4runner) are more prone to problems but I can't recall a tranny failure for any model being reported on this site in the last 18 months."

Actually, when it comes to reported problems with trannies on this board, I recall 2 people reporting problems with solenoids on the A442F (one was CDan), no problems I can recall being reported with the A343F. (Junk has gone through just about every part so he doesn't count)

As another data point, the highest mileage Cruiser I have seen (one with over 300k for sale on ebay with warranty) had the A343F.

So don't sweat the trannies, and remember that bigger isn't necessarily better.

 

[landtank]

I'd look seriously at that 96. The fact that it has the lockers more than makes up foor the 2k in price difference.