I picked up a OBS F-150 a little while back for trash duty and more. It's a vastly less capable vehicle offroad compared to the 80 series, of course, but I keep going back and forth between it and the 80 series when I'm doing maintenance.
I replaced the high pressure P/S line on my 3FE. It's a more annoying job than it looks like it should be. I walk over to my F-150 and it's a completely different experience. The F-150 has the low pressure line as the cooling line, and the high pressure line is very easy to replace. This is smart because usually just the high pressure line leaks. Instead, Toyota made both lines cooling lines that need fancy mounting. Maybe on a RHD rig it's a different experience?
When doing the rear heater delete for the 3FE, I found the access was vastly more awkward to get to the lines going to the heater core. Almost effortless on the F-150, and a bit of a pain on the 80 series.
I replaced the radiator on the 3FE and found that it's nearly a four bolt job on the F-150 and on a Jeep TJ that my friend owns. Toyota recommends pulling the battery to get the radiator out. I find this kind of ridiculous.
Looking back at the firewall on the 3FE vs the F-150, the F-150 has far more access. It seems like the 3FE is positioned further back (I imagine same as the 1FZ) which improves handling, but does make maintenance more difficult.
Part of this may be comparing a full size vehicle with something more compact, but I feel it's more than that. Is Toyota more willing to trade servicability for compactness? Has this always been the case? Is the 60 series better?
I did look up the 60 series radiator replacement, and it also seems to be more involved. The upper radiator mounts are just ridiculous on the 80 series -- trying to get to that nut next to the headlights!
I do feel some of my gripes about the 80 series can be improved, namely the upper radiator mounts. There ought to be a simpler setup. And perhaps, one could run a slightly narrower radiator and have simpler mounting at the cost of some cooling capacity.
I'm just curious what the Toyota design ethos is, and if any Toyotas are as easy to service as some domestics. I had just never realized how easy an old F-150 was to work on, compared to the Toyota. And eyeing my friend's Jeep TJ, it also looks very easy to work on. My experience has almost entirely been on Japanese and German, so this is a new concept to me how drastic the difference can be.
I know this is kind of off topic, but I figure there's some smart and opinionated folks here. I like hearing opinions, so sending this out there.
I replaced the high pressure P/S line on my 3FE. It's a more annoying job than it looks like it should be. I walk over to my F-150 and it's a completely different experience. The F-150 has the low pressure line as the cooling line, and the high pressure line is very easy to replace. This is smart because usually just the high pressure line leaks. Instead, Toyota made both lines cooling lines that need fancy mounting. Maybe on a RHD rig it's a different experience?
When doing the rear heater delete for the 3FE, I found the access was vastly more awkward to get to the lines going to the heater core. Almost effortless on the F-150, and a bit of a pain on the 80 series.
I replaced the radiator on the 3FE and found that it's nearly a four bolt job on the F-150 and on a Jeep TJ that my friend owns. Toyota recommends pulling the battery to get the radiator out. I find this kind of ridiculous.
Looking back at the firewall on the 3FE vs the F-150, the F-150 has far more access. It seems like the 3FE is positioned further back (I imagine same as the 1FZ) which improves handling, but does make maintenance more difficult.
Part of this may be comparing a full size vehicle with something more compact, but I feel it's more than that. Is Toyota more willing to trade servicability for compactness? Has this always been the case? Is the 60 series better?
I did look up the 60 series radiator replacement, and it also seems to be more involved. The upper radiator mounts are just ridiculous on the 80 series -- trying to get to that nut next to the headlights!
I do feel some of my gripes about the 80 series can be improved, namely the upper radiator mounts. There ought to be a simpler setup. And perhaps, one could run a slightly narrower radiator and have simpler mounting at the cost of some cooling capacity.
I'm just curious what the Toyota design ethos is, and if any Toyotas are as easy to service as some domestics. I had just never realized how easy an old F-150 was to work on, compared to the Toyota. And eyeing my friend's Jeep TJ, it also looks very easy to work on. My experience has almost entirely been on Japanese and German, so this is a new concept to me how drastic the difference can be.
I know this is kind of off topic, but I figure there's some smart and opinionated folks here. I like hearing opinions, so sending this out there.
..lol. Good luck finding the diesel though...
