94 lower miles & lockers vs 97 amazing service records (1 Viewer)

[richardlillard1]

#2 all the way.

Number two haha

 

[WarDamnEagle]

So my main use for this vehicle is going to be city driving and dirt road driving with occasional offroading and camping. As far as cash to get it right my plan is to buy a really clean one from the beginning rather than take on a project and go from there. After the purchase im gonna do basic baselining and inspect what needs to be done what rubbers gone bad etc and go from there. Basically I dont mind spending a grand if i have to but if it can be avoided ill avoid it.

I appreciate the heads up with toyota parts ive noticed that seems to be a trend in the forum so ill definitely take your word for it!

#2 all the way.

Number two haha

I agree with Onur and Richard; buy the 97. My 97 has lockers and I would say my uses match yours fairly well with the off-roading part being mainly for hunting. In 14 years of ownership I have never used the lockers except to exercise them.

 

[richardlillard1]

I agree with Onur and Richard; buy the 97. My 97 has lockers and I would say my uses match yours fairly well with the off-roading part being mainly for hunting. In 14 years of ownership I have never used the lockers except to exercise them.

No, no. I wasn’t saying he should buy the second option (though I would because I find the OBD II trucks better in a lot of ways which outweigh the earlier models).

It’s even number two on the definition.

 

[Rifleman]

If it were me, one of the biggest deciding factors on which truck to buy would be based upon which of the 2, has little, to no rust. Dealing with rust is a HUGE pain in the ass, rusty nuts, and bolts can take what would be a simple 20 minute job, and turn it into an all day nightmare.

 

[richardlillard1]

If it were me, one of the biggest deciding factors on which truck to buy would be based upon which of the 2, has little, to no rust. Dealing with rust is a HUGE pain in the ass, rusty nuts, and bolts can take what would be a simple 20 minute job, and turn it into an all day nightmare.

Agree.

 

[flintknapper]

ALWAYS buy the cleanest, newest vehicle you can find (with the most service records) and DON'T buy rust.

For your purposes the '97 is clearly the best vehicle. As for off-road capability you will be pleasantly surprised at what a non-locked Cruiser will do. With decent tires and a driver that knows what they are doing....they are one of the best vehicles (in stock form) ever made.

You can add lockers later as funds allow. But before that, you can throw an Aussie (or similar auto locker) in the rear and go just about anywhere you have any business being (without a good winch).

Good luck on your purchase....whichever you choose.

 

[Pz10420]

I bought a 93 with lockers and no service history. I am at about $3-4k in baselining since I take mine to pretty remote places solo. And that $4k is with me doing all the wrenching. Also I had to replace the rear locker actuator for about $400 because it grenaded itself. And these things are slow, and if I had a 97 I would be saving for a turbo. So with that said I would def go with the 97 with good records.

 

[Cruiser4Lyfe]

Thanks I do some reading and everyone says get the lockers and they would definitrly help but my thinkjng is save on some of the mods with the 97 such as bumper winch tires and lift and then spring for arb lockers in the future. Would you agree with that?

There will be a long list of things to spend money on without worrying about lockers... tires, an ARB front bumper and a 2.5” OME lift are a long way ahead of lockers on the priority list for me. I say this as an owner of a triple locked cruiser. But really before any mods are done, you’ll need to drop a pile of cash on base lining and getting your rig up to speed.

You’ll need to look at replacing all the hoses, belts, see if you need to do the front axle job, look at your brake lines, maybe get a land tank blue hub fan clutch, fluid changes all around etc etc. Toyota parts are insanely expensive and the price adds up quick just baselining a rig, even one that’s been taken care of. And that’s doing all the work yourself too.

 

[ayowtf]

There will be a long list of things to spend money on without worrying about lockers... tires, an ARB front bumper and a 2.5” OME lift are a long way ahead of lockers on the priority list for me. I say this as an owner of a triple locked cruiser. But really before any mods are done, you’ll need to drop a pile of cash on base lining and getting your rig up to speed.

You’ll need to look at replacing all the hoses, belts, see if you need to do the front axle job, look at your brake lines, maybe get a land tank blue hub fan clutch, fluid changes all around etc etc. Toyota parts are insanely expensive and the price adds up quick just baselining a rig, even one that’s been taken care of. And that’s doing all the work yourself too.

Yeah thats the nice thing about the 97 is that it has an ARB bumper, ome lift and new tires on it already. Im prepared to do the labor myself I dont mind getting dirty!

 

[ayowtf]

Well guys got good news and bad news. Good news is the 94 has tons of service records but the bad news is the 97 went way above my budget so im looking at the 94 now. The hunt will continue though!

 

[onesix6]

The other one is a 97 with 202k miles and it is immaculate its in really good shape clearly no rust interior is clean and it has some mods I was already gonna do but it has no lockers. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I go the air locker route or should I go with the OEM ones?

This is the truck you want...

Are you planning to have a PPI done?

 

[graham5david]

I'm going say go with the 94 for the following reasons.
1. No airbags to worry about deploying while wheeling.
2. Easier to delete EGR.
3. Lower mileage ( less risk of needing a headgasket)
4. 97 dash is ugly
5. 94 has better transmission
6. I own a 94 and am biased.
7. Don't care about lockers. You don't need more than a cheap spartan.
8. Anything made after 1994 is crap (proof: all music made after 1994)
9. Supercharger option is overrated

 

[Rifleman]

Anything made after 1994 is crap (proof: all music made after 1994)

Now that's funny, I've got some friends who say any music made after 1979 is just crap. They call the mid 60's to 1979 the "golden age of rock and roll"and anything recorded after that is just noise. I don't agree with them, but i guess were all biased one way or another.

 

[brockdeck]

I bought a minty, high mileage 96 with a fat book of service records over several built, wheeled, abused Land Cruisers. Always choose the cleaner, newer truck, with records, over having options that can simply be added. My two cents.