96 Land Cruiser 325,000 Miles - Worth fixing? (1 Viewer)

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May 1, 2017
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Location
Portland, Oregon
Recently took my 96 LC in for front end work and got a quote for almost $6000 for OEM parts and labor from a reputable LC shop. It needs new birfields, inner R/L shafts, spindles, Hub flange, and wheel bearings. Biggest cost is the birfields ($1050 each).

I have seen on these forums that aftermarket birfields (longfields, etc) are great for off roading but not recommended for daily driving. The LC is my daily driver and I had hoped to get her up to 500k. I typically drive 25k miles a year.

I get a vehicle needs TLC when they reach a certain mileage but my primary concern is putting another $6k in a vehicle with 325k miles. We have had the vehicle since it has 110k so it has been well taken care of but this last quote has me scratching my head. Am I crazy? Thoughts?
 
Buy your own parts and have someone else do the job, that estimate is crazy high.
 
First of all are you sure you need all that work. The old wisdom dont fix it if it isn't broke actually has some merit. Also, I would agree with the above statement, that is a pretty expensive quote. Sometimes shops get so busy they can afford to turn away some jobs and only take gravy jobs. They usually do this via extremely high quotes. There are plenty of mechanics that are more than capable of doing the work listed above. Dont feel like you need a specialty cruiser shop to do the repair. I would certainly be shopping around for some quotes. Call some different shops and check on their labor rate. In my area shops charge anywhere from $75.00 - $180.00 an hour for labor and some of the lower rate shops are the better ones. You could also consider doing it yourself. After parts, supplies, and tools you would still probably save enough to buy a little scooter to commute for a month while you learn. But then again you might put a bunch of money into the repair and total the rig a month later.....
Good luck and keep her going and remember, a repair and expensive gas on an owned vehicle is cheaper than a monthly car payment and expensive insurance.
 
I recently did my 270k front end with all new OEM parts and a set of used low mileage stock birfs myself - including all new bearings, clips, rotors and pads for about $750 total. I will admit getting lucky finding the birfs.

The qoute I got was about $2500 and that was too high for me!
 
There was definitely a problem with the front end. Clicking noise when you turned. Decided to have it looked at since I didn’t want to end up with a bigger problem. I knew it was not going to be cheap but the cost threw me for a loop. The shop is known for high quality work so it will be done right.
 
Dunno which shop you called - but I'd check in with LandcruisersNW.

They've always done good work for me and prices are fair.
 
Where did
I recently did my 270k front end with all new OEM parts and a set of used low mileage stock birfs myself - including all new bearings, clips, rotors and pads for about $750 total. I will admit getting lucky finding the birfs.

The qoute I got was about $2500 and that was too high for me!
Where did you find OEM birfs at the price? I am impressed!
 
clicking is normal on worn out birfields. 6k no way. let us know what your gonna do.
 
rock auto can get most your stuff, birfields can be found for 150 or less depending on where you look. you just got to want to do it is all.
 
the messed up thing is i got a full axle hub to hub minus calibers for 200 bucks last fall. just keep your eyes peeled.
 
rock auto can get most your stuff, birfields can be found for 150 or less depending on where you look. you just got to want to do it is all.
Based on what I have read on other posts, the aftermarket birfields seem to be great for rock climbing / four wheeling but not known for daily driving longevity. I could definitely go for an aftermarket birfields but would have to be willing to have it replaced sooner. Just some trade offs I need to consider.
 
Where did

Where did you find OEM birfs at the price? I am impressed!

A local classifieds ad- the truck was totaled and being parted out. It had about 137k miles on it- I swapped the birfs side-to-side and they are in very good shape.
 
Normal aftermarket birfs are fine for daily driving. Longfields and others that are 'tougher' for off-road use don't hold up as well to daily use, but that's not all that is available. Just look for stock replacements. They likely won't go another 325K, but they should get you going again without breaking the bank. I paid something stupid like $30 apiece for Chinese birfs (Cozza, I believe the brand was), and they are holding up to some hard trails and even my sticky CDL, meaning tight turns on pavement while in 4wd, which is probably the hardest thing you could ask a birf to deal with. Cruiser Outfitters has a lot, if not all, of what you need.
 
I'll give you $500 for the truck sight unseen and I'll drive out to pick it up.

Let me know.
 
I’m planning on doing the front end rebuild on my 80 with 299,000 on it right now. Get everything off of cruiser teq. You can get all of it for well under $1000. If the engine and transmissions healthy then I say it’s definitely worth it.
The engine is in good shape. Had it compression tested at 280k and it was within 10% of spec. The transmission is also good (knock on wood).
 
I do hope you are kidding. 🤣
No, I really would.

If you're so upset about what it's going to take to rebuild it, then I'd be happy to help!

That's the price to pay for a 24 yo vehicle if you don't do your own work on it.

Whether or not you want accept my offer is another matter...... ;)
 
No, I really would.

If you're so upset about what it's going to take to rebuild it, then I'd be happy to help!

That's the price to pay for a 24 yo vehicle if you don't do your own work on it.

Whether or not you want accept my offer is another matter...... ;)
Not upset will admit I did have sticker shock. Agree on the cost of not doing my own work. Thanks for the offer. 🙂
 

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