Build Abu Dhabi 80 Series: Build Thread

[mosalf]

Hello, I am based in Abu Dhabi, driving a FJ cruiser '12 and a '99 LC. I am hoping to trade in the LC for a 96-97 GCC spec LC FZJ 80. I came across many but couldnt get one with the diff lockers.

Still looking, lemme know if you know anyof your friends is selling his. I dont mind purchasing it and then selling my '99 which is also GCC specs.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[jccruzer]

Nice Truck my fav. color. I luv camping in the desert.. be careful at night the WILD DOGs are dangerous, back then I was in Saudi Arabia for 8 years we always camping overnight make our own homemade liquor or moonshine and we see's a lot of wild dogs around us and start to attack us, we burned lots of woods and throw to them, they don't like fire though! 'twas fun. other than that a lots of fun in the desert. cheers. (just my experience)

 

[AaronM33]

be careful at night the WILD DOGs are dangerous, back then I was in Saudi Arabia for 8 years we always camping overnight make our own homemade liquor or moonshine and we see's a lot of wild dogs around us and start to attack us, we burned lots of woods and throw to them, they don't like fire though! 'twas fun. other than that a lots of fun in the desert. cheers. (just my experience)

Or maybe there really were no dogs and you just make some kickass moonshine.

 

[jccruzer]

Lol

 

[Honger]

Hello, I am based in Abu Dhabi, driving a FJ cruiser '12 and a '99 LC. I am hoping to trade in the LC for a 96-97 GCC spec LC FZJ 80. I came across many but couldnt get one with the diff lockers.

Still looking, lemme know if you know anyof your friends is selling his. I dont mind purchasing it and then selling my '99 which is also GCC specs.

Thanks in Advance.

I don't have any friends here with 80-series... and I'm not interested in selling at this time. I'll keep my eyes peeled though. I'd encourage you to just keep searching. Use Dubizzle, Gulf News classifieds, and even the Abu Dhabi Marketplace on Facebook. That said, I found mine by way of a "For sale" posting in the front display at my local Spinneys.

PM me your mobile number and we can connect on WhatsApp. I'd like to get some of us GCC Cruiserheads together sometime.

 

[Honger]

Nice Truck my fav. color. I luv camping in the desert.. be careful at night the WILD DOGs are dangerous, back then I was in Saudi Arabia for 8 years we always camping overnight make our own homemade liquor or moonshine and we see's a lot of wild dogs around us and start to attack us, we burned lots of woods and throw to them, they don't like fire though! 'twas fun. other than that a lots of fun in the desert. cheers. (just my experience)

Thanks for the compliments on the truck.

I also love camping in the desert. It's great fun. We cook out and build nice campfires. We've never moonshined... or had to deal with wild dogs. We camp pretty remote though. I know there are some wild dogs closer to the cities, but nothing as far out as we venture. Worst I've seen out there is a scorpion, and that only once.

Or maybe there really were no dogs and you just make some kickass moonshine.

Indeed!

Here in the UAE we don't have to resort to moonshining... we just head to a liquor store and grab whatever we want. It's a big difference here than Saudi (I've spent a week there for work in the past).

 

[Gorilla]

Awesome, but one thing I dont get is camping on that dessert..and going to different spots..which to me looks the same as the last spot lol..

 

[Hornd]

Maybe a stupid question, but where do you get wood to burn?
Is is Palm Trees that you carry in?

Very cool for camping, I could get into that.
Are you allowed to carry guns there (for dogs or personal protection) like in the US?

 

[Honger]

Awesome, but one thing I dont get is camping on that dessert..and going to different spots..which to me looks the same as the last spot lol..

Not all the desert looks the same here... and a lot of times we do go back to the same spots. There's a solitude and remoteness to the desert that I've not experienced anywhere else. It's one of those places that makes you feel small and leaves you in awe... I like that.

Maybe a stupid question, but where do you get wood to burn?
Is is Palm Trees that you carry in?

Very cool for camping, I could get into that.
Are you allowed to carry guns there (for dogs or personal protection) like in the US?

I generally get my firewood at the port or one of the local shops. The shops at the port import the wood for making charcoal... and sell bundles of it for campers as well. A bundle of wood costs me AED20 (about $5). There is limited amounts of scrub brush out in some areas of the desert that makes great kindling.

No private gun ownership in the UAE except for some locals (Emirati nationals). I've been told that I can have my guns here but they have to stay in the custody of one of the shooting clubs. There's no way I'd trust any of my guns to someone else's custody like that. My dad is perfectly happy to keep my guns while I'm here.

Truth be told I've never worried about personal protection out in the desert. Maybe that's foolish of me...

Anyway, went out to the Empty Quarter this past weekend. Took my boys with me and meant to camp but Friday was a pretty bad sandstorm. We cruised the dunes for several hours hoping it'd calm down but it didn't so we just aired up and drove home. Saw some camels free-roaming. In spite of not camping my boys still enjoyed the bouncy sand driving.

 

[diesel69er]

hi there, great pics, mid east cruisers are drool worthy. diesel LHD, all models are 12 volt, rear A/C! well I should just be grateful I'm in canada and we get a few diesels here and can import anything 10 years earlier than US can.
Anyway I may have missed it but did u test your truck for AWD? I have the same 4wd button on the dash as you and mine has a part time case, but it came from the factory with lockout hubs and 5 speed manual.

 

[mosalf]

Oh yeah, I know. If there's a threat of rain we always camp high.





I keep the truck washed and clean. Believe it or not, most people wash their cars here multiple times a week. Every night as the air cools and it stays humid, the warm cars form condensation. The air is full of dust and that settles in with the condensation and what happens just after a day or two is that your car is covered with a nice dried-mud film. I get a full wash including undercarriage a few times a year. I've also got an anti-rust undercoating.



I wish I could give you a clear list of tips for driving in the sand, but to be honest it's mostly just experience and intuition. It's really hard and daunting at first...
"Does this dune ridge I'm approaching have a drop-off on the other side or a smooth transition?"
"Is that side-slope too steep for me to drive across?"
"Is this sand firm enough for me to stop and get going again?"
Etc.

But as I've continued to go out driving and camping I've gotten a good feel for it. I rarely have to stop to look over a ridge anymore. I think what I do is that I look further ahead than during normal driving. I pick my lines much further out. When I have a view of a series of dunes/ridges ahead I pick my line well in advance. At any given moment I'm driving a path I picked out quite awhile back.

If I had to give some practical advice it'd be as follows:
1. Speed and momentum are your friends... and this truth becomes more applicable the looser the sand is.
2. Study how the dunes are formed in terms of windward/leeward geometry. For example, the windward faces of dunes are always gentler and flatter. If you are driving up the leeward side you can confidently expect a smooth surface over the ridge.
3. Know your vehicle. Center of Gravity, side-slope ability, burst-of-power ability, weight, etc.
4. Keep recovery gear handy.
5. Bring a friend.

Don't have sand ladders and have never seen them here. I just have a strap and shackles handy. Most sticks just require a quick yank or a concerted push. Though in looser sand conditions we've had to do some good digging. =)

Could you give us more tips on sand driving related specifically to the fzj80. I mean do we keep the overdrive button on? Do we use the Ect button and if so when.

Would love it if you can organize a training drive for us novices in Sweihan. [emoji1]

 

[Honger]

hi there, great pics, mid east cruisers are drool worthy. diesel LHD, all models are 12 volt, rear A/C! well I should just be grateful I'm in canada and we get a few diesels here and can import anything 10 years earlier than US can.
Anyway I may have missed it but did u test your truck for AWD? I have the same 4wd button on the dash as you and mine has a part time case, but it came from the factory with lockout hubs and 5 speed manual.

Mine is full time. I can't remember what I did to figure this out... but I did.

Could you give us more tips on sand driving related specifically to the fzj80. I mean do we keep the overdrive button on? Do we use the Ect button and if so when.

Would love it if you can organize a training drive for us novices in Sweihan. [emoji1]

I've seen your activity on Facebook... I think you are learning by experience. =) In any case I don't really mess with the overdrive button much. I just air down, put it in 4-lo, and put the ECT in power mode (it makes the transmission quicker to downshift and take longer to upshift which I find helpful). On longer, flatter stretches of offload I'll only go 4-hi. 4-lo really lets you keep the revs high and I find that aides me in keeping movement in the sand.

I've mostly been showing the love to my 40 thread over the past year but the 80 is by no means neglected.

Took our first camping trip of the season back in November. The whole family went including my 6-month old daughter.

Had another trip planned for the weekend before Christmas. My folks were in town and I wanted to show them Liwa. Well, the 80 must have been feeling a bit neglected as the front axle started a slow leak, on both sides. So a rebuild was done... bearings, seals, and brake pads.

Due to illness (my mom and daughter) it ended up just being me, my dad, and my boys along with two other friends in their trucks (a 200-series and a Wrangler). I let my dad have a shot driving around and he did great... but he did manage to get stuck. Nothing the locker switch couldn't fix though. He locked front/rear and reversed out of it.

Playing with the GoPro I got some cool night shots of the Cruisers and camp.

Played around in a bowl the next morning.

The boys love their giant sandbox.

It was a great guys trip.

Also did a little mini trip out to a more local place to give the 40 a run in the dunes. Took both cruisers... just in case. =)

 

[musthave]

Wow! That looks like a lot of fun!

 

[blueyednd]

Awesome pics! Unfortunately, there will never be a camel in the background of any of my pics....an alligator maybe, but never a camel. Very cool!

 

[mosalf]

Mine is full time. I can't remember what I did to figure this out... but I did.



I've seen your activity on Facebook... I think you are learning by experience. =) In any case I don't really mess with the overdrive button much. I just air down, put it in 4-lo, and put the ECT in power mode (it makes the transmission quicker to downshift and take longer to upshift which I find helpful). On longer, flatter stretches of offload I'll only go 4-hi. 4-lo really lets you keep the revs high

thanks Honger. Will follow that. 4lo and power on.

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

[Honger]

Wow! That looks like a lot of fun!

It is... and there's more.

Awesome pics! Unfortunately, there will never be a camel in the background of any of my pics....an alligator maybe, but never a camel. Very cool!

You gotta deliver after a comment like that. Where are the 80-series and alligator pics?

thanks Honger. Will follow that. 4lo and power on.

Sent from my SM-G920F

How's the winter driving treated you? I see on Facebook you've been going on a lot of the AD4x4 group events.

I recently replaced the clear acrylic conduit that feeds my rear A/C. Still available brand new from Toyota. My oldest sits in the third row of the 80 and he has exacerbated the decay of the old piece with his picking at it...

Took the 80 out camping for an annual event called Man Camp... just the guys from my small group at church. We headed up north to the mountains for our camping this year. So for those who think camping in the desert means always camping in places that look the same, feast your eyes on this!

 

[TrickyT]

The second picture from the bottom is award winning! Would be a great pic for Toyota Trails, except I don't think they take anything that has been previously published.

 

[Tapage]

how much you pay for the rear AC clear duct .. ? I might do the same ..

 

[Honger]

The second picture from the bottom is award winning! Would be a great pic for Toyota Trails, except I don't think they take anything that has been previously published.

Yeah... I've had some stuff published in Trails. I wish I'd thought of that before posting. Thanks for the compliment!

how much you pay for the rear AC clear duct .. ? I might do the same ..

Part number is 88576-60010; I paid the equivalent of $160 USD. It's a fairly straightforward install. It's amazing how much more air comes out of the registers now that I've replaced it.

 

[Honger]

Well, back in October 2016 I took the 80 and the family out camping with friends and I royally screwed up...

That's a connecting rod bearing.

I was almost due for a service and, in fact, thought about sending it for an oil change before leaving but decided I'd wait til we returned. That way the shop could do the oil change and do an interior clean of all the sand from camping. Idiot that I am I didn't even check the oil before leaving. It was just a quick weekend trip and I've never had a problem with the oil level... no leaks and no burning oil. Turns out I was VERY low on oil.

Got myself down in a bowl while playing in the dunes and to get out I had to 4-lo, all lockers, high-revving to get out. Nothing over redline... but a lot of back and forth up the dune faces at extreme angles. Finally got out and when I did I had a knock. And then, again, idiot that I am, I drove it back home to Abu Dhabi. Got a lick of sense at some point and parked the truck, shut it down, sent my family home in a taxi, and had it towed to my shop. They called me and berated me for the low oil.

This motor only had 260,000 kms and I have the full service history. I was heartbroken. Called my dad in shame... he taught me better than this. He encouraged me to have it rebuilt and relayed a story of his youth with a VW motor he'd rebuilt... and subsequently destroyed a bearing and crankshaft. Some lessons cost $.

The shop disassembled the motor and send everything out for measurements. Head were in spec, valves were in spec, cylinders were in spec, all but one connecting rod were in spec, crankshaft was in spec EXCEPT where that bearing sat. And it was too far gone to machine and use different bearings. New parts required: one crankshaft, one connecting rod, engine seal/gasket set, rings. While we were in there we did all new rubber coolant hoses (was on my PM list for this year anyway), new thermostat housing and water pump, new belts, had the head and valves ground, new plugs and wires, and a few other odds/ends.

It's quite amazing how well she runs now.

Drove her at no higher than 80 kph for 3000 kilometers. Now driving her normal. Runs like a top. On a trip to the desert this weekend she performed perfectly. Glad I had the rebuild done. Parts and labor here made it a far more affordable affair than I was afraid of.