Another Stupid Question...In general will a Toyota dealership work on or service an FJ40? Thanks

[alabamatacomaguy]

i wouldn’t trust a Toyota dealership to change the oil on a fj40. Unfortunately they are not great with even modern vehicles. A older vehicle they don’t have computer help on would be even worse. If the worker who got your vehicle cared enough, they would probably be googling and searching this forum to see how much oil to put in.

 

[bj70bc]

yup

 

[pb4ugo]

I would think some dealerships out west may have techs familiar with early Land Cruisers, just because they are more prevalent out there.

About 20 years ago or more, I was trail riding with our club and my carb was acting up. At lunch while other folks were fixing some broken parts on their vehicles, I decided to take the top of my carb to find the issue. A member who was a jeep tech came over to watch. I asked him how he approaches working on carbs. I was stunned when he said this was the 1st time he has seen the inside of a carburetor.

 

[sleepycruiser]

I think my headspace is I'm trying to figure out what to tackle myself and what if anything I should get help on. My deepest darkest fear is only completing half of the specific "task"...I know myself too well.

You can do it! I’ve learned a ton just being on MUD. I’ve had my 40 for only a year and it has been an experience. Now…I’m not going to do an engine rebuild or anything like that….but it has been mostly good so far.

 

[bikersmurf]

I once drove my 40 to a huge Toyota dealership in a nearby county, while helping one of my daughters to shop for a car. A bunch of salespeople come out and walk around it; one of them says "I didn't know Toyota made a jeep!" Granted, this was not the service department, but nah, not letting them touch mine anyway.

To the original poster: These things were designed and built to be easy to service in the field, with fairly minimal tools. Even if you're not comfortable doing your own mechanic work, this would be one of the easier vehicles to learn on. Don't be afraid to buy some basic metric tools and start doing your own maintenance and repairs - it's very satisfying, and you might really like it. Save you a ton of money too.

I’d have to agree that doing it yourself will save you a ton of money and aggravation. They are easy to work on, and no one at the dealership will care as much about doing it right as you will. Don’t get me started on how much of the 50k km service they forgot to do but billed me for.

I’ve probably got about $15k into my 40. I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve worked on it.
I bought a newer frame for $150 CDN. Pulling if from the donor 40, stripping it, sand blasting, spraying 3-4 coats of paint, stripping down my 40, and reassembling it… was about 100 hours in total. The SBC swap all in was 100 hours more.
Disc brake conversion on both ends, a clutch job on the F engine x2, fabrication of new rear floor & inner fenders, axle swaps x2, 3 different hardtops, P/S conversion, on board air, 4th set of front seats, 2nd rear bench, 2nd & 3rd fuel tanks (2 tanks now), etc, etc.

I’d be looking at $50k+ in labour if I was paying for it.

Think of it as a big Meccano set and go for it.

 

[mattressking]

Any mechanic will usually say yes to work - whether they know what they are doing or do it well, is the concern. If mechanics aren't your prowess, you need to find someone that knows how to baseline a carbureted engine based on the factory specs (literally just read the FSM line by line). The closer to oem, better off you'll be for your sanity and parts hunting.

 

[Augustiron]

I was able to find a dealership to perform the recall replacement of my 84 fj60 fuel tank 2 years ago.
The dealership and the service manager were so excited to get it in, they told me to spread the word that they can still do this recall replacement for other fj60 owners and they actually had another fj60 in there they were rebuilding the engine on.

Jim Bagan Toyota South lake Tahoe California

 

[MatthewMcD]

I’d have to agree that doing it yourself will save you a ton of money and aggravation. They are easy to work on, and no one at the dealership will care as much about doing it right as you will. Don’t get me started on how much of the 50k km service they forgot to do but billed me for.

I’ve probably got about $15k into my 40. I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve worked on it.
I bought a newer frame for $150 CDN. Pulling if from the donor 40, stripping it, sand blasting, spraying 3-4 coats of paint, stripping down my 40, and reassembling it… was about 100 hours in total. The SBC swap all in was 100 hours more.
Disc brake conversion on both ends, a clutch job on the F engine x2, fabrication of new rear floor & inner fenders, axle swaps x2, 3 different hardtops, P/S conversion, on board air, 4th set of front seats, 2nd rear bench, 2nd & 3rd fuel tanks (2 tanks now), etc, etc.

I’d be looking at $50k+ in labour if I was paying for it.

Think of it as a big Meccano set and go for it.

I have to second this sentiment. My "old" mechanic that has been caring for my 93 Honda says none of his "technicians" will touch a carb. If they can't pull an OBD1 or 2 code they "just don't know where to start".

You will be paying someone else to learn what you, me and everyone else here has had to learn. System by system, wire by wire. It is TOTALLY attainable, and, if you are careful, very fun and satisfying. (Until it's not, but that's what we're here for.)

I am 18 months into my restoration. I just finished replacing the engine with a freshly rebuilt engine. Had I ever replaced an engine before? Nope. Was it "hard", nope.

These things originally sold with a tool kit under the driver's seat. That should tell you something about the mindset.

 

[76lcmike]

Another Stupid Question...In general will a Toyota dealership work on or service an FJ40? Thanks

i'm a honda (33years) mechanic and we have a toyota dealership in our group. the owner has a restored fj40 that sits in the show room.
after 10 years of sitting he decided to get it running, needless to say, none of the guys wanted anything to do with it.
i said i would love to and did.

 

[MatthewMcD]

i'm a honda (33years) mechanic and we have a toyota dealership in our group. the owner has a restored fj40 that sits in the show room.
after 10 years of sitting he decided to get it running, needless to say, none of the guys wanted anything to do with it.
i said i would love to and did.

View attachment 3860640

Beautiful, though your cable is triggering my OCD.

 

[rex in bama]

I was able to find a dealership to perform the recall replacement of my 84 fj60 fuel tank 2 years ago.
The dealership and the service manager were so excited to get it in, they told me to spread the word that they can still do this recall replacement for other fj60 owners and they actually had another fj60 in there they were rebuilding the engine on.

Jim Bagan Toyota South lake Tahoe California

That is awesome. Still think figuring it out yourself or finding a solid, old school independent mechanic is the way to go on these rigs, but that is an awesome (and atypical) dealership experience for a 40+ y/o vehicle

 

[Augustiron]

X

 

[POPO AGIE]

I buy some parts from the Lander Toyota dealership and the parts guys are interested in my progress. The told me that there mechanics have a few FJ enthusiasts that work on there own FJs so I am sure they could service mine even with a Cummins R2.8.

 

[MatthewMcD]

I buy some parts from the Lander Toyota dealership and the parts guys are interested in my progress. The told me that there mechanics have a few FJ enthusiasts that work on there own FJs so I am sure they could service mine even with a Cummins R2.8.

Lander is a whole different world.

My sister lived there back in the late '70s and (I think) it was around the 4th of July. She took me down to buy my "Shaving License". Apparently as a fund raiser in the summer, if you wanted to be clean shaven, you had to have a license. For her it was a way to introduce her brother around town. For me it was a far cry from growing up in coastal California.

 

[POPO AGIE]

Never head of a shaving license.

We only go over there for the Ram dealer or I want something after market done on my truck. The Ram dealer won't any after market stuff even Mopar parts.

They installed the floor shifter for the dually but when I bought the 2018 they refused but the Toyota dealer has a side business Off Road and Performance, and they installed my winch and bumper on the 1-ton for me.

The courthouse is in Lander so sometimes we have things to do there and my meets with the dentist at a Lander dentist office that comes up from Rock Springs.

We moved to Riverton in 2012 but I grew up in Green River.

 

[knuckle47]

Back in the early 1970’s, Vermont had a poll tax… in order to vote, you had to pay the tax… it was not much maybe under $10…I don’t remember even though my name was listed in the book as unpaid. Each year they published a 20 page book with the town meetings, goals , births. Etc…and delinquent poll tax people….

Still, a shaving license beats that one. What about a goatee ?

 

[alberta mac]

Congrats on getting so many responses ! Really. but we all have our stories with Toyota but your better posting a question like '' who in my town or near are experts or very knowledgeable on the ''Landcruiser''
***Look for a local Cruiser chapter or group and you will find a wealth of knowledge.
But if this is your first and I haven't read all the responses, then what you bought is a DIY rig. So post up some questions as working on these things is like working with Lego.
Any issues ? what are the concerns ? what do you think is an issue but is really not and is land cruiser dna !

 

[knuckle47]

Here’s a thought:

Prepare a short quiz and speak with the candidate your thinking would service your 40.

Start off simple like….WHAT YEAR WAS THE FIRST 2F ENGINE?
Then like Jeopardy, escalate the intensity…WHAT IS THE TIMING ADVANCE SET AT AND HOW IS IT IDENTIFIED?
THEN…the $60,000.00 question:
Remember, this one tells you the guy knows his s#!t…..

OK…… WHAT WOULD Y’ALL THINK FOR THE 3RD QUESTION?

 

[pb4ugo]

Do you have feeler gauges, a dwell meter and a timing light?

 

[coinoperated40]

I use to READ a lot of playboy, but did look at some of the pictures. This article would do better if we could see the 40 you are talking about . Assuming you already have one.
Mine was in pieces for many years and was a joy to build back.
Just do it.