Any trusted Landcruiser Mechanic/Shop in Reno or NorCal area?

[CruisnPremo]

Greetings 100 Series Community,

I intend to purchase a 100 Series LC shortly and use it for road trips this Summer and hitting the trails in the Fall. My Summer plan is to take my family to Glacier, Banff, Jasper, and Denali National Parks. Yes, that is a lot of miles to cover, but I will have 2 months to do it!

Given that most of the 100 Series LC Beauties for sale are approaching 250-300K Miles, I need to find a trusted LC specific Mechanic or Shop to service my LC before I hit the road. Can I get some recommendations from the community?

Upon reading multiple threads on IH8MUD, I hear that Georg at Valley Hybrids in Stockton is a trusted LC Mechanic. I have also read that there may possibly be a few shops in South Lake Tahoe and Grass Valley that are trustworthy, but I did not find specific names listed in the threads. If anyone know their names, I would greatly appreciate the recommendations.

Once I start my Road Trips, I will share my trip reports and insight to the LC Community in case anyone is interested.

Many Thanks in advance and Best Regards.

 

[newbielx470]

Thanks for the post. I'm also wondering if there are other options in the greater Sacramento to Grass Valley area.

 

[rexington14]

Greetings 100 Series Community,

I intend to purchase a 100 Series LC shortly and use it for road trips this Summer and hitting the trails in the Fall. My Summer plan is to take my family to Glacier, Banff, Jasper, and Denali National Parks. Yes, that is a lot of miles to cover, but I will have 2 months to do it!

Given that most of the 100 Series LC Beauties for sale are approaching 250-300K Miles, I need to find a trusted LC specific Mechanic or Shop to service my LC before I hit the road. Can I get some recommendations from the community?

Upon reading multiple threads on IH8MUD, I hear that Georg at Valley Hybrids in Stockton is a trusted LC Mechanic. I have also read that there may possibly be a few shops in South Lake Tahoe and Grass Valley that are trustworthy, but I did not find specific names listed in the threads. If anyone know their names, I would greatly appreciate the recommendations.

Once I start my Road Trips, I will share my trip reports and insight to the LC Community in case anyone is interested.

Many Thanks in advance and Best Regards.

Can't help with shops but what I can tell you is depending on the specific one you buy you can expect to pay a pretty penny if you want to simply drop it off at a shop with the instruction to "get it ready for road trips". Hopefully you are already aware of this, but if not, something to look into / re-evaluate. Check out some of the "baselining" threads.

These are awesome vehicles, but not cheap to run. Parts are expensive, labor even more so. I'd suggest DIY'ing as much of the work as you can. Take your time. This is more tolerable if it will be a spare vehicle (not a DD).

 

[newbielx470]

A related question, does Valley Hybrids focus on older 40/60/80 series LC or do they also specialize in the 100 series? Thanks.

 

[efjayatee]

Valley hybrid is hard to get an appointment-fully booked out most of the time.
Mudrack
Yota1
Topshop Auto

 

[CruisnPremo]

Can't help with shops but what I can tell you is depending on the specific one you buy you can expect to pay a pretty penny if you want to simply drop it off at a shop with the instruction to "get it ready for road trips". Hopefully you are already aware of this, but if not, something to look into / re-evaluate. Check out some of the "baselining" threads.

These are awesome vehicles, but not cheap to run. Parts are expensive, labor even more so. I'd suggest DIY'ing as much of the work as you can. Take your time. This is more tolerable if it will be a spare vehicle (not a DD).

Thanks Rexington14! Pulled the trigger on an 06 LC with 208K Miles. Ordered a bunch of parts to baseline the vehicle and ensuring a proper functioning vehicle before heading off on our roadtrip.

Question for you in case you also own a 100 Series. During my engine bay inspection, I noticed a loose wire at the back on the engine near the two Heater Tees. See Pic. Do you know what this wire is for? The owner had no clue. Drove the LC 650 miles home so so she ran fine. But I did get an Engine Light w/VSC TRAC and VSC OFF lights 2 mornings later! See Pic.

I did replace the Fuel Cap since the original was old and loose. Engine Lights are still ON, not sure if it is related to the loose cable???

I'll post specific thread later, just thought I ask you since you replied. Thanks in advance!

 

[rexington14]

Get a ODB2 code reader for the codes but yes that should be connected, it looks like a ground (see pic)

Also make sure heater T's are on your baselining list - looks like some coolant crusting on yours.

 

[John McVicker]

When you are talking LandCruiser repairs and or modifications Valley Hybrids is w/o question one of the most trusted & respected name in the US.

You evidently live fairly close by… @orangefj45

 

[CruisnPremo]

Valley hybrid is hard to get an appointment-fully booked out most of the time.
Mudrack
Yota1
Topshop Auto

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I never got a reply from Valley Hybrid after sending them a message requesting an appt to drop my Cruiser in their shop. No worries though, I decided to perform the baselining of Cruiser myself using OEM parts from my local Toyota shop.

 

[CruisnPremo]

Get a ODB2 code reader for the codes but yes that should be connected, it looks like a ground (see pic)

Also make sure heater T's are on your baselining list - looks like some coolant crusting on yours.

View attachment 3663803

Many Thanks Rexington14 for confirming that it's just a grounding wire. Yes, after I posted my question, during my DIY baselining, I noticed that there is a (Male) grounding wire that is loose coming off of the truck frame as shown in your picture. I connected the Female and Male connectors together.

This poor Cruiser has be neglected big time by the previous owner! It was a lot of work for me but I felt good baselining the Cruiser to it's current condition. I'll provide full an update in a new thread soon.

As for the Heater Tees, YES, I did replaced both of them as I did previously read about the potential issue with the plastic Heater Tees. I did replaced them just in time also! The Upper Tee that you pointed out with the pink crust was rotting so bad that it just broke off and collapsed when I tried to remove it from the hose. Thank goodness, that tee did not fail during my 650miles drive from So. Cal to home. The Lower Tee was in good condition, no rot or deterioration found, but I replaced both anyway. I'll provide pics in my new thread.

I did borrow my Brother's ODB2 reader and the only code that popped up was P0456, ($07E8 Generic) - Evaporative Emission System Leak Detected (very small leak). I proceeded with replacing the Fuel Tank cap with a new one and the Check Engine light disappeared so I'll leave it at that.

Happy Cruisn, Cheers!

 

[lelandEOD]

You should come to the next BattleBorn Cruisers/TLCA chapter meeting. We meet once a month and the next meeting is just around the corner. There are no good independent shops in Reno; we all maintain our own trucks with group support.

Events | Battle Born Cruisers

www.battleborncruisers.com

 

[CruisnPremo]

Many thanks LelandEOD for the heads up about Battle Born Cruisers. I'll chk out your website and join the next meeting. I have tried to baseline my Cruiser before my Canada/So. Alaska road but there is one problem that I just can't seem to resolve. It did not impact my road trip as we made it back safely having driven over 7000 miles.

The problem is that my Horn does not work and the Airbag Light is ON constantly. Cruise control does work and the Radio mode / Volume does function properly. In reading some older treads on this forum and watch youtube 100 series videos, the majority of the folks pointed the problem to the Clock Spring. I just received my new OEM Clock Spring from the Toyota Dealership and installed it today. Unfortunately, The Horn still does not work and the Airbag Light is still ON. I have double checked "all" of the fuses and there is no broken fuses. The 10A Horn Fuse is still good. Quite frustrating!

Any Advice? I'll start a new specific tread also to bring this issue to a wider audience. Many thanks in advance!