Beat up 100 series, SHOULD I BUY IT?

[badass]

Hey fellas, i'm kinda new to the 100 series crowd, i own a 79 fj40 and a 73 fj55 pig. My buddy has a 1999 100 series that has been put through hell. Its got 180k on it, runs perfectly. In the last 10k miles he has put new windsheild on it, water pump, timing belt, starter, ALL new rotors front and rear, new calipers front and rear with pads, tuneup, and a nice pioneer cd player. All work done at toyota dealership with toyota parts. Everything on the truck works from what i've seen. But i will tell you this truck is DIRTY, leather is good but cracked a little, carpet needs a GOOD shampoo for sure. Body is 100 % straight, but paint has lots of clear coat scratches. It has a 2.5 inch lift on it, front brush guard, 33 inch bfg mts with about half tread left.

Now here are the negatives.
-Powersteering pump is dead, but a new pump from toyota is provided, easy install, no biggie
-1st gear on the transmission slip pretty bad when you stomp on the pedal, it actually hits the rev limiter before it shifts.. But it shifts ok if you drive normal. Its been like this for many miles and hasn't got much worse. All other gear shift fine.
-And the worst of all, the front diff is blown, its either the ring and pinion or the spider gears, not sure. I would be doing all of the labor myself, i just would like to knowhow much it would cost to replace the ring, pinion and bearings?

Price for truck is $5000, what do you 100 series mud fellas think i should do? I would really like to know how much the front end parts are gonna cost me. And is the toyota v8 a good motor? I can tell you the PO (my friend) isnt really good about oil changes, he tends to go over all the time. Thanks!!

 

[2000UZJ]

Put an arb front locker in it. Find out what a new trans would be and factor the cost of replacement vs. buying a non beat up one. 5K is pretty cheap. A good 100 series project truck.

 

[Exiled]

Given the current market price of 98-99 UZJ100's, I'd step away from that one and never look back. I've seen similar vintage vehicles with a lot less miles and in much better condition in the $7.5K-$9.5K range. New ARB front + gears plus $400 in seals, plus transmission rebuild, you could easily get into the $8K range with this truck and then you have a high-mileage, suspect-maintenance 100 with a shoddy interior. I think you can do better than that!

As for the V8, it's a sweet engine, it runs at low RPMs but gets grunty when needed, especially in these earlier 100s. From what I've heard from Toyota tech guys, it's a relatively trouble-free, long-lived engine.

 

[campoj2]

$5000? Hmm, not bad if you can do all of the work yourself. What is going to be the purpose of this vehicle? Dailey driver, 3rd car in the driveway or wheeling machine? The 100 series are some nicest riding trucks out there, and some of the most capable as well.

Front diffs going out on trucks that have been wheeled hard is not unusual (from what I have read), you can get an ARB and fix the problem once and for all. $800-ish plus the install for that gem.

Transmissions are on car-part. Sounds like you can wait on this repair. Once again, can you install it?

How about the exhaust maninfolds and A/C unit? What shape are they in?

V8 is a very sound motor. 180 is fine, there is a thread with high mileage rigs, read that and you can draw some conclusions.

Since he is your buddy you don't want to low ball him, see if he will take $4500 and your ARB is almost paid for, so long as this truck have not been underwater it's worth $5k - and you can always part it out if things get painful.

John

 

[1loudLX]

Don't.

 

[BendFJ]

Do. Good project. SAS

Don't.

 

[1loudLX]

Well if you're looking to go balls to the wall nuts-o on it then I guess it's a good project rig.

 

[BendFJ]

Love the balls to the walls nutz-0 guys...They end up with crazy trail rigs!
Loud...you strike me as one of those guys that is teetering on going balls to the walls

Well if you're looking to go balls to the wall nuts-o on it then I guess it's a good project rig.

 

[Campfire]

Go in and low ball him at around $3800 saying "the cost of the trans, diff, etc..." and see what he says. Put a used tranny in it and an ARB in the front, replace the P/S pump, forget the carpet and wheel it!
Clean the carpet if you plan on using it for around town with the wife and kids.

GO FOR IT! We need more 100's out there built up.

 

[farinvail]

The ball joints are due in the front end also. so are some steering parts. If you were gonna do a SAS then I'd say go for it. It you are gonna put to put the ifs back together. It's not going to be a bargan.

 

[badass]

SAS may happen in the future, but it'll be a minute before that happens....

Exhaust manifolds seem fine, but it does have a small exhaust leak, barley noticeable. Ac compressor works fine, but i think it needs freon, not cold all the time.

I offered 4k, he said no way, i told him meet me in the middle, so were at 4.5k, he said he'll think about it, we'll see what happens.

-What do yall think about the trannys in these trucks??? Are they pretty bullet proof? And what is the cost of a rebuilt unit? i can install myself, easy...

-I own a fj40 BUILT, and a fj55 currently being built with dana 70/dana 60, and a ford 351. This truck won't even touch dirt till later down the road, i'm buying it for a dd.

-Therefore i don't want to put extra money into the front end like an arb. But, i do want to know how much it would cost to get the front end fixed as cheap as possible. How much will it cost to replace ring, pinion, spider gears, and bearings? Thanks.

 

[macneill]

5K is a steal. Go for it and wheel the piss out of it!

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If the R&P is bad where are you sourcing the gears? Bluecruiser lost his R&P and installed an ARB did all the work except gear set up and by the time it was over ~$2000

How about a link for the $800 ARB for a 100

 

[NMuzj100]

I'd pass - to make the math work out you'd have to low ball your friend and it wouldn't be worth it. Transmission + front end problems means there is more broken you can't even see yet. Unfortunately it sounds like a parts truck. If you can do the tranny rebuild yourself then there is potential.

Tell him you have to pass but get him to post it up for sale here on MUD.

The V8 is gold though.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

How much will it cost to replace ring, pinion, spider gears, and bearings? Thanks.

The reason folks are pushing you to an ARB is that's cheaper than a new OEM set-up. If the ring is shot, that's a pricey part OEM. Figure with OEM parts, depending on what's broken, you're $500 to $2000.

How about a link for the $800 ARB for a 100

http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com/arb_locker_text.html

 

[Campfire]

You can get a new factory front differential assembly for around $1000 if you deal. And that's a new 4 pinion design.

 

[badass]

I just spoke with slee, Ben found me a used set, he said it'll be under $600 shipped to my door for a 4 pinion complete differential. We'll see what happens. Well now my friend is saying that kbb fair value is 6500, but he'll take 5500. I said your original price was 5k wtf?

I said your truck is way worse than "fair" condition. I'm still trying for 4500. Dad says i shouldn't give more than 4500 but i need a dd...

 

[2000UZJ]

You might want to just buy one that is in good standing. The 100 are reliable. But anything can be proven wrong. A slipping transmession, blown front diff, etc. I'd buy one in old shape, there are too many things wrong with this one. What other parts have been ignored? What else is about to fail? You put something new in, and something else fails. It's never ending at thy point. I've been there, and done it.

Buy the right one, the first time. It's your call.

A good project (sas) rig. But may not be the best dd.

 

[Topmounter]

If you only have $5k to spend today and are willing to get your hands dirty and spend money on it over time, then it has potential.

Using this rig as a dd out of the gate makes me a bit nervous since the transmission sounds like it is nearing its end.

Regardless, I'd look around and do some comparison shopping with some LC's that have spent most of their lives in the mall parking lot.

 

[Roverrad95]

Don't forget, KBB means absolutely nothing in terms of value. Honestly, when someone pulls the KBB card out when selling a car, it just pisses me off. KBB isn't updated very often. Edmunds is BETTER, but blackbook or looking at the manheim auctions are best for placing value on a car.

With regards to the truck itself, it might be better to just buy a claner one with lower miles, as you can get a 1998-1999 for about 8-9k now. With all the parts/maintanence, it would actually be a lot cheaper to buy one in better condition, short term or long term.