Budget 80 series activities (8 Viewers)

[TXMeatball]

Purpose of this thread is to document budget-minded things I'm doing to this land cruiser. Mostly stuff I feel I haven't seen enough about or was confusing to me. This is the 3rd high mileage 80 I'll be going through so there's a ton of been-there-done-thats. The only difference this go around is that I'll be experimenting with aftermarket parts. On my LX I've typically gone the expensive OEM-only route. There's some pieces I won't cheap out on (mainly seals and the like) but stuff I'm comfortable repeating is fair game. Important note is that I'm keeping this one stock.

Got news that I'm supposed to RTO 3 days a week starting next month. Don't want my SC400 baking in a parking lot, and my LX is excessive(?) to commute in. Searched a little for the right LS430 or LS400 but this popped up. Meet big red, a 97 LC with 383k. Stock aside from the front TJM bumper. Longtime owner who let it get worn but not abused. Really doesn't need much mechanically off the bat- worst is a leaking rear axle seal. Then there's cosmetic/interior things like stripped seat gears, wobbly mirrors, clogged sunroof drains. End goal with is it a mechanically sorted commuter that's pleasant to drive around.

 

[TXMeatball]

Spring on the front door handle was broken and made it wiggly. Pulled off the card replace it and discovered no vapor barrier. Fantastic, especially for moisture-loving masonite. Most of the clips stayed in the door too.
Fix/Tags: Door panel/card clip reinforcement.
One thing I highly recommend doing to every toyota of this era is applying high-flow super glue anywhere something attaches. It's absorbed like water and makes the material rock-hard, holding the clip without deforming/tearing during future removals. Also properly secures the door card back so it'll mount nice and tight.
Also made a new vapor barrier, but that's pretty well covered.

 

[TXMeatball]

Fix/Tags: Aftermarket/chinese window molding/trim.
Before you comment "OEM isn't much more!!!" realize that I've bought the OEM for my LX "cheap". It was still $211 shipped directly from Japan (also took 3 weeks). Also the whole point of this one is budget.
These chrome window sets are all over eBay and Amazon for ~$40 for the front 4 or ~$60 for the full set. They're chrome instead of black. I bought the 6 for $70 off amazon with prime shipping. Got here in 2 days.
As it comes it won't fit- the clips don't line up. For whatever reason they glued them to the rubber backing. All you have to do is break that bond and it'll slide around like OEM. Fitment is pretty good once that's done. It snaps into place. Long term results are TBD- I'm sure I'll find out quick with the Texas sun. Much better than the broken/sharp vinyl before.

 

[TXMeatball]

Fix/Tags: Fender flare gasket/trim
Can tell from the previous pics that the rubber fender flare gasket is gone. I didn't even bother looking up what the OEM costs here. Bought 33ft of this rubber seal for $27 on amazon to replace them all. I also preemptively bought the OEM clips expecting them to break. Surprisingly the only clips that broke were the rear doors 2. None of my clip mounts on the flares broke either. Took a little less than 3 hours to complete, pretty happy with the results.
Clip part numbers:

Rear fender flare clip x2	90249-06160
Fender flare clip x10	90249-06132
Fender flare clip holder x8	90467-09077

 

[TXMeatball]

Been driving it around after wrapping up both axle reseals last weekend. Also did new rotors/pads and all brake hoses during that. And tossed on some marketplace 285/75 KO2 take-offs. This thing is zippy compared to my LX on 35"s with front/rear bumpers and sliders.

Rockauto had some decent wholesaler closeouts. Got front and rear monroe shocks/sway bar bushings and a heater valve for $130 shipped. They're not bad. Some might even confuse them for OME nitrochargers and think I'm a big baller . Fixed a suspension sqeak too. I'm not sure if I took out the original shocks, they're toyota/tokico branded. Still had rebound, insane for 384k miles if original.

Also gigantic benefit of having 2 of the same truck is the amount of spare parts laying around. Terminals on this one aren't original and kind of hacked up. Had enough leftover wire from my LXs cable job to do another set for this one.

 

[Outsane]

I like this direction, keep it up!

 

[CharlieS]

Been driving it around after wrapping up both axle reseals last weekend. Also did new rotors/pads and all brake hoses during that. And tossed on some marketplace 285/75 KO2 take-offs. This thing is zippy compared to my LX on 35"s with front/rear bumpers and sliders.
View attachment 3911807
Rockauto had some decent wholesaler closeouts. Got front and rear monroe shocks/sway bar bushings and a heater valve for $130 shipped. They're not bad. Some might even confuse them for OME nitrochargers and think I'm a big baller . Fixed a suspension sqeak too. I'm not sure if I took out the original shocks, they're toyota/tokico branded. Still had rebound, insane for 384k miles if original.
View attachment 3911817View attachment 3911818
Also gigantic benefit of having 2 of the same truck is the amount of spare parts laying around. Terminals on this one aren't original and kind of hacked up. Had enough leftover wire from my LXs cable job to do another set for this one.
View attachment 3911821

The wear on that shock mount post is insane. Must've been flopping around. I could see that letting loose at an inopportune time.

 

[CharlieS]

Also gigantic benefit of having 2 of the same truck is the amount of spare parts laying around. Terminals on this one aren't original and kind of hacked up. Had enough leftover wire from my LXs cable job to do another set for this one.
View attachment 3911821

Can you share the parts you used, specifically the terminals? I have a heavy duty crimper from horror freight and make cables, but never seem to have the right diameter hole copper terminals for the posts.

 

[TXMeatball]

Can you share the parts you used, specifically the terminals? I have a heavy duty crimper from horror freight and make cables, but never seem to have the right diameter hole copper terminals for the posts.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y9RYFM for the pos/neg terminal to starter/terminal to block.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y96KXG for the terminal part of the smaller fender ground.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0747NZT6K for the fender part of the smaller fender ground. Also used these for the block to firewall ground, and transfer case to trans tunnel ground too.

 

[CharlieS]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y9RYFM for the pos/neg terminal to starter/terminal to block.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073Y96KXG for the terminal part of the smaller fender ground.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0747NZT6K for the fender part of the smaller fender ground. Also used these for the block to firewall ground, and transfer case to trans tunnel ground too.

Thank you!

 

[sterinn]

Great thread, any need for a new stabilizer shock? 111k miles on mine, intermittent with a slight out-of-balance feel at about 70 and it's not the wheels/tires. I suspect it's the original stabilizer because the rest of the shocks are original and rebound is not very tight at any of the 4 corners so I think the stabilizer is only there for show, too.