Buying an 80 warning/advice

[Flight2k5]

UUUGGGHHH I found one on ebay. Its in New York. Damn me for living on the west coast.

eBay Motors: Toyota : Land Cruiser (item 170246198434 end time Aug-08-08 18:00:00 PDT)

 

[sundaypunch]

UUUGGGHHH I found one on ebay. Its in New York. Damn me for living on the west coast.

I'm in MI and would much rather buy one from the west coast than New York. Actually, I would probably never consider one from NY.

If you are in Nevada you should have no problems finding a clean one in your region.

 

[Root Moose]

What he said. Rust is everywhere up this way. I'd be looking all through the south west, and probably will be when I'm ready unless I go the JDM diesel route.

 

[nicholas]

That red one from NY looks pretty clean up top and it was only a little over 3K when I saw it. However, the undercarriage could look like it was a salvaged piece of scrap metal from the Titanic.

 

[digitalguy]

NEVER ENGAGE LO OR FR/RR DIFF LOCKS ON DRY PAVEMENT ONLY ON LOW TRACTION SURFACES.

I just found a locked LX450 and turned on the FR/RR diff locks on dry pavement during the test drive. I drove a few feet, then turned them off. I haven't bought the truck yet. Could activating the lockers on pavement do any damage?

 

[60wag]

No. They're not that fragile, it just makes for lousy/squirley handling on hard surfaces when locked.

 

[Beowulf]

I just found a locked LX450 and turned on the FR/RR diff locks on dry pavement during the test drive. I drove a few feet, then turned them off. I haven't bought the truck yet. Could activating the lockers on pavement do any damage?

There shouldn't be any damage but you probably didn't get them to lock in that short of a distance on dry pavement so don't freak out about it.
-B-

 

[digitalguy]

Awesome. Thanks. It was a bitch to turn so I'm pretty sure they were working. I only rolled about 15 feet during the test. I'll hit some loose gravel and give them a figure eight to see how they work before I hand over $4950 for a '97 LX450 with 179K.

 

[Beowulf]

It was a bitch to turn so I'm pretty sure they were working. I only rolled about 15 feet during the test.

That tells you the front diff was locked.

-B-

 

[CowboyUp]

Todorado,

There are plenty of threads out there and probably some good info in the FAQs (which might be how you arrived at this thread ) but I'll add this info since it is a linked FAQ thread.


For FACTORY lockers, here are the FOUR things I suggest you do to verify if an 80/LX450 has them and that they work:

1. Check for the magic dial either in person or via a close up photo of the area
   1. Rotary switch, immediately to the left of steering wheel
   2. Dial says "Diff Lock" on it with off, RR, and FR-RR positions/selections (see pic)
2. Check the Data/VIN tag on the lower portion of the Driver's door either in person or via a close up photo of it (see pic)
   1. K292 = NON locking axles (from factory)
   2. K294 = Locking axles (from factory)
3. Check the axles for the locker actuators either in person or via a close up photo (see earlier post)
4. VERIFY that the lockers work (hopefully in person)
   1. Find a dirt/gravel/etc. road or area
   2. Put the 80 in park or neutral
   3. Shift the center diff (tcase) into Low
   4. Verify the CDL engaged and the ABS is off (may have to drive forward a little)
      1. CDL icon should light - below the left side of the tach
      2. ABS icon should light - below the temp gauge
   5. Turn the magic dial to lock the axles - Either one at a time or both at once
      1. Diff lock icons on the dash should light - right side, below the speedometer, to the left of the "Open door" indicator
      2. Icons should blink while the lockers are trying to engage. They will light steadily when engaged
      3. If lockers don't engage, try some SLOW tight turns or figure 8s
      4. If the lockers STILL won't engage (sometimes it can take awhile if they aren't 'exercised' regularly) then that could be an expensive fix - sometimes they just need to be cleaned up and other times the entire actuator needs to be replaced ($$$)

Of course there are always exceptions to the above. It is possible that a rig came locked from the factory and then had parts removed (as mentioned above) but that rig won't pass test #4. On the other side, it IS possible to swap factory locking axles into an originally non-locked rig and the only difference is that the tag won't reflect that (test #2). And of course there is always the aftermarket locker mod (ARB etc)

Great info for the factory lockers !!
I bought my cruiser with factory lockers, but I don't have the owner manual and I don't had idea how to engage the Fr/Rr Diff-lock . Always the lights were blinking ( was in high drive) and I was thinking is a mechanic problem in despite that today I did a test drive on country roads and in low drive the rear locker engage .
Now, tomorrow I will be probably be back for another test drive, but the this time I will follow your instruction .

Thank you!

 

[corsair23]

Now, tomorrow I will be probably be back for another test drive, but the this time I will follow your instruction .

Thank you!

Glad they helped....

Another thing that could be added to the instructions is that IF you have a CDL switch, you can lock the center diff in high range and then engage the lockers (to exercise them or insure they are functioning).

Of course if you are looking at buying an 80 or LX and it has a CDL switch, I would test both the switch to see if the center diff locks in high and I would test to insure the center diff locks when shifting into low range.

 

[sethhill1979]

locked 94

I'd say most the definite way of knowing if its a locker or not is by looking for a 5 wire assembly going from the vehicle's frame to near the center of the axle. check front and rear. I say this cause they may get caught up in the drive shaft if the situation is right. Happenned to me.

One more thing what is the 40th (year) i have a 1994 w/leather for 7, power everything, Moon roof (a real one) along with the nicest paint and trim ...........with LOCKERS!!!!!...........Oh yeah it has the Gold Package Trim.too (pretty Sweet huh?} 60k-70k new. So is this the 40th Anniversery

 

[foeix]

I'd say most the definite way of knowing if its a locker or not is by looking for a 5 wire assembly going from the vehicle's frame to near the center of the axle. check front and rear. I say this cause they may get caught up in the drive shaft if the situation is right. Happenned to me.

One more thing what is the 40th (year) i have a 1994 w/leather for 7, power everything, Moon roof (a real one) along with the nicest paint and trim ...........with LOCKERS!!!!!...........Oh yeah it has the Gold Package Trim.too (pretty Sweet huh?} 60k-70k new. So is this the 40th Anniversery

A Land Cruiser in 94 would have been 38-46K new. The 40th Anniversary was limited to the 1997 year and came in Antique Sage (Muted Gray very light green) or Emerald Green. Most did not have lockers front and rear.

 

[PDoyle]

I'd say most the definite way of knowing if its a locker or not is by looking for a 5 wire assembly going from the vehicle's frame to near the center of the axle. check front and rear. I say this cause they may get caught up in the drive shaft if the situation is right. Happenned to me.

One more thing what is the 40th (year) i have a 1994 w/leather for 7, power everything, Moon roof (a real one) along with the nicest paint and trim ...........with LOCKERS!!!!!...........Oh yeah it has the Gold Package Trim.too (pretty Sweet huh?} 60k-70k new. So is this the 40th Anniversery

Nice! Post up some pics! Add yours to the 40th registry list here too.

 

[KIRUXA]

Ok i bought mine from japan it says: A440F K295. it has a button for center diff lock. is that all it got? thanks

 

[raydouble]

Ok i bought mine from japan it says: A440F K295. it has a button for center diff lock. is that all it got? thanks

A quick Google search indicates it's a 4 pinion LSD, no axle lockers. Maybe someone who knows for sure can chime in.

 

[wabwab]

K292 = No Lockers
K294 = Lockers

Crap! My LX450 is a K292! I thought they all had the lockers but only the optioned one had the manual control switch.

So now I need to add installing lockers to my list... I guess i'll be researching that.

 

[NorCalDoug]

I've been told that all LX450s sold in Canada were equipped with lockers...don't know if that's fact or not.

If you want lockers, there are plenty of aftermarket options available - each with their pros and cons.
Do some research and decide what you want.

Regardless of which option you choose, you'll be looking at between $1k and $3k for the install.

 

[co4x4]

Is the knob in the same place for a 94? I am looking at an LC about 3 hours away and want to make sure it has lockers before I go and look at it. From the picture I have the owner sent me, it does not look like it has a selector knob shown earlier in this thread.

 

[firetruck41]

Is the knob in the same place for a 94? I am looking at an LC about 3 hours away and want to make sure it has lockers before I go and look at it. From the picture I have the owner sent me, it does not look like it has a selector knob shown earlier in this thread.

AFAIK, all years have the fr/rr locker switch in the same spot.