craigslist Denver 1995 FZJ80 (1 Viewer)

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I have been looking for a landcruiser the past few months as I plan to get rid of my built 17 Tacoma because I hate taking a brand new truck off road. What are the opinions on this rig?


Email message from the owner below:
"1. Cosmetically no issues. Mechanically the car sat in front of a mechanics shop for like a year i think and thats where I bought it. The engine was running but the headers needed to be repaired. We repaired the headers, the compressor, water pump, new gaskets etc. The car used to have an overheating problem which we fixed. We fixed most of it personally with occasional visits to a shop for diagnostics advice. I need to replace the injectors on the car which is causing it to miss fire a little bit. The parts came in two weeks ago and I've been on travel so as soon as I get back this Thursday I will look to find someone to fix them. I have a quote from a traveling mechanic for 200 to replace the injectors. Other than that the ABS light is on but i really dont care much about that it's a minor fix. The tires will need to be replaced probably 6+ months from now. The discovery tires that I want are $250 a pop so about $1250. That all I can think of for immediate issues that would need attention. Give me a call if you can and I can probably provide more details. Thanks !"

I am new to landcruisers and don't have too much knowledge about them, sounds like this truck has had a lot of home mechanic work done on it to get it running. Is this a red flag for someone looking for a truck that is a reliable off road vehicle? I plan to use my secondary car as a daily driver and I am looking for a 80 series for 90% off road use and maybe 10% on road use in snow storms and such.

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Good looking and nicely equipped truck. I've seen better seats, but they're not ripped up, which is nice. Replacing fuel injectors should be a straightforward job, if that’s what’s actually causing the CEL. The ABS light is probably a sensor, which again is easily fixed with a replacement sensor. Without all of the ARB stuff I’d guess $6k or less for this truck because of the mileage and risks in those warning lights, but $9k seems okay as equipped. I'd ask for a compression check on the engine to get a feel for how close it is to needing a rebuild.

Any time we buy one of these trucks we buy its history and all of the mistakes the POs have made. If you have the time and ability to cope with the risk, this seems like a good truck.

One 80 tip - If you open the door and discover a bunch of fragrance from carpet shampoo or whatever, it's likely that the sunroof drains are clogged and the carpets get soaked every time it rains. Ask me how I know. : (
 
I’m not sure it will pass emissions with a check engine light on. Maybe it will, you should check and better yet have the seller provide you with an emissions certificate, which by the way is required to be provided by the seller.

I would ask questions about the head gasket job, was the engine overheating because of the head gasket? Or because of the radiator/fan? Was any of that replaced? Thermostat? Who did the machine work on the head? Were OEM parts used? Were the head bolts re-used and were they checked to make sure they were in spec (torque to yield bolts)? What kind of head gasket? Pictures of the head gasket process? Pictures of the cylinder bores and top of the block? Was it flat/smooth? Were bores cross hatched?

A red flag to me is that it says head gaskets were replaced-there is only one head gasket on this engine so does seller know what they are talking about?
 
Good point. He also says headers rather than exhaust manifold. Was the manifold repaired or replaced? Repaired how?

There’s also the PHH time bomb with this much mileage. Look up pesky heater hose on mud.
 
Good looking and nicely equipped truck. I've seen better seats, but they're not ripped up, which is nice. Replacing fuel injectors should be a straightforward job, if that’s what’s actually causing the CEL. The ABS light is probably a sensor, which again is easily fixed with a replacement sensor. Without all of the ARB stuff I’d guess $6k or less for this truck because of the mileage and risks in those warning lights, but $9k seems okay as equipped. I'd ask for a compression check on the engine to get a feel for how close it is to needing a rebuild.

Any time we buy one of these trucks we buy its history and all of the mistakes the POs have made. If you have the time and ability to cope with the risk, this seems like a good truck.

One 80 tip - If you open the door and discover a bunch of fragrance from carpet shampoo or whatever, it's likely that the sunroof drains are clogged and the carpets get soaked every time it rains. Ask me how I know. : (

I’m not sure it will pass emissions with a check engine light on. Maybe it will, you should check and better yet have the seller provide you with an emissions certificate, which by the way is required to be provided by the seller.

I would ask questions about the head gasket job, was the engine overheating because of the head gasket? Or because of the radiator/fan? Was any of that replaced? Thermostat? Who did the machine work on the head? Were OEM parts used? Were the head bolts re-used and were they checked to make sure they were in spec (torque to yield bolts)? What kind of head gasket? Pictures of the head gasket process? Pictures of the cylinder bores and top of the block? Was it flat/smooth? Were bores cross hatched?

A red flag to me is that it says head gaskets were replaced-there is only one head gasket on this engine so does seller know what they are talking about?

Thank you guys for the advice i'll def ask these questions and see what he says, i may have to keep an eye out on here for one that has had less home garage work done on the vehicle. I may just take a look at it since it is in my area and will kind give me an idea of what to look for in a used 80.
 
Sharp truck. I suggest giving it more than a passing glance and some hearty haggling.

The white helps spot rust in photos, and this truck doesn't look to have much, if any. Seats are in better shape than most, and the accessories are a nice bonus. Get the age of the head gasket repair - if it has some mileage on it then you're probably OK. As others have said, ABS light may be as simple as a sensor. Could also be low brake fluid; that would indicate worn brakes or a leak. None are huge deals, but they should be accounted for in the price. It could also indicate a dodgy circuit in the ABS system...whole other level of fun there. Take it all into account. Those plug wires aren't OE and aftermarket ignition components can be a crapshoot and a cause for the miss he's describing.

Seller doesn't sound shiesty, just less informed than some of us cruiserheads and speaks to some items incorrectly (headers (not present), "gaskets" (only one on engine), and torsion bars (none on 80s)). Give it a good look over. Maybe you're getting a steal.
 
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Sharp truck. I suggest giving it more than a passing glance and some hearty haggling.

The white helps spot rust in photos, and this truck doesn't look to have much, if any. Seats are in better shape than most, and the accessories are a nice bonus. Get the age of the head gasket repair - if it has some mileage on it then you're probably OK. As others have said, ABS light may be as simple as a sensor. Could also be low brake fluid; that would indicate worn brakes or a leak. None are huge deals, but they should be accounted for in the price. It could also indicate a dodgy circuit in the ABS system...whole other level of fun there. Take it all into account. Those plug wires aren't OE and aftermarket ignition components can be a crapshoot and a cause for the miss he's describing.

Seller doesn't sound shiesty, just less informed than some of us cruiserheads and speaks to some items incorrectly (headers (not present), "gaskets" (only one on engine), and torsion bars (none on 80s)). Give it a good look over. Maybe you're getting a steal.

Thank you, i will try to get that information and set up a time to look and test drive and see what happens maybe in person he can explain a little more about it and how the repairs have been done and I can test his knowledge of the repairs.
 
FYI this truck has been off and on craigslist since at least late August, same price if i remember correctly. In my opinion the guy could get 9 if he actually fixed the issues. CEL is a dice roll. Oil Pressure sending unit is easy to access and inexpensive. ABS could be a number of things but could be as simple as gunked up sensors on 1 or all 4 of the sensors.

But yeah..been for sale for several months.
 
FYI this truck has been off and on craigslist since at least late August, same price if i remember correctly. In my opinion the guy could get 9 if he actually fixed the issues. CEL is a dice roll. Oil Pressure sending unit is easy to access and inexpensive. ABS could be a number of things but could be as simple as gunked up sensors on 1 or all 4 of the sensors.

But yeah..been for sale for several months.
From talking to him it sounds like his dad did all the work on all the major parts of the truck. I’ll have a better idea this weekend when I take a look at, if it’s clean and just a few minor things I could haggle him down some. I’d probably ask a local land cruiser shop to take a quick look before I would consider purchasing though.
 

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