The princess has accepted the new to us ’99 Land Cruiser as her DD. It was found here on IH8Mud a couple of weeks ago with 92k miles and a bit of a scary description but for the price it was worth checking out. The seller purchased it from a bankrupt construction auction one-week prior. It is equipped with rear diff lock, rear AC, pwr moon roof, heated leather, rear pwr quarters windows, roof rack, running boards, and rear wind deflector. Some stuff was missing like a spare tire, jack, 3rd row seats, owner’s manual, and a few small trim pieces. The biggest thing for me to overcome was absolutely no history or maintaince records of any kind. A quick once over and I found all serviceable parts to be factory Toyota and no damage so I jumped in and went around the block and said WTF Ill take it.
Once home the princess was not surprised because she had hoped for new Tundra and wondered whats up with this. I asked her to drive it for a few days and if she didn’t like to go and trade it in on a Tundra. She said the running boards had to go…no problem they were off within 24hrs. The inside was dirty but some cleaner and elbow grease, new floor mats, and rear Husky liner and it came out good enough to pass the test.
Had a couple of electrical issue but a little research and I found a few connections unplugged and now everything works, as it should. The heated seats (in Arizona??) and climate control was a big hit and she has accepted it.
Now onto closer scrutiny and finding the missing parts was on. Located a spare tire and rim, owner’s manual, and FSM on disk (Thanks Jackson for the DL).
So far everything I have looked at like the brakes, filters, and all serviceable part have been factory Toyota. Went to change the transfer case fluid and it was clean and synthetic to boot but I changed it anyway. The rear diff fluids looked new and clean so I didn’t bother changing it. I did change the engine oil and fitted it with a Mobil 1 filter and 5-30W. The trans fluid looked clean and didn’t smell burnt but I drained the pan and refilled anyway. Radiator fluid looks clear and fresh just like cherry Kool-aid so no change. The Cruiser was previously hit in the right rear corner but the repair looks to be first rate. Everything on the underside is very clean with no leaks or any signs of every being off road. Next on the list is to service the drivelines, repack the front bearings, front diff, and check the condition of the timing belt (in the hope that it has been changed). So for the most part with all things considered I happy with our purchase at $12,500.
At this point I’m not sure how far we will go with the build up but if its anything like the rest of our junk the future could be interesting. Tomorrow I plan to order some 285/75/16 Nitto’s to start things off but other then tires I'm just measuring and dreaming.
Once home the princess was not surprised because she had hoped for new Tundra and wondered whats up with this. I asked her to drive it for a few days and if she didn’t like to go and trade it in on a Tundra. She said the running boards had to go…no problem they were off within 24hrs. The inside was dirty but some cleaner and elbow grease, new floor mats, and rear Husky liner and it came out good enough to pass the test.
Had a couple of electrical issue but a little research and I found a few connections unplugged and now everything works, as it should. The heated seats (in Arizona??) and climate control was a big hit and she has accepted it.
Now onto closer scrutiny and finding the missing parts was on. Located a spare tire and rim, owner’s manual, and FSM on disk (Thanks Jackson for the DL).So far everything I have looked at like the brakes, filters, and all serviceable part have been factory Toyota. Went to change the transfer case fluid and it was clean and synthetic to boot but I changed it anyway. The rear diff fluids looked new and clean so I didn’t bother changing it. I did change the engine oil and fitted it with a Mobil 1 filter and 5-30W. The trans fluid looked clean and didn’t smell burnt but I drained the pan and refilled anyway. Radiator fluid looks clear and fresh just like cherry Kool-aid so no change. The Cruiser was previously hit in the right rear corner but the repair looks to be first rate. Everything on the underside is very clean with no leaks or any signs of every being off road. Next on the list is to service the drivelines, repack the front bearings, front diff, and check the condition of the timing belt (in the hope that it has been changed). So for the most part with all things considered I happy with our purchase at $12,500.
At this point I’m not sure how far we will go with the build up but if its anything like the rest of our junk the future could be interesting. Tomorrow I plan to order some 285/75/16 Nitto’s to start things off but other then tires I'm just measuring and dreaming.
