FJ80 reliability

[Panda Cub]

one of, if not THE most reliable vehicles US has ever seen...

i worked on a friend's 96 last night... every seal on the thing is leaking, but the thing still runs STRONG. It has over 300K miles on it, never had the HG done, never another engine seal done and that rig has towed smaller import cars at least 70K miles on the interstate... at least. He is the thrid owner and knows both previous owners so he knows the history very well.
The difference in loving this rig versus hating it, is falling in love with the culture of the Land Cruiser... if you do not become in love with everything the cruiser is, then you will hate the fact that your 15 year old vehicle leaks from every seal and gets only 12mpg without towing and can barely tow anything...

These have always been one of my favorite vehicles, I'm an outdoorsy guy and have always wanted an older SUV to match my lifestyle.

My old man has a sequoia, and I really enjoy driving that, however I cannot afford a $60k plus SUV.

An example of the driving I do is, the boat launch I we use is a path through the woods on our property, and yes we have gotten many vehicles stuck.

And I do plan on putting some aftermarket parts on mine.....lift, swampers, sliders......etc

 

[wakesetter]

what area do you livin in? if you are in a part of the country like colorado or Minn. where there seems to be a lake around every corner, it is a different situation than being in southern CA where you have a long and hilly drive to get to any lakes. But overall, get a 95+...more power, abs both good things for towing regardless of weight. If you are putting bigger tires etc, AND towing, definately get the 95 + for the bigger engine.

 

[Panda Cub]

I live in central IL, most likely the flattest part of the country. However I will be trailering my boat through MO. and to the upper peninsula of michigan as well.

What should I expect to pay for a solid FZJ 80 with under 150k?

 

[AJLFJ80]

I live in central IL, most likely the flattest part of the country. However I will be trailering my boat through MO. and to the upper peninsula of michigan as well.

What should I expect to pay for a solid FZJ 80 with under 150k?

Depends on where you live. If it's California, and has been well taken care of, expect north of $7K, easy. And some of the listings out there, even from private sales (read: non-dealership) are 5 figures. Going with a 91-92, you would see a pretty significant price drop on the market. When I got my '91, I was on the fence between it and a '96. Similar mileage, similar history, but the deciding factor was that I got my '91 for $2,700 LESS than I would have had to pay for the '96. Am I missing out on cool bells and whistles like more horsepower and torque, leather interior, more power stuff and lockers? Yes. But I'm not made of money, and $2.7K is a significant chunk of change.

 

[Land Speeder]

Are you guys out there made of money? and this economy ya'll would still buy a stock rig for 5 figures?
here's a BUILT rig that is owned by a cruiser enthusiast that wants undeer 5 figures... He may have sold it, but if ya'll are buying rigs out there for that much then WOW!
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-trailers-sale-wanted/325748-96-fzj-80-209k-built.html

 

[jvazquez53]

Reliable??? Mine the dizzy caught fire, after, all I did was replace the dizzy cap & rotor and as of right now is running like nothing happened!

 

[Snakeshot]

Relatively new owner here.
I bought a '92 in July with 234k on the clock. Incomplete maintenance records, but it's obvious someone took good care of it in the past.
I just took it on a 1000 mile RT for Thanksgiving. Zero problems, zero fluid consumption. I now have total confidence in this ride. In fact, it is the best vehicle I have ever owned, and at 17 years old when I bought it.

 

[Panda Cub]

Thats my problem too! I am not made of money either; being a school teacher, I do not make much money so I need something that I do not have to dump tons of money into and I can get cheap.

A built rig would be awesome, however people want a lot of money for them.

 

[PoorHouse]

then here is your exception to the market... this is on the cusp of being too high for me... but i'd still buy it.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/vehicles-t...3909-1997-land-cruiser-diff-lock-bham-al.html

if you're paying 8-12k for an 80 series then you're looking at dealer prices... no point in dealing with a dealer at this point because they can't finance these old cars anyway...

It's all about what you want.

I ruled that one out due to high mileage (181k), torn driver seat and cracked leather, and scratches all over the vehicle. $2-3k more for a low mileage clean truck would be money well spent IMO.

 

[pruboy]

Seems a bit pricey. I would listen to what others are telling you about the differences between the engines. The old saying that " there is no replacement for displacement " pretty much says it all here, especially if your plans are to use it as a tow rig. I just bought a 97 lx450 for $ 5000.00 and probably paid a bit too much. I liked the truck. That being said I think if you stick to your search and be patient you can find a low mileage ( 90-150k ) truck with a good service history in stock configuration that is a 96 or 97 with the 1fz-fe engine for between $ 4000 - $ 6000. I have seen an Anniversay edition 97 model come down in price over the last 2 months to $ 6000.00 and it hasn't moved yet. Granted all of what I have just said applies to my region ( alabama ) , out west you will pay more. My .02.

 

[Land Speeder]

It's all about what you want.

I ruled that one out due to high mileage (181k), torn driver seat and cracked leather, and scratches all over the vehicle. $2-3k more for a low mileage clean truck would be money well spent IMO.

high mileage?! 181K is high to you for an 80 series? keep in mind the newest 80 series you can now obtain is 13 years old... 15k/yr times 13 years...

How many of these leather driver seats have you seen in perfect shape? that drivers seat minus the tear looks better than 90% out there...

Sorry, I suppose there's no right answer here and it really is what you said about what you want...


Regarding the 3FE vs 1FZE... both are extremely awesome, but give me the 3FE over the 1FZE ANY DAY... I've had this last 1FZE for less than 6 months and it's so much more finicky and leaky and everything above than the 3FE... 50 more horses? so what... it's more of a headache.

 

[Panda Cub]

Do you have a link to the 97 lx for $6k?

Seems a bit pricey. I would listen to what others are telling you about the differences between the engines. The old saying that " there is no replacement for displacement " pretty much says it all here, especially if your plans are to use it as a tow rig. I just bought a 97 lx450 for $ 5000.00 and probably paid a bit too much. I liked the truck. That being said I think if you stick to your search and be patient you can find a low mileage ( 90-150k ) truck with a good service history in stock configuration that is a 96 or 97 with the 1fz-fe engine for between $ 4000 - $ 6000. I have seen an Anniversay edition 97 model come down in price over the last 2 months to $ 6000.00 and it hasn't moved yet. Granted all of what I have just said applies to my region ( alabama ) , out west you will pay more. My .02.

 

[Land Speeder]

Do you have a link to the 97 lx for $6k?

I know of a guy with a Collector's that recently put a new engine in it with around 139K... and he is going to be asking $6K for it i believe... PM me if you want his email address.

 

[Stone]

I don't doubt the reliability of the 3F-E. I bought my 1991 FJ80 from Oregon last year and it had 230+ thousand miles on it before I took the 3F-E out. When I took out the 3F-E, it was still running well with no issues. Thirsty, and a bit underpowered...but reliable? I would say, Yes!

The price of that '92 seems a bit high. I bought my '91, albeit with waay more mileage, but the chassis was clean, for $3k.

 

[Panda Cub]

The 00-03 Tundra's were just recalled for having problems with the frame rusting; do FJ80's have huge rust issues?

I live in Springfield, IL, and moved here from Chicago, and hopefully will be moving back to Chicago sometime soon...... My dad had a tundra, and the thing rusted BAD on the frame; he was lucky and sold it a year ago. How about the FJ80s, do they have similar issues?

 

[Tenzig Norgay]

My 80 has spent its whole life in the midwest smack dab in the salt belt. The frame looks great, but many of the bolts on the underside have seen better days. 299 k and 18 years, reliable, ha. Runs better that the day I got it. Lots of maintenence in the last year, but I've neglected it for the last 8 years, and you'll have that with any vehicle that old. Its easy working on the 3FE, and parts really aren't that expensive compared to American made vehicles. I'm so happy I have a 92, and not the 1fze.

 

[jhanley]

I still can't find clean low mileage rigs for 4 - 6k as previously stated. maybe it's my region but 4 - 6k gets you a truck with approximately 200k miles. 90 to 150k mile locked 80 with records is gonna cost 7 to 9k. Somebody who's truck has those attributes certainly knows what his truck is worth and will hold out for the right buyer and the right money. i look at these things everyday. granted some can be had cheap with lower miles, problem is, their usually piles of s#$t. bottom line is, none of these things are perfect anymore. they all need work regardless of miles. get a PPI done. I got a PPI done just recently at Iron Pig Off Road and it was money well spent. If you're worried about "reliability" maybe you should get something newer. I would never say these trucks are unreliable but certainly require constant maintenance. The cool thing is, you have a classic cruiser and every other d-bag just has a tahoe or whatever...

 

[nomorerovers]

Get the bigger motor. Look for a 94-95 with lockers if possible.

 

[justbecause]

$3000 in this economy.
In the last 13 months I've sold a 'built/modded' 91, bought a stock 96 and sold it, and bought a 'built/modded' 94.... every transaction was under $3500...

That $6500 makes me think your dealing with a dealer...

we need to get together so you can find me one of these!

as for the OP questions

aside from the 3fe 1fz argument a 93+ has FF axles and disc brakes all around

with prices for 93+ ranging from 3k (yea they are beat up but id take a rough fzj over a nice fj80) to 12k for a built rig

at $6500 you are smack in the middle of that spectrum which should land a very nice fzj80


and about three times what most are asking for a 91-92 model.

 

[timer00]

I found my 94 with lockers and 100k miles for $7400 and this was from a small dealer.

I paid about $800 more than edmunds supposedly said it was worth only because of how far away these things are from me to get one let alone one in that condition with that mileage.

Did the front axle job 4k miles in, PHH, baselined all of it and been running great ever since. Did all that myself probably $600 instead of thousands.

Hardly any rust mainly on one side of rear axle housing and rust on various bolts etc.