FNG needs advice (1 Viewer)

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www.tralaz.org
Hello, as the the title suggests, I am new to the forums, although not new to the 4wd scene. I currently own a '95 Nissan KC V6 4wd with sliders, bumpers, Lock-Rite rear diff locker and about 5 inches of lift on 33" BFG MT's, and a '94 Toy 4Runner V6 4wd, fairly stock.

I am looking at buying a '94 or '95 (not sure which it is) Land Cruiser and turning it into a trail truck. I've scanned through the threads in the Tech section, but of course there's way too much information to assimilate all at once. I'd like to know what I can do to this truck, if there are any limitations I should know about, and where to get aftermarket parts such as suspension lift, lockers, gears, etc. I've seen several references to OME and heard they were the primary aftermarket supplier.

I will be building my own sliders and bumpers, and possibly any armor necessary. I'd like to get 33" tires on the rig, and possibly even 35's, and need to know what amount of lift I'd need for those. In my opinion, lockers are a must-have. I have no idea what the specs on this truck are, such as axle gear and transfer case low-range ratios, and I'd appreciate any help finding out what they are. I gather from reading some articles that the t-case has a locker for low-range use and there's a mod to make that switchable. Suggested?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, even the inevitable 'Use the search function, ya lunkhead!'. I'm just looking for a head start and to tap into the collective wisdom quickly.

-Spike
 
-Spike- said:
Any help would be greatly appreciated, even the inevitable 'Use the search function, ya lunkhead!'. I'm just looking for a head start and to tap into the collective wisdom quickly.
-Spike

We've done all the work for you here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=11933

And now that I've even pointed you to it, all you have to do is read. We can send someone over to do that if you want, but it might be a few days. :flipoff2:

Welcome to Mud.
 
The sleeoffroad link is sweet. Unfortunately, many of the topics in sections 5 and 6 seem to have been eliminated. Yes, I read the FAQ, and limited my questions to those I didn't find answers to there. At least I thought I did. I guess I can assume the t-case low range ratio is a standard 2:1, and that I'll need to get some axle gears -probably the 5.29's- to run in the rocks.

-Spike
 
2.488:1


If you want lockers you should look for one that has the optional electric lockers from the factory.
 
No lift necessary for 33"s, axle gears are 4.10 and the axles are 1.33" 30 spline. Most people never change the gear ratio on these until they get into 35" or bigger and plan on wheeling the snot out of it.
The truck is really well built right from Toyota. Slap a 2.5" OME lift and some 33"s on it and you will already have a sweet trail rig. :cheers:
 
Junk said:
Welcome ya frickin lunkhead :flipoff2:

Search.

Re-read the FAQ section
Read the Slee newbie guide
Read the tech section on www.lcool.org

:D


But most importantly don't listen to the above quoted idiot. :rolleyes:
 
Spike (please tell me that's not your real name)

You mention this is to be a dedicated trail truck and you don't seem concerned about spending some big $$$ on it so here are my thoughts:

1. There was a tranny change between 94 & 95 so the Low ratio is different.
2. 33's on an 80 are mall cruiser tyres. Go 35's or larger (up to 37's) for a HD trail rig.
3. For 35+ tyres, get the Slee 6" lift with all the goodies (arms, panhards, etc.)
4. I would get 4.88's (with 35's, 4.56 gears return the truck to the equivalent of stock gearing)
5. All US 80 Series came stock with a locking center differential. Making this an in-cab selectable lock is easy.
6. Some US 80 Series (93-97 only) came with the optional F&R electric locking diffs. These are very desireable trucks. The other path some take is the selectable ARB lockers which will cost you in the neighborhood of $3k. For off-road use we always recommend that prospective buyers keep searching until they find one with the F&R diff lock option (~7% have it)

-B-
 
Seven percent? That's encouraging. Tell me that's a typo and I'll tell you Spike's not my real name.

I had a line on a '94 with ~165,000 miles, no lockers, and a salvage title (wrecked and repaired) for $6500 that I thought would have made a good trail truck, but that deal's off. However, I've pretty much convinced myself that I want an LC, so I'll start hunting for one with lockers.

What was the ratio change, which year is more desireable?
I was considering 33's just because I already have them. I'd actually prefer something larger, so if that's the recommendation I'll go with it. When you say 'all the goodies', could you give me some more info? If we were talking Nissan, I could tell you every part you'd need to replace with a lift, but the LC's are new territory to me, so what seems elemental to you is Greek to me. I'm looking to build a capable trail truck that will still be reasonably comfortable on road.

All the help is very much appreciated. Even Junk's.

-Spike
 
Got it, I was looking at individual components, but I found the 6" kit, which looks pretty complete. If I bought that kit, is there any other mods recommended for the 80, besides the stuff that's been mentioned? Is anything particularly vulnerable (like the Nissan steering- complete aftermarket replacement is a must for anything more challenging than dirt-road driving)?

-Spike
 
The 7% figure is not a typo.
 

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