Former lurker, pondering 1994 purchase

[mechanicallydeclined]

Hey all. Long time lurker, been sifting thru threads for months while searching for a LC for myself. Most are a bit to far to travel too or close but high price tag.

Found a 94 today locally. Went and looked at it, drove it and walked away a little smitten but am not sure where to aim price wise.

Stats:
260k. Got a few leaks underneath. Loses about a 1/2-3/4 qrt every 3k.
New radiator in 2010, new hoses, belts, brakes in the last year.
New Alternator and Battery this week.
Newer tires, ac service last sept.
Pass knuckle is leaking. Will need to get rebuild kit.
All power options work. Only blip is pass rear window goes down from master control switch but not up. Will go up from pass rear door.
3rd owner.
Head gasket unknown as well as phh.
Cloth interior.
No lockers : (
Has 3rd row.
It does need work besides tracing and fixing leaks. Has rust around rear window. Needs power antenna mast. Few cosmetic blemishes.

Drove well. Smooth shifts, good power (I have two 22re powered Yotas in my driveway).

He's asking 4k obo. I'm sure I can get it lower but what would be a fair price? Looking to replace my 90sr5 4runner with an 80 for my family, 2 kids, one 21 mo and one 4 days old lol.

Thanks for any input. I'm gonna mull it over a few days and possibly go look at it again to look for anything else I may have missed.

 

[landtoy80]

Look under the rear wheel wells where the bolts for the seat belts bolt through the wheel well. On mine they are starting to crack the under coating and sure rust is under the coating. Could be a safety issue if you have young children if the rust eats enough metal to make the seat belts break free in an accident.
My front wheel wells are rusted through too. Have not found a source for front or rear new wells yet.

Just something you might want to look at as I see you have kids in car seats.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

$4k sounds way high to me. I don't know where you are, but my '94 with 168k and non-rusty windows cost me $3500.

 

[mechanicallydeclined]

Didn't see much rust anywhere besides rear window and front grill area. We're in a pretty dry, desert type area and its been owned here the whole time. I will look again if I do go back out and look at it. I figured if I felt comfortable moving forward I would take it in and get it looked at by a shop to verify everything, compression, etc. This is his 2nd time posting it and I've been the only one to take a gander at it.
Was surprised that kbb lists it at sub 2k and edmunds is around 3700.

 

[Sampak]

As someone who's got their hands full and bit off more than chewable, take it from me. Take a good look at any messes inside the engine bay (oil stains/leaks) possibly indicating leaking main engine seals, valve gaskets, etc., brakes (pads!), leaky transmission areas, and also see if you can have a friend (not them) spot a slacking driveline (or lots of play between shafts moving before the wheels turn, including play in diffs). This is the basics and top of the list of *crap* I've got myself into because unlike you, this was my first FJ anything. Check for any out of place or wrong fuses in the passenger and engine compartments.

Oh, and take a real good listen to the engine for exhaust leaks. Mine is equipped with a cracked exhaust manifold, and dodgy cats that basically all needs replacing. And I've not even had any rust to worry about...

Just thought I'd pass on my stinging hard earned lesson. I WISH, WISH I knew (or presence of mind) all that to look for when I went and test drove mine and paid for it. Go back, look it over again, but with a non-chalant heart.

 

[NKP Garage]

I would pay around $2500 for that truck. Keep on looking for a better truck in my opinion.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

I would pay around $2500 for that truck. Keep on looking for a better truck in my opinion.

offer $1800 and a bus pass.

 

[inkpot]

I'm thinking $2000 and you also get a new career as a mechanic.

 

[rockrod]

You can do better for $4k.

 

[equipped to survive]

based on what you stated and the pics I would pass unless you are going to build this as a project. you will put a lot of dough into it....but don't we all. Its definitely a buildable rig but not the best. You will find that a $40-50,000 rig holds its value for a long time when its a Toyota.

 

[Funner]

I don't know about anyone taking $1800 for a fzj80 that runs and drives well. I think some of us that bought ours 1-3 years ago got a bit spoiled. A bad economy and high gas prices really hurt values on these trucks. Locally I am seeing these come available less frequently and for more money over the past year. This one has had some work done that is going to save its new owner some $.
I would drive it fairly hard, get it into 4-low in some dirty. Hammer the brakes doing 40 mph and let go of the wheel, does it pull hard to the side or run straight?
If the compression test comes up good and all you currently have to get done soon is a knuckle rebuild, that isn't too bad. I wouldn't see $3-$3500 us untenable.
Good luck.

 

[half k cruiser]

You should pass on that one. If you keep your eye on craigslist and the classifieds long enough you will find a much better deal for that kind of money. The one I bought two weeks ago has lockers and everything for $4800 and its in really nice condition with fairly low miles. What part of the country are you in ?

 

[allan man]

Keep looking......you can get a locked 80 with that price.

 

[mechanicallydeclined]

As someone who's got their hands full and bit off more than chewable, take it from me. Take a good look at any messes inside the engine bay (oil stains/leaks) possibly indicating leaking main engine seals, valve gaskets, etc., brakes (pads!), leaky transmission areas, and also see if you can have a friend (not them) spot a slacking driveline (or lots of play between shafts moving before the wheels turn, including play in diffs). This is the basics and top of the list of *crap* I've got myself into because unlike you, this was my first FJ anything. Check for any out of place or wrong fuses in the passenger and engine compartments.

Oh, and take a real good listen to the engine for exhaust leaks. Mine is equipped with a cracked exhaust manifold, and dodgy cats that basically all needs replacing. And I've not even had any rust to worry about...

Just thought I'd pass on my stinging hard earned lesson. I WISH, WISH I knew (or presence of mind) all that to look for when I went and test drove mine and paid for it. Go back, look it over again, but with a non-chalant heart.

Exhaust sounded really good. I crawled under it for a bit with it running, had him get on it and was satisfied. There are oil leaks, want to take a better look at them and try to pinpoint where though. Best way to go about that? Check all the fuses, they were good (showed up with slee's checklist)

You should pass on that one. If you keep your eye on craigslist and the classifieds long enough you will find a much better deal for that kind of money. The one I bought two weeks ago has lockers and everything for $4800 and its in really nice condition with fairly low miles. What part of the country are you in ?

I've seen them locked on CL. Theres another listed for 3k higher with lockers. I've also got 2 elockers sitting in my garage from when I was going to SAS my pickup. Lockers at this point though aren't on the top of the wish list. Would have just been the cherry on top. I'd be more apt to sell them and use the money for PM or possibly bang the headgasket out and be worry free about that but I've changed my mind a few times in the past.

Located in Wa. St., east side.

The really nice ones here are out of my price range. Dealing with the axle isn't much as I tore down 3 when I was prepping for my SAS which I decided not to do after I collecting all the part for lol. Wanted to have something that I could take the whole family in.

Right now I've got my pickup that only fits me and our 4runner that has no AC and a list of issues that need to be addressed. Not to mention that we outgrew it quickly with 2 car seats (tight fit).

I'll probably fix the ac on the runner anyways but the electrical gremlins that it has is uneasy with the kids.

I'm in no hurry to pounce on this particular one but it was pretty solid driving which is a vast improvement over whats lining my driveway at the time.

I plan on heading back and driving it again and going thru it once more. Just needing a little input on what to look at additionally that isn't on a printed list and some area of price to talk to him about. He may sit on it for a while and if he does and price drops, I'll re enter. I'm still looking but spending the time and extra travel money to go 4 hrs away isn't practical for me.

 

[half k cruiser]

quote: I'm still looking but spending the time and extra travel money to go 4 hrs away isn't practical for me.

Spending time and money to get this thing up to speed is practical though ? Over buying one that's in much better condition for the same price ? Seriously though, if you can do head gaskets and you don't care about lockers just wait until a blown one comes along.

 

[pilotuku]

I wouldn't pay more than 3k on that rig.

Just keep in mind, even on a pretty good condition truck you still want to base line it to get yourself comfortable and peace of mind on the road.

 

[retrofive]

I bought a 94 locked in that condition. Hindsight would paid a bit less. So i agree a little on the high side.

 

[mechanicallydeclined]

Spending time and money to get this thing up to speed is practical though ? Over buying one that's in much better condition for the same price ? Seriously though, if you can do head gaskets and you don't care about lockers just wait until a blown one comes along.

I'd baseline one in better shape as well for piece of mind. Am I set on paying the asking price, no. I felt it was high to start with. Not having a deeper background on the pricing of these was a main reason for this post. I'll go take another really close look at it, drive it again then go over needed repairs and such with an offer possibly attached. I would probably start well under 3k with the suggestion of a full mechanical inspection and walk away. If its not meant to be so be it. For what it is though fits my current needs. It's just the issue with the price tag. This is the 5th LC I've looked at in the 94-97 range. 3/5 had oil leaks. 2/5 had wiring issues. 3/5 had leather which I prefer cloth. 4/5 had rust issues somewhere on them. 1/5 had lockers and 5/5 were over 200k on the odometer. Most of them needed main things replaced soon too such as tires or a windshield.

I'm one that won't buy a vehicle after seeing and driving it once. Unless its proven to be worth it. So, one being 4-6 hours away would cost me fuel for at least 2 round trips plus a 3rd to drive the LC home. Possibly 2 nights in a motel plus no pay from 1 of the two jobs I work. In the end, finding one that needs some work and trying to get the price lower is more practice for me. Lockers would be nice and I have 2 e-lockers in the garage from another planned build that I walked away from. Don't see myself needing lockers for a few years.

All that being said, my offer to him would probably be one that wouldn't be accepted until it had to go. I can wait. I've been browsing the classifieds here for 4 months and I know there's great deals out there. Maybe there's one that I could jump on here that's built more towards what my goals will be for less. But I have to stay in my budget and that shrinks my net lol.

 

[mechanicallydeclined]

Gonna go check out a 97 tomorrow. Listed at 2700, same mileage, looks like it needs new tires, new windshield and the fun P0402 code. Owners had it the last 80k with service records and repairs listed but unsure what they are. Negative to me is that it has leather interior and tan at that. I do like that its OBD2 and could run a scangauge. Waiting for an email in the morning. They live in a nice area so I don't think it's been neglected.

 

[mechanicallydeclined]

97 sold today before I had a chance to take a look at it. Going back to look at the 94 tomorrow. Planning on taking a closer look at the leaks underneath and finding a spot to use the tcase.

Anything else I should take a really close look at?
Ill be taking more pictures of the rust spots and getting estimates for them and other repairs I feel are above my banana scale.

One area that I'd be interested in knowing is what would make the drivers door panel able to lower rear pass window but not raise it? Rear pass window can be raised by the switch at that door though.

He has another vehicle that ill be looking at for my wife, may have to try to bundle them like American Pickers lol.

I may make an offer and then that would be pending on a independent mechanic check as well. There's another 94 with lockers, 153k but another 4k that shoots it out of my league.