Got a 100 series.. what to do first?

[zooyork263]

Whats up everyone,

i got myself a 2001 land cruiser early last summer and ive always liked it; the adequate v8 and impressive stock off road capabilities were an attraction for me. however. If im honest i was always more of a sports car fan till mid summer when my friend took me on an off road trip and i realized how much fun it was. fast forward to currently, i find myself and a few friends getting together to off road quite a bit but we all have stock vehicles so now its time to upgrade and find some new trails. Problem is the options are little overwhelming when considering.. so i figured id ask you guys. any advice as to what to upgrade first is appreciated, im not going to be taking super serious trials so no 35 inch tires and big lifts for me, though, it maybe something to consider in the future. for now im looking at some 33 inch general grabber at2's because they supposedly have good snow and wet traction (we get a TON of snow, ice, slush, and rain here) and im also looking at some 18 inch 5 spoke 2008 tundra wheels that i could paint black and not need to worry about scratching them up.. their being offered very inexpensively so i may start there. a lift would be nice (i know you can fit the 285-75-16's without one) but problem is im still a student and slee is quite expensive but its still possible. anyways enough from me id like to hear what you guys have to say. i will post pictures soon; i have a new camera im still figuring out. feel free to post pictures of your own land cruisers ive seen some really cool 100 series on here.

The wheels:

Not my land cruiser but its the same color and window tint:

P.S. about the running boards i know they have to go but its too cold out this time of year so they'll come off when it warms up or next time it goes to my mechanics shop, which ever comes first

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

You could keep the current wheels and put the money into some old man emu 865 shocks and crank the front torsion bars to get a 1-2" lift for less than $200.

 

[farinvail]

Get this guys video and buy some recovery gear. Bill Burke's 4-Wheeling America - off road 4x4 driver training.

 

[1loudLX]

^ what that guy said.

 

[zooyork263]

sounds good klaus, how do you think that will hold up stress wise on the suspension and what not? it may be a toyota but it is 11 years old..

 

[TheFuzz]

Welcome to the zoo, zoo.

If you want a mild lift on the cheap, order some 30mm coil spacers from Slee and crank up the front torsion bars to level the truck out. That plus 33's (ie, 285s) is a good place to start. I've been running my rig that way for 9 months now. Pics in my profile. Its not a dramatic lift by any means but its a good place to start if you don't wheel that hard and just want some extra clearance.

As for your concerns about an 11 year old rig: you're driving a land cruiser, one of the stoutest, most well designed IFS systems out there. You aren't going to hurt anything. You might lose a little grease from your cv boots but that's pretty much expected. Go check out Spressomon's build thread if you really want to see what a '99 is capable of.

 

[rusty_tlc]

You should check out the shift key, it allows you to use capital letters. This makes your post much more readable.

Step one might be to base line your truck by doing a fluid exchange.
You might also check out if the timing belt has been replaced.
Other items that usually need attention, depending on mileage, are the water pump and starter.

Lift etc kind of depend on what you plan to do. My truck is basically stock and we go anywhere we want to go with it. (Basically stock = OME springs , Bilstien shocks, front ARB, sliders and 33" tires.)

The best advice I can give you is to make modifications as you find the need rather than base them on what you read on the internet. Translated: if your truck is going wherever you want to go you don't need to modify it.

Really.

In my experience Toyotas are incredibly reliable until we start screwing with them. The less you modify the more robust they are.

 

[SmoothLC]

From a vehicle-specific perspective, start with some combination or variation of:

1. 100 series baseline (check the first two posts cited in that thread)
2. 90k service

Since you're going to go out wheelin' in between the baseline/90k service, follow fariinvail's suggestion, and then let the mods begin, probably starting with a lift or spacers (if needed to fit the tires), followed by tires...


Then, the addiction will really start to settle in, and if you haven't done some variation of the first two items, you'll be wondering why you bought that new iPad for offroad nav, but forgot to address the leaky CVs . . . and before you know it, you'll be trying to compete for the "best mod ever" when your LC, just needs a little tlc...


#justsayin


http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/turbotaco/IMG00003-20110209-1210.jpg

 

[zooyork263]

Thanks guys i appreciate the advice


it currently has 105,300 miles and the timing belt as well as the water pump were replaced at 100,000 miles.

i drive 45 miles a day so i have to "try" to keep gas affordable but then again the mud ruts here are deep so i need to be able to clear them so i think ill try your suggestion TheFuzz.

ill get that stuff outta the way then ill probably update the looks (new black tint, wheels, order some xenon bulbs... that ordeal) there are a pretty good amount of 200 series rollin around up here

 

[coveboy]

I'm in the same boat as far as off-roading on a student budget. The best advice has already been stated-maintenance. Make sure everything is up to par in that area before you chunk out too much. 90k is already finished, so you're off to a good start!
Then, crank up those torsion bars, remove the running boards, and slap on some 33's, and you'll be set to cover most muddy ruts. It seems like a lot of people like Duratracs for the snow and such if I'm not mistaken, so they may not be a bad choice to look into. Wheel it, and buy what you figure you'll need. If you do a lot of trails at night, I'd definitively look into a headlight upgrade along with some aftermarket lights. Also, personally I'm in the process of building a drawer system in the back of my truck. Hold all my school crap, and make a great camping platform, especially since I practically live out of my cruiser. May be sometihng to look into! Good luck to ya, it's become a great college hobby for me, and I hope the same goes for you!

 

[zooyork263]

I'm in the same boat as far as off-roading on a student budget. The best advice has already been stated-maintenance. Make sure everything is up to par in that area before you chunk out too much. 90k is already finished, so you're off to a good start!
Then, crank up those torsion bars, remove the running boards, and slap on some 33's, and you'll be set to cover most muddy ruts. It seems like a lot of people like Duratracs for the snow and such if I'm not mistaken, so they may not be a bad choice to look into. Wheel it, and buy what you figure you'll need. If you do a lot of trails at night, I'd definitively look into a headlight upgrade along with some aftermarket lights. Also, personally I'm in the process of building a drawer system in the back of my truck. Hold all my school crap, and make a great camping platform, especially since I practically live out of my cruiser. May be sometihng to look into! Good luck to ya, it's become a great college hobby for me, and I hope the same goes for you!

thanks man i think the torsion bar adjustment is the way to go for now. did you adjust the torsion bar and also use coil spacers? im trying to get 2 or so inches of clearance so i figured a 1 inch torsion adjust along with 33's would get me there.

 

[coveboy]

thanks man i think the torsion bar adjustment is the way to go for now. did you adjust the torsion bar and also use coil spacers? im trying to get 2 or so inches of clearance so i figured a 1 inch torsion adjust along with 33's would get me there.

Just my torsion bars, didn't need the spacers with the tires I was running. I gained about 1 3/4" with just my torsion bars and stock sized tires. Depending on the tire set, they may be something to look into though, especially since they're pretty cheap. I'll probably pick some up for my next set of tires though, along with new shocks all around (180k on original suspension, it's all gettin a little tired)