Hey hey hey, and my “New” 80 Series issues (1 Viewer)

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Mar 15, 2022
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Location
Dallas/FortWorth,Texas
Good evening, I’m new to the forum, but I’ve been reading ad a non-member for quite some time while shopping for a Land Cruiser. This is my hello post, but also a cry for some advice.

….I finally pulled the trigger recently on an 80 series. Got a decent deal on it. On paper it’s a factory triple locked 94. It came with numerous upgrades that balanced out cost. This includes a 3 inch OME lift riding with 285’s. Bilstein coils. I honestly love the Cruiser. Beats my old 4Runner hands down.

It’s been driving great with zero issues. However a couple days ago I noticed a low scraping feeling in the peddle when hitting the gas, but only at low speeds and it went away so I didn’t think anything of it. After all it’s an older vehicle. During a 40 mile round trip drive with my wife today the sound came back and it went from a low scrape, to a grinding sound. This is most present when breaking or accelerating at low speeds, but is now almost constantly audible no matter how fast I’m driving. It definitely sounds like it’s coming from the front of the vehicle. It is present when coasting now as well with no pressure on any pedal which makes me think it’s something rotational and not break related.

Videos and previous post seem to have narrowed it down to break of issue (doesn’t feel or sound like it to me), a cat converter heat shield that’s lose (different sound IMO), or a differential that is going out (the scariest one).

If anyone has any issues like this in the past or can actually help me pinpoint the issue so I can replace it, then I’d be extremely grateful. Im currently lost as to what it actually may be.

Also….if it does seem to be the differential…has anyone rebuilt a locking dif vs regular dif and do you know how different the a locking dif rebuild is compared to a regular one? Anyway thanks for all the help!

L

PS I’ll try to post a video tomorrow
 
Welp…checking out the underside tonight and this doesn’t look great. Looks like I may have axle issues. Just to update this is in addition to the sound that popped up today as well. Checked the axles several days ago so this must have flared up during the drive today

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Welp…checking out the underside tonight and this doesn’t look great. Looks like I may have axle issues. Just to update this is in addition to the sound that popped up today as well. Checked the axles several days ago so this must have flared up during the drive today

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Welome. Congrats on a 80 series. Lots of reading in the FAQ. Your diff looks like it was put together with FIPG and not a gasket. Same with your E-locker and they appear to be leaking? You might start reading up on rebuilding the front axle. In the meantime you could check the bearings for play by jacking up the vehicle and checking the wheel for play. Lots of this is spelled out in the FAQ. Also pick up a copy of the FSM in the resources tab. Its a fun journey if you're motivated to do it yourself and learn as you go.
 
Could easily still be brake issues.

Sticky caliper may be keeping a piston extended putting light pressure on the rotor. I’d pull the wheel and inspect pad wear and position at rest. Pad and rotor look meaty in the one pic but if dragging may be your sound.

FIPG is common on the diff over paper gasket but I’d check torque on the nuts there anyhow. The knuckles are weeping but if it sat for a while the oil may be separating out of the grease. I’d clean those up and then keep an eye on them. Perhaps change diff oil and check condition as well as open up square fill plug on top of knuckle and check grease level and condition with long screwdriver. Hard to tell but looks like possibly rusty or they used wheel bearing grease over moly. Pics look reddish.

Congrats and welcome to the adventure.
 
I doubt it's the third member in the rear. Could be your u-joints on the rear driveshaft.

Chock the tires, remove the rear driveshaft and check for proper movement of the u-joints. Add grease to all three zerk fittings with care not to overfill the slip joint. The u-joints should sputter when they have enough grease. Check for proper movement of the u-joints again and the slip joint. Put indicator marks on the shaft if you decide to take the slip joint apart.
 
Some stream of conscious thought to consider….

Lift truck in front (one tire at a time) and with hands in 3 and 6 o’clock position toggle side to side. If it moves your wheel bearings could be loose. If this checks out as good, then remove front wheels and inspect rotors and calipers. Easy to do. Rule it out. Then move to other things. If good, I would remove one driveshaft at a time and take it for a spin to see if you can narrow the noise to front or rear. Then narrow it down further.
 
Some stream of conscious thought to consider….

Lift truck in front (one tire at a time) and with hands in 3 and 6 o’clock position toggle side to side. If it moves your wheel bearings could be loose. If this checks out as good, then remove front wheels and inspect rotors and calipers. Easy to do. Rule it out. Then move to other things. If good, I would remove one driveshaft at a time and take it for a spin to see if you can narrow the noise to front or rear. Then narrow it down further.
I usually do this in two directions.
12:00 and 6:00 to move the wheel in and out at the top. This indicates wheel bearings. If they are loose, they can just be tightened, but be prepared for a can of worms.
3:00 and 9:00 usually indicates tie rod ends.

To the OP:
All that said, based on your description, I would look at U-Joints first. It sounds like one was on the way out and a long drive finished it.

The grease on the inner knuckle ball is "normal". It does look like they used red grease and possibly not a moly-based grease (there is one brand that is red and has moly) however, based on the look of it, is just a red wheel bearing grease. Wheel bearing grease will tend to liquify at a lower temperature than a moly-based grease (depending on brand and type) and will tend to show up looking like that after a long hot drive when things really come up to temp.

The FIPG on the front differential looks like an attempt to fix a leak from the outside because they didn't want to take it apart to "fix it properly". I've done this kind of thing before because I didn't have time or was going to wait until the next front end rebuild. Doesn't mean it's "bad" just needs some attention.

Check your differential oil level (maybe drain and refill to inspect the oil) and fill the knuckle balls with a moly-based grease (I use Valvoline Palladium) and pump about 1 tube into each knuckle. Even if you have what is known as "birf soup" it will help slow down the leak because it is much thicker than the gear oil.

The fact that you bought one that already had some of the goodies on it, indicates that the PO paid some attention to maintenance and did some of the work, so I don't think this was neglect. It looks like it was coming up on some major maintenance issue and they didn't want to deal with it.

Either way, drive it, lay out you plan and list of things that need done.

Maybe even call the PO to find out what they know. Do you have maintenance records with it? That can tell a LOT.

Good luck!
 
Welcome! the fellow members on here are offering way more advice than I have to give. But I too recently purchased a locked 93 and I am just down the road from you in Waco. Post a few more pictures of the rig!
 
This is a good time for the OP (original poster) to meet his local DFW landcruiser crew and ask for help. Check the Clubhouse section to see which club you're closest to. We're always up for helping out a newbie with their issues and get to know their rigs.

Welcome!!
 
Thanks for the correction, 1st cuppa coffee.


I usually do this in two directions.
12:00 and 6:00 to move the wheel in and out at the top. This indicates wheel bearings. If they are loose, they can just be tightened, but be prepared for a can of worms.
3:00 and 9:00 usually indicates tie rod ends.”
 
I am in Rowlett
 
I‘ll throw this in because I see you have Dobinsons 5 degree castor plates. Your front DS could be completely out of wack. The front T case flange should be @ 2.5* or so from the factory. The 5* castor plates rotate the axle down towards 0 in order to move the castor into OEM specs. The combo of a 3 inch lift and castor plates probably has your front DS vibrating and creating some noise. The DS will vibrate/noisy at different MPH ranges and will defiantly vibrate/noisy when you decelerate.
Also, one of your photos shows that your tie rod is rubbing against the control arms. A symptom of the 5* castor plates.

good luck with sorting things out



devo
 
@TXCruiser3, I would highly suggest getting organized and making a list of your concerns (noises etc), a list of items of my fellow forum folks have forehosed at you, and a Running list of baseline work you need/ want to do. I’d you work on paper well, go get a notebook, if you keep tabs better digitally then start some sort of inventory for yourself.

Ownership of a new rig that is 30ish years old and modded by a PO is pretty overwhelming. There will be a long list of things to inspect, change and repair. You just need to figure out where to start…a local club could be a good resource.

Hopefully this isn’t coming across as condescending. I can simply relate to buying a lifted rig with a bunch of issues. There are lots of folks here who will freely offer advice, which is why this place is so essential if you plan on doing this stuff yourself.

You’ve got a ‘94, so you have a special flavor of cruiser and there is a good crew around here that can help with your 1FZ-FE OBD1 rig.

Lots of great suggestions here already for low hanging fruit on your noise.
 

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