Hourglass, '97 LX 450

[Matty]

hey all,
I'm a new 80 owner, but not new to forums or the toyota world. I've spent most of my time over on pirate and marlin, but my new purchase brought me here

My Dad had a '94 LC from '94-'99 which to this day was his favorite vehicle. My parents also have an '03 4Runner with 228k. My first vehicle was a '92 4runner (DD) and an '85 xtracab. The pickup got all the goodies. 4in lift, locked, duals, armor. I destroyed the truck and had to part it since I was away at college.

Been looking for a new DD for a while now, when my Dad stumbled onto this LX sitting in some ladies yard. It had some super rusty broken step rails on it, but my dad knew what it was, he looked under and saw the frame still had paint on it. She thought it had a bad starter and knew it had a bad exhaust leak. I put a battery in it and she fired right up! After doing research on here I picked up a Bosal exhuast which we just put on and threw new pads and rotors on.

The plan for the 80 is fairly simple. For now I am just cleaning it up and getting it in good running condition. Its a 97 LX450 with 193,000 on it. I want to get it setup for camping and light wheeling. I'm gonna bend up some sliders for it and build a swing out rear tire carrier/bumper. Probably a rear locker as well if I can find one.

so far we have

-cut off old running board
-removed brush guard
-washed/waxed/vaccumed/carpet cleaned
-unplugged sunroof drains
-installed bosal exhaust
-installed brakes
-fixed dented front bumper
-started to wire brush and paint surface rust
-changed oil
-sewed up splits in the leather seats

need to

-install plugs, wires, cap/rotor
-flush radiator
-throw in new air filter
-track down oil leak at the front
-replace PHH

my '85

and the way we found the LX

cleaned up

exhaust and brakes done.

 

[rolliges]

Welcome

 

[Danimal92sport]

Sad to see it sitting like it was, and it's awesome that you guys spotted it and you're cleaning it up!

Welcome!

 

[ECBMCC]

Welcome to MUD!

 

[Matty]

thanks guys!

the pitted aluminum wheels have been annoying me and after a little research i decided to plasti dip them black.

brakes and exhaust installed

wheels before

and after

 

[Matty]

Done

-cut off old running board
-removed brush guard
-washed/waxed/vaccumed/carpet cleaned
-unplugged sunroof drains
-installed bosal exhaust
-installed brakes
-fixed dented front bumper
-started to wire brush and paint surface rust
-changed oil
-sewed up splits in the leather seats
-install plugs, wires, cap/rotor
-flush radiator

To do

-throw in new air filter
-track down oil leak at the front
-replace PHH

 

[breathed]

Your front oil leak could be one of several things. The first two are the most common. The third item should be done if you r&r the second.

distributor o-ring
oil pump cover gasket
front crank seal

Don't forget about the valve cover gasket, spark plug tube seals and PCV grommet. I'm sure they're hard as a rock.

 

[TEXASYETI]

I like to rescue them too. My Lexus sat in a body shop for 7 years til I rescued her. I know where there is an FJ80 that could be saved as well but I have WAAAAY to many projects. Not to mention a 60 and a 62.....and the 55.

 

[Matty]

Your front oil leak could be one of several things. The first two are the most common. The third item should be done if you r&r the second.

distributor o-ring
oil pump cover gasket
front crank seal

Don't forget about the valve cover gasket, spark plug tube seals and PCV grommet. I'm sure they're hard as a rock.

all of those have been done except the oil pump cover gasket and front crank seal which is what i suspect the leak is from.

I like to rescue them too. My Lexus sat in a body shop for 7 years til I rescued her. I know where there is an FJ80 that could be saved as well but I have WAAAAY to many projects. Not to mention a 60 and a 62.....and the 55.

I'm gonna try to just focus on this one project.....for now . My Dad is dying to find himself an 80 now though! Thinking about selling or trading his car just to get back into one!

 

[Matty]

been driving the truck around and really enjoying it. only have a couple things left to really happy with it.

check engine light came on and is P0401, so im going to start going through the EGR system. All the hoses are old dry/cracked so they are getting replaced.

Also since i finally got to start driving it i noticed some play in the steering and some shaking only when braking. Tightened the wheel bearings and it took away some of the play. (im going to rebuild the whole front end as soon as i can).

I still have some play in the wheel though so I started to check everything out and it all looked OK until.....i found this.

After a little research some other people have had issues. I was wondering if its even worth it to replace it with the factory o ring/bushing? Or should i go aftermarket and do something like this?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=8414295&postcount=14

 

[Azca]

been driving the truck around and really enjoying it. only have a couple things left to really happy with it.

check engine light came on and is P0401, so im going to start going through the EGR system. All the hoses are old dry/cracked so they are getting replaced.

Also since i finally got to start driving it i noticed some play in the steering and some shaking only when braking. Tightened the wheel bearings and it took away some of the play. (im going to rebuild the whole front end as soon as i can).

I still have some play in the wheel though so I started to check everything out and it all looked OK until.....i found this.

After a little research some other people have had issues. I was wondering if its even worth it to replace it with the factory o ring/bushing? Or should i go aftermarket and do something like this?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=8414295&postcount=14

Search for a post from LandCruiserPhil, he has a short how to on replacing his IIRC and it wasn't too bad. Specifically he was addressing the hot air coming into the passenger compartment and the AC...

 

[Danimal92sport]

I think the factory gasket/seal for the firewall is good enough... They may harden and crack again after a while, but honestly, I think this issue is over hyped. Replace it and move to the next issue. Don't worry about the heat coming in from this area that much; a good A/C system should be able to freeze you to the bone in traffic on a 90 degree day.

 

[450LXMark]

thanks guys!

the pitted aluminum wheels have been annoying me and after a little research i decided to plasti dip them black.

brakes and exhaust installed

wheels before

and after

How did u prep your wheels? looks perfect...
Did the plasti dip cover up most of the pitting? Thanks

 

[Matty]

I think the factory gasket/seal for the firewall is good enough... They may harden and crack again after a while, but honestly, I think this issue is over hyped. Replace it and move to the next issue. Don't worry about the heat coming in from this area that much; a good A/C system should be able to freeze you to the bone in traffic on a 90 degree day.

Yea, i think you're right, after reading this I think im just gonna replace it and not worry about it.


https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/476570-hot-drivers-feet-may-your-fix.html

Thanks for the heads up Azca

 

[canman]

Welcome. Looks like you are getting a great start. If you haven't already done this, lube the u-joints and check for grease in the knuckles. BTW I'm looking at the Bosal header back exhaust but couldn't find any info on the header part. If you have part number handy or where you got it, I would appreciate any help.

 

[Matty]

How did u prep your wheels? looks perfect...
Did the plasti dip cover up most of the pitting? Thanks

I scrubbed them really good to get all the old dirt and brake dust off them, then I used a wire brush and some sand paper to try and smooth out the pitting. I didnt go crazy though. Probably took 15 min on each wheel for prep. If you get up close to the wheels you can still see the pitting, but you'd have to be looking for it. The plastidip did a good job filling it and so far has been quite durable.

 

[OverLand Cruisers]

Welcome!!
Glad to see another LX rescued!

 

[Matty]

Welcome. Looks like you are getting a great start. If you haven't already done this, lube the u-joints and check for grease in the knuckles. BTW I'm looking at the Bosal header back exhaust but couldn't find any info on the header part. If you have part number handy or where you got it, I would appreciate any help.

she's all lubed up I actually just went from the Y pipe back from bosal. I havent seen anything on the header either. Ordered from rockauto.

 

[DSRTRDR]

I think the factory gasket/seal for the firewall is good enough... They may harden and crack again after a while, but honestly, I think this issue is over hyped. Replace it and move to the next issue. Don't worry about the heat coming in from this area that much; a good A/C system should be able to freeze you to the bone in traffic on a 90 degree day.

until water drips on your feet because it's so humid outside that the air passing the steering column condenses on the A/C vent

 

[Matty]

been workin on the truck slowly.....havin too much fun driving it

finally got my SRS light to go off, patched some rips in the leather seats, gonna pull the EGR mess today and replace all hoses, also ordered the seal for the steering shaft

pulled off the mud flaps, painted both bumpers black and blacked out the front emblem

my dad ended up finding these at a tag sale for $1! The hitch cover was chrome but in keeping with the color scheme I painted it black.