I MIGHT be buying an LJ78... but I'm a noob and need advice. (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 3, 2018
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Location
Lincoln, NE
Hello all,

First time poster here and current 80 owner. I know this is a long post, but it's got all the detail you might need to help give me advice. I feel like I might be making a mistake but don't know enough about LJ78's, so I'm at the mercy of friendly guru's.

Background:
I'm looking to potentially trade my 1996 Lexus LX450 w/ 195k and only center diff locker ( 1996 LEXUS LX450 (Toyota Land Cruiser) 1 OWNER - NEW TIRES ) for this 1991 LJ78 2LTE Prado ( 1991 Land Cruiser RHD Diesel )

But... Its past seems to be a bit confusing...


History
1st seller) For Sale Summer 2016 - 225,765km - This is the guy that imported it from Japan to Canada. This is a post from the original seller in Canada For Sale - 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado LJ78 4x4 RHD

2nd owner) Unknown purchase date - unknown milage - A person/company in Canada bought it from the first owner and I believe a full body/interior restoration was done along with some minor mechanical updates (such as replacing the original head gasket but not machining the heads). The original posts show rust on the rear fenders but it doesn't anymore.

3rd Owner) Purchase Date May/June 2017 - unknown milage - The third owner purchased the LJ78 from the second owner and imported it from CA to the USA. Apparently this third owner drove it from Canada to his home in Oklahoma in a 5-day trek. Then, about 10-miles out of his hometown, the LJ overheated and the head cracked. He towed the vehicle to Cruiser Corps in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA and the heads were replaced with 3L heads and converted to Evans waterless coolant (this is documented) in June 2017. I'm assuming the third owner got sick of the LJ having issues and decided to sell it to try and break even. I called Cruiser Corps to verify the work was done and they said it was but couldn't vouch for the mechanical shape of the vehicle due to not remembering.

4th Current Owner/seller) Purchase Date 11/2017 - 235,250km - He's in his early twenties and is a frequent buyer/seller of cars. He's only owned it for maybe 2.5 months. State's he hasn't had any issues since owning it. He's very nice and has put up with my hundreds of texts asking for more information and photos.


Problem
My dilemma is that the current seller has told me that he has done/paid for the work that was done to the LJ when it was actually done while under the previous owner. He also states that he takes drives it on a 390km round-trip twice a week. But where I'm confused is the milage on the LJ was 226,000km in Summer/2016 and is now 235,000 in Jan/2018. That's less than 10,000km in 1.5 years and 4 different owners - one of which put 3000km of the 10,000km driving it down from CA.

The current seller and I made a deal that I'd trade him my 80 (plus a couple grand cash) for his LJ80. The seller lives about 440m (710k) from me and said I'd need to drive down to him to do the sale. I asked him if he could help me out and meet me halfway and he said he'd be able to meet me in a town about 2-hours closer to me but not halfway and I said "okay". 5.5 hours of driving later, just as I'm pulling into the town we chose to meet in (an 80m drive for him), he calls me saying that a pulley went out on the way to meet me and he had to get it to a shop. He offered to pay for my gas, and then said he'd still do the trade without asking for the $$ on top. I turned down both politely and turned around and drove 5-hours back home.

It turns out the bolt on a pulley came loose and rounded out the center of the pulley. The pulley was on a belt route that powered the vacuum pump and alternator. He said that the woodruf key, alternator bearing, and a pulley were replaced.

I told him that in order for me to feel comfortable buying it, I'd need a few things done first:
1) Put 1000km on it after fixing the pulley
2) He'd have to meet me at least half way between our hometowns to do the deal.
3) He'd have to drive the LJ the entire way to our meeting point (not trailering it)


Now I don't know what to do. Do I buy it? Does it seem fishy? What would you do? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
(Sidenote -- I don't make a lot of money, nor do I have a second car)

Thanks everyone!
 
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Hello all,

First time poster here and current 80 owner. I know this is a long post, but it's got all the detail you might need to help give me advice. I feel like I might be making a mistake but don't know enough about LJ78's, so I'm at the mercy of friendly guru's.

Background:
I'm looking to potentially trade my 1996 Lexus LX450 w/ 195k and only center diff locker ( 1996 LEXUS LX450 (Toyota Land Cruiser) 1 OWNER - NEW TIRES ) for this 1991 LJ78 2LTE Prado ( 1991 Land Cruiser RHD Diesel )

But... Its past seems to be a bit confusing...


History
1st seller) For Sale Summer 2016 - 225,765km - This is the guy that imported it from Japan to Canada. This is a post from the original seller in Canada For Sale - 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado LJ78 4x4 RHD

2nd owner) Unknown purchase date - unknown milage - A person/company in Canada bought it from the first owner and I believe a full body/interior restoration was done along with some minor mechanical updates (such as replacing the original head gasket but not machining the heads). The original posts show rust on the rear fenders but it doesn't anymore.

3rd Owner) Purchase Date May/June 2017 - unknown milage - The third owner purchased the LJ78 from the second owner and imported it from CA to the USA. Apparently this third owner drove it from Canada to his home in Oklahoma in a 5-day trek. Then, about 10-miles out of his hometown, the LJ overheated and the head cracked. He towed the vehicle to Cruiser Corps in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA and the heads were replaced with 3L heads and converted to Evans waterless coolant (this is documented) in June 2017. I'm assuming the third owner got sick of the LJ having issues and decided to sell it to try and break even. I called Cruiser Corps to verify the work was done and they said it was but couldn't vouch for the mechanical shape of the vehicle due to not remembering.

4th Current Owner/seller) Purchase Date 11/2017 - 235,250km - He's in his early twenties and is a frequent buyer/seller of cars. He's only owned it for maybe 2.5 months. State's he hasn't had any issues since owning it. He's very nice and has put up with my hundreds of texts asking for more information and photos.


Problem
My dilemma is that the current seller has told me that he has done/paid for the work that was done to the LJ when it was actually done while under the previous owner. He also states that he takes drives it on a 390km round-trip twice a week. But where I'm confused is the milage on the LJ was 226,000km in Summer/2016 and is now 235,000 in Jan/2018. That's less than 10,000km in 1.5 years and 4 different owners - one of which put 3000km of the 10,000km driving it down from CA.

The current seller and I made a deal that I'd trade him my 80 (plus a couple grand cash) for his LJ80. The seller lives about 440m (710k) from me and said I'd need to drive down to him to do the sale. I asked him if he could help me out and meet me halfway and he said he'd be able to meet me in a town about 2-hours closer to me but not halfway and I said "okay". 5.5 hours of driving later, just as I'm pulling into the town we chose to meet in (an 80m drive for him), he calls me saying that a pulley went out on the way to meet me and he had to get it to a shop. He offered to pay for my gas, and then said he'd still do the trade without asking for the $$ on top. I turned down both politely and turned around and drove 5-hours back home.

It turns out the bolt on a pulley came loose and rounded out the center of the pulley. The pulley was on a belt route that powered the vacuum pump and alternator. He said that the woodruf key, alternator bearing, and a pulley were replaced.

I told him that in order for me to feel comfortable buying it, I'd need a few things done first:
1) Put 1000km on it after fixing the pulley
2) He'd have to meet me at least half way between our hometowns to do the deal.
3) He'd have to drive the LJ the entire way to our meeting point (not trailering it)


Now I don't know what to do. Do I buy it? Does it seem fishy? What would you do? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
(Sidenote -- I don't make a lot of money, nor do I have a second car)

Thanks everyone!


I think I'd hold off if I was you. My saying is "if there's any doubt, there's no doubt". If you're really bent on getting an LJ78, look for one with a more straight forward history. LJ78's in that sort of shape are selling for around $4000-$6000 CAD these days in Canada. But many are on the brink of needing a lot of work done, and it's expensive. I would be suspicious of all the owners that truck has been through in a relatively short time. Do you do your own wrenching, or pay a shop?

Why do you want an LJ78 out of curiosity?
 
Do you do your own wrenching, or pay a shop?

Why do you want an LJ78 out of curiosity?

Thanks you for the reply!

I'm feeling apprehensive, and already lucked out with it breaking down right before we did the deal. So maybe I should be listening to whatever is telling me not to buy it haha.

And I've been wanting a diesel LC for quite a while and I finally found one that would accept my 80 as a trade since I don't have the liquid cash to buy one without trade. But this one in particular is in beautiful cosmetic condition inside and out.

Yes, I do my own work and planned to do the following to it shortly after purchasing.
- Intercooler
- Timing belt
- Turbo rebuild
- Bigger radiator fan
- Other EGT lowering mods

I guess the vehicle has had a TON of parts included with it at each sale, including extra turbos, pumps, wire harnesses, belts, multiple head gaskets (bad ones and unused for some reason), and a ton of other stuff which I've thought is weird.
 
My nephew was talking to this guy to about a trade as well. I have seen the parts list. It isn't anywhere near $5k worth of parts.
And, that is a lot of history for a supposed good truck. Seems he is trying to get rid of this truck pretty bad. But he keeps saying he doesn't need/care to sell it.

Several things don't exactly add up. I have seen supposed new pictures of the truck. But the guy in Edmonton says he took the EGR off and kept the parts. Every under hood picture I have seen shows the EGR system on the truck with that horrible blue paint. So, are we just seeing several year old pictures.

And, every single repair is a previous owner. Obviously there will be things done by a previous owner on any vehicle, but that can't be your whole story with no documentation.

And trust me, you do not want to get into wiring harness issues unless you are ready to pull the harness and replace. Crispy harnesses tend to just cascade problems from one location to the next. So, unless that was done, you already have the 1st owner saying it had wiring issues.

Just my 2 cents. Keep your good truck until a really nice deal comes along.
 
Several things don't exactly add up. I have seen supposed new pictures of the truck. But the guy in Edmonton says he took the EGR off and kept the parts. Every under hood picture I have seen shows the EGR system on the truck with that horrible blue paint. So, are we just seeing several year old pictures.

I added two recent photos of the engine he sent me. He’s sent me a bunch of other updated photos of the truck inside and out. But Something still seems fishy.

I don’t know what the EGR system looks like. Is it still on the latest photos of the motor?

3361A7FC-AE10-4636-8CBD-4F13AAFDF4B6.jpeg


5F2406BA-11D9-4E5D-A238-7D5AEA134144.jpeg
 
MoAzM


LJ78 walkaround

This is a recent walkaround video. Looks like he just recently registered it?
 
Too many things not quite right. The EGR is still there, for one. Take a ski vaca to BC and find a good one for a fair price. I like my LJ78 a lot. but it is a labor of love. Plus, what's wrong with the Lexus? I drive my sister's every so often, and it seems to me to be a modern version of the LJ78. No diesel though.
 
Too many things not quite right. The EGR is still there, for one. Take a ski vaca to BC and find a good one for a fair price. I like my LJ78 a lot. but it is a labor of love. Plus, what's wrong with the Lexus? I drive my sister's every so often, and it seems to me to be a modern version of the LJ78. No diesel though.


Gotcha. That’s good to know that the EGR is still installed even though the ad says it was removed.

And I love my Lexus/FJ80, but it gets 11mpg and I’m really wanting to get a diesel. I guess I could do the insane work of swapping the 4.5 for a diesel but it’s such a great motor.

I buy and sell a lot of vehicles and I was ready for the next phase of my Land Cruiser history by getting an imported one.
 
After telling him the EGR is still installed he texted me back saying:

“It still has the piping, but not the throttle body things, probably has a solid metal piece in place of the gasket. The previous owner did the job at some point”

Is that possible? I don’t know anything about the EGR system.
 
Yes, it is possible. It could have plates between it and the intake and exhaust.
I was basing that on this from the original ad. "EGR eliminated. Vacuum and electric parts stored."
That's not really a good or bad point being on the truck or not. It's just another odd thing that's all.

My thoughts in no way indicate this is a good or bad truck overall. Right money can make any truck into an appealing deal. But, you had indicated you had one vehicle and not a lot of liquid cash to spend. Toy trucks can dig a pretty deep hole quickly if a lot is needed to get them 100% dependable.

So, a lot of what I was saying was based on that. Plus, I think the asking price is a tad high for a less than perfect example.

I certainly don't want anyone to feel like I am dumping on their truck. It's just a lot of maybes and what ifs for an only transportation deal.
 
Just a thought, but if you really shop around you might be able to find a decent HDJ81 for a similar price. Not that I don't love my Prado, but the 81 takes it to a whole new level, and doesn't require the same kind of bulletproofing and mods.
 
RUN and don't look back
 
Right money can make any truck into an appealing deal. But, you had indicated you had one vehicle and not a lot of liquid cash to spend. Toy trucks can dig a pretty deep hole quickly if a lot is needed to get them 100% dependable.

I actually took out a small loan for the $$ he was asking on top of our trade and a little extra on top for immediate repairs/updates needing done. If I purchased this vehicle, I'd have roughly $2500 USD cash to put towards making this vehicle more reliable for driving to remote camping sites and cross country drives. I'm not looking to put a huge lift and 35"s on it or anything. I plan to own this vehicle for maybe 2-years and then selling it to buy some other LC (I have a lot of dream cars that I want to own before I die :) I'm 26 and I've owned 22 vehicles).

Just a thought, but if you really shop around you might be able to find a decent HDJ81 for a similar price.

Thanks for taking the time to read/reply!

My problem that since this is my daily driver, I have to find a seller willing to trade me for my LX450. I could sell my LX450 for cash first but the time between selling mine and finding a replacement would mean I'm asking for rides or ubering everywhere haha.

Also, I'm in the USA so I cant import anything newer than 1992 at this point, and I have searched all over craigslist for other diesel LC's for sale but have found minimal options. Do you have any suggestions or know any good sale resources? (I'm new to the forum so I'm not sure where the good spots to look are)

RUN and don't look back

What're your thoughts on why I shouldn't do it? I know it's probably obvious, but I'm just trying to pick your brain a little further since you're an experienced LC owner :)
 
I have a couple more thoughts for you on this. When I first bought my LJ78 there were very few people into them. I followed the original owner of this truck on mud and read most of his posts. He did all his own work, but in my opinion it was pretty rough work and did not contribute any confidence I'd have in the vehicle.

For example, when he swapped on a new injection pump, he swapped the calibration resistors from his old pump onto the new one. This is a result of complete ignorance, because the purpose of the resistors is to match the pump characteristics to what the ECU is expecting. So I can tell you that for sure the injection timing and fuel map is out from what it should be.

Also, he 'rebuilt' the motor in his home shop. Hard to say how good of a job he did, but with the compression numbers he's talking about, it is down from what it should be. After a good rebuild, the compression with so few kms on it should be bang on 440psi per cylinder. He also posted a video of the engine running after rebuild without any coolant in it. This is a big no no to me, because it can cause hot spots in the cylinder walls and warp them.

Not to discount the work the guy did on it. I'm just saying he was learning as he went, and did not know a number of mechanical concepts about engines and this engine in particular.

The truck also lived on salty roads for quite a while in Alberta Canada, so I really doubt the truck is as clean as is claimed.

Just keep saving your money for a nice diesel cruiser. Or get a line of credit to tide you over when you buy a diesel cruiser and are trying to sell your LX450. Finally, diesels are more expensive to maintain than gasoline. Yes they get better fuel economy, but I'm not convinced it makes up for the extra maintenance costs. Probably comes out the same in the end.

I agree with what was said above. Look for an HDJ81. But be aware, when these get to higher kms, they can get very expensive also. So either buy a higher km one that has recently had the turbo, injection pump, injectors and front axle rebuilt. Or buy a low km one.

The LJ78 in particular is a landcruiser that needs extra attention. The engine Toyota put into it is small for the vehicle, and gets over worked hard. It's also one of the first electronic diesels, which adds complexity to dealing with issues. The LJ78 can be a pretty sweet truck when it's all worked out (I really like mine), but it takes a while to get it there.
 
Just keep saving your money for a nice diesel cruiser.

What would it take for you to make the deal worth it if you were in my position? I took out a small loan to cover the cash on top of trade and to do immediate upgrades, so I have the loan paperwork already done and the $$ in hand.

Straight across trade?
Trade with him paying me cash on top?
Don't do it at all?
Forget that the vehicle ever existed? lol
 
What would it take for you to make the deal worth it if you were in my position? I took out a small loan to cover the cash on top of trade and to do immediate upgrades, so I have the loan paperwork already done and the $$ in hand.

Straight across trade?
Trade with him paying me cash on top?
Don't do it at all?
Forget that the vehicle ever existed? lol

From my experience with these trucks, I'd say forget that vehicle ever existed. With an old diesel cruiser, usually the purchase price is just the beginning of a long list of expenditures. Example, I paid $3500 CAD for mine. Within the first three years I'd put another $10,000 (just parts, no labor) into it. I'm impulsive with my vehicle purchases too, and a few time's I've regretted my decisions. Wish I'd just been less cheap and bought something better. I know it's tough when you get that diesel itch. It's like finding a wife, you gotta get the right one. Don't compromise unless you can afford heart ache and financial loss.

More and more of these things will be coming into the US. Just be patient.
 
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From my experience with these trucks, I'd say forget that vehicle ever existed. With an old diesel cruiser, usually the purchase price is just the beginning of a long list of expenditures. Example, I paid $3500 CAD for mine. Within the first three years I'd put another $10,000 into it. I'm impulsive with my vehicle purchases too, and a few time's I've regretted my decisions. Wish I'd just been less cheap and bought something better. I know it's tough when you get that diesel itch. It's like finding a wife, you gotta get the right one. Don't compromise unless you can afford heart ache and financial loss.

More and more of these things will be coming into the US. Just be patient.
Probably the best advice you'll receive all day. Cruiser fever, especially diesel Cruiser fever can be very expensive. Ask me how I know.
 
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I agree with all the above advice. Generally it seems the best maintained trucks usually come from people who have had them for a while and they are purely a toy. You tend to take better care of your toys. Doesn't seem like anyone has kept this truck except briefly beside the original importer.
I will say this about the amount of money you have extra. I just bought my latest truck about a month ago. I have already exceeded that amount pretty easily. I bought what amounts to an extremely clean and solid truck. But, they are old. And ,to make them 100% reliable you need to rebuild/replace or maintain every single thing that has been ignored or pushed to the back burner for 25 years. It's a thousand little things that cost a bit here and a bit there.
I tend to go a tad overboard, and you may can live with a lot I can't. But, you mentioned back country trips. I do the same with my trucks. And, if there is any doubt about a part whatsoever, I replace it. It's far more costly to get your truck rescued from 40 miles down the backside of some mountain than the money you saved.
 

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