Is This Thing a Death Trap? (2 Viewers)

[mudgudgeon]

So once you have the pump out you have to do the steering gear also?

No.
Assess it separately. While they are part of the same system, they are independent parts.

Could I possibly reuse the old pump and just put in new seals from the Witsend kit?

Yes, the body, and major components are likely still good. Replacing seals is probably all that's needed

 

[SaturnAscends]

So, most of this stuff sounds fairly typical of a 25+ year old vehicle that's been a little unloved. You ain't the first to feel overwhelmed with a long laundry list.
I will say, your mechanic has given you a thorough list. He's done his due diligence, and flagged everything he's seen that needs work.
That list doesn't give a ranking, or priority to the things that 'should' be fixed.

Most of it is stuff you can deal with a little at a time.
Take what you read on mud with a healthy grain of salt. OCD runs rampant in here. There's a hell of a lot of good info too.

A lot of this stuff is important, but maybe not urgent. Focus on safety related items first. Treat these as IMPORTANT and URGENT.
don't get all chicken little and make unimportant stuff urgent.

The floating steering should be a priority. At the very least, do some investigation and research to understand the cause, and assess what is URGENT, deal with that first.

Same with brakes. If it's stopping OK at speed, grooved rotors, and low pads are important, but maybe not the most urgent. Same with dirty brake fluid, and dirty coolant.

Best bang for buck, check front wheel bearings and knuckle stud nuts ASAP.

Lay under the truck, and have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth, look for excessive movement at tie rod ends in particular. Then panhard rod bushes, wheel bearings, knuckles etc

Yes, it's doable at home, but you typically need a shop press and some pucks to press old bushings out, and new ones in.
Alternative, remove arms, rods etc and take to a shop to have them swap out bushings.
Get under the truck with a pry bar, and wiggle control arms at the bushing. If cracks visible open up when prying at the links, it's definitely time to replace them. If they aren't visible crumbling, deal with the ride and focus on immediate problems.

Springs and shocks are doable at home. About the only thing a highlight jack is useful for.
Springs are likely low on the priority here, shocks higher priority.



PS pump is not to bad if you can find a good guide or how to to follow


Low priority IMHO


make sure you flush thoroughly before adding any coolant. Particularly if it's not ovious what's in there.
This is what was found in an engine of mine after mixing coolants

View attachment 2821265


Don't change to a heavy oil, its a band aid, or a mask, and you'll potentially cause other problems.

So, now the rose coloured glasses are off, decide what you really want, and what you can realistically manage.

If you're happy with a project car that needs a lot of neglected maintenance done, settle in and enjoy the ride.
Prioritise what you do first, and tackle a few small things at a time.
Be prepared to spend a few $K over the next couple of years IF you do stuff yourself, and so for best value on parts.

If you don't have the skills, tools, shop space, or inclination to take on an ongoing project car that's gonna nickle and dime you for the duration, maybe cut your losses and get out now.
If you have to pay for all work, it's gonna bleed
you dry unless you have deep pockets

Thanks for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. I've already done a bit of a tune up and replaced some cracked hoses, so at least I've made some progress, but it's amazing how even little hoses and plugs can add up if you're using quality stuff.

I reckon once I fix some of the obvious stuff like the brake pads (it bucks a little when stopping and I try to downshift to use engine braking since stopping from 100 kph feels sketchy). I titled the thread dramatically but I honestly feel like I could get in a wreck after a while driving it like this. I want to take care of those obvious issues whether or not I sell. With maybe another 2500 USD (including tires) and some elbow grease, I reckon it could be a serviceable daily driver. Another roughly 2500 for the less-urgent stuff would get it in pretty good shape.

I doubt I could get my money back if I did the urgent stuff, but I wouldn't feel comfortable selling it as-is. So I figure I may as well keep it over the winter and get some use out of it then try selling in the spring.

 

[clx16]

@Ozark80 What you have been told is all valid and I am not going to add to what they are saying as there is no need from a technical point of view. Don't be overwhelmed, you really don't have a very long list. I like to order parts and have them ready to do work on nasty weekends or when it is just too cold. For items that will keep take more time i like to get used parts and rebuild them then just do the swap when it works... thats what i did for seatbelts and power steering pump.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. I've already done a bit of a tune up and replaced some cracked hoses, so at least I've made some progress, but it's amazing how even little hoses and plugs can add up if you're using quality stuff.

I reckon once I fix some of the obvious stuff like the brake pads (it bucks a little when stopping and I try to downshift to use engine braking since stopping from 100 kph feels sketchy). I titled the thread dramatically but I honestly feel like I could get in a wreck after a while driving it like this. I want to take care of those obvious issues whether or not I sell. With maybe another 2500 USD (including tires) and some elbow grease, I reckon it could be a serviceable daily driver. Another roughly 2500 for the less-urgent stuff would get it in pretty good shape.

I doubt I could get my money back if I did the urgent stuff, but I wouldn't feel comfortable selling it as-is. So I figure I may as well keep it over the winter and get some use out of it then try selling in the spring.

I think fixing some of the safety stuff so at least you are comfortable driving it is a good start.
Get it to a point where you can enjoy some time behind the wheel, and see if you're mood changes.

I personally really enjoy driving my 80, they are kind of unique.
It's been an ongoing process catching up on 28 years of wear and neglect.

I enjoy working on my 80, and it's my daily driver, and my only vehicle.
The daily driver aspect does put more pressure on doing repairs myself, and there's been times I've hired a car while I source parts and do repairs.

 

[SaturnAscends]

I think fixing some of the safety stuff so at least you are comfortable driving it is a good start.
Get it to a point where you can enjoy some time behind the wheel, and see if you're mood changes.

I personally really enjoy driving my 80, they are kind of unique.
It's been an ongoing process catching up on 28 years of wear and neglect.

I enjoy working on my 80, and it's my daily driver, and my only vehicle.
The daily driver aspect does put more pressure on doing repairs myself, and there's been times I've hired a car while I source parts and do repairs.

You don't have the 105 series in your bio?

 

[mudgudgeon]

I bought my first 80 with rose coloured glasses on.
And when the glasses came off, I contemplated getting rid of it.
I ended up keeping it, fixing stuff over time, went down a rabbit hole of modifications, wheeled the pìss out of it, and had loads of fun with it.


In regards to selling it. You can be open and honest and sell as is without either hiding or revealing every aspect of the condition.

Ultimately, it's on the buyer to make their own assessment, and judgement on condition and suitability etc of any vehicle. And at the end of the day, it's a 25+ year old vehicle.

 

[mudgudgeon]

You don't have the 105 series in your bio?

Not any more.
Wheeled the pìss out of it too. It ended up ROUGH!!

Long story short, it got wet while in storage long term, and was destroyed by black mould. The thing became a frickin penicillin factory!!

 

[SaturnAscends]

I bought my first 80 with rose coloured glasses on.
And when the glasses came off, I contemplated getting rid of it.
I ended up keeping it, fixing stuff over time, went down a rabbit hole of modifications, wheeled the pìss out of it, and had loads of fun with it.


In regards to selling it. You can be open and honest and sell as is without either hiding or revealing every aspect of the condition.

Ultimately, it's on the buyer to make their own assessment, and judgement on condition and suitability etc of any vehicle. And at the end of the day, it's a 25+ year old vehicle.

It may be better suited to someone who knows Cruisers with the means to drop 5 grand into it to really get it right.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Not any more.
Wheeled the pìss out of it too. It ended up ROUGH!!

Long story short, it got wet while in storage long term, and was destroyed by black mould. The thing became a frickin penicillin factory!!

I kept this mechanically solid, but body and interior had their share of rock rash and trail damage

 

[mudgudgeon]

It may be better suited to someone who knows Cruisers with the means to drop 5 grand into it to really get it right.

I think that's something that is wise to take some time to think about, and be realistic on your capabilities, and desire to bring it up to snuff

 

[SaturnAscends]

I kept this mechanically solid, but body and interior had their share of rock rash and trail damage

Too bad we didn't get the 105 here. Talking of interiors, mine's a little rough with cracking leather etc. Another thing that could get spendy pretty quick.

 

[SaturnAscends]

I think that's something that is wise to take some time to think about, and be realistic on your capabilities, and desire to bring it up to snuff

I'd be more inclined to keep it long-term if it had the 5-speed. The A343f is a bombproof unit, but a bit boring and slushy to drive IMO. Hurts mpgs too I imagine.

I prefer the Aussie FZJ80. More utilitarian and cheaper to get into one, at least it appears so browsing Gumtree.

 

[LandLocked93]

Yes I put a 'laughy' on your post, OP. We've discussed this a little bit.
Ton of great help here, so I have little to add but encouragement.

Divide and conquer. Address one problem or system at a time.

Take your time and enjoy it getting done right the first time. 75% of the truck was designed to be serviceable in the field with standard tools. Having done much of the baseline stuff in an apartment complex parking lot, I'll stand by this figure.

DIY as much as possible, but don't lose sight of the dollar. A shop can do bushings for alot less than you'll spend on a press and it's necessary accessories (that you'll more than likely only use once) if you remove the bars and take them and the bushings you already purchased to a shop to be pressed.

Learn the full procedure before beginning a 'project' so you have all the parts/tools necessary to complete the job in one go. Make your time and effort worth your time and effort.

OTRAMM on YT is hugely helpful for some of the 'big' things, like front axle/knuckle refresh and even some third member work (tho I've yet a need to crack that egg). His video content is top notch.

Just remember if you do each refresh to a thing properly, and with OEM parts, it's unlikely you will ever have to touch that thing again.
Don't work ahead of yourself. Think ahead instead. This can save alot of time and money. Simple ex, a lift will resolve spring/shock issues in one go, and you can better identify anything really needed thereafter.

Don't be worried if it takes a few months to collect all the parts to complete a project because of time or money. This normal and all part of the 'ride'. lol You may even find yourself becoming a conductor of an orchestration of several projects, in differing stages of completion. Just don't lose your place. And don't start too many projects before you can foresee completing many of them too.

Good Luck. All things being equal, it will be worth it.

 

[clx16]

Mind if i ask you why you care about the leaks? seems like monthly fluid checks could cover you until you get around to them. Brake pads and maybe replace a caliper (or rebuild it, very cheap and i enjoy doing them since they are easy) or two. nothing like a sense of accomplishment to help you evaluate how you feel about working on vehicles.

 

[SaturnAscends]

Mind if i ask you why you care about the leaks? seems like monthly fluid checks could cover you until you get around to them. Brake pads and maybe replace a caliper (or rebuild it, very cheap and i enjoy doing them since they are easy) or two. nothing like a sense of accomplishment to help you evaluate how you feel about working on vehicles.

Yeah I think the tie rod ends and brakes are definitely more of a priority than the leaks.

 

[SaturnAscends]

Yes I put a 'laughy' on your post, OP. We've discussed this a little bit.
Ton of great help here, so I have little to add but encouragement.

Divide and conquer. Address one problem or system at a time.

Take your time and enjoy it getting done right the first time. 75% of the truck was designed to be servicable in the field with standard tools. Having done much of the baseline stuff in an apartment complex parking lot, I'll stand by this figure.

DIY as much as possible, but don't lose sight of the dollar. A shop can do bushings for alot less than you'll spend on a press and it's necessary accessories (that you'll more than likely only use once) if you remove the bars and take them and the bushings you already purchased to a shop to be pressed.

Learn the full procedure before beginning a 'project' so you have all the parts/tools necessary to complete the job in one go. Make your time and effort worth your time and effort.

OTRAMM on YT is hugely helpful for some of the 'big' things, like front axle/knuckle refresh and even some third member work (tho I've yet a need to crack that egg yet). His video content is top notch.

Just remember if you do each refresh to a thing properly, and with OEM parts, it's unlikely you will ever have to touch that thing again.
Don't work ahead of yourself. Think ahead instead. This can save alot of time and money. Simple ex, a lift will resolve spring/shock issues in one go, and you can better identify anything really needed thereafter.

Don't be worried if it takes a few months to collect all the parts to complete a project because of time or money. This normal and all part of the 'ride'. lol You may even find yourself becoming a conductor of an orchestration of several projects, in differing stages of completion. Just don't lose your place. And don't start too many projects before you can foresee completing many of them too.

Good Luck. All things being equal, it will be worth it.

I'm laughing too at the absurdity of my choices. I'm not the smartest, not the most practical person, but I can be a passionate one.

I was going to do stock height springs and OEM shocks, which should be cheaper than a 12 inch lift and 44s.

However, I might also need to pony up for Harrop lockers to bring it up to your K294 standards

 

[LandLocked93]

However, I might also need to pony up for Harrop lockers to bring it up to your K294 standards

Well I was trying to be encouraging.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I'm laughing too at the absurdity of my choices. I'm not the smartest, not the most practical person, but I can be a passionate one.

I was going to do stock height springs and OEM shocks, which should be cheaper than a 12 inch lift and 44s.

However, I might also need to pony up for Harrop lockers to bring it up to your K294 standards

Lol

This is where mud is a bad influence

These trucks are extremely capable in absolutely stock form.

KISS until you know what it can do, and what you want it to do better

 

[cvenom96]

Lol

This is where mud is a bad influence

These trucks are extremely capable in absolutely stock form.

KISS until you know what it can do, and what you want it to do better

Seriously. I mean I was crawling all over stuff this past weekend with open diffs. Sure I had to get spotted here and there to figure out what I was doing wrong but didn't need to be winched or pulled once. I was beyond impressed with the thing as were the others in our group when they realized I didn't have lockers. They thought I just wasn't using them!

 

[SaturnAscends]

Yeah I'm just a little worried about smashing my exhaust or rocker panels since I have a longer wheelbase now.

I may end up wanting to keep those cracked bushings for the front end flex though