It's my first time. This is how it happened - 2001 UZJ100 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
13
Location
Fullerton, Ca
Greetings -

Last Friday I didn't know what any of this was all about. IH8MUD???

I rent a room in my house to an old friend. He had a camping trip planned that would see himself and a friend travel to some BLM acreage outside of Big Bear, CA for a weekend of relaxation and shooting sports. The other guy (with the truck/ride) bailed at the last second for some BS nonsense. This left my poor roommate home (AGAIN!) for the weekend in a crappy mood that was harshing my mellow, man. I have two cars (preparing one for sale) but both are "touring sedans" not mud rompers or anything close. And my roommate drives a freaking Prius. No joke. Clearly there was no easy path up the mountain. I was pissed that I wasn't invited in the first place and also disappointed in myself for not having any off-road capable options. The seed was planted Friday 4/24/2020 at about 5pm. And soon after the search was on.

I started looking at Toyota 4x4 pickups from back in the day (1985-1992). Just needed a beater that would run up the mountain and hold some gear and run about 5k. After searching for a while I started coming across 4 Runners that were in the same price ballpark so my focus slowly shifted to an enclosed SUV body style. Found a nice looking, clean and straight 4 Runner from the year of our lord 1996. Took a one hour trip to discover there were 300k miles on it (not the 200k advertised) and the motor had been flogged to death or in some way rendered ineffective. It was like pushing the accelerator into a bowl of mashed potatoes. Saddened by our misfortune, my brother (who had come along as the car encyclopedia) and I began the journey home. I was lamenting about the power of the 4 runner. My brother paused for a moment then said, "Dude, you need to get a Land Cruiser."

Land Cruisers are for Mick Dundee and Karen with the kids and the soccer balls down the street. Off road mega beast? I have heard of no such thing.

My brother edjumacated me a bit and opened wide my eyes into the realm of the Cruiser. I started looking for vehicles for sale between us and home. Called one guy - really nasty Cruiser offering. I feel bad for that vehicle. Called another guy and set up a meeting. He delivered my new baby to me.

Whilst explaining the enchanting frontier of Land Cruiser and Lexus he said I need to check out this website. He said "Those guys are the crazies. Anything you need you can find there."

So here I am. A sponge waiting to soak up mud knowledge.

Covered Plate.jpg


Covered plate 4.jpg
 
nice intro. Lol. That should be your tag line under your avatar. So did you go up the mountain?
Not yet. Just got the truck in my hands on Monday. This weekends activities will involve a trip up the mountain. After driving around a fair amount it is clear that this truck wants to be in the dirt. Its all i can do to keep it from veering off on it's own and destroying the local municipal park...... :)
 
Greetings -

Last Friday I didn't know what any of this was all about. IH8MUD???

I rent a room in my house to an old friend. He had a camping trip planned that would see himself and a friend travel to some BLM acreage outside of Big Bear, CA for a weekend of relaxation and shooting sports. The other guy (with the truck/ride) bailed at the last second for some BS nonsense. This left my poor roommate home (AGAIN!) for the weekend in a crappy mood that was harshing my mellow, man. I have two cars (preparing one for sale) but both are "touring sedans" not mud rompers or anything close. And my roommate drives a freaking Prius. No joke. Clearly there was no easy path up the mountain. I was pissed that I wasn't invited in the first place and also disappointed in myself for not having any off-road capable options. The seed was planted Friday 4/24/2020 at about 5pm. And soon after the search was on.

I started looking at Toyota 4x4 pickups from back in the day (1985-1992). Just needed a beater that would run up the mountain and hold some gear and run about 5k. After searching for a while I started coming across 4 Runners that were in the same price ballpark so my focus slowly shifted to an enclosed SUV body style. Found a nice looking, clean and straight 4 Runner from the year of our lord 1996. Took a one hour trip to discover there were 300k miles on it (not the 200k advertised) and the motor had been flogged to death or in some way rendered ineffective. It was like pushing the accelerator into a bowl of mashed potatoes. Saddened by our misfortune, my brother (who had come along as the car encyclopedia) and I began the journey home. I was lamenting about the power of the 4 runner. My brother paused for a moment then said, "Dude, you need to get a Land Cruiser."

Land Cruisers are for Mick Dundee and Karen with the kids and the soccer balls down the street. Off road mega beast? I have heard of no such thing.

My brother edjumacated me a bit and opened wide my eyes into the realm of the Cruiser. I started looking for vehicles for sale between us and home. Called one guy - really nasty Cruiser offering. I feel bad for that vehicle. Called another guy and set up a meeting. He delivered my new baby to me.

Whilst explaining the enchanting frontier of Land Cruiser and Lexus he said I need to check out this website. He said "Those guys are the crazies. Anything you need you can find there."

So here I am. A sponge waiting to soak up mud knowledge.

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View attachment 2289381
You're doomed, I hope you don't have a significant other that will have to put up with your Mud ramblings. Welcome aboard! :flipoff2:(official mud salute).
 
My mellow is being harshed by the lack of stats... mileage, price paid, what it needs, what it wants (besides to drive through public parks), etc?
I have the mileage on my tag. It came with 238k miles. Paid 11k for it. The thing is in great shape at this point and does not really need anything. Surprisingly. Speakers are blown but everything else is in order.

Tires
Rack
2" lift?
Sliders

Current order of operations. Suggestions on all appreciated! Some medium grade 4x4-ing and lots of camping are on the playbill.
 
I have the mileage on my tag. It came with 238k miles. Paid 11k for it. The thing is in great shape at this point and does not really need anything. Surprisingly. Speakers are blown but everything else is in order.

Tires
Rack
2" lift?
Sliders

Current order of operations. Suggestions on all appreciated! Some medium grade 4x4-ing and lots of camping are on the playbill.

It's 20 years old with 240k - it always needs something, you just haven't found it yet. Love the black.
 
Nicely done and welcome to the madness...
First order of business, before you go on the trip look up Heater T's. Order those parts and get that taken care of ASAP.
 
I have the mileage on my tag. It came with 238k miles. Paid 11k for it. The thing is in great shape at this point and does not really need anything. Surprisingly. Speakers are blown but everything else is in order.

Tires
Rack
2" lift?
Sliders

Current order of operations. Suggestions on all appreciated! Some medium grade 4x4-ing and lots of camping are on the playbill.
The order of mods depends on the order of things you want to do with the truck. Most would say if you are going to leave the pavement and do some wheeling, the rock sliders are way up on the list of importance, then comes recovery options in case you get stuck, etc.
 
It's 20 years old with 240k - it always needs something, you just haven't found it yet. Love the black.
Yeah that has been running through my head. There are demons lurking within!!!
 
Nicely done and welcome to the madness...
First order of business, before you go on the trip look up Heater T's. Order those parts and get that taken care of ASAP.
I checked it out. Thanks for the heads up. I will get going on this post haste.
 
First order of business, before you go on the trip look up Heater T's. Order those parts and get that taken care of ASAP.
x1gazillion
 
Welcome aboard! I would recommend starting "small". Get some quality AT tires (Wildpeak, KO2, General Grabber, Cooper ST Maxx, Yokohama G015, etc), baseline the fluids (engine oil, coolant, diffs and transmission. Replace the heater tees (2 of them and the MOST critical to change the moment you buy one of these). Other than that, just start driving and exploring. As you get into it, you'll start to find out what you "need" vs what you "want". You can EASILY dive in the deep end and get WAY over your head in upgrades.

You could do a "poor mans" lift by adding 30mm coil spacers and cranking the t-bars a little. That would net you about a 1" lift. IF you decide to replace the suspension, IronMan has a GREAT deal going right now on a 2.5" lift including Nitro shocks, torsion bars and coils for like $799 PLUS free traction boards.

Anyway, welcome to the club!
 
Hell yeah man, you're gonna love it. I picked up mine just over a month ago. Besides Big Bear there is always Saddleback which is a bit closer for a short trip. Its nothing wild but there are some side trails and great views. Holy Jim is pretty much paved now from what I hear.

Anyway, swap out those heater T's and ditch the running boards.
 
Welcome aboard! I would recommend starting "small". Get some quality AT tires (Wildpeak, KO2, General Grabber, Cooper ST Maxx, Yokohama G015, etc), baseline the fluids (engine oil, coolant, diffs and transmission. Replace the heater tees (2 of them and the MOST critical to change the moment you buy one of these). Other than that, just start driving and exploring. As you get into it, you'll start to find out what you "need" vs what you "want". You can EASILY dive in the deep end and get WAY over your head in upgrades.

You could do a "poor mans" lift by adding 30mm coil spacers and cranking the t-bars a little. That would net you about a 1" lift. IF you decide to replace the suspension, IronMan has a GREAT deal going right now on a 2.5" lift including Nitro shocks, torsion bars and coils for like $799 PLUS free traction boards.

Anyway, welcome to the club!
Awesome! This is fantastic info. Thank you much.
 
Sweet! I think you got an awesome price too! I would expect to pay more like 14k in the SoCal Market.

I would second an earlier opinion and ask what you want to do with it. If you are outfitting for expeditions (several days of unassisted camping) vs day trips, and whether you want to tackle obstacles vs just get access to cool places on crappy roads. The first question informs how much of a load your rig will need to carry, and the second question informs how deep to go on your mechanical upgrades.

As the least knowledgeable person here, I will stop there. But your first order of business is definitely new tires - i personally don't think anyone will take you seriously without a set of oversize BF Goodrich KO2's. And since you are gettting new tires, you should get some black rims, especially with the black truck. I know a guy in the valley who can powdercoat your stock rims for $80 a wheel if the tires are already off.
 
Pull the third row seats out and remove the running boards. it has a lot more room with the seats out. Get under it and service everything check all of the fluids. How old is the timing belt ?
 

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