Jackson got an 80 (so I can keep my LX450 from following him to college)

[sjpitts]

My son Jackson that is, not the "original" Jackson (aka @medtro)

I bought my first 80 some 22+ years ago. Then two years ago I bought a very nice LX450. See HERE

My son Jackson immediately started making moves on LX450 (offering to change the oil, wash it, wax it, ect.) And somehow he managed to convince me to let him take it away to college in Utah for one semester. My son then left for a church mission and has spent the last year in Bulgaria and now Cyprus. He still has a year to go, but I knew when he got back I was going to have to come up with better reasons to keep my LX450 from going away to college with him.

My neighbor has had this 80 for a couple of years, and everytime I saw him I told him we wanted it. He finally called me up and offered to sell it to us. And with a little help from Jackson's bank account we bought it.

The GOOD
1. zero rust-- spent whole life in Arizona (really only small surface rust on exhaust)
2. cloth seats (poverty pack) in pretty good condition
3. good carfax-- spent first 20 years original owner

The BAD
1. miles is high-- 278K
2. no lockers
3. needs birfields repack, probably more
4. Odd paint job. The roof, hood and other portions were painted gray. The rest is the original paint. At least part of the roof needs to be repainted.
5. leaky power steering
6. ABS light is on

The good news is that I have till January 2027 until Jackson is home, so I am going to try and collect the parts and do a bunch of preventative maintenance to make it ready for Utah by then.

 

[sjpitts]

 

[sjpitts]

 

[medtro]

Congrats! Another nice 80 for you. The Pitts family has high cruisers count at CSC, and you are one of the CSC members with very nice 80s.

The BAD
1. miles is high-- 278K
2. no lockers
3. needs birfields repack, probably more
4. Odd paint job. The roof, hood and other portions were painted gray. The rest is the original paint. At least part of the roof needs to be repainted.
5. leaky power steering
6. ABS light is on

It will probably go another 50k miles without fixing anything other than adding fluids and grease.

The other Jackson would love to have this 80 or something similar. Unfortunately his dad's neighbors don't own any cruisers.

 

[LongDuck]

Your sunroof isn't seated evenly on both sides, so you might have issues with rain getting in and overpowering the drains this time of year if kept outside. This is likely due to the track lengths being unevenly spaced, resulting in pulling one edge down and not the other (*DS on yours). Until you're ready to dig into that, I wouldn't mess with the switches inside...

Otherwise, a straight-looking LandCruiser apart from the odd paint choices. Should be a good vehicle for him in Utah's winters,

 

[sjpitts]

Your sunroof isn't seated evenly on both sides, so you might have issues with rain getting in and overpowering the drains this time of year if kept outside. This is likely due to the track lengths being unevenly spaced, resulting in pulling one edge down and not the other (*DS on yours). Until you're ready to dig into that, I wouldn't mess with the switches inside...

Otherwise, a straight-looking LandCruiser apart from the odd paint choices. Should be a good vehicle for him in Utah's winters,

I noticed that gap when I posted the picture-- but I didn't give it much thought---thinking that it was just slightly open when I took the picture. I will have to look at it again.

 

[sjpitts]

Congrats! Another nice 80 for you. The Pitts family has high cruisers count at CSC, and you are one of the CSC members with very nice 80s.

It will probably go another 50k miles without fixing anything other than adding fluids and grease.

The other Jackson would love to have this 80 or something similar. Unfortunately his dad's neighbors don't own any cruisers

I don't know about going another 50K miles-- that seems a bit risky. And things are much cheaper if I can do it down here rather than pay a professional in Utah.

At a minimum I already ordered new belts, AC idler pulley, alternator pulley, water pump and T-stat. I figured making sure the cooling system is in good shape is job #1. Maybe the water pump is over the top on that. I intend to take a good look at the radiator.

But this is probably just a trauma response -- since I once had my daughter going to college in Utah call me to say she was driving our Honda Accord down the road and lights started flashing-- and before our conversation was over she said in passing that "the temp gauge is all the way to the top" ---- and before I got her to pull over the engine blew a head gasket. So again, probably a bit of a trauma response.

 

[sjpitts]

 

[sjpitts]

 

[sjpitts]

 

[medtro]

I don't know about going another 50K miles-- that seems a bit risky. And things are much cheaper if I can do it down here rather than pay a professional in Utah.

At a minimum I already ordered new belts, AC idler pulley, alternator pulley, water pump and T-stat. I figured making sure the cooling system is in good shape is job #1. Maybe the water pump is over the top on that. I intend to take a good look at the radiator.

But this is probably just a trauma response -- since I once had my daughter going to college in Utah call me to say she was driving our Honda Accord down the road and lights started flashing-- and before our conversation was over she said in passing that "the temp gauge is all the way to the top" ---- and before I got her to pull over the engine blew a head gasket. So again, probably a bit of a trauma response.

Is it a 1996 model? You do all the work here is definitely cheaper than having it done in UT + towing fee. May be add a fan clutch in there?

 

[LongDuck]

If it were me and my kid were going to Utah, I'd definitely do fan clutch hub (blue) or MUD member retimed and re-oiled. Also, Pesky Heater Hose now with green-stripe and proper clamps just for peace of mind. I'm seeing a lot of non-OEM hose in several places like the head breather, so take a close look at the other hoses for quality and clamping. You caught the engine bay at "magic hour" of sunrise, so hard to tell other stuff as its a bit washed out.

Oh, and somebody needs to redo THIS;

The PO may be expressing themselves through their basket weaving skills, but that's a recipe for misfires. None of these should touch one another through their entire journey - unlike humanity...

Also, OEM oil filter so you've got that working for you,

 

[LongDuck]

Hey, have you pulled a front wheel off and looked at the brakes? Take a pic and maybe we can help you spend even MOAR $$$...!

 

[sjpitts]

Is it a 1996 model? You do all the work here is definitely cheaper than having it done in UT + towing fee. May be add a fan clutch in there?

Yes, it is a 1996. Fan clutch is a good idea.

 

[sjpitts]

If it were me and my kid were going to Utah, I'd definitely do fan clutch hub (blue) or MUD member retimed and re-oiled. Also, Pesky Heater Hose now with green-stripe and proper clamps just for peace of mind. I'm seeing a lot of non-OEM hose in several places like the head breather, so take a close look at the other hoses for quality and clamping. You caught the engine bay at "magic hour" of sunrise, so hard to tell other stuff as its a bit washed out.

Oh, and somebody needs to redo THIS;
View attachment 4032226
The PO may be expressing themselves through their basket weaving skills, but that's a recipe for misfires. None of these should touch one another through their entire journey - unlike humanity...

Also, OEM oil filter so you've got that working for you,

Good call. The PO replaced the plug wires with non OEM. I actually have set of OEM plug wires purchased for my LX. Maybe I will do that. Or maybe just clean it up.

 

[jkl72-40]

I had an oil leak similar to what Im seeing and all it was was a loose valve cover

 

[efjayatee]

Same with me, i was proud when my son wsnted an 80. So for my son's LX450 with 300k (bought last spring) I did the following baseline:

Replaced suspension to Dobinson stock height with Tokico shocks
Radiator
T heater valve
blue fan clutch
Coolant hoses and red coolant
Starter
Spark plugs
Brakes F/R
Chang all fluids(diff, tranny, brakes, coolant, oil)
Tightened Steering box play
Steeing damper (shock)
All Belts
Spark plugs and wires (tune)
Added scangauge2 to monitor ECT

Future task:
Oil pan gasket (wet)
Fix Rear main seal leak (small leak)