Just purchased today!

[togles]

I used to own a 1999 100 series in the early 2000s, have really been eyeing the 80 series for a while now, they have always appealed to me. Today i picked one up. Came across a really nice one and could not pass it up! 1997 w/ 262k miles. Put almost 100 miles on it today after buying it.

It needs some tlc on the engine, leaking in all the standard places, cant wait to dig in on it.

I did experience a check engine light and oil pressure indicator / warning light at highway speed, the gauge was looking good and operating normally, so not sure why the warning light came on. It goes off at lower speeds? Anyways, thats going to be my first order of business to fix.

 

[CrabCake]

Nice looking ride, congratulations and welcome to the forum!

 

[jonheld]

I did experience a check engine light and oil pressure indicator / warning light at highway speed

There is no oil pressure warning lamp.
It's an oil LEVEL warning lamp.

 

[60 toy ota]

There is no oil pressure warning lamp.
It's an oil LEVEL warning lamp.

This. And the sensor is known to do this, you can try to restore it or they are available new ($$). It's located on the driver's side of the upper oil pan, around the front side of the starter

 

[jeremy j]

Congratulations! Looks like a nice truck. What are you planning to use it for after you baseline it?

 

[MissahPapaJ]

You’re truly blessed and you may never financially recover from this life altering decision. Hope you’re good behind a wrench! Cheers mate!

 

[Kernal]

@togles : Welcome to MUD!

Been discussed on the forum in the past so just for you :

The engine oil level (low) light comes on when the engine is ~1 quart low; if you're close to ~1 quart low the light may come on for example after a cold start within the first mile or so of driving then go out within the next mile or so. The longer you drive with low oil (that's getting lower) the light will come on and stay on for longer and longer until it stays on continuously when you're around 1-1/2 quarts low.

The engine holds ~7.8 US Quarts (dry) with a deep sump so even if you're a quart or two low you won't ruin the engine (unless you're about to head out on a long drive with no spare oil available). Either way, it's good practice to keep the oil level somewhere in the cross hatched area.

One thing that can cause a false high(er) level is when the oil drains out of the oil filter and the oil galleys in the engine after sitting overnight (or longer) which is why it's best to check the oil level after a short drive (or before starting if it's hasn't run in months/years to make sure there's some oil, but that's another topic).

More importantly, if the oil level does change significantly overnight it may mean your oil filter anti-drain back valve is allowing the oil to drain completely out so be sure to use a quality oil filter (Toyota, Mobil 1 301A, etc). Never cheap out on the oil filter.

Bottomline:

Check the engine oil level with a warm engine (~15 miles/minutes of driving), turn engine off, vehicle parked on level surface, pull and wipe off dipstick, reinsert, pull out, read level in cross-hatched area. An inclined road/driveway IME can alter the level shown on the dipstick (hot or cold) but not enough to make a major difference, key is to check the level on a warmed up engine.

There's a ton to learn about your 80 Series, don't make assumptions based on other vehicles, read the FAQ section and come back here to ask questions, use the SEARCH Function (top right any page).

 

[togles]

Thanks everyone! I was low about 2 quarts of oil when I checked it Saturday morning. Nice to know I wasnt doing damage to the engine and to stay on top of checking the oil!. @jeremy j to answer your question, probably just a weekend cruiser, maybe some light off roading, easy trails, nothing near me so probably just cruising around town on the weekends, cars and coffee, etc. I really just want to fix everything and keep it maintained and as perfect as possible. @MissahPapaJ - yes, its going to probably ruin my financial goals, lol.

I had a lot of things listed to work on already with this thing, oil pump seal is leaking bad, distributer o ring leak, and front and rear main seals, oil pan, etc. Then onto Front axle burfield joint job and need to address the steering, its a little loose and drifty on the freeway. That was all stopped because I am getting the dreaded P0401 egr issue. I have learned so much about the egr system in the past 24 hours, I feel like I could be an expert in it now. I am going to post about it soon. I have the throttle body off, been working on it all day. Bad/Stuck VSV and bad clogged up egr vacum modulator, and a lot of bad vacuum hoses, especially the ones running under the throttle body/intake. They were all super heat soaked, pretty mushy and clogged up. Im waiting on parts and more hoses now. I feel like I have a good handle on getting this fixed, so I can smog and register it and then get onto the rest of my list of todos with this thing. One thing for sure is, I am going to relocate the VSV to outside the intake manifold as one of the other forum posts indicated. It will make this egr system alot easier to maintain and troubleshoot in the future.

 

[MissahPapaJ]

Thanks everyone! I was low about 2 quarts of oil when I checked it Saturday morning. Nice to know I wasnt doing damage to the engine and to stay on top of checking the oil!. @jeremy j to answer your question, probably just a weekend cruiser, maybe some light off roading, easy trails, nothing near me so probably just cruising around town on the weekends, cars and coffee, etc. I really just want to fix everything and keep it maintained and as perfect as possible. @MissahPapaJ - yes, its going to probably ruin my financial goals, lol.

I had a lot of things listed to work on already with this thing, oil pump seal is leaking bad, distributer o ring leak, and front and rear main seals, oil pan, etc. Then onto Front axle burfield joint job and need to address the steering, its a little loose and drifty on the freeway. That was all stopped because I am getting the dreaded P0401 egr issue. I have learned so much about the egr system in the past 24 hours, I feel like I could be an expert in it now. I am going to post about it soon. I have the throttle body off, been working on it all day. Bad/Stuck VSV and bad clogged up egr vacum modulator, and a lot of bad vacuum hoses, especially the ones running under the throttle body/intake. They were all super heat soaked, pretty mushy and clogged up. Im waiting on parts and more hoses now. I feel like I have a good handle on getting this fixed, so I can smog and register it and then get onto the rest of my list of todos with this thing. One thing for sure is, I am going to relocate the VSV to outside the intake manifold as one of the other forum posts indicated. It will make this egr system alot easier to maintain and troubleshoot in the future.

Maintaining and keeping cruisers on the road is akin to how they paint the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[Rdonahe]

Thanks everyone! I was low about 2 quarts of oil when I checked it Saturday morning. Nice to know I wasnt doing damage to the engine and to stay on top of checking the oil!. @jeremy j to answer your question, probably just a weekend cruiser, maybe some light off roading, easy trails, nothing near me so probably just cruising around town on the weekends, cars and coffee, etc. I really just want to fix everything and keep it maintained and as perfect as possible. @MissahPapaJ - yes, its going to probably ruin my financial goals, lol.

I had a lot of things listed to work on already with this thing, oil pump seal is leaking bad, distributer o ring leak, and front and rear main seals, oil pan, etc. Then onto Front axle burfield joint job and need to address the steering, its a little loose and drifty on the freeway. That was all stopped because I am getting the dreaded P0401 egr issue. I have learned so much about the egr system in the past 24 hours, I feel like I could be an expert in it now. I am going to post about it soon. I have the throttle body off, been working on it all day. Bad/Stuck VSV and bad clogged up egr vacum modulator, and a lot of bad vacuum hoses, especially the ones running under the throttle body/intake. They were all super heat soaked, pretty mushy and clogged up. Im waiting on parts and more hoses now. I feel like I have a good handle on getting this fixed, so I can smog and register it and then get onto the rest of my list of todos with this thing. One thing for sure is, I am going to relocate the VSV to outside the intake manifold as one of the other forum posts indicated. It will make this egr system alot easier to maintain and troubleshoot in the future.

Make sure to check your EGR hard line passages with a stiff wire while you are in there to make sure they aren't plugged. When troubleshooting my P0401 EGR issue I found that one of the small passages into the EGR valve itself was fully plugged. Had to drill it out. Solved the P0401. Good luck on yours.