Build Let's Baseline my new to me 1993 Land Cruiser

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MrMikeyG said:
There's a 79 series on craigslist right now.
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I should figure out how to convince my wife to sell our 1990 4x4 and buy that project…a LHD diesel barges at 22k. So much want, too much project.
 
To me, it looked like a lot of work. Granted it probably looks like less work to the folks that have been doing 40 and 55 series rigs. Seeing that ad still got my wheels turning for a few hours.
 
The more I looked, the more extensive the project seemed, but it was a fun day dream!
 
Excitement at the boarder…or how I used less than 1hp to push a glacier into Canada.

TLDR- skip to the bottom for the disappointing and way under dramatic mechanical issue…


I’ve been thwarted a couple of times this summer and unable to take the cruiser on any real adventures…until a couple of days ago…

It’s been a long summer. I’ve been tied to some family projects, clearing out my dad’s belongings, my kids have been lonely for better buddies and our annual wilderness adventure (backpacking and fishing in WY) was canceled for reasons to banal to admit to all of you. My family was in a slump.

Rewind to January 2020–when toilet paper was abundant—and we took a trip to a community pool in Richmond B.C. that has a wave pool, water slides, a high dive platform, and kid friendly hot tubs ($14 for all four of us all ****ing day). It was amazing. Then COVID, no TP, no school, no fun and no trips to BC.

Fast forward to this past Sunday and we decided to take the kids back to Water Mania! Hooray! Our commuter car/ ski vehicle is our trusty/rusty 2010 Subaru Forester. It has been abused nonstop since 2010 by children being children, dogs being dogs, and me punishing it for not being my 02 Tacoma. So seats were out and being shampooed/ extracted to bring it up to health standards.

Anyway we loaded up the glacier…more on that later…and headed on up with the family for a day of water play that looks a lot like trying to drown mom and dad. All was going well, and I believe I even said something like “Honey, I sure am glad this Land Cruiser is running so well..”. We arrived at the boarder and the lineup was moderate a d we anticipated waiting 40 minutes to get through. I then noticed my idle was around 1000 rpm in D and was up around 1800-2000 if I shifted into N or P. Huh? I was at that point thinking it was hot and trying to run the fan faster to increase cooling? Not totally sure, but making mental notes while in the middle of a sea of cars in line at the boarder crossing.

48 minutes later we are 4 cars away from the customs officers and their kiosk when the A/T Oil temp light activated. I mention my observations to my co pilot who could sense my growing concern.

So in a moment of joint stupidity my wife suggested I kill the engine to let it cool while we wait. Before my brain could catch up to my hand I killed the engine…instantly regretting my actions. You can now guess what happens. I try and start the cruiser and it won’t turn over. Only one car ahead of me. I pop the hood and disconnect the battery terminal, hoping to reset the ECU and maybe get it to start so it can get the cooling action of the fan. No luck and it is hot! Scary hot. Temp guage has moved 2mm above level…unless.

Now zero cars ahead of me. Canadian customs agents approach and offer a jump. I explain I’m over heated and my car won’t let me sacrifice itself to get me to Canada under 1FZFE power. So my wife hood in the drivers seat and me and three customs agents push the glacier uphill to the kiosk. We pass customs and then the customs agents help me push the rig into a shady inspection parking spot.

My internet access isn’t working and my FSM isn’t downloading from the cloud on my phone. My owner’s manual offers the advice to allow the vehicle to cool down then to proceed. 10 minutes later it fires right up and is idling normally. We drive up to the pool without further incident.

On the way home I shift into N when waiting in the return lane, but the engine never idles up. No other issues.

Soooooo, after doing some ‘mud surfing it seems like these symptoms could be from a sticky throttle cable. Next time it happens I’ll try and lift the accelerator with my foot in N and see if the revs come down. A new cable is pretty cheap, and this one is ratty and original. So I’ll probably replace it.

The lesson here is that Cruisers are really heavy. Pushing them feels like moving a glacier. I halfheartedly renamed the rig Glacier as a joke about my work pace, and it’s lumbering highway pace, but now that I’ve pushed it across an international boarder I’m 100% behind the new name.

Don’t worry someday I’ll post some awesome tech….but probably not for awhile.

TLDR: my transmission overheated in the boarder lineup. This was likely to a mystery high at 1800-2000 rpm after warning the car up. I believe this is my old throttle cable sticking. It caused the transmission to strain on the brake for an hour in the boarder line up. I turned the car off in a moment of brainlessness and the car wouldn’t start. I was four cars from the end and had to push the rig to to boarder crossing kiosk. Good times. The engine cooled off it started right up and away we went.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
Excitement at the boarder…or how I used less than 1hp to push a glacier into Canada.

TLDR- skip to the bottom for the disappointing and way under dramatic mechanical issue…


I’ve been thwarted a couple of times this summer and unable to take the cruiser on any real adventures…until a couple of days ago…

It’s been a long summer. I’ve been tied to some family projects, clearing out my dad’s belongings, my kids have been lonely for better buddies and our annual wilderness adventure (backpacking and fishing in WY) was canceled for reasons to banal to admit to all of you. My family was in a slump.

Rewind to January 2020–when toilet paper was abundant—and we took a trip to a community pool in Richmond B.C. that has a wave pool, water slides, a high dive platform, and kid friendly hot tubs ($14 for all four of us all f***ing day). It was amazing. Then COVID, no TP, no school, no fun and no trips to BC.

Fast forward to this past Sunday and we decided to take the kids back to Water Mania! Hooray! Our commuter car/ ski vehicle is our trusty/rusty 2010 Subaru Forester. It has been abused nonstop since 2010 by children being children, dogs being dogs, and me punishing it for not being my 02 Tacoma. So seats were out and being shampooed/ extracted to bring it up to health standards.

Anyway we loaded up the glacier…more on that later…and headed on up with the family for a day of water play that looks a lot like trying to drown mom and dad. All was going well, and I believe I even said something like “Honey, I sure am glad this Land Cruiser is running so well..”. We arrived at the boarder and the lineup was moderate a d we anticipated waiting 40 minutes to get through. I then noticed my idle was around 1000 rpm in D and was up around 1800-2000 if I shifted into N or P. Huh? I was at that point thinking it was hot and trying to run the fan faster to increase cooling? Not totally sure, but making mental notes while in the middle of a sea of cars in line at the boarder crossing.

48 minutes later we are 4 cars away from the customs officers and their kiosk when the A/T Oil temp light activated. I mention my observations to my co pilot who could sense my growing concern.

So in a moment of joint stupidity my wife suggested I kill the engine to let it cool while we wait. Before my brain could catch up to my hand I killed the engine…instantly regretting my actions. You can now guess what happens. I try and start the cruiser and it won’t turn over. Only one car ahead of me. I pop the hood and disconnect the battery terminal, hoping to reset the ECU and maybe get it to start so it can get the cooling action of the fan. No luck and it is hot! Scary hot. Temp guage has moved 2mm above level…unless.

Now zero cars ahead of me. Canadian customs agents approach and offer a jump. I explain I’m over heated and my car won’t let me sacrifice itself to get me to Canada under 1FZFE power. So my wife hood in the drivers seat and me and three customs agents push the glacier uphill to the kiosk. We pass customs and then the customs agents help me push the rig into a shady inspection parking spot.

My internet access isn’t working and my FSM isn’t downloading from the cloud on my phone. My owner’s manual offers the advice to allow the vehicle to cool down then to proceed. 10 minutes later it fires right up and is idling normally. We drive up to the pool without further incident.

On the way home I shift into N when waiting in the return lane, but the engine never idles up. No other issues.

Soooooo, after doing some ‘mud surfing it seems like these symptoms could be from a sticky throttle cable. Next time it happens I’ll try and lift the accelerator with my foot in N and see if the revs come down. A new cable is pretty cheap, and this one is ratty and original. So I’ll probably replace it.

The lesson here is that Cruisers are really heavy. Pushing them feels like moving a glacier. I halfheartedly renamed the rig Glacier as a joke about my work pace, and it’s lumbering highway pace, but now that I’ve pushed it across an international boarder I’m 100% behind the new name.

Don’t worry someday I’ll post some awesome tech….but probably not for awhile.

TLDR: my transmission overheated in the boarder lineup. This was likely to a mystery high at 1800-2000 rpm after warning the car up. I believe this is my old throttle cable sticking. It caused the transmission to strain on the brake for an hour in the boarder line up. I turned the car off in a moment of brainlessness and the car wouldn’t start. I was four cars from the end and had to push the rig to to boarder crossing kiosk. Good times. The engine cooled off it started right up and away we went.
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Why did you idle for that long? Why not turn it off and sit with the window down? Saves gas too.

I shut mine off in a slow drive through.

Oh, and yes, get a new throttle cable. Just do it. I argued with another member.hete about mine and it turned out he was correct. It also fixed a weird cruise control issue I was having.
 
Well it’s a very slow moving line, one car length every 2-3 minutes—that would have been a workout for my starter! But yes, I learned lots, plenty of things I might have done differently. Mostly I’m here to give you folks some humor at my expense.:D

A new cable is on my “parts to buy” list…which still has a few items on it.
 
I suggest a complete trans fluid replacement. The AT light comes on way to late and that fluid is likely toast.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
Soooooo, after doing some ‘mud surfing it seems like these symptoms could be from a sticky throttle cable. Next time it happens I’ll try and lift the accelerator with my foot in N and see if the revs come down. A new cable is pretty cheap, and this one is ratty and original. So I’ll probably replace it.
Click to expand...
this is probably it. i just replaced mine the other day. haven't had time to drive it however to feel any improvement

in D, i didn't really notice anything amiss. other than a clunky start/stop from stoplights. once i shifted to P, the engine shot up to 2k. blipped the throttle and it stuck at 3k before i panicked and shut it down. physically pulling back on the pedal worked. then lubed the cable best i could has helped the issue since first noticing it in may....on the first really hot day. not sure if heat is related?
 
jht3 said:
this is probably it. i just replaced mine the other day. haven't had time to drive it however to feel any improvement

in D, i didn't really notice anything amiss. other than a clunky start/stop from stoplights. once i shifted to P, the engine shot up to 2k. blipped the throttle and it stuck at 3k before i panicked and shut it down. physically pulling back on the pedal worked. then lubed the cable best i could has helped the issue since first noticing it in may....on the first really hot day. not sure if heat is related?
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I’ve heard it’s best related too…from the inter webs here on ‘mud. But the cable is pretty cheap and it’s old and looks bad from the outside.
 
Dusten said:
I suggest a complete trans fluid replacement. The AT light comes on way to late and that fluid is likely toast.
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That’s a good idea. I think that my ATF only has 10k or so on it. Oh well.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
That’s a good idea. I think that my ATF only has 10k or so on it. Oh well.
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I think the at oil light comes on at like 275*. At that temp trans fluid life is reduced to less than 5000 miles. Better safe than sorry. Especially with all the work you've done.

Take it from a guy who's cooked a trans or 3.
 
Dusten said:
I think the at oil light comes on at like 275*. At that temp trans fluid life is reduced to less than 5000 miles. Better safe than sorry. Especially with all the work you've done.

Take it from a guy who's cooked a trans or 3.
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I actually immediately thought of your transmission saga and added a case of ATF to my shipping list! :D
 
Is part of being in your 40's not being able to get to anything because life is so unbelievable full? I cant believe how long I have been looking at my service cart full of lockers and gears, my Wit's QPM etc.

I have been using the cruiser sparingly since my clicking at left full lock is pronounced. It obviously needs immediate attention. I'm currently back on 'Mud researching the birfield options. I'm leaning towards stock at this point, but I'm not sure. I assume I will probably call cruiser outfitters and get their take on what my best choice is given my rig and my plans and send them some funds. Turns out there are lots of opinions out there on axles etc.

I also may get brave and see if there is a shop in town that would be willing to weld up my roof rack holes. I'm getting paranoid about water ingress and rust. This might be because we may be pulling up stakes and moving to Minnesota. Which is a mixed bag of emotions for me. Im planning on keeping the Cruiser. Thinking about selling my little mini truck, but I may just trailer it back to the midwest if we pull the trigger. Anyhow endless complexity looms ahead and the therapy of pouring money into my LC is still appealing. Hopefully I can get all my dad's stuff out of my garage in the next month and get things torn down and the thirds to the driveline shop for the lockers and 4.88's.

Here's a glamor shot of the Rig and the Dog on trip to harvest vine maple for Bow drill kits (I made 30 fire by friction kits for a teaching gig last week):
IMG_2137.webp
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
Is part of being in your 40's not being able to get to anything because life is so unbelievable full?
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I hope not bc that’s my 30s right now! Balancing life and hobbies is always difficult. Add a looming move, and it’s amazing how many things get shifted to the backseat.

Good luck, and since you’re looking for opinions: OEM and it’s not even close.
 
Greg, you’re moving to MN?!?! You cruiser will corrode upon entering that state. As far as being in your forties, I think that’s life bro.
 
FMC80 said:
Greg, you’re moving to MN?!?! You cruiser will corrode upon entering that state. As far as being in your forties, I think that’s life bro.
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definitely worried about it turning into a rust encrusted s*** show.
 
PNWTreeOctopus said:
definitely worried about it turning into a rust encrusted s*** show.
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Also it seems like most midwestern garages (in the twin cities) are 7’ tall. I’m pretty sure my cruiser is like 6’10” on the current tires….how annoying. I might have a great deal on a front runner rack for some dude in the Midwest…the plus side is that a two car garage would be a major shop upgrade for me. Especially if I can find one to park the cruiser in…because it’s gonna become a garage queen and stay rust free. I swear.

In other news operation garage cleanup is underway. A peacekeeping force of one initiated the offensive. I recently pared down my tool collection, nearly all vestiges of my cheap tools are gone, and I have my pliers collection under control (don’t worry I saved all the vintage Toyota tools I have found at the junk stores).

I have lots of paper shop towels, 3 gallons of purple power, new brass brushes and a shiny new pack of red shop towels. I’m nearly all ready to tackle the birf/locker/gear job once I have enough space in my one car shop.

I am also going to paint my axles this time around as I didn’t last time and I regret that a lot. So I anticipate another round of under carriage degreasing with a pressure washer…..yay.
 
Unless you're aimed towards Minneapolis/St Paul, you will at least be pleasantly surprised by housing costs there vs. out here. Gas should be about a buck cheaper/gallon too. I don't really miss MN/ND winters, but I miss the lifestyle back there.
 
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