Builds Let's Baseline my new to me 1993 Land Cruiser (6 Viewers)

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I'm obdnone, can I still join?

There's no OBD system for the diesel?

 

[Dusten]

There's no OBD system for the diesel?

Not the early ones. Mechanical injection. Fully hydraulic transmission.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Well…
No school today and my wife is in the Midwest helping her mother move. So it’s me and the kids. Maybe I’ll work on the cruiser today, cross your fingers.

 

[FMC80]

What made you and the spousal unit discuss regearing? Was it to address a specific desire or need? Was it lockers first or more appropriate gearing for larger tires? Going to 37+? What's going on???

BTW, I wrench in flip-flops and shorts year-round; UGH, it's so temperate and beautiful all the time here. Oh, and we have amazing beer here too but I'd trade you for some different seasons!!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

What made you and the spousal unit discuss regearing? Was it to address a specific desire or need? Was it lockers first or more appropriate gearing for larger tires? Going to 37+? What's going on???

BTW, I wrench in flip-flops and shorts year-round; UGH, it's so temperate and beautiful all the time here. Oh, and we have amazing beer here too but I'd trade you for some different seasons!!

Dam your warmth and beer. I have seasons and beer--Especailly when La Nińa is cranking (more seasons and more beer to stay warm).

The regear thinking comes from a place of wanting to finish the haphazard build the PO did. Story time. When I found the truck listed on CL in January of 2018 I was looking for a cruiser. I missed out on a stock 1 owner goldish (sorry I dont know the real name of the color) 95 with lockers and lowish miles for about 8.5k. I was slow to act and I really didn't understand the market for used cruisers at that point. There wen't tons for sale and some were super built and 20K+ and others were thrashed inside and out. I moved slowly and missed it. I looked at one in Lynden WA, from a s***ty used car dealer "who knows land cruisers" and saw a 91 that literally had a spring poking up through he seat and no records. Actually the salesman said "we destroy all the maintence records to protect the privacy of the previous owner". I laughed...realized he was serious...or seriiously trying to pass off this gem of an excuse. He then jumped the 91 (charge issues, but who knows no records)...I obviously passed on this 250k rig for 10k. So when I saw this photo on CL for a rig in Eugene OR:

I was pretty stoked. Had good comms with young owner (college student trying to unload truck to bike tour in portugal or spain) Plus the rig now had a 4x4Labs bumper. I knew it would be waaaay easier to come up with cash to solve the CEL issues the truck had than convince my wife to buildout a cruiser, talked the owner down in price and bought it. Detective work on Instagram revealed that it was purchased by PO from a place in Bend Or called FIT garage and to flip/ ready for sale it had a "Tune up" lift, tires, wheel powder coat, "fluids", Front bumper", Hella Light install. PO bought the FR rack, and Labs bumper and had them installed and a new battery. he owned it for about a year before selling it. Long enough to get dirt and mud deep in to some crevices.

This is all to say that the original "build" the PO's did was mostly cosmetic. So to answer @FMC80's question of why re-gear? I feel like the truck struggles on 2 lane mountain roads. It hunts for gears climbing big grades, or small grades at speed. My vision for a cruiser is a build truck that can handle trails that are 1,000mi from my drive way and in remote areas. So I want the the truck to feel both better on the highway, and to have a slower feel in 4lo. Descending in 4lo feels kinda fast, and not in anyway as confidence inspiring as my 1989 T4R, 2002 Tacoma TRD, or 1987 SR% mini truck. All of which were 100% stock suspension and tire size.

My philosophy about lockers is "i want them". The reasons for wanting are to learn how to wheel with front lockers (had a rear e-locker on the taco) since I've never used a rig with them before and I understand they can make things much easier, but also can create problems quickly and potentially have a steep learning curve. I also like to travel alone, and like the idea of being "overbuilt" and very capable.

The other direction I was thinking was dropping down to 33" tires and solving my gearing problems that way. However, I do like the way the truck looks, I can see lots of advantages of keeping the rig on 315's from a wheeling perspective.

I also recognize that beyond the adjustment of castor and lengthening of brake lines I really don't know what what i don't know about improving my suspension lift. Ive just been too focused on chasing down the issues this truck has. Since it's an adventure vehicle for my family, I've been focused on solving the problems that keep us from trusting in its reliability. So i'll certainly be dabbling in suspension learning.

As always I welcome advice on how to spend my money!

 

[Dusten]

315's and gears are a no brainer.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Yes I agree. However, the number of posts here saying how drivable a rig on 315’s and stock gears rivals the number of posts saying how castor correction on a 2” lift is unnecessary…all these viewpoints are made with cost savings behind them IMHO. We can all live with compromises.

I’m just tired of living with the PO’s. The debate is really about the extra cost of locker install. I think regearing and keeping the diffs open is much more financially doable, but the “while you’re in there” and the appeal of lockers is strong. I just need a much bigger build budget!

 

[Dusten]

Yes I agree. However, the number of posts here saying how drivable a rig on 315’s and stock gears rivals the number of posts saying how castor correction on a 2” lift is unnecessary…all these viewpoints are made with cost savings behind them IMHO. We can all live with compromises.

I’m just tired of living with the PO’s. The debate is really about the extra cost of locker install. I think regearing and keeping the diffs open is much more financially doable, but the “while you’re in there” and the appeal of lockers is strong. I just need a much bigger build budget!

I have had 315's for a few weeks and plan to regear to 4.56's(diesel). I can't imagine a gasser.

 

[FMC80]

Good reasons, G. My rig is stock gearing and 33s and have never driven one with 35s. I imagine it'll be less peppy but I can't imagine it'll be that much worse. I'm happy with the performance as it currently sits but plan to go 35s in a few months even though my 33s have about 1500 miles on them.

Like you, I've read many differing opinions on many different setups. Some people claim regearing is nonnegotiable with 35s and bigger and other say stock is fine until you get into 37 territory. Either way, I fully support your desire for lockers while you're in there, it'd be foolish to skip that opportunity.

 

[Dusten]

Good reasons, G. My rig is stock gearing and 33s and have never driven one with 35s. I imagine it'll be less peppy but I can't imagine it'll be that much worse. I'm happy with the performance as it currently sits but plan to go 35s in a few months even though my 33s have about 1500 miles on them.

Like you, I've read many differing opinions on many different setups. Some people claim regearing is nonnegotiable with 35s and bigger and other say stock is fine until you get into 37 territory. Either way, I fully support your desire for lockers while you're in there, it'd be foolish to skip that opportunity.

I can say around town it's fine, but passing anything is a hard no and anytime I have to slow down from 70 and then speed back it up, it's infuriating. IE someone on I-5 pulling in front of me.

 

[baldilocks]

If you re-gear, just bite the bullet and do lockers. You won’t have true 4 wheel drive until you do.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

If you re-gear, just bite the bullet and do lockers. You won’t have true 4 wheel drive until you do.

Absolutely. I know it will be a huge regret if I don’t. Plus I’m not sure if I did regear, the. Decide to install a locker if I would need yet another set of RP gears when installing the locker. I assume no, but im certain I’d be paying to have the gears set up a second time.

I can say around town it's fine, but passing anything is a hard no and anytime I have to slow down from 70 nd then speed back it ups infuriating. Ie someone on I-5 pulling in front of me.

^^this. Rolling terrain at highway speeds sucks. Driving to the mall and Starbucks is really chill though….

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Well, totally lost my wrenching time. Covid cases at kids schools, and a whole slew of unexpected meetings put me on the back foot against the rhythms of life. I will wrench during the Saturday morning cartoon ritual and see if I can maake the rig drive before I become a grandparent.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Small Update:

I had a bit of time to work on the cruiser the last couple of days. I managed to get a few small tasks completed on the cruiser:

1. the new ring on the distributor (which has a new rotor, packing and cap). I
2. reinstalled the valve cover and torqued all the nuts (after a bit of searching here on mud for the torque value--which is low). This required me to buy a 1/4" drive torque wrench that measures in inch pounds.
3. I checked the gaps on my new Toyota (denso) spark plugs and then torqued them in too after monkeying with a 16mm spark plug wrench that had no place for my extension's detent ball to grab. So I ended up using a 5/8" spark plug socket after coming to the conclusion that while the Toyota manual specifies a 16mm plug wrench, they are difficult to come by and the 5/8" works well.
4. I also cleaned up my Throttle body and managed to get A LOT of oily filth off of the inside.
5. Lastly, I scraped the FIPG that was smeared below the front main seal. I was reluctant to do this initially, but im glad I did. I think it was just some extra FIPG that was smeared around when the upper oil pan was resealed at some point. It matches the style of FIPG installation/usage (read really smeary and messy) that the lower pan has, so Im not too worried. However, it may mean that resealing the lower and upper pan are in my future some day. I should be able to monitor it better now. I made sure it was pretty clean, and I will give it a good clean up once the power steering has been refilled and bled.

I'm still waiting on a couple of hose clamps to arrive in the mail. Sometimes its faster for me to order small things like this online with my myriad of family logistics and duties, but when all the shipping is upside-down its silly that im not searching for things at the parts store...Except that

Yesterday I had a nice chat with @Dirtygumboots, who drove his very nice '93 over to see my engine bay disarray and my shop in "stuffed full of land cruiser and messy mode". It was nice to talk cruisers with another human being in real time and meet another nice dude who drank the 93-94 koolaid. I was admiring his Landtank castor correction plates, welded sliders and general engine tidiness. In the world of land cruisers I think he picked up a really nice rig and its clear that the PO cared for it.

Here is the before and after TB cleaning process. I'm not totally done yet, I need to make sure the Vacuum passages are clear...

 

[Dusten]

You've ordered parts from partsouq before right?

How long do they usually take?

 

[sogafarm]

I've looked at the Partsouq website, but I can never figure out which of the 10 choices is the U.S. version of a '94 Landcruiser.

 

[FMC80]

You've ordered parts from partsouq before right?

How long do they usually take?

I'm in Hawaii and the fastest I received parts was 3 days. Most often it takes about 7-10 days from order to arrival. Seems like they've been a little slower lately, but I've been ordering large quantities of items. They also have multiple warehouses which can extend the shipping times.

I've looked at the Partsouq website, but I can never figure out which of the 10 choices is the U.S. version of a '94 Landcruiser.

All you have to do is add your VIN into the garage to avoid the guesswork. I have both cruisers loaded into the garage and can pick between the two to purchase parts with a click of a mouse button.

 

[Dusten]

I'm in Hawaii and the fastest I received parts was 3 days. Most often it takes about 7-10 days from order to arrival. Seems like they've been a little slower lately, but I've been ordering large quantities of items. They also have multiple warehouses which can extend the shipping times.

All you have to do is add your VIN into the garage to avoid the guesswork. I have both cruisers loaded into the garage and can pick between the two to purchase parts with a click of a mouse button.

Hmmm I ordered parts the 29th and their haven't shipped. Good thing my turds off the road so it doesn't matter lol

 

[FMC80]

Hmmm I ordered parts the 29th and their haven't shipped. Good thing my turds off the road so it doesn't matter lol

That's excessive. You can always hit them up, they're very responsive. I have an order I placed on 01/03 and it hasn't shipped yet either. It's just little bits and pieces of stuff so I'm not in a rush but this is the longest it's taken.

 

[baldilocks]

You've ordered parts from partsouq before right?

How long do they usually take?

I’ve receive an order as quick as six days. They don’t mess around if they have the part.