Looking at an 80 - Would like some comments! (1 Viewer)

[WarTruck]

Any thoughts on this potential purchase, from you guys who know all about these trucks?

'97 LX450 with 200k. $5350. And it's local.

It has a cheap repaint due to fading clearcoat, as I have seen on a number of others. Not really concerned much with that. I might even paint it again myself, for the learning experience.

The interior is pretty decent, although the driver's seat has the standard tears in the leather, not terrible but not great. The front seats' power forward/backward adjustment does not work, so the seats are stuck where they are until that is rectified (plastic gears, I'm aware of that fix).

Original head gasket. PHH has been replaced within the last 5k miles. Lots of other records are included, mostly normal stuff, like brakes and oil changes.

Runs and drives fine, although there is a Check Engine light on, not sure why. I tried the lockers, the center and rear lockers engaged pretty quickly, the front one did not, but I believe it is just due to total lack of use - this was a street vehicle only.

It is a 100% stock truck, not loved on, just the standard non-enthusiast maintenance performed as things came up that needed to be done. I guess this is what you get for $5350.

Any thoughts on this one? I have to make a decision pretty quickly on it, either to buy it or to wait on something else with lower mileage for $3k+ more. For me, it would be used for off-roading, hunting, camping, carting my big dogs around, driving in the snow, driving to work occasionally, etc.

I don't want it to suddenly become a brick when one or more pistons decide to fly out of the block. I do my own vehicle maintenance as much as possible, so I can do brakes, suspension, fluids, sensors, and so on. Not rebuilding engines, though.

 

[OverLand Cruisers]

Clean Carfax?
If so it sounds like a good deal.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Sounds like a pretty good deal. I found a 96 LX for a friend a couple of months ago about the same condition. He got it for $3300.

 

[ewillis]

yup...if carfax shows decent history, give him $5,000 and enjoy!

 

[Romer]

Hold on there. You should check a few more things first before you buy it

I would pull the code and see what the problem is. You can do that free at an autoparts store. Typically P401 gets hit when you have to replace some Emissions components or could be an O2 sensor

I would check the axles, look at the back of the balls and see if there is soup or lots of buildup. Do you know the last time they were rebuilt?

Have you looked to see how old the fluids are?

Is there rust?

Its not a bad price, but not a deal either and depending on the condition could cost you $2K to $3K to get it baselined and in good shape

Did you look over the 80 series FAQ? There is a section on buying an 80 with a list of things to check, things to look out for and what to expect after you buy one

 

[WarTruck]

I will check the code tomorrow.

What does a front axle rebuild cost, and how long does it take?

Engine oil, power steering and brake fluid are fresh. Don't know about tranny/diff/etc.

No rust, very clean underneath.

Yep, had a look through the FAQ.

If anything, I'm worried about the mileage. I've never had a vehicle with 200k miles before....

 

[Romer]

about $1300 to $2000 if you take it somewhere. $200 to $300 if you do it yourself. There is a how to in the FAQ Repair section

These engines will go way past 200K miles. Might be worth it to spend a little to have it professionally looked over by someone who knows these vehicles

assuming that's all good, then it's a good price

 

[WarTruck]

Thank you. Looks like the head gasket is the biggest potential expense, huh? Do you guys here on this forum DIY the HG too?

 

[thebus]

It's like a library!! Sometimes we just need help from some librarians to help find the book! You can buy a DVD to go along with your factory service manual

 

[scrowley]

Sounds like a $4500 truck. There should be an upcoming tipping point on these rigs when ppl will pay top dollar for rigs that are 90+% baselined/modded. Why buy a stock 80 for $5k when there are cheap deals ($8-$13k) on one's that have been gone through and modded. You really have to weigh out the options. That said my choice was to buy a $5k rig and dump a TON TON TON of time and money. I do enjoy wrenching/fabbing/modding as much as wheeling and that's why I went that route. Seems like around 200k if just "normal" maintanance has been done there is still $1000'sss of dollars of work needed on these 5k rigs. That is if you are wrenching yourself but if your paying for the work it can get out of control I would imagine. If you wrench your own, are looking for a project, and it is for sale locally these trucks are feasable in that condition at that price.

 

[LockedCollector]

With what you described, I personally think its a bit over priced. When you start with I may re-paint seems to me starting on the wrong foot. Get something you are happy with from the get go. Paint is simply aesthetics but can make a huge difference on morale every time you are walking to get into it. Now if you start it and drive it and you are also not happy with its mechanical condition, then that can be a real downer. Personally I cannot drive a vehicle with a chech engine light on. OCD does not permit. Get in it, under it, over it, shake things around and determine how much more than 5k you are willing to invest as well as time. Consider Slee's checklist below. Alternatively you can wait it out as I have seen many a folk jump ship on the 80s and make your move on that jewel that does occasionally come up. You will know when you see it. My 2 cents and good luck.

http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbie100.htm

 

[Qball]

Like other have said if you plan on wrenching yourself then not a bad deal, if not then get one that's already been done.

I was in the same boat and I ended up wrenching myself and saved tons of money and learned even more. I feel much better about my rig and more prepared for the trail. I say go for it and put In some elbow grease, it is well worth the effort. You will appreciate your rig even more and really quite a bit of fun.

If it is your first 80 and you don't want to wrench then I say don't buy an 80 at all.

 

[Funner]

All the advice above is great, but at some point you are going to end up with a nearly 20 year old truck that will come with no guarantees or warranty. Pricing is regional, if you have been looking for a while then you know what they are fetching in your area. 200k is not a big concern. The thing that I would be most concerned about if you are a do it yourself home mechanic/hobbyist is the engine and transmission. Everything else mechanical is pretty doable with basic tools in a garage on weekends.

 

[WarTruck]

Thanks for all the comments, I really do appreciate it.

I talked to the seller more about it today, and he told me the Check Engine light code was for "EGR vacuum modulator"... by his description, it's a small leak somewhere near the EGR, or the EGR itself that needs to be cleaned....

... with 200k miles, I know that this truck has not had a head gasket replacement, so it will be necessary at some point down the road. It needs the Check Engine light/EGR issue addressed. The front locker I assume will work with some exercise, but won't know without actually doing that. I know the parking brake does not work, so it has always been resting on the transmission in Park (which is a pet peeve of mine). The front end has never been rebuilt. I know the driver's seat needs new upholstery and probably the lower foam as well. I doubt any preventative maintenance has been done, considering that the drive belts are basically bald - anyone who cares the slightest bit about preventative maintenance would not allow that. The tires have maybe 1mm of tread above the wear bars, and are cracking all over the tread and sidewalls (6 years old) - the seller told me he asked someone to look at them after I mentioned them, and he was told they are fine - I told him that "whoever said that is out of their mind", direct quote. The radio antenna is broken. The shocks are ancient and shot (again, no preventative maintenance). The power steering pump has completely failed and needs to be replaced. The PHH has been replaced.... but that's because less than 100 miles ago, it burst while the owner was in stop 'n' go traffic on a hot day, and the truck's water temperature got hot enough that the ECU shut the engine off. Not good.

Most of these things are things that I can address. I can certainly drain old fluid out of the tranny and replace it with new fluid. I can change out the seat gears. I can change drive belts. But all of these things point to a truck that was not maintained with any real care, and I'm a factory/OE kinda guy that likes to genuine factory stuff - this kind of owner will not pay for genuine Toyota parts. I feel like it may be a great purchase for someone who is Ok with the treatment so far and just wants to bang around in the truck and not worry about it. I will want to take it camping either on its own or in convoy with my family and big dogs in it, and trust it to be reliable in some off-the-beaten-path places. For me, and the kind of owner I am, I think this truck would be a false economy at $5350, requiring at least half of the purchase price up front to get it to a basic condition that I would be satisfied with. I'd rather wait for a reasonable $8000 truck that has been taken care of a bit better than this one. So, I passed on it.

 

[Funner]

Based on that last bit of information I think passing was a good idea.

 

[Cfbrenton1]

I bought an absolutely perfect lx450 for $8k recently. Perfect white original paint. It's almost 20 years old and I still look back at it in parking lots. I would spend a bit more and get a nice one that doesn't need much.

The only imperfections were a worn seat and I bought a new antenna. It came with an extra set of winter wheels and tires too.

 

[ChiTown]

Good choice to pass. The EGR code can run you a few hundred in parts alone to fix properly not to mention your time and effort involved.

 

[084runnerltd]

Deleted

 

[Wagon nut]

I have a very nice stock - enthusiast owned 80 in Wake Forest for $7,250... it has 242,000 miles, but is very well kept! I would be willing to do a pre purchase inspection at a local dealer or mechanic.