Looking to buy my first FJ40 need your help deciding if I should Pass or Buy

[tunoverlander]

Greetings distinguished members of this forum, first time poster here!

I'm looking to buy my first 1979 FJ40 here in the UAE, I had a third-party testing company inspect the car and give me a report (I've attached the report here with photos in the post).

and wanted to get your opinion if I should pass, the buyer is asking for around 8k US.

Here's a summary of the issues listed in the report:

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• Tie rod end damage – needs replacement.
• Steering box leak – medium to high labor cost to repair.
• Shock absorber leaking, wheel hub housing leak, cracked leaf spring bushes (front and rear).

​

• Core support and rear floor panel repaired – suspected chassis damage.
• Rust found on undercarriage – possibly severe.
• Chassis repairs at both front and rear noted by inspector.

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​

• Engine mount damaged – may cause vibration.
• Rough idle / engine shaking – potential misfire or combustion issues.
• Oil leaks from:
  
  • Oil pan gasket
  • Oil drain plug
  • Rear main seal
• Fuel leak from the fuel pump
• White smoke detected – could indicate burning oil or coolant.
• Radiator hoses damaged
• Dirt and water scaling inside engine bay.

​

• Fluid leaks from:
  
  • Transmission seal
  • Transmission pan
  • Transfer case
• Unusual noise during gear shifts
• Transmission jerking
• No dipstick to verify fluid level

• Paint appears non-original or resprayed (based on earlier sections).
• Rust, water scaling, and dirt marks found inside cabin.
• Seats, gear lever, steering wheel show wear.
• Trunk lining dirty, beading damage, missing floor mats.
• Doors not fitted properly, door stoppers not working.
• Side window beading damaged
• VIN plate not found –

• One brake light not working
• Rear-left reverse light & indicator not working
• Infotainment system not working
• Wiper blades worn out

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[charliemeyer007]

Are you going to do the work to fix it or are you paying some one else?
Can you get parts in the UAE at reasonably good prices?

Tranny/transfer noise - ?ran dry from leaks, transfer pumped fluid in tranny and ran dry -
No dry/wet compression #'s - I'm betting white smoke is head gasket leak - they could easily/cheaply test for that
No VIN plate - is/was it stolen, can you get a title/registration/insurance so you can drive it on the road or is it just for parts?

 

[tunoverlander]

Are you going to do the work to fix it or are you paying some one else?
Can you get parts in the UAE at reasonably good prices?

Tranny/transfer noise - ?ran dry from leaks, transfer pumped fluid in tranny and ran dry -
No dry/wet compression #'s - I'm betting white smoke is head gasket leak - they could easily/cheaply test for that
No VIN plate - is/was it stolen, can you get a title/registration/insurance so you can drive it on the road or is it just for parts?

Hi Charlie,

I'm planning on paying someone to do it, the seller says the fixes in the report might be cheap and relatively quick, I gather that there are places where they sell parts here in the UAE, as for they title it shouldn't be a problem getting it registered as the seller got it in an auction.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I suggest you get your repair place involved right now. They will have some clue as to time and money to address the drive train issues.

I try and not to assume that paperwork is cheap and easy. I have seen a comma error hold up stuff for months.

What the seller says about fixes being cheap and quick - yea that would apply to things like the tail light malfunction and tie rod ends. Engine T/T repairs can be very expensive. White exhaust smoke? Head gasket. Did they sniff it and smell coolant? or they smelled oil. No data doesn't mean no problems. If you don't do the test, then you don't have to lie about the results.

I think the T/T drain plugs have a magnet or a divot to collect chunks/shavings - did anyone look at those.

Oh and those look like split rims - lots of places will not work on those.

 

[tunoverlander]

suggest you get your repair place involved right now. They will have some clue as to time and money to address the drive train issues.

Yes, I'm thinking if I move forward with the deal I'm going to ask the seller if he can help sort out the malfunctions, before I go ahead and close the deal, I'm worried about rust besides the engine and the tranny. are there any other red flags, not sure if you had the chance to look at the report attached

 

[charliemeyer007]

Yea I downloaded the PDF and scrolled threw all what 36 pages. I think they could have done a better job inspecting/reporting on the high dollar issues. Noise in the tranny - was it gear noise like a pop bottle in a garbage disposal or a mild whine? A vid of going threw all the gears on the road would be nice. Head gasket leak test, a few minutes and a few bucks. Dry/wet compression test, maybe a leak down test - did anyone look at the spark plugs?

 

[tunoverlander]

Yea I downloaded the PDF and scrolled threw all what 36 pages. I think they could have done a better job inspecting/reporting on the high dollar issues. Noise in the tranny - was it gear noise like a pop bottle in a garbage disposal or a mild whine? A vid of going threw all the gears on the road would be nice. Head gasket leak test, a few minutes and a few bucks. Dry/wet compression test, maybe a leak down test - did anyone look at the spark plugs?

THanks so much for looking through the whole report! it's truly appreciated . I drove it and when you shift to second I think there's a grinding sound. There was a lot of banging and rattling but that's probably a different issue.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Wrong oil in tranny could eat the yellow metal syncros given enough time. Maybe someone did a bunch of gear rocking to try and wiggle out of a sand or mud wallow (reverse to forward back and forth quickly - chipped gears make grinding noise - banging/rattling is more u-joint or spines to me. Easy enough to grab the drive lines and shake. Jack up a tire and rotate the wheel, rock it back and forth plus up and down.

So check noise in 2H, vs 4L with the hubs in and out.

I suggest you look at it again with a "car person". Have a magnet to look for bondo under the paint.
A real working 4x4 is bound to have damage. Toyota back in that day rusted - later stuff is much better protected.

 

[tunoverlander]

Wrong oil in tranny could eat the yellow metal syncros given enough time. Maybe someone did a bunch of gear rocking to try and wiggle out of a sand or mud wallow (reverse to forward back and forth quickly - chipped gears make grinding noise - banging/rattling is more u-joint or spines to me. Easy enough to grab the drive lines and shake. Jack up a tire and rotate the wheel, rock it back and forth plus up and down.

So check noise in 2H, vs 4L with the hubs in and out.

I suggest you look at it again with a "car person". Have a magnet to look for bondo under the paint.
A real working 4x4 is bound to have damage. Toyota back in that day rusted - later stuff is much better protected.

Thanks again for the valuable input, is there anything in your opinion that could be a deal breaker in this scenario?

 

[charliemeyer007]

I didn't see anything that said 'go elsewhere' I couldn't make the pic bigger, on my screen they were mostly like 2"x2" hard to really get any details in that size. If all it really needed was seals and gaskets and a few parts like rod ends, u-joints, master and slave kits for the brakes and clutch. But if it needs a rebuild on the engine, T/T any one of those could be as much as their asking price.

When you go back maybe pull some oil samples and send them off. You can fish in the T/T with a magnet on a stiff wire thru the fill plug - or pull the drain plug and stick your finger in the hole quickly - look at the plug crud - clean it off and put it back in quickly - you shouldn't loose much.

 

[Living in the Past]

I can't remember the date, maybe 2007 that China was buying scrap metal from around the world. Salvage yards full of 40 series were shipped to China to be melted down. Not sure the availability of mechanical parts in that region anymore.

Your mechanic would probably know.

This would scare me.


Core support and rear floor panel repaired – suspected chassis damage.
Rust found on undercarriage – possibly severe.
Chassis repairs at both front and rear noted by inspector.

Not familiar with the region but see some nice close to rust free examples show up.

 

[tunoverlander]

Chassis repairs at both front and rear noted by inspector.

Yes you're right, I found this to be a bit concerning as well.