"Murphy" 1994 FZJ80 Build (1 Viewer)

[NelsonCruiser]

Well, now that I am more than 18 months into owning my 1994 triple-locked 80 series now named "Murphy" I figure its about time to start a build thread so please be patient as many more posts are to follow.

On February 10, 2023, I became the proud new owner of this grayish bluish greenish triple-locked 1994 land cruiser. I had researched what 4x4 I wanted to buy and settled on an 80 or a 100 series but I eventually went with an 80 because of its solid axles, fully coil-sprung suspension, and factory lockers on a select few. After looking at several examples I found Murphy. It had very faded paint but was triple-locked, and had various off-road upgrades including new tires and wheels (as well as the original 5 wheels with 33 inch M/Ts) and due to its paint condition wouldn't require me to sell a kidney. Being mechanically inclined and eager to own my first car of my own. I gave it the best inspection I could noting the brakes were in major need of service, the steering was loose and a lack of power. Feeling confident in my repair abilities Murphy came home with me a few days later.

Murphy on the day of purchase:

 

[NelsonCruiser]

A few days and one dental surgery later I figured it was time for a shake-down run. Got the 80 on the highway pointed towards little moab for some rock crawling. Felt pretty good other than the brake pedal being very mushy little did I know how poorly it was handling. None the less I had great time out at little moab and was blown away even with my limited driving abiltes of the j80 platform capability. Also discovered that the front locker was not in working condition.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

After the first shake-down run I figured it was time to start on the process of what I now know is baselining. Started learning everything I could from ih8mud and preformed my first oil change. All went well and I kept moving on. I knew something was wrong with the brakes but I didn't feel ready to dive into that so I began digging into all the electrical addons from the previous owner. PO had added some aftermarket reverse lights of which only one was working. After that I discovered that one of the brake lights would only work if the headlights were off. I was able to diagnose it as a bad ground on the bulb from the POs wiring of the reverse lights and fixed it.

Next up on the repair list was the brakes. The pedal was very squishy and the abs triggered every time you hit the pedal. Ended up replacing the master cylinder and brake booster and just pulled the ABS relay which is still just sitting in the glovebox to this day as now the brakes are working well.

I then had an alignment done (again not knowing how simple it is on these trucks) before my first trip to Moab)

 

[NelsonCruiser]

The time came to go to Moab so (slowly) we drove the 80 down there. Heading south on I-15 I noticed the truck struggling and cutting out a little but It recovered quickly enough.

Once in Moab I ran fins and things for my second time ever but first time in the 80 and had a great time. Day two of Moab we did some hiking then went to run the poison spider trail. Again I was amazed at the Land Cruisers off road ability. Tons of fun was being had until on the way down the mesa there was a loud crunch and I watched the front passenger wheel rolling away from the truck. Upon getting out of it and inspecting the damage I found that 5 out of 6 wheel studs had sheered clean off. My best theory is that the studs were too lose as the next time I stopped by the alignment shop I asked about what spec they had for the 80 to which they told me was 76 ft pounds. I later learned that I needed 109 ft pounds for my conical-style lug nuts. I now own a torque wrench. Murphy got to be youtube famous on the Trail Mator youtube channel due to me not having the experience or tools with me to change them myself at the time.

Overall we still had good time and I ended up doing my first recovery helping a high centered slug bug out.

 

[OffRoadScott]

Looks to be the same color as mine, but mine is sunkissed and not triple locked.

After you get that front locker squared away, at the first of the month engage all the lockers. Even though my 80 only has the center locker I engage it monthly to make sure it works and I do it on our 5th Gen 4Runner as well. It took time to get the rear locker to engage right away but is a known within the 5th Gen 4Runner community.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

On the way back from moab Murphy was cutting fuel but not stalling for reasons I am still battling to this day. When we did finally make it home a CEL came on as well as a misfire which was solved by new spark plug wires (didn't put OEM ones in and the 1FZ spat them out 8 months later but you live and you learn right.)

Just after this on another trip to Little Moab I ended up stripping a drive flange and ended up having to replace a birf as well which gave me some good experience. Only I didn't know that on the other side of the axle the heavy leaking meant both knuckles needed to be done again. After seeing the "check your knuckle studs thread" I checked mine and on that leaking passenger side, I found that they were spinning with my finger. So close to having major problems and I was lucky it didn't happen on the interstate. Tightened them up and got it to State Automotive to do the front end rebuilt before my trip to capital reef. To date it is the only time I haven't done the repairs/maintenance on the truck in my ownership. The passenger side has since started leaking again but I'm doing them myself this time.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

Most things went well through the rest of the summer and I had some fun adventures in the Utah mountains.

 

[COS80]

My best theory is that the studs were too lose as the next time I stopped by the alignment shop I asked about what spec they had for the 80 to which they told me was 76 ft pounds. I later learned that I needed 109 ft pounds for my conical-style lug nuts.

From where did you learn this?

 

[NelsonCruiser]

From where did you learn this?

I mistyped, I meant lug nut torque which I learned from a post here on mud.

 

[OffRoadScott]

If you haven't solved the misfire issue, check your main engine harness near the EGR. It is known to melt the wires and cause shorts.

 

[COS80]

I mistyped, I meant lug nut torque which I learned from a post here on mud.

I knew what you meant, just wanted to know where you heard it. I've been running 80 lb*ft on my cone lug/alloys since I bought it.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

I knew what you meant, just wanted to know where you heard it. I've been running 80 lb*ft on my cone lug/alloys since I bought it.

I got it from This thread where @cruiserdan says
“Depends on the year.

94 and prior, with conical steel inserts are 109 lb-ft.

95-up with shank lugs are 76 lb-ft.”


Crazy thing is they sheered off again a few months ago but I’ll get into that to that in a later post when I’m back at the computer.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

After repairing the fender, Fall came and apart from the check engine light for an 02 sensor the 80 was running well. I took on a little project to make sway at quick disconnects and had fun testing those out.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

During the same time I took another trip to Moab this time keeping all four wheels on the truck. I even got to flip an XJ back onto its wheels in hells gate.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

I took my first sand dunes trip in the truck in December and had a great time. The 80 did circles around the JK I was with.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

Drove it all through the winter only problem was a check engine light for the 02 sensor that I solved with new ones only for it to return the next day. I believe the signal wire may be damaged on the outside one. Went down to Sand Hollow for the offroad games and came back and it passed smog even without the functioning o2 sensor. Off-road games were tons of fun and I enjoyed wheeling in sand hollow.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

Murphy didn't see anything but daily driving for the next couple of months and I continued to struggle with the cutting-out issue. By the end of may the brakes had been squealing for a while and I had another sand hollow trip planned with my cousins that I was trying to get it fixed for. In my laziness to do the brakes one of the rear pads had slipped out of the caliper and the piston had been ground down. Got to pay for a new caliper that week . But a new calper and powerstop pads and rotors sure will make a difference in the stopping abilities of the truck. I still cant believe I let myself go that long neglecting them.

Never again.

Despite my best efforts I was not able to solve the cutting out problem (still haven't). In the heat of May the 80 struggled to travel the dunes with all the cutting out.

Even with the problems we still had a good time and just as I thought the troubles were over about 5 miles north of Hurricane on I-15 I felt and heard what I thought was a tire blowout at 85mph. Only to see my 35-inch stt pro flying down the interstate a few seconds later. Fortunately I was in the right lane and it bounced over the righthand side barrier and bounced through the weeds for about a mile. A tire that fast could have killed someone and I am very grateful it got out of harms way! I safely got the truck stopped on the side of the road with the remaining 3 wheels and waited for the tow truck. I had it towed back to an AutoZone parking lot in town and armed with a year of experience working on the truck I was able to repair it there.

My best guess is maybe the studs that were in there from the trail mator repair were not very good quality and I should have torqued the nuts upon arriving in sand hollow since the wheels had just recently been off from the brake job. As soon as I returned home from the whole ordeal a matching rotor was put on as well as new Toyota wheel studs that I put in with an air hammer.

Also about this same time I gave the extra set of 80 wheels I had to a friend for his tundra which turned out to have good fitment.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

Now we've made it to the summer of 2024, didn't do any big trips in the 80 but had some fun at some local places here in Utah county and did a few camping trips with friends. Still battled the cutting out issue as well as the CEL.

 

[NelsonCruiser]

Now were all caught up. The current situation with my battle withe cutting out issue has taken me here. I have replaced, the air filter, fuel filter, efi relay, efi fuse, FP relay, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, and the fuel pump sock. Still need to check out the main engine wiring harness. The thing that is odd to me is that it will cut out but then recover while I am driving to what feels like back to normal. A jumper wire in the EFI relay seemed to make a difference sometimes but doesn't solve the problem. But the troubleshooting will go one.

Anyway, this past weekend I took the rig out to little Sahara again with some friends for one last trip before I (hopefully) buy dobinsons mras for the rig to replace the OME nitros that are on there. Still dealt with cutting out but I had a really great time. Had a buddy with a camera there take some photos (though the ones I have are compressed due to iCloud shared albums) and there are a few pretty sweet shots.

Murphy took the jump well (landing only hurt a little ) Only thing that broke was the ubolt on the tire carrier that the PO built. The whole latch mechanism will be redone this weekend.

 

[OffRoadScott]

Now were all caught up. The current situation with my battle withe cutting out issue has taken me here. I have replaced, the air filter, fuel filter, efi relay, efi fuse, FP relay, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, and the fuel pump sock. Still need to check out the main engine wiring harness. The thing that is odd to me is that it will cut out but then recover while I am driving to what feels like back to normal. A jumper wire in the EFI relay seemed to make a difference sometimes but doesn't solve the problem. But the troubleshooting will go one.

Anyway, this past weekend I took the rig out to little Sahara again with some friends for one last trip before I (hopefully) buy dobinsons mras for the rig to replace the OME nitros that are on there. Still dealt with cutting out but I had a really great time. Had a buddy with a camera there take some photos (though the ones I have are compressed due to iCloud shared albums) and there are a few pretty sweet shots.

Murphy took the jump well (landing only hurt a little ) Only thing that broke was the ubolt on the tire carrier that the PO built. The whole latch mechanism will be redone this weekend.

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I would definitely check the main engine harness near the EGR, they are known to melt.