My "New" Toy

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Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Threads
14
Messages
71
Location
Atlanta, Ga
Well the time has finally come and I have taken control of the family 80. I purchased it from a family friend a couple years ago, he hated to sell it and now I understand why, and my dad has taken pretty good care of it since.

As of this post it has 207K miles, runs well for the miles. Last year I went spending crazy and got OME lift and Hankook MT 295/75. Love the tires and the lift so far. Im in GA and have wheeled with the Ga Cruiser guys a couple times. Great group of people, and will hopefully get to know them better.

So now that I drive it everyday I have noticed some things that I need to fix.
- As far as I know there have not been any/many engine tune ups. I opened the hood the other day and looked around and basically anything that can leak oil does. Some look like easy fixes others not so much. Is this something I can tackle myself or should I leave it to my LC guys.
- When I get on the accelerator sometimes it doesn't get movin like it should. Any suggestions.

Ill try and get pics up later when I'm free. Any suggestions on things I can add to it right now. Preferably things that I can do myself and are relatively low cost. Being a college kid money is tight. If anyone has some suggestions please throw them out there.
 
Congrats. Any pics of the leaks, or can you see where they are coming from? Do you weld? If your doing some wheeling you might want some sliders to protect rockers, a little more important than a bumper.
 
And before adding any armor or other fun items, I would do a total baseline and PM on the 80. Look over the FAQ as it has many great threads on what should be focused on.

Good luck and happy wrenching!
 
X2 on the baseline...no better way to get to know the old gal than to dig in and do a major tune up with factory parts!! Costs a bit, but better to spend the cash on getting her in tip top running shape before putting on the pretties!! Feel free to ask for help on any of it you don't understand...there is a ton of knowledge floating around here!!:cheers:
PS: I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut that if you do the baseline, your hesitation on throttle will go away!
 
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I was planning on buying the engine overhaul kit from Man-A-Fre, seems like it has everything I need. What else consists of a baseline/PM (changing fluids and seals im assuming??)
 
Personally I would give CDan a call over at American Toyota (1-800-432-6668), he gives a great discount to Mud members and is THEE most knowledgeable individual when it comes to all that is the 80 Series.

He will get you squared away. But first I would strongly advise a search of the 80 Forum and the 80 Series FAQ section, to get a good list of baseline and PM materials. So that you call him with a list and he can advise you on what else you may or may not need.

As far as consumables, again a search of the forum will help guide you as to what to go with.
 
Personally I would give CDan a call over at American Toyota (1-800-432-6668), he gives a great discount to Mud members and is THEE most knowledgeable individual when it comes to all that is the 80 Series.

He will get you squared away. But first I would strongly advise a search of the 80 Forum and the 80 Series FAQ section, to get a good list of baseline and PM materials. So that you call him with a list and he can advise you on what else you may or may not need.

As far as consumables, again a search of the forum will help guide you as to what to go with.

x2. ^ this sums it up. Start there.

Armor, winches, etc dont do anything if you cant get to trail or break down on one ;)
 
So I had a little spare time this afternoon and decided that I would mount my hella 500's on the bumper. I got everything wired up and then promptly ran out of daylight. My plan is to get the light done tomorrow and off to the shop to fix the oil leak.

Been looking through a toyota manual my dad picked up a couple years ago and looked through it. I noticed the first chapter was care and scheduled maintenance so I figure Ill read some of it and put up a list of things that I can do over Thanksgiving.

I was also looking around and found some threads on homemade sliders. I was planning on learning how to weld at some point in my life to might as well be now. Eventually I want to get up to a bumper and roof rack that I can make myself. I cant really justify paying 900$ for a bumper.
I guess for starters I should find a welder. Brands? I'm assuming some are better than others as far as reliability and materials they can weld. If anyone has any suggestions or is in GA and they are looking to get rid of a welder that would be great.

Ill try and throw up a couple pics of my truck tomorrow.
 
I was also looking around and found some threads on homemade sliders. I was planning on learning how to weld at some point in my life to might as well be now. Eventually I want to get up to a bumper and roof rack that I can make myself. I cant really justify paying 900$ for a bumper.

.

I would not recommend trying to weld a bumper, or sliders for that matter as your "something to learn on". With both of these items you are going to rely on them to save either your rig in the case of the sliders, or quite possibly your life with the bumpers. Leave that to professionals, or spend a couple of years welding 8 hours/day before you go welding structural parts on your truck. Good luck, and put up some pics of those lights!!
 
So I did my homework last night and this is what I came up with...

- checking all engine fluids
- engine oil, coolant, brake and clutch, transmission, power steering, diffs
- all hoses under the hood
- check the cooling system
- check PVC valve
- changing all the filters
- (I would change spark plugs but those were just done)
- check the fuel system and ignition system

I think this is a pretty good start...
Anything I'm missing???
 
This looks like a good starting point. I would get your parts (call CDan) and consumables and take care of that list and drive and enjoy it for a while.
 
don't forget to change out the vacuum hoses under the hood - that includes the hard to access ones under the intake manifold. This is a royal PITA but well worth the effort. I'd bet that every one of those hoses have brittle ends and are probably super hard.
 
Had some time to post some pics :)

The first one was today while I was putting the lights in. I have everything wired up. Ill I have to do is mount the lights. The other 2 were from last year with my buddy at his farm. It was the weekend after I got the lift. We were pretty excited
:bounce::bounce2:
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