I am not sure you need to replace the bushings or the U joints. The bushings on these vehicles hold up pretty well unless they are stressed a lot with a lift and lots of off road use. There is a write up in the FAQ about U joints. Go through that and see if there is any play in the joints. Grease them up and drive it. I agree that the interior looks rough but you may get away with a good power wash of the interior after taking the interior out of the vehicle. They can clean up well. The sunroof leak is well documented on mud and a good place to start is the sunroof drains - making sure they aren't clogged. Glad you plan to keep it.
Need Advice: To sell or not to sell!
- Thread starter iRoughNeck
- Start date
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^^^ THIS ... I had leaks on both sides of my white cruiser. Found one upper drain clogged and a bunch of leaf material rotting in the drain channels. Cleaned them up and ran some wire through the drain hoses and shop vac on the top and no more leaks ... $0.
I've had u-joints done on all the trucks, spend a little extra to get the OEM Toyota ones, then I have them installed at a local garage for ~$100. Eventually I will learn how to do it, but for now I will pay someone. Once they are new, just keep them greased properly and they will last.
Calipers are a dirty job and can suck to do with just hand tools, but it is very doable and simple enough to bleed the brakes if someone pumps the pedal as you add fluid and open/close the bleeders.
You can do this @iRoughNeck, just go slow and do research and watch lots of YouTube vids (especially @OTRAMM ones). Always make sure to take a week or so to drive the truck between projects too. Otherwise it can sit so long it becomes garage art and you will want to sell it.
I've had u-joints done on all the trucks, spend a little extra to get the OEM Toyota ones, then I have them installed at a local garage for ~$100. Eventually I will learn how to do it, but for now I will pay someone. Once they are new, just keep them greased properly and they will last.
Calipers are a dirty job and can suck to do with just hand tools, but it is very doable and simple enough to bleed the brakes if someone pumps the pedal as you add fluid and open/close the bleeders.
You can do this @iRoughNeck, just go slow and do research and watch lots of YouTube vids (especially @OTRAMM ones). Always make sure to take a week or so to drive the truck between projects too. Otherwise it can sit so long it becomes garage art and you will want to sell it.
I am going to say what others have said. Focus on what needs to be done now and do it yourself or with help of others. labor can be paid in beer and pizza with good conversation if you want to either make friends or already have some.
An 80 gets more expensive with short timelines.
Do it all yourself and at some point you will have the resources or place to do the stuff that gets more involved.
I bought mine and first thing i did was remove the interior minus the complete dash. Pick a sunny week and get a cheap tarp and carpet cleaner and a brush (or like me just use simple green). Remove the carpet and seats and get to cleaning. lseats.com (or same thing on amazon) gets you new leather for about 300 I think for the front. i spent a few more dollars here and there to buy some glue for foam and extra foam to fix the lower foam on the seats. clean carpet, leather smell from new leather and everyone compliments the interior. If you have stained carpet then mats can cover those. If you buy new carpet without first trying to clean what you have, then you are not even sure you need to spend the money you are spending. With money you save you can add in some additional sound proofing if you feel like you need it.
drive the summer on clean cruiser (after you fix the drain issue in your sunroof) and you will be pretty attached to it.
There is no "DONE" entry on anyone's cruiser to-do list unless they are paying someone to custom restore/build one for them.
An 80 gets more expensive with short timelines.
Do it all yourself and at some point you will have the resources or place to do the stuff that gets more involved.
I bought mine and first thing i did was remove the interior minus the complete dash. Pick a sunny week and get a cheap tarp and carpet cleaner and a brush (or like me just use simple green). Remove the carpet and seats and get to cleaning. lseats.com (or same thing on amazon) gets you new leather for about 300 I think for the front. i spent a few more dollars here and there to buy some glue for foam and extra foam to fix the lower foam on the seats. clean carpet, leather smell from new leather and everyone compliments the interior. If you have stained carpet then mats can cover those. If you buy new carpet without first trying to clean what you have, then you are not even sure you need to spend the money you are spending. With money you save you can add in some additional sound proofing if you feel like you need it.
drive the summer on clean cruiser (after you fix the drain issue in your sunroof) and you will be pretty attached to it.
There is no "DONE" entry on anyone's cruiser to-do list unless they are paying someone to custom restore/build one for them.
Yes the aerial works great. Goes up and down like new.
- Thread starter
- #45
Thank you everyone for the kind advice. I am keeping the truck for now, and have begin work on the sunroof. I'll try and keep everyone posted through the process. Should be fun!
I say that thing needs a $200 pro detail job, new tires, a dash cap, and the driver's seat redone. DONE! Change the engine oil and pump all the greese zurts full. It is perfect for a weekender. Enjoy it for what it is and upgrade as your budget allows. Like my dear friend in the car biz says... "They keep the new ones up in the front sir."
I used weed trimmer line to clean out the gutters without worrying about wire causing damage. Run it through and pour some water down the drains while wiggling and rotating the trimmer line. Once water starts coming ou the bottom, run the line all the way in and out several times while pouring water down the drain the whole time.
Getting Toyota parts is almost always worth it. I don't care for stock cruiser seats, so I make a few exceptions (and Toyota diesels are out of my budget).
Take your time, try to support the vendors on this forum when you can, but if you can save up for a big order, buying genuine Toyota parts from Amayama.com or the other overseas OEM parts vendors is one way to save a lot of money if you're not in a hurry. Read their import regulations carefully though, I split my order into a few smaller ones to keep each order below $200 (including shipping) to avoid the cost, expense and hassle of needing an import broker. In the ends after shipping I still saved over $250 by buying from amayama.com but it's not a quick way to get parts.
Toyota OEM u-joints are nearly the same price overseas as they are stateside and the widow runners are half price over there.
If you're not hindered by a deadline then use the money you would have spent on labor to go towards the tools you need to work on it and fix it up as the budget allows. Spend the money to get the right tools and if you need an odd special tool, there's a decent chance someone on this forum has it or knows how to make it fairly cheap.
If you always wanted one growing up, keep it. Now that you own the vehicle you always wanted, you'll regret it often if you sell it.
I say replace the seat with a set from a junkyard and enjoy the truck, and get a new steering wheel cover as soon as you can. I'm sure your budget won't break over a steering wheel cover.
And you'll be extremely surprised how much of a difference pressure washing the carpet will make as others have suggested.
Getting Toyota parts is almost always worth it. I don't care for stock cruiser seats, so I make a few exceptions (and Toyota diesels are out of my budget).
Take your time, try to support the vendors on this forum when you can, but if you can save up for a big order, buying genuine Toyota parts from Amayama.com or the other overseas OEM parts vendors is one way to save a lot of money if you're not in a hurry. Read their import regulations carefully though, I split my order into a few smaller ones to keep each order below $200 (including shipping) to avoid the cost, expense and hassle of needing an import broker. In the ends after shipping I still saved over $250 by buying from amayama.com but it's not a quick way to get parts.
Toyota OEM u-joints are nearly the same price overseas as they are stateside and the widow runners are half price over there.
If you're not hindered by a deadline then use the money you would have spent on labor to go towards the tools you need to work on it and fix it up as the budget allows. Spend the money to get the right tools and if you need an odd special tool, there's a decent chance someone on this forum has it or knows how to make it fairly cheap.
If you always wanted one growing up, keep it. Now that you own the vehicle you always wanted, you'll regret it often if you sell it.
I say replace the seat with a set from a junkyard and enjoy the truck, and get a new steering wheel cover as soon as you can. I'm sure your budget won't break over a steering wheel cover.
And you'll be extremely surprised how much of a difference pressure washing the carpet will make as others have suggested.
Please don't take this to heart. It's a running joke. We all say that when we want to steal the Cruiser out from under you. It's worth a lot more than $500 and with a little elbow grease you could transform this rig into a badass ride.Thanks a lot, I am now leaning towards taking my time with it. Especially considering that MUD members think my truck is worth $500 only
I bought my Cruiser with 213990 miles. I've learned a lot and done all the maintenance and modifications myself (except for the new ring and pinion in the 3rds). She's now got 267K miles and I couldn't imagine selling her. My kids argue over who's going to drive it to highschool. My daughter is 13 and my son is 10.
So let me get this straight...you said you spent over a year travelling multiple states looking (so lots of time invested) for the best rig and found it, a clean one at that. Already in it $$$ wise and now you want to through in the towel because of a sunroof leak and anything potentially breaking down the road? Confusing. So, since Houston is a big area, find some other 80 series owners (it appears they've already found you on here) and have them over for beer, pizza and wrenching. 'Mud is the most supportive enthusiast community i've ever seen and probably out there, so why throw away your childhood dream truck because a sunroof and theorized break downs? Just my opinion, so take or leave it.
- Thread starter
- #50
I’m not selling anymore. I panicked a little because I tried to do everything at once, as I wanted her to be pristine ASAP however I realized that’s not a cost effective way. I’m taking my time working through these things now. Thanks!
My apologies, I seemed to have glossed over you stating that previously. Glad to know you're keeping the Cruiser, look forward to the forward progress you'll be posting here!
edit: Re-read my post and it does seemingly come across as rude, which wasn't my intent, so I apologize for that as well.
Bumping this up and curious since I am in similar boat you were back in 2019. Did you end up keeping it? How was the process of fixing it up?
I wish I hadn’t sold any of my previous 10 vehicles but one.