Been lurking for a couple of weeks now and finally picked up a 96 cruiser on Saturday. About a year ago my wife had said we should get a mid 90's land cruiser to replace our 2000 4runner that we sold. I guess I really didn't pay much attention to what she said (bad husband), over the next few months she kept pointing them out to me. I guess I finally paid attention and realized that was the body style I really liked. Fast forward to about a month ago, I started my search for information and found this site. WOW! There is a lot of info here. I found myself spending every morning before work and every evening before going to sleep reading threads about what to look for and the differences between the years.
Over the next several months I will try to document my build and restoration, but for now let me give a little background on what I ended up with.
I wanted to try and find an 80 with factory lockers, this limited my choices. I found a 96 in Auburn at a used car lot that had 248k on it for $6800. I test drove it and it ran great and felt pretty solid, especially considering how many miles it had on it. The seats were in fair condition (no rips or holes, but pretty dried and cracked), paint was ok, a couple of small dings, looked like it was never in an accident, and everything seemed to work. I told the owner of the car lot I was interested but had to discuss with my wife.
Next I found an add on Craigslist for a 97 LX450 at a used car lot in the Bay Area with 210k on it for $7900. I called the owner and got more info. He said he did rear axle seals, new radiator, and new leather on both front seats. This sounded like the one, he sent me pictures and it looked like it was in great shape. On Friday my son and I headed off to the Bay Area to check it out. When I got there it didn't look as clean as it did in the pictures but we decided to give it a chance and went for a test drive. This thing felt like crap, warped rotors, pedal went almost to the floor, worn shocks, loose steering, cracked drivers side headlight, and I thought the drivers window was going to fall into the door (I think the regulator was shot). I thanked the owner for his time and my son and I headed home. On the way I called the guy in auburn and told him I would be down the next day to purchase the 96 Land Cruiser.
This is where the story gets good. On the way home I notice every time I accelerate the temperature jumps from 1/2 to 3/4 instantly, as soon as I let off it drops back to half. In the back of my mind I'm thinking possible head gasket. Next the check engine light comes on, then driving down my gravel driveway i find out that the rear locker wont engage. Now I'm thinking that I bought a pile. I knew going into this that buying a high mileage vehicle was going to require some work, I just didn't expect to have to start as soon as I got it home.
Had a nice long weekend to start going over everything to figure out what it needs.
1. Check engine light, scanned and found P0401, will address with #2
2. Did compression test, found #5 about 40psi weak and won't hold pressure
3. Rear locker water damaged, already pulled apart and fixed
4. Pulled front carpet, will order replacement
5. Pulled all seats
6. Removed old delaminating wood grain trim, won't replace
6. Fixed rattle in passenger side window regulator
I have a friend coming over next week To help me pull the engine, still haven't decided how far I want to go with it. I guess I'll figure that out once we get the head off. I think that's it for now. Sorry for rambling on.
Gary.
Over the next several months I will try to document my build and restoration, but for now let me give a little background on what I ended up with.
I wanted to try and find an 80 with factory lockers, this limited my choices. I found a 96 in Auburn at a used car lot that had 248k on it for $6800. I test drove it and it ran great and felt pretty solid, especially considering how many miles it had on it. The seats were in fair condition (no rips or holes, but pretty dried and cracked), paint was ok, a couple of small dings, looked like it was never in an accident, and everything seemed to work. I told the owner of the car lot I was interested but had to discuss with my wife.
Next I found an add on Craigslist for a 97 LX450 at a used car lot in the Bay Area with 210k on it for $7900. I called the owner and got more info. He said he did rear axle seals, new radiator, and new leather on both front seats. This sounded like the one, he sent me pictures and it looked like it was in great shape. On Friday my son and I headed off to the Bay Area to check it out. When I got there it didn't look as clean as it did in the pictures but we decided to give it a chance and went for a test drive. This thing felt like crap, warped rotors, pedal went almost to the floor, worn shocks, loose steering, cracked drivers side headlight, and I thought the drivers window was going to fall into the door (I think the regulator was shot). I thanked the owner for his time and my son and I headed home. On the way I called the guy in auburn and told him I would be down the next day to purchase the 96 Land Cruiser.
This is where the story gets good. On the way home I notice every time I accelerate the temperature jumps from 1/2 to 3/4 instantly, as soon as I let off it drops back to half. In the back of my mind I'm thinking possible head gasket. Next the check engine light comes on, then driving down my gravel driveway i find out that the rear locker wont engage. Now I'm thinking that I bought a pile. I knew going into this that buying a high mileage vehicle was going to require some work, I just didn't expect to have to start as soon as I got it home.
Had a nice long weekend to start going over everything to figure out what it needs.
1. Check engine light, scanned and found P0401, will address with #2
2. Did compression test, found #5 about 40psi weak and won't hold pressure
3. Rear locker water damaged, already pulled apart and fixed
4. Pulled front carpet, will order replacement
5. Pulled all seats
6. Removed old delaminating wood grain trim, won't replace
6. Fixed rattle in passenger side window regulator
I have a friend coming over next week To help me pull the engine, still haven't decided how far I want to go with it. I guess I'll figure that out once we get the head off. I think that's it for now. Sorry for rambling on.
Gary.
