"New" FJ60 - rough shape

[djsolution]

What's up everybody. I just bought an '87 FJ60 Cruiser from my brother in law about 10 months ago for a scant $600. Sounds like a good deal, but it has seen better days. My father in law bought it new in 87 and babied it for 16 years. When he handed the keys over to his son 2 years ago, that all changed. He beat the hell out of it and ran it through deep water and damn near hydrolocked it. I finally just made it out to AZ to check out the damage in person. The choke is frozen solid; it starts easily but idles very rough, sounds like it's knocking pretty badly; wants to overheat after about 20 mins of running; front and rear passenger side leaf springs are totally flat; dented hood, roof, and rear hatch. 4WD engages smoothly and tranny shifts great - a testament to my father in law's faithful maintenance. Anyway, I'm hoping I didn't just inherit a money pit. I mainly need to get this thing road worthy so I can drive it down to my new home in Tucson. How much do you all think new suspension, choke cable, and a good motor rebuild would cost (assuming some internal damage from the water)? Sorry for the long first post!

 

[macneill]

Congrats. Where the pix at?

 

[brett76]

it doesnt sound that bad really. just break it down one thing at a time and fix it. still a good deal i think

 

[Toadhopper]

You can check prices for OEM parts from a boardmember named CruiserDan. He's a parts guy at a Toyota dealership called American Toyota in New Mexico 1 800 432 6668 ext #8.
He gives boardmembers a good discount and is really good with Land Cruisers.

As far as the knocking goes, you'll want to find out a little more before you go for a total engine rebuild.
Good luck!
Toad

 

[djsolution]

Thanks for the advice. I do plan on taking it in to a Toyota shop in Prescott AZ to get the word on exactly what's going on with the motor after a compression test and what not. I'll look up CruiserDan when the time comes too.

 

[jmkfj60]

Bye the way, they are all money pits, good money pits, but they will soak you dry. It is a good thing though.

 

[wingysataday]

Don't go cheap on an engine rebuild!!! It will be the death of you! Take it to people who know cruisers or do it your self!

 

[lovetoski]

I think you need to figure out what's really wrong. The worn rear springs are normal - no biggie at this point in time. You'll need to do something, but you can drive fine for now. Overheating is a major issue - gotta get to the bottom of that one right away. Knocking...might be just because it needs a valve adjust, or might be because the engine is @&@&@&@&ed. Rough running could be just because it needs a tune-up, or because the engine is @&@&@&@&ed. Try to get some concrete info from your brother in law. Did the cruiser ever overheat, etc. Get a compression check, both wet and dry. Post back with further info.

 

[djsolution]

I guess it had a problem of overheating even before the water incident. He would have to blast the heat during city driving. After he pulled water into the motor, he did change the oil a few times until it wasnt milky, and changed the spark plugs. I'm not sure if he ever changed or flushed the coolant. When I was driving it, I did smell coolant but couldn't find a leak... blown head gasket maybe? Anyway, I'm having it towed to this Independent Toyota shop that has serviced this cruiser for years. I'm hoping for the best!

 

[Heartworm]

cost estimates

Having just bought a cruiser cheap and starting to rebuild, I can give you some figures.
Engine rebuild ~$2000 (I removed and reinstalled)
New Clutch kit~ $216
New hoses, belts, filters ~$300
Reman power steering pump and hoses ~$225
New thermostat ~30
Gear oil/motor oil/ antifreeze $100
Exhaust pipe/muffler$150
Reman Water pump $50?
OME shocks and steering stabilizer $390
New clutch master and slave $88
Jim C. distrib/carb rebuild/idler pulley $492
5 new BFG 33X9.5 15s $725
Alpine CD/MP3 $300
New SOR foam for Driver's Seat $150

Welcome to Cruiserland Dude! Mine still sits on flat springs, clunks in the rear end and has all the body dings etc. But, it runs great. Good luck. The guys are right, deal with the overheating first, worry about the springs later.

 

[djsolution]

Good info Heartworm! I just talked to my father in law today and I guess he always had problems with the cruiser overheating. He suggested getting an oversized radiator and new water pump. Sounds reasonable. I think I'll start shopping the aftermarket for a good radiator. Looks like MAF has a good cross flow aluminum setup.

 

[browser5031]

Don't waste money on the aluminum radiator. A replacement stock one should do the job. I would give the engine and heater core a good power flush. Replace the thermostat, check the fan clutch and see what happens. It sounds like the choke just needs a bit of liquid wrench or oil.

 

[Hawke]

Having just bought a cruiser cheap and starting to rebuild, I can give you some figures.
Engine rebuild ~$2000 (I removed and reinstalled)
New Clutch kit~ $216
New hoses, belts, filters ~$300
Reman power steering pump and hoses ~$225
New thermostat ~30
Gear oil/motor oil/ antifreeze $100
Exhaust pipe/muffler$150
Reman Water pump $50?
OME shocks and steering stabilizer $390
New clutch master and slave $88
Jim C. distrib/carb rebuild/idler pulley $492
5 new BFG 33X9.5 15s $725
Alpine CD/MP3 $300
New SOR foam for Driver's Seat $150

Welcome to Cruiserland Dude! Mine still sits on flat springs, clunks in the rear end and has all the body dings etc. But, it runs great. Good luck. The guys are right, deal with the overheating first, worry about the springs later.

Driving a Toyota: priceless

 

[Bradley]

They don't overheat stock so something is wrong. I agree clean the rad fins and the core, change the thermo and a new clutch fan and see how it does. I had a small hole my rad on my heep and that caused the thing to warm up and when I got my new rad and clutch fan that thing has never run that good of a temp before. Main thing is stock works so something in the stock system is not up to par, so you have to find it or you will be chassing that cooling thing for a long time and to much $$

 

[KLF]

A 19 year old beat up Land Cruiser is a hole in your driveway that you pour money into. Be prepared.

 

[gnx7]

That truck sounds pretty beat up. I would find another and use the existing one for spare parts. Do the math... and look in the local classifieds for another one to see which one would work out best if you truly want one.

That rig may have only cost you $600... but it will cost 5x that to get it running well and still have tired suspension and body dings.

I love my FJ60... but it runs great, had no body dings... a bit of rust (that was fixed) and I redid the suspension. It runs great and I love it. $3K purchase, $3500+ paint to fix rust, $2K lift/suspension/tires. It adds up fast.

 

[sixty]

check & make sure it is really over heating & it is not just the POS toyota sender & guage. years ago I tried everything to fix a non existant overheating problem that turned out to be a faulty sender gauge... I would check that first or maybe install a secondary mechanical gauge.

 

[gnx7]

I would have the radiator boiled out and cleaned professionally. That in conjunction with a new water pump/Tstat helped with cooling my rig to normal levels.

If you plan to keep the truck for a long time I would look for another. If you just want a beater for a few years and then get rid of it... this one could work.... first find out what is wrong.

 

[djsolution]

Long time no update, but just got some news today. I had finally towed the Cruiser to a shop in Prescott last week. Got a call today and the tech had great news: nothing blown or bent. Should just need new wires, plugs, a few vacuum hoses, distributor cap, and a valve job. They'll be putting a new radiator, thermostat and hoses in as well. I'll get some pics finally when I go pick it up in a couple of weeks.

 

[djsolution]

Yet another update: The guy at this Toyota shop has finally gotten the valves adjusted, installed new radiator, hoses, cap, rotor, wires and plugs. I figured the truck would be there a while anyway so I had an OME med/heavy kit sent over and installed. He says it fires up but has low oil pressure (around 7psi) on the dash guage. He wanted to get it off the lift to hook up a manual pressure guage and drive it around so he buttoned up the rear end and to his surprise, the rear wheels are sitting all the way forward, rubbing the front of the wheel well. He tells me he has the OME kit installed correctly and even gave me the serial #s on the rear springs (CS004RA and B), which check out ok. He can't figure it out. He even reversed the direction of the spring and the wheel rubbed the rear of the wheel well. Unfortunately this is all happening 4 hours away so I can't run over and take a look. Any advice here? Sorry no pics yet, haven't laid eyes on the rig in almost 2 months. Thanks fellas.