New Here!

[lklane1983]

Hi everyone!! I FINALLY found my bucket list Land Cruiser and brought her home yesterday. She’s a 96 FJ80, and I couldn’t be more excited. She’s in excellent shape, but she does have a few things that need attention (as I expected she would). I’m a single mom of two small kids, and I want to have all of the adventures with them that this baby has to offer. I don’t know a ton about vehicles, but I’m pretty smart and like to do things on my own. Is this where I need to be for questions and advice related to my LC?

 

[77mustard40]

Welcome to MUD . Don’t be offended, that’s the traditional newby salute.

You can definitely ask questions on this forum and get help. I highly recommend spending some time reading some of the threads linked in the FAQ located in the sticky portion of the 80 Forum (the first few threads). Tons of good info to help you get your feet wet. Everyone always likes to see pics but you need to get some posts in before you can attach images, I can’t remember how many exactly, 5-10 I‘m guessing. Someone will correct me.

 

[flintknapper]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

Yes, this would be the section to ask questions and is one of the most active.

Be sure to put the 'year model' of your Land Cruiser in your signature line when you have time, so when future posts are made, readers will automatically know what we are dealing with.

You'll find MUD members to be a very friendly and supportive group. DO check out the FAQ section for information and links that are available to often asked questions or subjects. Also the 'search' function is useful if you need to read up on a subject.

IF you run into a situation that is time sensitive, you can post with the prefix (RTH) Real Time Help and usually get a quick response.

Once your LC is 'baselined' it should be a good, reliable means of transportation. Don't expect any kind of fuel mileage from it....but most are very reliable and will take you just about anywhere you'd have any business going.

 

[TYM4FUN]

Welcome to the fam!

 

[Box Rocket]

Congrats on the new cruiser and welcome to the zoo.

 

[sogafarm]

Welcome to MUD and enjoy the addiction! Looking forward to the pics of your new cruiser! Research "baselining" on this forum to learn how to ensure your landcruiser will be reliable and safe.

 

[sco00ter]

Welcome!

 

[BILT4ME]

Hi everyone!! I FINALLY found my bucket list Land Cruiser and brought her home yesterday. She’s a 96 FJ80, and I couldn’t be more excited. She’s in excellent shape, but she does have a few things that need attention (as I expected she would). I’m a single mom of two small kids, and I want to have all of the adventures with them that this baby has to offer. I don’t know a ton about vehicles, but I’m pretty smart and like to do things on my own. Is this where I need to be for questions and advice related to my LC?

Welcome!
Let us know what your goals are. These are not cheap to maintain and they don't get great gas mileage. When properly maintained, they will operate reliably for a very long time.

Let us know what you need and we can help you work through it.

 

[Road Apple]

Welcome to MUD !! You’ll want to start by base lining your truck so you know it’s dependable and the problem areas have been addressed. Hopefully you have a pile of receipts from the previous owner to know what has and what needs to be done. Here’s a couple links to get you started.

FAQ - 80-series FAQ for General Info, Modification and Repairs

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the 80/LX450 series tech section continues to be a work in progress. The goal is to have links in the below to other threads and tech articles. By having these linked, instead of pasting the text, the threads will remain live. The live threads can...

forum.ih8mud.com

80 Series Newbie Guide - Slee Off Road

As soon as the excitement of the purchase starts to fade, the questions start popping up. What modifications can I make? What are those 4 bolts on the back

sleeoffroad.com

 

[lklane1983]

Thanks so much for the warm welcome!! It is a 1996 fj80 with 230k miles. It came with receipts for all maintenance work done and has recently had a bumper to bumper inspection and all necessary repairs minus a valve cover gasket replacement, which I will have done directly. Brand new tires, one owner, and pristinely upkept. So minus the gasket, she’s baselined to my knowledge, but I will read more about this. However, the reverse lights don’t work, which I’m reading is a switch, but there is conflicting information on where said switch is located. After the gasket, I’d like to put some bigger tires on her. Maybe 35s? Nothing obnoxious, just a little beefier. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[flintknapper]

After the gasket, I’d like to put some bigger tires on her. Maybe 35s? Nothing obnoxious, just a little beefier. Any suggestions are welcome!

33's fit fine with no lift and the 'spare' will still fit underneath.

Unless you do some pretty hardcore off-roading 33" tires will be plenty.

35's are enough of a jump upward to start most folks wanting to re-gear either their differentials or the Transfer-case.

I'd recommend you go through a set of 33's first and decide.

 

[lklane1983]

33's fit fine with no lift and the 'spare' will still fit underneath.

Unless you do some pretty hardcore off-roading 33" tires will be plenty.

35's are enough of a jump upward to start most folks wanting to re-gear either their differentials or the Transfer-case.

I'd recommend you go through a set of 33's first and decide.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[LINUS]

Thanks for the info!!

Another advantage of stopping at 33’s for tires is there is a very simple speedo correction gear that is a real Toyota PN# that installs easily in the DS of the trans case.

IIRC it was a < $20 shipped part.

Slee Offroad vendored it a good decade -15yrs ago, Christo & the gang may still know it & it helps to keep your speedo correct when out doing highway speeds.
There, or Kurt/Cruiser Outfitters would probably know it.

HTH!

Welcome aboard!

 

[Road Apple]

,the reverse lights don’t work, which I’m reading is a switch, but there is conflicting information on where said switch is located.

A reverse light upgrade to LED bulbs is really helpful. The stock lights make it hard to see much. I bought mine from superbrightleds.com and also replaced the dome lights, door lights, glove box, vanity visor lights, and the map light. All of sudden I can see.

superbrightleds.com

 

[Road Apple]

I’d like to put some bigger tires on her. Maybe 35s? Nothing obnoxious, just a little beefier. Any suggestions are welcome!

35’s will fit with a minimum of a 2” lift. You can run stock gears, 4.10’s, but you’ll experience a noticeable reduction in power. You could regear the differentials with 4.56 gears or the transfer case with high range 10% underdrive gears to give you a 4.56 gear ratio. Either will get you back to stock power. Some people like to gear the differentials to 4.88’s for slightly lowers gearing. If you go with regearing the transfer case, consider installing both 10% high range underdrive and low range 25% gear reduction, especially if you plan to drive moderate to difficult trails. You’ll gain more control over difficult obstacles and reduce breakage.

 

[cartercd]

Welcome to MUD. This forum is a wealth of great info and very helpful/knowledgeable people.

I recommend you also go to the "clubhouse" section of ih8mud and introduce yourself to your local chapter. There you will have access to local vendors, club runs, and people to lend you a hand (or tools).

 

[lklane1983]

Welcome!
Let us know what your goals are. These are not cheap to maintain and they don't get great gas mileage. When properly maintained, they will operate reliably for a very long time.

Let us know what you need and we can help you work through it.

Thanks so much! This will not be my daily driver, it’s more of a “play” vehicle and something that can get me to and from work during the inclement weather months (I live on a mountain ridge in TN where the roads aren’t treated, and I have a job that demands my presence regardless of the weather). Not planning on doing anything crazy with it...maybe some mild off roading, definitely lots and lots of camping, and it’s something that can tow my boat and my kayaking/biking/camping gear. Been a Toyota person all my life and have the upmost faith in their reliability and lifespan expectancy. She needs a valve cover gasket replacement pronto, and reverse lights don’t work. Other than that, she’s in good shape. Would like to put some bigger tires on her just to toughen her up a bit, but not sure about size or lift.

 

[sogafarm]

Thanks so much! This will not be my daily driver, it’s more of a “play” vehicle and something that can get me to and from work during the inclement weather months (I live on a mountain ridge in TN where the roads aren’t treated, and I have a job that demands my presence regardless of the weather). Not planning on doing anything crazy with it...maybe some mild off roading, definitely lots and lots of camping, and it’s something that can tow my boat and my kayaking/biking/camping gear. Been a Toyota person all my life and have the upmost faith in their reliability and lifespan expectancy. She needs a valve cover gasket replacement pronto, and reverse lights don’t work. Other than that, she’s in good shape. Would like to put some bigger tires on her just to toughen her up a bit, but not sure about size or lift.

If your doing any towing with 35's then you will definetely need to regear plus 2" lift, etc and more $$. The 33" ones would be fine with no other modifications and could handle everything your wanting to do with the cruiser and much less $$.
Having said that, if your ultimate goal is a badass looking rig, go with option 1 and 35's.

 

[John Young]

Congratulations! Please post some photos of the new addition to your family. We'd all like to see, I'm sure. Have you named it yet?

I use a 1998 model 100 as my daily driver and it is very comfortable, and I love it. But as I've gotten more and more into the 80 series I've come to really agree that it might be the best of the bunch in terms of still being a comfortable driver. Everything is a little heavier duty than in the 100. Trivial example being that the inside of the tailgate is sheet steel. On the 100 there are large cutouts covered by fiberboard topped by carpet. So 'well done' in choosing your 80!

 

[lklane1983]

Yes. Her name is Wilma the Wonder Wagon (you can thank my 8 year old for that ).