New to the FZJ80 club here. I picked up a 95 FZJ80 from a friend who had been driving it for a number of years. She was not a car person and is a single mom living in the boonies so it had not been maintained unless it was an absolute necessity. As in, I think the car received maintenance when it stopped running. I'd talked to her off and on for a number of years about selling it to me when she was ready to get rid of it. It started leaking even more than it was and she got a quote of 1000 bucks to fix just one of the leaks. Time for it to go so she passed it on to me at a very reasonable price. Wasn't a seal or a hose on it that did not leak and the seat covers are in (what I've learned) is the usual state of decay. In the three months I've owned it the following has been done:
Complete knuckle rebuild with trunion bearings (inside of tires were splattered with diff oil)
Wheel bearings replaced (they did not seem shot but I'm in there anyway)
Birfs disassembled, cleaned up, repacked and all bearings packed
Axles sleeved (yes there were the usual wear patterns from the seals but in my research I discovered that sleeving with quality sleeves will last nearly as long as replacement axles. Fortunately the neighbor had a press so I made a custom press tool to press the sleeves on. I now have the same press in my shop. Not sure how I lived without one for so long)
Relay arm ends replaced (they were oozing water)
Tie rod and ends replaced (same condition as relay ends but no amount of heat or BFH would persuade the ends to come loose so new arm as well)
Steering stabilizer replaced
Main seal replaced (leaking)
Oil pump cover seal replaced (old one was the most brittle seal I'd ever seen)
Water pump replaced (she was told it was leaking, it wasn't but as long as you've got everything pulled apart...)
Power steering pump replaced (the old one was beyond gone, major noise and steered like a 1950's manual pickup truck)
Distributor seal replaced (leaking)
Distributor cap and rotor replaced
New plugs and wires
Wheel hub caps replaced (looked trashed)
Wheels cleaned with wheel cleaner and white brillow pad (look very good now)
Accessible vacuum hoses replaced (the ones that don't require removal of the intake manifold)
EGR path to intake manifold cleaned out (discovered that both ends were plugged while replacing hose. Small drill bit turned by hand to pull the debris out)
EGR vacuum modulator replaced (broke off a nipple while taking compression readings on the back cylinder)
Radiator flushed, later replaced (under the false belief that the core was bad)
Main coolant hoses replaced (still need to do the heater hoses at the back and the valve)
Radiator cap changed to correct cap (12-13 psi rather than the 20 psi the shop put on following a professional flush, that 20 psi exposed a bunch of leaks and may have created some)
Thermostat replaced
Coolant outlet metal pipe replaced (had a hairline crack)
Orings on coolant outlet and inner pipe replaced
Coolant replaced (a couple times due to constantly chasing new leaks)
Window belt molding on passenger side replaced (old stuff was all cracked up, driver side OK)
Oil changed to Mobil 1 with new oil filter
UJ's replaced front and rear (one of the rear ones was buggered)
Transmission serviced (by a friend who owns a transmission shop, he said it was in good shape and it does shift with authority)
Both diffs and transfer case oil replaced
Running boards removed
Dent removed from front fender by a paintless dent repair guy (he did a wonderful job)
Rear window removed and rust damage repaired (After hitting it with a wire wheel on a grinder I shot it with a rust converter. The pinch weld was in good shape and the rust around was not so bad that it could be a structural problem. No welding required. Some bondo, some shaping, some priming, some painting and clear coat.)
Rear window reinstalled and front window replaced at an auto window shop (wasn't temped to tackle those jobs)
Removed broken and sloppy roof rack and repaired rust around the screw holes
Repaired clear coat issues on other parts of the car preceded by paint touchup where it needed it (like where the roof rack mounts were located)
Plasti coated the front bumper and rear bumper (plastic parts only on rear) with a black metallic color
Painted the grill with a satin black but left the chrome parts chrome
Painted the metal 4 hole part of the back bumper with the same satin black
Sanded the aluminum step part of the rear bumper to clean it up and sealed it with aluminum wheel clear coat.
Installed CV diff lock switch
Repaired CV diff lock indicator switch and now get the indicator light on the dash (new switch ordered but not yet installed since the old one is now working)
Replaced bulbs in dash switches that were burnt out (ended up replacing the old ones that were working as well, now illumination works in all and all switches function as expected)
Replaced front and rear door stock factory paper speakers with Pioneer 6.5 in front and Alpine 4.5 in rear (did not improve things much)
Replaced lower end Kenwood stereo head unit someone had installed with higher end Alpine that has bluetooth and phone (this made a big difference, sounds very good now)
Tried to get the sub in the back working but failed (I think it was factory based on brackets but it spazzes out when a signal sent to it. Not needed anyway as the sound is very full and clear now. Still, might replace it down the road for a bit more below 100 hz but most would never notice)
Fixed that passenger seat that would not go forward or back with new plastic gears (for those who have not removed their front seats beware, half the weight in the car is in the front seats and it would be possible to end up with your testicles sucked up around your adams apple when boosting those things out)
Exhaust system rebuilt by a local muffler shop who had done work for me in the past (cat was blocked, one of the bricks was broken off and rotated sideways, its gone and a nice new stainless tip now emerges behind the rear tire. Have not thrown a single check engine light since that work was done)
Lot of cleaning along the way. Multiple rounds of cleaning. When I got the rig you needed a shovel to dig for the bolts. Much better now but what a messy job.
Whew, so that's where my last three months went along with a couple knuckles, finger nails, connecting tissue, muscle tissue, brain tissue and sanity. Read something on this site where one owner said that every time you open something up on one of these Land Cruisers you find a doorway to hell. I get it.
I was fortunate in that the body on this rig was very straight and except for the rear window area and a little on the old roof rack mounts, zero rust. Zero rust on the under carriage as well (probably due to the amount of grease and oil it was coated in all these years). A compression test with the engine warm that I did before I started any of the above work showed that all cylinders are near factory new spec. 170-180 psi. And now that the work has been done this thing runs like a top and looks like a new rig. The Toyota tractor parked next to the farm tractor:
Still, more to do.
90 percent of the leaks are fixed. I still have a small coolant leak that looks like it is coming from the block side of the housing that the metal water outlet goes into and that the heater outlet feeds into just behind the water pump. Can't find that gasket part number. Looks like it would be square so If anyone knows, please post it.
Need to replace the heater hoses at the back near the firewall and under the car along with the heater diverter valve at the back on the firewall.
Need to reverse flush the heater cores. I'm getting air bubble sounds from the dash under acceleration so I'm guessing that the main heater core is partially plugged. Not dealing with remaining cooling issues until spring though.
Got a 66 inch roof rack on the way that Titan Truck talked me into. I'll get that installed when it arrives.
Got big round old school looking (but LED) aux lights on order that I'm going to mount on the bumper. Also have the Aux light switch that mounts in one of the dash available slots on order. Need to get the connector for that Aux light switch and figure out where I'm going to pick up the illumination and switch power. If anyone knows the connector or has a bright idea about a slick way to power it (was going to tap adjacent switch but would like a better way) please post your ideas.
The biggest thing that needs to be done (money wise) is new seat upholstery. For the time being I ordered a set of Rixxu sport seat covers in dark brown to see how the color looked. The color looks very good with the cream/taupe interior and the quality of those Rixxu seat covers are well beyond what I expected. I just got the fronts and laid them out on the seats loosely fitting them. I called the wife out to render an opinion. We looked at each other and had the same thought at the same time, they look so good and the quality is so high that maybe we should just order the backs and call it good. We will see.
Got a couple of lights out on the dash. The drive and the neutral in particular.
Those are the main things I'm planning but my neighbor is refurbing a 60 series and he is a bad influence. He's already done a 2 inch OME, installed onboard air and a tank and has a set of ARB lockers sitting on the bench that he plans to install over Christmas. His activities have me scratching my head as far as how far I should take this build.
Anyway, I have a another question. There is a flat connector installed at the bottom of the dash under the steering wheel. The previous owner does not know what it is. I had one of these on a used jeep I bought a number of years back as well and never did figure out what the hell it was. It is not Toyota. Does anyone know what this is?
Complete knuckle rebuild with trunion bearings (inside of tires were splattered with diff oil)
Wheel bearings replaced (they did not seem shot but I'm in there anyway)
Birfs disassembled, cleaned up, repacked and all bearings packed
Axles sleeved (yes there were the usual wear patterns from the seals but in my research I discovered that sleeving with quality sleeves will last nearly as long as replacement axles. Fortunately the neighbor had a press so I made a custom press tool to press the sleeves on. I now have the same press in my shop. Not sure how I lived without one for so long)
Relay arm ends replaced (they were oozing water)
Tie rod and ends replaced (same condition as relay ends but no amount of heat or BFH would persuade the ends to come loose so new arm as well)
Steering stabilizer replaced
Main seal replaced (leaking)
Oil pump cover seal replaced (old one was the most brittle seal I'd ever seen)
Water pump replaced (she was told it was leaking, it wasn't but as long as you've got everything pulled apart...)
Power steering pump replaced (the old one was beyond gone, major noise and steered like a 1950's manual pickup truck)
Distributor seal replaced (leaking)
Distributor cap and rotor replaced
New plugs and wires
Wheel hub caps replaced (looked trashed)
Wheels cleaned with wheel cleaner and white brillow pad (look very good now)
Accessible vacuum hoses replaced (the ones that don't require removal of the intake manifold)
EGR path to intake manifold cleaned out (discovered that both ends were plugged while replacing hose. Small drill bit turned by hand to pull the debris out)
EGR vacuum modulator replaced (broke off a nipple while taking compression readings on the back cylinder)
Radiator flushed, later replaced (under the false belief that the core was bad)
Main coolant hoses replaced (still need to do the heater hoses at the back and the valve)
Radiator cap changed to correct cap (12-13 psi rather than the 20 psi the shop put on following a professional flush, that 20 psi exposed a bunch of leaks and may have created some)
Thermostat replaced
Coolant outlet metal pipe replaced (had a hairline crack)
Orings on coolant outlet and inner pipe replaced
Coolant replaced (a couple times due to constantly chasing new leaks)
Window belt molding on passenger side replaced (old stuff was all cracked up, driver side OK)
Oil changed to Mobil 1 with new oil filter
UJ's replaced front and rear (one of the rear ones was buggered)
Transmission serviced (by a friend who owns a transmission shop, he said it was in good shape and it does shift with authority)
Both diffs and transfer case oil replaced
Running boards removed
Dent removed from front fender by a paintless dent repair guy (he did a wonderful job)
Rear window removed and rust damage repaired (After hitting it with a wire wheel on a grinder I shot it with a rust converter. The pinch weld was in good shape and the rust around was not so bad that it could be a structural problem. No welding required. Some bondo, some shaping, some priming, some painting and clear coat.)
Rear window reinstalled and front window replaced at an auto window shop (wasn't temped to tackle those jobs)
Removed broken and sloppy roof rack and repaired rust around the screw holes
Repaired clear coat issues on other parts of the car preceded by paint touchup where it needed it (like where the roof rack mounts were located)
Plasti coated the front bumper and rear bumper (plastic parts only on rear) with a black metallic color
Painted the grill with a satin black but left the chrome parts chrome
Painted the metal 4 hole part of the back bumper with the same satin black
Sanded the aluminum step part of the rear bumper to clean it up and sealed it with aluminum wheel clear coat.
Installed CV diff lock switch
Repaired CV diff lock indicator switch and now get the indicator light on the dash (new switch ordered but not yet installed since the old one is now working)
Replaced bulbs in dash switches that were burnt out (ended up replacing the old ones that were working as well, now illumination works in all and all switches function as expected)
Replaced front and rear door stock factory paper speakers with Pioneer 6.5 in front and Alpine 4.5 in rear (did not improve things much)
Replaced lower end Kenwood stereo head unit someone had installed with higher end Alpine that has bluetooth and phone (this made a big difference, sounds very good now)
Tried to get the sub in the back working but failed (I think it was factory based on brackets but it spazzes out when a signal sent to it. Not needed anyway as the sound is very full and clear now. Still, might replace it down the road for a bit more below 100 hz but most would never notice)
Fixed that passenger seat that would not go forward or back with new plastic gears (for those who have not removed their front seats beware, half the weight in the car is in the front seats and it would be possible to end up with your testicles sucked up around your adams apple when boosting those things out)
Exhaust system rebuilt by a local muffler shop who had done work for me in the past (cat was blocked, one of the bricks was broken off and rotated sideways, its gone and a nice new stainless tip now emerges behind the rear tire. Have not thrown a single check engine light since that work was done)
Lot of cleaning along the way. Multiple rounds of cleaning. When I got the rig you needed a shovel to dig for the bolts. Much better now but what a messy job.
Whew, so that's where my last three months went along with a couple knuckles, finger nails, connecting tissue, muscle tissue, brain tissue and sanity. Read something on this site where one owner said that every time you open something up on one of these Land Cruisers you find a doorway to hell. I get it.
I was fortunate in that the body on this rig was very straight and except for the rear window area and a little on the old roof rack mounts, zero rust. Zero rust on the under carriage as well (probably due to the amount of grease and oil it was coated in all these years). A compression test with the engine warm that I did before I started any of the above work showed that all cylinders are near factory new spec. 170-180 psi. And now that the work has been done this thing runs like a top and looks like a new rig. The Toyota tractor parked next to the farm tractor:
Still, more to do.
90 percent of the leaks are fixed. I still have a small coolant leak that looks like it is coming from the block side of the housing that the metal water outlet goes into and that the heater outlet feeds into just behind the water pump. Can't find that gasket part number. Looks like it would be square so If anyone knows, please post it.
Need to replace the heater hoses at the back near the firewall and under the car along with the heater diverter valve at the back on the firewall.
Need to reverse flush the heater cores. I'm getting air bubble sounds from the dash under acceleration so I'm guessing that the main heater core is partially plugged. Not dealing with remaining cooling issues until spring though.
Got a 66 inch roof rack on the way that Titan Truck talked me into. I'll get that installed when it arrives.
Got big round old school looking (but LED) aux lights on order that I'm going to mount on the bumper. Also have the Aux light switch that mounts in one of the dash available slots on order. Need to get the connector for that Aux light switch and figure out where I'm going to pick up the illumination and switch power. If anyone knows the connector or has a bright idea about a slick way to power it (was going to tap adjacent switch but would like a better way) please post your ideas.
The biggest thing that needs to be done (money wise) is new seat upholstery. For the time being I ordered a set of Rixxu sport seat covers in dark brown to see how the color looked. The color looks very good with the cream/taupe interior and the quality of those Rixxu seat covers are well beyond what I expected. I just got the fronts and laid them out on the seats loosely fitting them. I called the wife out to render an opinion. We looked at each other and had the same thought at the same time, they look so good and the quality is so high that maybe we should just order the backs and call it good. We will see.
Got a couple of lights out on the dash. The drive and the neutral in particular.
Those are the main things I'm planning but my neighbor is refurbing a 60 series and he is a bad influence. He's already done a 2 inch OME, installed onboard air and a tank and has a set of ARB lockers sitting on the bench that he plans to install over Christmas. His activities have me scratching my head as far as how far I should take this build.
Anyway, I have a another question. There is a flat connector installed at the bottom of the dash under the steering wheel. The previous owner does not know what it is. I had one of these on a used jeep I bought a number of years back as well and never did figure out what the hell it was. It is not Toyota. Does anyone know what this is?
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