New Owner, Looking for General Guidance

[jcope]

Hello,

After struggling through the winter missing my truck and wishing my Audi was a Quattro, I got my heart set on a Land Cruiser as my next fun vehicle. And yesterday I bought one.

It's a 1997 with differential lockers. Just over 110K miles. One owner, I think. There were two ownership records in the Carfax, but I think the second one was the same guy buying the lease out. It's in need of some care, mostly for cosmetic problems. I think. That's my problem. What are the hidden mechanical issues I should address first? There were no obvious problems that I could see. It's clean and tight and nice to drive.

If you can recommend someone I can take it to who knows and cares about Land Cruisers, I'd like to get their take on whether I found a gem or whether it was traded in because something major is wrong. Maybe I'm paranoid.

Any other advice you can offer would be great.

After making sure it's mechanically sound, I'm looking to make some modifications to it. Give it a lift, some new wheels, etc. to make it a bit more aggressive. It needs to be taken out into the woods where it has obviously never been. Sort of show it what it has been missing. And I want it to be capable and ready for anything.

All feedback and advice is welcome.

Thanks!

 

[black95]

Outstanding. A '97 with lockers and only 110k on the clock is a good buy no matter how you look at it! I'm excited for you, and yeah, you need to get out and get that rig some fresh air. I'm sure some of our 80 people know the weak slots and can give you some advise. I'm not an 80 owner myself, but I always hear people talking about the PHH (pesky heater hose?) and something about the wiring harness running behind the engine on the firewall. Seems to be a fairly difficult vehicle to bleed the brakes on too. That's all I know... Have fun!

 

[EricG]

Very nice!
Yep, first thing I would look into is the PHH - it's a small coolant hose on the driver's side of the block. No real problem compared to any other hose, except it tends to be neglected and is a PITA to get to. 80 series FAQ is a good place to start reading.

 

[Goslow]

For the mechanical checkout you are asking about, I recommend calling Don at Bear Automotive in Colorado Springs, 591-5700. Don knows Land Cruisers and will treat you well.

 

[jcope]

Thanks, guys.

I'll check out Don. If anyone knows a good guy in the south metro area, I'll take those recommendations, too. Colorado Springs is a bit of a drive, but I'll do it if that's the best place to go.

I'm a little bit surprised at the cost of parts. From the dealership, they are almost German car expensive.

I have been reading the FAQ, so I'm getting educated. The axle overhaul looks like a challenge. Not sure I'll try to do the lift myself.

It's going to take a while for me to get a plan together. But the more I read and get to know the truck, the happier I am with it. This IH8MUD forum is an outstanding source, too. On my trucks I used to try to figure things out from the Chilton manuals. Not easy.

 

[CO_Hunter]

If you are in the Denver area look into Rising Sun,( http://risingsun4x4club.org/forum2/ )they are the club in that area. FAQ is a great place, search for variations of "base lining". I would change all fluids for a start. Check fan clutch and the temp gauge mod. Robbie is up in Denver, posts under user name powderpig. Slee is in Golden. For parts look up CDan at American Toyota in Albuquerque, even with shipping he has great prices if you ask for the MUD discount. By the way I just drove by there last week.

Here is a good link on flushing the cooling system, I went green.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/14891-cleaned-my-cooling-system-full-scoop.html#post141441


Oh yeah, great find on the 80

 

[EricG]

If you need a part from the Toyota dealership *now* (vs. calling CruiserDan and having it shipped) then ask for the TLCA (Toyota Land Cruiser Association) discount. At least at Liberty Toyota in Colorado Springs it gets you a pretty healthy discout - approaches Dan's sometimes oncel you include shipping. Never had them ask for a card or such.