Newbie needs help (1 Viewer)

[yoopermike]

Hi guys, been lurking for a while and a huge Toyota fan all my life. Had several trucks, but now I'm in the market for an 80 series Landcruiser or Lexus 450. I am currently looking at one, but need an opinion. The front axle on this thing looks pretty sketchy, like it needs a knuckle job at least. It is a 97 450 with 112,000 miles on it. Opinions? I know it's hard to diagnose from just a picture, but I'd like to hear some comments. He's asking $8500 OBO and the rest of the truck is in cherry condition. Thanks.

Mike

 

[tromz]

IMHO You can find one with no rust for that price . Lockers? Mechanics? Mine has rust too and i have to tell you its a big PITA on every bolt !!!

 

[yoopermike]

Yes, it has lockers. The guy that owns it is more clueless than I am, I would have to have someone fix it for me if it did indeed need a rebuild.

 

[Mo Rocks]

Yes, it has lockers. The guy that owns it is more clueless than I am, I would have to have someone fix it for me if it did indeed need a rebuild.

I am on my first 80 also.

I have heard that parts are $300+/- if you rebuild the front end knuckles and seals, etc, etc. yourself.
I have heard that the price for a mechanic to do it is 1K to 1.5K

Someone correct me if I am wrong......I am going by memory which can be dangerous.....

The sales price of the rig seems a bit high for the rust and this economy....see if he will take a bit less.....everything is negotiable...!!!! Just my limited $.02
As far as the amount of grease and dirt that has built up on the knuckles, might be normal for the age and wear.....it looks like it has never been cleaned in 13 years.

Try cleaning it off real good and top it off with the spec. grease and see how much it leaks.......it might not be that bad, or it might be something that can wait a bit.
Check the front diff. fluid level and color.....if it is not too low and is still clean, your inner seals should be OK.


....and buy a bunch of Sea Foam or Areokroil to loosen the rusty nuts and bolts.....get a big breaker bar while you are there.

Good luck to ya.

 

[Ebag333]

Geez that's a lot of rust.

I have heard that parts are $300+/- if you rebuild the front end knuckles and seals, etc, etc. yourself.
I have heard that the price for a mechanic to do it is 1K to 1.5K

It's about $300 without wheel bearings, closer to $600 with them.

For a mechanic to do it, it might be $1-1.5k not including parts. It's about an 8 hour job for two people, so you could spend over a grand in labor alone. Most of that time is spent cleaning.

I've heard of dealerships quoting up to $3k for the whole job (including parts).

The sales price of the rig seems a bit high for the rust and this economy....see if he will take a bit less.....everything is negotiable...!!!! Just my limited $.02
As far as the amount of grease and dirt that has built up on the knuckles, might be normal for the age and wear.....it looks like it has never been cleaned in 13 years.

x2



For that price, I'd buy a west coast truck and pay the $600-$1k to have it shipped to you.

 

[SchniperJB]

West coast or south east. Mine is a 96, not a speck of rust, and from the Carolinas.

You'd think in Michigan, they would be dumping these fuel inefficient tanks for what ever they could get out of them.

 

[yoopercharged]

Lots of rust. Yuck! Take it for a ride. Tell him the throttle stuck and almost died. Then give him a grand for it. Seriously Mike, WAY too much rust for that kind of money.

 

[yoopermike]

Point taken gentlemen. Thanks for your input, I'm going to pass.

 

[tromz]

I was just wondering How it got that rusty in 100,000 miles? Mine isn't that bad and pushin 200k originally from New Jersy

 

[yoopermike]

The autocheck on it said it originated in Pennsylvania, then went to New York, then to Minnesota. So, it has been in rust belt states for its entire existance. The search continues...

 

[mxvet354]

Nothing more to add than what has already been said. Just keep in mind on older LC's hopefully you are doing the maintenance and rust makes everything single thing you try and do like 10X worse. Every time I work on mine I am SO happy it is a rust free truck. Can't imagine dealing with rusted/busted/corroded bolts everytime I worked on it.

I think you made the correct choice to keep looking....

 

[yoopermike]

Found one in Utah! A 97 LX 450, had a little higher miles than what I originally started looking for (168k) but it was already lifted with 4" OME with brand new BFG A/T 295's and had lockers x3 with no rust, ARB front winch bumper (no winch), a little bit of trail rash tho, but I didn't care, I'm going to be scratching the heck out of it anyways. Flew out and drove it back to Michigan thru that freaking snowstorm in Wyoming this past week. What a trip! Only one minor problem that surfaced during the trip home, the radiator developed a lovely little leak on the top between the tank and core. Just kept filling it with distilled water and checking it every 50-100 miles, seemed like it would only leak when I would stop and turn the truck off, Bar's stop leak didn't help any. Going to call CDan in the morning to order a new one along with hoses and T-stat. Let the fun begin!

 

[TheHuss5]

New York

I had a 2002 Ford Escape from New York......Rust bucket on the underside. My 92 has zero rust and its a Oregon Truck.