As soon as I sell my 4Runner, I plan to get a 94-97 LC. In the meantime, I researching the LC s much as I can. From what I gather, the Birfs seem to be the achilles heel of this otherwise solid truck. Are the Birfs an issue if the vehicle is driven only as a daily driver(pavement only)? Are they almost guaranteed to crap out over over time?
It's not an achilles heel. Most cruisers are driven daily with no issues. If you maintain your truck the way it deserves, then you'll likely never have many issues. These are solid trucks including the birfs. That said, if you drive with 35+ tires off road, and use too much skinny etc, you can snap them. That's the way it goes.
>> From what I gather, the Birfs seem to be the achilles heel of this otherwise solid truck. <<
I'll strongly disagree. My opinion follows: The front axle, including the birfields, are extremely strong and will last 500,000 easily if they are maintained properly. What this means is that any "problems" are addressed immediately and the wheel bearings, diff fluid, and birfields are routinely serviced. Most of the experts here on IH8MUD recommend 60k mile service intervals on the birfields but some push that to 100k miles with careful monitoring. Ignore the front axle and you're sure to cause a failure that would be expensive to repair.
As for wheeling, many things start breaking once you turn your rig into a HD rock crawler; 40" tyres and a high torque engine will surely break something when you're routinely crawling up 4' ledges. The average guy with 33-35" tyres and tackling appropriate trails with a well maintained truck, will have minimum problems. That is to say that the FZJ80 will fail no more than the other vehicles on the same trails with the same size tyres.
That being said, we discuss the birfields and the front axle service a LOT here on IH8MUD. I'm not sure why but my guess is that many new owners haven't owned a FT 4WD solid axle vehicle and therefore they are a little intimidated about the dealer cost of this service. Added to this is that many are just beginning to DIY or returning to DIY maintenance. Those of us (including myself) doing these jobs in our garage for the 1st time need some reassurance and some detailed instructions. We have covered adjusting wheel bearings to the point of absurdity. It's not rocket science but we describe the little details as though it was.
Trying to say that us guys with 40" tires don't do appropriate trails
FYI, I broke the 100 series front axle as well. The good news is that the complete CV assembly is 1/2 the price of a 80 series birfield. Figure that one out. It comes complete end to end with the birfield on one end and the tulip on the other end.
Yo Humper: the only thing guaranteed to crap out over time is probably the "D" light in the dash. If you find an 80 with 190,000 miles and the front axle has never been serviced, well, maybe keep looking. Other than that, don't sweat the birfield.
Christo, you've got a runner now? man, I've really been outta touch lately..
