Newer 80 owner. Feeling disapointed

[NorCalSam]

I'm sorry

I'm sorry your disapointed. Not to rub it in but it sounds like you didn't look into it verywell. The best Cruisers are 94-97. Better yet 95-97 LX450s. (Better QC ). My mom has a 92 and it is a Dog But I'm not a fast driver Speed and power is not something I look for in a Truck. In fact I think a crusier would not be a right fit for most Americans and there "I want a bigmac and I what it in 2 mins or it should be free" mind set, if you know what I mean.

All I can say is that I LOVE my crusier and it is the best truck I have ever had, hands down!

Good luck

 

[NorCalSam]

I just love these posts when the 1991 & 1992 FJ80 guys come in defending their rigs! LMAO

I did the research and knew that 91 that I was looking at was a dog. But it fit my needs perfectly. A reliable rig in decent shape, needs some work, but I can work on, especially with all the help here.

Accelerating to freeway speeds? Screw it! Just let that little Jackhole in the thumping Honda with the trash can muffler go around you.

Rich

LOL.... You see now that is what I'm talking about
My kind a guy a true CruiserHead

 

[alkaline747trio]

True 91/92 fan here...I love my cruiser and would defend it till I die. No need for more power, and extra 25 ponies would be nice, but no more than that necessary. Give me an obstical that a 3FE 80 can't go over that and equally equipped 1FZ-FE can, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU! :un may be intended::

 

[archie]

DjforrestA you should post you city location so maybe somebody will volunteer to drive your truck. I think that not having the O2 sensors hooked up could be an issue. Always willing to check your truck in the chicago area. My 3fe is slow but can still merge into highway traffic without too much trouble.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Forest,

"Stripped birf"? I thought you just had a drive plate stripped last I saw you post?? Did I miss something?

Also, complaining about a clearly abused rig that you haven't set right yet seems kinda - what? Kinda whiny I guess. Heck if I got into an 80 that cheap I wouldn't be complaining. It's a great truck but like any piece of machinery that's been abused you need to set it right before you know what you have. Buying a diamond in the rough means nothing. It's exposing the diamond that provides the return. This is an easy vehicle to work on. Have at it!

DougM

 

[firetruck41]

Give me an obstical that a 3FE 80 can't go over that and equally equipped 1FZ-FE can, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU! :un may be intended::

OK, a mountain pass at 75mph

 

[DJForrestA]

Sometimes you have to share the ugly to get the truth. I posted about removing the
flange I found some chewed up splines. I may be able to put on the drive plate I got from the wreckage but I didn't want to risk tearing it up as well with the worn down splines. I'm thinking about removing the birf and cutting 4 keyways in the splines and in the flange. That way the keys would fail and not the birf or the splines. I could then simply replace the keys if they ever went bad. Would take all of 10 minutes on the trail and I wouldn't even have to remove the tire. Just the flange bolts. Slide off the flange remove the broken keys and install the new ones bolt the flange back on and go. I might try it just for fun since the splines are toast anyway. I also adjusted the shift down cable and what a big difference. Still no rocket but no more flaring and Shifts now at 2500 instead of 1500 rpms. Still shifts quickly between 4th and overdrive. I'll try to tighten that up a bit more and see. I swear it was starting in 2nd before the adjustment if you didn't come to a complete stop. Now it kicks right into first and actually goes. Exhaust is next. The cats are already gone as is the o2 sensor. It is piped out above the frame rail right at the manifold and runs about halfway down the truck with a muffler under the passenger door and dumps at the rear door. Very noisy and shoddy. My exhaust guy is the bomb so we'll fix that and run it all the way out back. Like I said before I've owned lots of other 4wd's and they all have pros and cons. I am a realist and say how it is. I like the truck alot but toyota could have done some things differently but did lots of things right. I love the fact that it is the same weight as my scout and length just about and seats 8. Plus its solid axle and not a behemoth like a suburban. Power plant weak but durable and dependable. I wish Toyota would have Figured in on the power equation a few years earlier. Anyway springs, shocks, birf, tires and hopefully a radio ( PM me if you have one you'd like to sell) and I should be happier. The belts, and plug wires look to be new. I'll pull a plug tomorrow and check them. I knew what I was getting but who'd pass up a Cruiser that ran for 1500 bucks. I couldn't. I think I like the body style best.
OH I'm in Twin Falls Idaho.

 

[reffug]

The best Cruisers are 94-97. Better yet 95-97 LX450s.

Sam stop being a tard.

If I twas but on the west coast I would happily spank dat little truck with my 93.

 

[ginericLC]

I'm over in Mountain Home, I'd be happy to drive it some time. I had a 91 prior and during the time I've had this 94. It was sort of a dog on acceleration but it would get up to speed. I did tow a small tent camper with it several times. With 35s and no regear it was a bit sluggish but when it got up to speed I could do 78mph on the interstate. Not in OD. There is another guy in MH with a 91 and I'm sure he'd let you drive it for comparison. His has OME and 35s without a regear. He gets good mileage, 14-15. I never got that good of mileage 11-14 and mostly in the 12 range. Another thing you can do for more power is slightly advance the timing. That made a big difference in my 91. Even abused I bet the 3FE will go 300k. Exhaust did make a difference. I went 2.5" from the muffler back and I think 2.25" without cats to the muffler. I ran an Oxygen sensor and that could be a major issue as to why you aren't running right. Another major hop up I did was taking the throttle body apart and cleaning everything. I used Amsoil Power Foam and it disolved a lot of it and I used an old toothbrush to scrub the stubborn stuff off. As for a birf if you need one I'd look at longfields rather than OEM. I'm not a fan of the CV Unlimited replacements. Also, consider this truck was only rated at 155 hp from the factory and it has a fulltime 4wd system you are turning. The Toyota automatics are bulletproof but I don't think they are the most efficient. So you are losing a lot of power through the drivetrain. You can install 60 series or solid axle mini truck hubs and pull the front driveshaft if you want a RWD rig only with a bit better mileage. I didn't like it and swapping the shaft was a PITA.
PM if you have concerns or want to talk Cruisers. Heck if you want to dump that beast I'd gladly pick up another 91 at that sort of price. That is a steal anywhere but in Idaho that is like robbing Fort Knox.

 

[clarkrw3]

pay for shipping and you can have my 96 LX springs for free.

 

[sleeoffroad]

True 91/92 fan here...I love my cruiser and would defend it till I die. No need for more power, and extra 25 ponies would be nice, but no more than that necessary. Give me an obstical that a 3FE 80 can't go over that and equally equipped 1FZ-FE can, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU! :un may be intended::

Come up to Colorado and fo Holly Cross. Go past the city and try to get over the rock ledge at the top. 3FE just could not make it. Altitute robbed all it's power. Been there, seen it.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I am not sure what you are complaining on the axles. At least they have drainplugs As for strength, they are 30 spline so is a small Dana 60. You can replace your birfields with Chromo ones from Bobby or Poly performance for about $300 or so each, and you will have stronger parts than stock 30 spline dana 60 stuff. So that takes care of that.

Power, well if you did little research before the time you would have seen that it is a common fact that the 3FE is underpowered for the vehicle. So is the 4 cylinder in a Wrangler. I want to say if you transplanted the 4.0L I6 from the Jeep into the 91 cruiser it will perform about the same.

You just ended up with the wrong model. But for $1500 if you can get a vehicle that is 14 years old and it still runs you are doing pretty good.

Not sure how many miles on it, but you probably bought some previous owners neglecct and lack of maintenance. You will find that they are easy to work on and the parts is not really that expensive when you find a good source like CDan. Most parts in the drivetrain is servicable and you will run into very little issues like "well this is a sealed assembly and you have to purchase the whole thing" kinda parts.

If you are unhappy with it, dump it, you should be able to get $1500 for it, then buy a 97 and put a turbo on it. Then you will have all the features you want and the power.

 

[DJForrestA]

I DJ'd late last night and drove the interstate on the way home. I can pull level ground at about 78 but any incline and it will drop close to 72 and then kick down and run at 3200 rpm. But the shifting is much much better and feels like I have alot more power. In other good news I scored a 20# scuba tank at a yard sale this morning. I haven't look it up yet but I"m going to try to build a powertank. I think this is what they use. Paid 20 bucks so I'll start looking for fittings and info. Saw a pimp mount somewhere here on the sight. Any input on the keyway on the axle flange? Will it work?

 

[DJForrestA]

I wasn't whining just sharing my findings that are unbiased. Its got 156000 miles now. I've put about 1500 on it in about 3 weeks. I've run it to the mountains several times deer hunting and its always started. I did research found all the milage data and heard it was underpowered but until you drive it you don't really know. But with the adjustments thus far it is liveable. Don't be too thin skinned. Your starting to sound like the scout guys when I yanked the IH drivetrain and swapped in a 350 turbo 400, Dana 20 with tera low gearset. Man they were pissed. But it is better than it was and alot cheaper parts when it breaks. Just a new guy finding things he likes and things I don't. But all cars are like that.

 

[tarbe]

Better yet 95-97 LX450s.

If you find a '95 LX450 you better buy it. Bona fide collector's item

 

[fj803fe]

OK, a mountain pass at 75mph

That only counts as an obstacle to the FZJ cause thats the most dirt/trees it'll see in a lifetime of use.

 

[fj803fe]

I wasn't whining just sharing my findings that are unbiased. Its got 156000 miles now. I've put about 1500 on it in about 3 weeks. I've run it to the mountains several times deer hunting and its always started. I did research found all the milage data and heard it was underpowered but until you drive it you don't really know. But with the adjustments thus far it is liveable. Don't be too thin skinned. Your starting to sound like the scout guys when I yanked the IH drivetrain and swapped in a 350 turbo 400, Dana 20 with tera low gearset. Man they were pissed. But it is better than it was and alot cheaper parts when it breaks. Just a new guy finding things he likes and things I don't. But all cars are like that.

Yeah, most of the FZJers get their panties in a wad pretty quickly around here . They dog the 3fe in most every engine post-then I get a lick in and they run home to Momma with their face in their hands and find a good come-back to post.

 

[fj803fe]

Come up to Colorado and fo Holly Cross. Go past the city and try to get over the rock ledge at the top. 3FE just could not make it. Altitute robbed all it's power. Been there, seen it.

Christo....

11,500 ft. Poughkeepsie Gulch rock climb-been there, drove it-no problemo...

Have a nice day!

 

[Beowulf]

I wish Toyota would have Figured in on the power equation a few years earlier.

The urban legend is that Toyota designed the 80 for the 1FZ-FE (for petrol markets) and the 1FZ-FE wasn't ready when they were ready to replace the 62 series in the US market. The only engine they could quickly adapt was the 3FE so that's what the early 80 series got. They were underpowered for the US market.

I agree with the others that your disappointment is basically your own short-sightedness. You bought a $1,500 vehicle that wasn't particularly well maintained. You haven't taken the time to get it back to spec, and you're expressing your disappoinment in the vechile. Use your time productively; spend some time and $$$ to get it in top shape. That mileage is not high and, in fact, your FJ80 has fewer miles than my '97 FZJ80. And yours doesn't have a PHH, so there!

-B-

 

[Razorshock]

I understand how you feel about it being slow, but I love it for what it is and just use a different mindset while driving it. It makes my other car seem that much faster

I do agree that adjusting the kickdown cable helped in my situation as well. I may also advance the timing as I've read about others doing so here.

How much did you guys advance your timing?