For Sale NOT MINE: unlocked 97 CE Atlanta Flea Bay (multiple issues) (1 Viewer)

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This is not mine, but I did take a close look at it while traveling through Atlanta last week.

Long story short: it has most every leak and issue all FZJ80's have. Most concerning finding was a large lump of some sort of Cooling System sealer in the radiator overflow tank.

Add to that a newish radiator and water pump, but lower than normal engine temp (nuts on Tstat housing had been turned).

Here's the list of things I found:

This vehicle was stolen when almost new, right rear passenger window is missing the anti-theft VIN numbers (guess they didn't slow down the thieves).

Windshield recently replaced, non-OEM glass.

Engine idles at 1100 rpm after 20+ minutes of engine running (engine already warmed up as the salesperson said they started it to warm it up everyday (they didn't know I was coming by to check it out).

Temp gauge needle after engine running for 20 minutes still a couple needle's width or so below horizontal.

Cooling system with new aftermarket (not Aisin) water pump and unknown radiator. TStat housing nuts have been turned.

Large lump of cooling system sealer (?headgasket) in the radiator overflow tank.

Transmission dipstick plastic end is broken, and when checking the ATF
there was a large black stain on the white paper towel which IME suggests there's a significant amount of fine metal particles in the fluid.

Large carpet stain at base of rear heater (looks exactly the same as when one of my LC's had a rear heater core leak)

Floppy driver's sunvisor held up by a paper clamp.

Rear cargo carpet section (Maybe 1/3 of cargo area) torn out, no reason given by dealer.

Both front seats stuck, driver's seat too far forward to safely take a test drive (unless you're 5' tall with short legs). Front seat leather has multiple cracks but not torn.

Peeling clear coat: flakes off with a light touch top right fender.
Peeling clear coat where pin stripe was ?pulled off
A couple of small but deep dents.

Steering wheel leather coming apart at top.

Bottle jack and tool bag missing, signs of water leaks into quarter panel.

The ad says no accidents, but the front bumper is shoved back on both sides touching the valence panel.

Front left bumper corner with large scuffs and white ?paint or body putty underneath, indicates a prior repair.

Looking in through the right front wheel well a body mount bushing appears high, not touching the plate, ie: looks like something's been tweaked.

Front axle: left steering knuckle leaking gear oil.

Driveshaft U-joints and slip yolks dry as a chip, not the typical build-up of grease, appear to have not been greased (?since leaving the factory)

Bell housing inspection cover missing, appears recent, (?recent inspection of rear main seal): significant oil drips off bellhousing. Salesperson appeared to know about possible rear crank seal leak. (could be just upper pan but seemed like too much just for that)

Large oil leak at front of engine (oil pump cover gasket; a fresh pool of oil on the ground after 20 minutes of engine idling.

Oil filler cap (inside) with significant amount of sludge/crust,
however engine oil is clean, recently changed. IME used car lots
usually don't change the oil unless it looks really bad, so was the oil
changed to hide something??

Radiator splash pan missing.

Alternator belts (cogged) misrouted on the inside of the idler pulley
(one of those signs that the mechanic who's been working on it
is not familiar with this model/engine)

Transfer case leaking at speed sender O-ring but may also be leaking from rear seal versus blowback.

P0401 engine code

Forgot to check the PHH for leaks, but no record of it being replaced.

Original heat control valve with brown discoloration of plastic (?? ready to burst).

Original sealant around half moons (indicating the valve cover/head
has not been off)

Summary: 268,000 miles with all the usual issues, but biggest unknown is why was a cooling system sealer added to the radiator?? When I asked about the head gasket the saleslady knew exactly what I was talking about, like she was aware of that issue with this model (or this vehicle??). She said she didn't know (the reason) for the large stain on the carpet behind/around the rear heater core or why the rear carpet section was torn out. I wasn't convinced.

The salesperson would not come down on the price much, a couple hundred.

IMHO there were too many unknowns for this vehicle, then add peeling clear coat, so I passed.

The dealer who's selling this, their business model, is that they do the financing for vehicles they sell, or to put it the other way, they don't sell their vehicles outright for cash. Likely they make more from interest charges than from the sale of the vehicle itself. This vehicle appeared to be the only one they were selling for cash.

My gut tells me they know or suspect there're major issues with the vehicle and ?? maybe don't want someone bringing it back while they're still making payments to that dealer?? So they're selling it as is, where is.

The fact that they don't mention any of the above mentioned issues, non-moving front seats (many people literally could not fit to drive it away from the lot), peeling clear coat, or multiple leaks in the Fleabay ad is a red flag in my book. They did have a couple of close-up photos showing the peeling clearcoat in their Craigslist ad, but removed them for the Fleabay ad.

The description states "no accidents reported", which is not the same as saying no accident history, it's at least had a couple of bumper bumps up front.

Apparently this was an auction pick up by the dealer.

The only positive I see is no rust being a southern vehicle.


This is from their website; note the discrepancies compared to the findings
from the hands-on inspection above:

Service History
  • No Known Mechanical Problems
Warranty
  • As-Is - Extended Warranty Available. Contact seller for details
Condition Report
  • Excellent Interior
  • Excellent Carpets
  • Excellent Seats
  • Excellent Dashboard
  • Excellent Panels / Headliner
  • Excellent Exterior
  • Excellent Original Paint
  • Excellent Trim Condition
  • Excellent Glass Condition
  • No Visible Rust
  • No Known Accidents
  • No Known Bodywork
  • Fully Detailed
"It is the customer’s sole responsibility to verify the existence and condition of any equipment listed"

^^Note the disclaimer above^^




 
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This is not mine, but I did take a close look at it while traveling through Atlanta last week.

Long story short: it has most every leak and issue all FZJ80's have. Most concerning finding was a large lump of some sort of Cooling System sealer in the radiator overflow tank.

Add to that a newish radiator and water pump, but lower than normal engine temp (nuts on Tstat housing had been turned).

Here's the list of things I found:

This vehicle was stolen when almost new, right rear passenger window is missing the anti-theft VIN numbers.

Windshield recently replaced, non-OEM glass.

Engine idles at 1100 rpm after 20+ minutes of engine running (engine already warmed up as the salesperson said they started it to warm it up everyday (they didn't know I was coming by to check it out).

Temp gauge needle after engine running for 20 minutes still a needle's width of so below horizontal.

Cooling system with new aftermarket (not Aisin) water pump and unknown radiator.

Large lump of cooling system sealer (?headgasket) in the radiator overflow tank.

Large carpet stain at base of rear heater (looks exactly the same as when one of my LC's had a rear heater core leak)

Floppy driver's sunvisor held up by a paper clamp.

Rear cargo carpet section (Maybe 1/3 of cargo area) torn out, no reason given by dealer.

Both front seats stuck, driver's seat too far forward to safely take a test drive (unless you're 5' tall with short legs). Front seat leather has multiple cracks but not torn.

Peeling clear coat: flakes off with a light touch top right fender.
Peeling clear coat where pin stripe was ?pulled off
A couple of small but deep dents.

Steering wheel leather coming apart at top.

Bottle jack and tool bag missing, signs of water leaks into quarter panel.

The ad says no accidents, but the front bumper is shoved back on the right touching the valence panel.

Front left bumper corner with large scuffs and white ?paint or body putty underneath, indicates a prior repair.

Looking in through the right front wheel well the body mount bushing is not touching the plate ie: looks like something's been tweaked.

Front axle: left steering knuckle leaking gear oil.

Driveshaft U-joints and slip yolks dry as a chip, not the typical build-up of grease, appear to have not been greased (?since leaving the factory)

Bell housing inspection cover missing, appears recent, (?recent inspection of rear main seal): significant oil drips off bellhousing. Salesperson appeared to know about possible rear crank seal leak. (could be just upper pan but seemed like too much just for that)

Large oil leak at front of engine (oil pump cover gasket; a fresh pool of oil on the ground after 20 minutes of engine idling.

Radiator splash pan missing.

Transfer case leaking at speed sender O-ring but may aslo be leaking from rear seal versus blowback.

P0401 engine code

I forgot to check the PHH for leaks, but no record of it being replaced.

Original heat control valve (brown discoloration of plastic, ready to burst).

Original sealant around half moons.

Summary: 268,000 miles with all the usual issues, but biggest unknown is why was a cooling system sealer added to the radiator?? When I asked about the head gasket the saleslady knew exactly what I was talking about, like she was aware of that issue with this model (or this vehicle??). She did not know (the reason) for the large stain on the carpet behind/around the rear heater core or why the rear carpet section was torn out.

The salesperson would not come down on the price much, a couple hundred.

IMHO there were too many unknowns for this vehicle, then add peeling clear coat, so I passed.

The dealer who's selling this, their business model, is that they do the financing for vehicles they sell, or to put it the other way, the don't sell their vehicles outright for cash. Likely they make more from interest than the sale of the vehicle. This vehicle appeared to be the only one they were selling for cash.

My gut tells me they know or suspect there're major issues with the vehicle and ?? maybe don't want someone bringing it back while they're still making payments to that dealer?? So they're selling it as is, where is.

The fact that they don't mention the peeling clear coat or the multiple leaks is a red flag in my book. The description states "no accidents reported", which is not the same as saying no accident history. Apparently this was an auction pick up by the dealer.

The main positive is no rust being a southern vehicle.

That's a BHPH lot. If there is one single vehicle on their lot that they are willing to sell for cash it has major issues guaranteed.
 
That area of Atlanta has many Spanish speaking shops (the saleslady was from Columbia) so maybe they sell/finance to recent immigrants who have a hard time getting a regular car loan. I've seen the same type used car lots
in Florida.
 
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JT3HJ85J3V0186368
 
Yes it has been on Craigslist and they kept dropping the price until
around $6900 which is when I went to check it out last week. They are definitely shady, just didn't get a good feeling from them. On some of the photos it looks nice but once you start checking it up close you can see it hasn't had any regular or routine service and needs a lot done. Weird that part of the rear cargo carpet was just ripped out, maybe that's where the body was?? :eek:

I think it has been in an accident involving the right front fender, just not reported to an insurance company so it doesn't show up in a carfax report, not that uncommon.

Biggest question I had is why was it overheating and did they put a head gasket sealer in the cooling system. Amazing to me that no one bothered to clean out the radiator overflow tank after adding that stuff, and it wasn't just a little sludge, it was a few large globs stuck in the overflow tank.

Found similar kerapp when I drove to Alabama to check out another 80 a few years ago. It had a new radiator installed with just (clean) water in it, but the overflow tank was full of old engine oil, crusty old coolant, and sludge.
 
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Pretty entertaining here. I've got a triple locker 96, that I've been using as a hunt vehicle. I saw this one ( friend brought to my attention) so I called. Basically gathered the shady type place there in the Atl. area, and they wanted all the money for a non triple locker. Thanks to Kernal for the run down. If a clean locker comes along, I'm sure many of us would be interested, I'm no different....Looking at all this from Lexington SC .....
 

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