Opinion Wanted.. Is my Cruiser past its useable life?

[Spencersieler]

Hello all,

So.. I purchased my rust free 1992 3FE Land Cruiser with 259,000 miles about a month ago for a small about of cash, $2500 to be exact. It Starts, Stops, and drives well. Im its 4th owner, the previous 3 owners were..

-0-180K, elderly man
-180k-220K middle aged woman
-220K-259K middle aged couple (friends of 2nd owner)
-259-xxx myself

The cruiser does show toyota dealer maintenance through out its history, and does not show its age or miles, it has been Oregon Cruiser since 10K miles. I bought it with the intent of making it a "Light Overland Rig" mainly being used for camping trips with family (State Parks) and exploring logging roads in southwest Washington, probably never deeper than 35-40 miles from civilization via gravel roads.

The only major repairs that my cruiser needs is a front axle rebuild, (I'm getting the "click click click" while turning under power). As well as a left rear axle seal (evidence of 90w on the rear brakes) and there is some slop in the transfer case (I have been advised to live with it)

I have fixed many things such as,

-full tranny service/adjustment
-new vacuum lines
-front brake pad
-new thermostat, lines, and sensors
-plugs, wires, cap
-air filter
-new tires
-sway bar bushings
-greased/lubed whole damn thing
-new F+R diff fluid
-new oem keys
-fixed sunroof leak (no water damage)
-many other fiddly items from the FAQ page
-others I'm forgetting

Now I pose the question, even though I trust my land cruiser and it starts, stops, and drives very well. When is the point when I say this is a bad foundation to keep building on?

Keep in mind that this is not my only rig and I do know what I'm doing with a wrench!

This is it,

Thanks for your opinions!!

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Depends on how you look at it. Many on the forum will never give up on their cruisers. Personally I will change parts on mine to keep it running for the rest of my life.

 

[scrowley]

IMO at that price you can keep dumping money into it then when its really done just strip off the new parts you put on, part out, etc. You shouldn't get hurt.

 

[Spencersieler]

Depends on how you look at it. Many on the forum will never give up on their cruisers. Personally I will change parts on mine to keep it running for the rest of my life.

Well, I do love it, I can get past the slowness, how ever I am a Cruiser newbie. mainly wondering if the repairs get overwhelming at some point? I'm not opposed to doing a full motor/tranny swap someday. haha

 

[Spencersieler]

IMO at that price you can keep dumping money into it then when its really done just strip off the new parts you put on, part out, etc. You shouldn't get hurt.

good point, thanks. I would love a 100 series someday but I can afford to have a $10K+ toy at this point.

 

[95ToyCruiser]

It seems like you should have asked yourself this question before buying the rig and before getting it baselined, it seems like you've already done about everything but the front axle service and a rear seal...

So why not spend the few extra bucks and finish it, then enjoy it?

 

[Spencersieler]

It seems like you should have asked yourself this question before buying the rig and before getting it baselined, it seems like you've already done about everything but the front axle service and a rear seal...

So why not spend the few extra bucks and finish it, then enjoy it?

I'm going to finish it, mainly asking if a you more experienced land cruiser owners would put faith into nearly 300K mile rig. its kinda one of those questions you know the answer to but just need reassurance haha

 

[scrowley]

Ha 95Toycruiser..........

and finish it, then enjoy it...... These trucks are never finished when your a mod addict! I have been saying mine was finished for two yrs. Next for me is ABS delete. Then y link steering, then...... Been 4 yrs I've had it and approaching $30k!!!!! And I do 97% of the wrenching myself
These trucks are by far the most expensive to mod that I have ever done. I love my Cruiser but should have stuck to a 2nd gen Runner, with a nice tow rig, and a mild built family expo rig. Could have had almost all three of those with the price of 1

 

[scrowley]

good point, thanks. I would love a 100 series someday but I can afford to have a $10K+ toy at this point.

The 80 is much superior to a 100 offroad anyways. You made a good choice on the model

 

[Spencersieler]

The 80 is much superior to a 100 offroad anyways. You made a good choice on the model

well i started by looking at series 1 land rover discovery's… i quickly jumped that ship lol

 

[mr jits]

Here's my last FJ80: over 350k miles, a ton of offroad miles including Moab, the Rubicon twice and the current owner has it up to 380k and still wheels almost every weekend with it.
You're not close to the end of that trucks life.

 

[powermad]

I have seen more than a few rigs here past the 400K mark.
Service the axles and keep on trucking.
$2500 is a pretty good price for this area. A buddy at work just got a 91 with around that mileage for $1500 but it has not been taken care of at all and is kinda rough. Looks like it was used as a work rig.

It's a 23 year old rig, it's going to have issues. Depending on how it was taken care of it's all probably minor stuff and is usually not a money pit to just keep them as is. Start modding and it becomes a black hole for money.

I'm not going to do anything to mine other than upkeep and maintenance. I'm really not interested in wheeling it at all.
I need a rig that is not in a state of constant activity or down for long periods of time.
Which is why I'm looking for one like my buddy got. Then I can wrench on it at my leisure and and not disable the other.

 

[Spencersieler]

I have seen more than a few rigs here past the 400K mark.
Service the axles and keep on trucking.
$2500 is a pretty good price for this area. A buddy at work just got a 91 with around that mileage for $1500 but it has not been taken care of at all and is kinda rough. Looks like it was used as a work rig.

It's a 23 year old rig, it's going to have issues. Depending on how it was taken care of it's all probably minor stuff and is usually not a money pit to just keep them as is. Start modding and it becomes a black hole for money.

I'm not going to do anything to mine other than upkeep and maintenance. I'm really not interested in wheeling it at all.
I need a rig that is not in a state of constant activity or down for long periods of time.
Which is why I'm looking for one like my buddy got. Then I can wrench on it at my leisure and and not disable the other.

yeah. I'm not looking to go crazy either. did ur buddy get his off craigslist?

 

[powermad]

It wasn't advertised, it was from someone he knew.

 

[artech]

The point that it gets to be 'not worth going forward with' is different for each owner.

You state you are comfortable doing your own wrenching, so you are going to look at it very differently than someone who has to trust others to do the work(and you can be reasonably sure the work is done right, but that's a whole other story.) That makes a huge difference in the cost and quality of maintenance, which will be considerable on any vehicle this old.

On fleet vehicles, one rule of thumb for replacement is when the total cost of maintenance performed on the vehicle equals a certain percentage of the vehicle's remaining value. The exact percentage varies by company, and the vehicle's value can also vary depending on where you get the numbers. NADA Blue Book is one source but there are many others. Some vehicles depreciate rapidly while others hold their value, so using a value number that makes sense to you is important here. I suspect that by now most examples of good condition(that's actual good condition, not sales hype) LC's have cost 150% of their current blue book(stock vehicle) or more in maintenance. This would seem a little extreme, BUT...

The problem with the 80 is that these trucks have no real replacement available, at least not for any kind of reasonable price. There is just no affordable solid axle(read that as capable of taking a severe beating) truck built today that can compare with the 80 in many fields, such as having excellent off road capability while still having on road comfort and seating for seven. If you have the scratch a Mercedes G Wagon is an option, but for that kind of money you could buy a small house. Defenders are more capable but less durable, and they are few and far between and pricey as well. Nothing else has the proven pedigree and the design and engineering necessary for providing the full range of capabilities of the 80 series LC.

I think you're asking a question that really only you can answer, because that answer is going to be different for each owner. Most of us on here are probably planning on keeping our rigs as long as possible, until they either rust away completely or get crushed in an accident or die some other honorable death. I am one of these. I know that for me ALL the capabilities of my truck get used on a fairly regular basis, so for me it makes financial sense to keep mine and keep paying for the maintenance, which is considerable. I'm OK with that, because I went into it with my eyes wide open. If someone is a soccer mom or mall commando then it would make no sense to continue to drive and maintain a truck like these; there are many more affordable(and ultimately less capable and less durable) vehicles out there for that.

Hope this helps.

 

[120mm]

I went Series 80 for two reasons. The first is purely sentimental, in that I have a love affair with Land Cruisers, and a Series 76 like I work in overseas is not practical here. The second is that I know when I put parts and labor into it, I know it is not a depreciating asset like other vehicles.

My "other car" is a 67 Mustang convertible, so I now have a stable full of non-depreciating cars.

 

[GW Nugget]

Why do the early years have the better paint colors.

 

[LS1FJ40]

I think it's a horrible idea to keep it! You should sell it to me for cheap to get it out of your hair!

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

General consensus says: No!
You sir need to go outside and apologize to your cruiser for doubting it.

As long as you actually take care of your vehicle properly the repairs should never become overwhelming. Maintanence is continuous on every vehicle, whether a daily driver or a collector car that spends more time in the garage. If you don't at least start your cars that you don't drive at least once a week then you're hurting the car and your wallet. Baseline your cruiser until you can't think of what else needs replaced. Check and inspect every hose and every bit of brass and steel hose nipple. Inspect and rebuild your axles, do your brakes etc... Then save a little each pay day and continue proper care, inspect all the fluids regularly. In fact I took mine to oil can Henry's for its first oil change the day after I bought it just so they would do the fluid inspection for me...because I was lazy. Your cruiser has a lot left to give as long as you bring it up to current and keep on it, bringing mine up to current cost a small fortune and made me reconsider my purchase, but I havent doubted it since and I haven't felt overwhelmed or had to do any real maintenance to it since, just oil and other fluids and air filters etc, an occasional tear down and inspection of the front axle and that's it.

 

[Spencersieler]

General consensus says: No!
You sir need to go outside and apologize to your cruiser for doubting it.

In fact I took mine to oil can Henry's for its first oil change the day after I bought it just so they would do the fluid inspection for me...because I was lazy. Your cruiser has a lot left to give as long as you bring it up to current and keep on it, bringing mine up to current cost a small fortune and made me reconsider my purchase, but I havent doubted it since and I haven't felt overwhelmed or had to do any real maintenance to it since, just oil and other fluids and air filters etc, an occasional tear down and inspection of the front axle and that's it.

Its ok, I did the same damn thing! and I am a firm believer in maintenance, with this rig and my Turbo Forester.

Thanks.