Options when there's no Center Diff Lock (CDL)? (2 Viewers)

[mnwolftrack]

Options when there's no Center Diff Lock (CDL) BUTTON?

Hello,

dumb dumb dumb newbie question! If a '95 Land Cruiser doesn't have the center diff lock button/option, what would it take to add it? I've been wanting to get a nice Cruiser for a LONG TIME and I've finally found what I hope is "the one." It's a '95 fully loaded with most options but it does not have the center diff lock BUTTON.

Is it just a matter of buying the button and hoping the wiring is already there, or are we talking about swapping transfercases or worse?

I thought I read somewhere off this site that if a center diff lock button is not present, that the diff still engages on it's own if you shift into low range. Is this true?

Thanks for the help!

Mnwolftrack

BTW--I've owned approximately 25-30 Toyota pickups and 4Runners over the past 15 years and will be getting a LC shortly, be it this '95 or not. I currently own an '85 x-tra cab 4x4 with 33's and a '90 4Runner with 35's. Oh, and I can't forget the wife's '92 Camry but I didn't put a lift on that one I can't wait to start using this board! Flame me for being a newbie if you must, but I'm very excited to finally get a LC.

 

[woody]

$60?

SleeOffroad.com has the switch on their site, or you can order thru cruiserdan too.

Buy the button, pull the dash covers off, move one of the other switches, remove the jumper from the existing harness, plug it in.

REALLY is just that easy...and check the FAQ, I believe it's in there...

or search on CDL

welcome

 

[CRUISEHUNTER]

Slee Offroad or CDan for the actual switch. You'll need to do the pin 7 mod to get the full benefit. Search "CDL switch" and "pin 7 mod" for more detailed explanations. One of the easiest mod's to do to the LC.

 

[mnwolftrack]

Good deal. For some reason I was thinking it was going to be more difficult. Rather than try to increase MPG, which I already know before ever owning a LC is poor, I'm shooting for full capabilty of traction. Luckily I'm not buying a LC for it's RAV4-like fuel economy--NOT!

For what it's worth, I have no desire to convert to a part time 4WD setup to "save gas" short of installing factory aisin's up front to save on the birfs when not wheeling. I think I even have a set from one of my parts trucks/4Runners.

I also own a '99 Land Rover Discovery Series II, and while that one also has full time 4WD (more like AWD) and high/low/neutral at the center diff, it does not come with CDL. It can be added , but the amount of work and parts depends on the year. The series I discoveries had a transfer case with a "8" pattern. One side of the "8" was locked in high/neutral/low, and the other side was unlocked in the 3 positions. There was DEFINATELY a difference in traction with the center diff locked or not, and I must have the option to lock in high range. Some series II discos just need additional shifter linkage while some need a complete series I transfer case. My Disco series II will be replaced with the LC....

 

[CRUISEHUNTER]

"My Disco series II will be replaced with the LC...."

Good move mnwolf. You won't be sorry. I don't know much about the Series II, but I had the dubious honor of owning a Series I when they first came out. By far the worst vehicle I've ever owned.

 

[mnwolftrack]

The Series 2 seem to be a vast improvement over the Series I (I also owned a '95 Disco 1), but the Series 2 certainly have their own issues. I've only owned this one for 3 months and I tried to hold out for a LC but couldn't find one (nothing was available around here). Besides needing valve jobs every 50k, dash warning lights coming on all the time, faulty ABS, etc.... and other issues, the Discos just aren't reliable. Not to mention the blue book value drops like a rock! I haven't had mine long enough to run into problems, but I don't want to either. When I visit the Land Rover forums, the forums are FULL of the same problems and issues that plague these things ("my check engine light is on, my ABS light is on, my engine runs poorly, my rover stranded me, my dual sunroofs won't close, etc....). Go to any Toyota board, and people are focusing on lift kits, driveline mods, and other non-repair topics. The rover boards lean towards repair topics. Toyotas need maintenance--Land Rovers need repairs! For $43000+, Land Rovers should have been and could have been great, but they just aren't reliable.

Definately time for me to add a LC to my Toyota family!

 

[firetruck41]

Just an FYI, you know there is a difference between the center diff lock and the front/rear diff lock right? All 80's have the center diff lock, but if you want manual engagement on a FZJ you will need the $70 switch, the fr/rr diff locks are $2k+ to add, if you don't have them (optional).

 

[mnwolftrack]

Yup, I know the difference. This '95 I'm looking at does not have the factory front/rear axle lockers. If I went that route, I'd likely just do ARB's. However, lockers and icey roads for a daily driver don't get along so well so I'd probably skip the lockers for now.

 

[firetruck41]

Just makin' sure

As far as icey roads, that's why I love the selectable factory (or ARB) lockers :thumbsup:

 

[-Spike-]

Another FYI- your birfs will still be turning with the Aisin hub locks. Might save some wear, but I'd imagine the effect will be negligible. Repacking them right away will do you better.

-Spike

 

[Beowulf]

dumb dumb dumb newbie question!

Read the "Diffs for Dummies" FAQ and the 80 Series newbie guide (on the Slee Offroad site.)

It seems that you are an experienced wheeler and have future plans for the 80. You should give more consideration to waiting for a F&R locked vehicle since you're still looking. If you have already found the one of your dreams then it's quite OK to retrofit ARB or factory lockers; albeit more expensive.

In the 2 references mentioned above you will learn how the CDL works. As previously mentioned, all 80 series available in the US market have a locking center differential. The 91-92 models came with a dash switch to engage the CDL. The 93-97 models omitted the factory switch (US versions) and engage the CDL when the transfer case is shifted to Low range.

-B-

 

[mnwolftrack]

Thanks for all the replies. I've owned Toyota pickups and 4Runners for many years now and have owned one or more of just about every year from 1982-1994. For some reason I've owned many 1990's. Anyway, I'm no stranger to Toyotas and off-roading. I've also got accounts and use the boards at off-road.com, 4x4wire, pirate4x4, marlin crawler, and yotatech.com. For the most part those boards don't have heavily used LC forums.

Luckily I understand what a CDL is and what F and R lockers are. What I didn't understand was how easy it was to add the CDL if it wasn't available (in the case of my experience with my '99 Land Rover it wasn't as easy as adding a switch). I already read through the FAQ and newbie guides here and elsewhere, along with searching previous threads. I didn't quite find what I was looking for. Most of what I found related to the part time 4wd conversion which is a bit opposite of what I wanted to do. My experience with pickups and 4Runners has told me that Toyota is normally good about making it easy to add missing and desireable options such as dash clocks, SR5 dash gauges, etc.... but again I have no experience with cruisers yet. Heck, you can even pull the guts from a Supra limited slip differential and put them in a pickup/4Runner diff and have a "factory" LSD. I haven't seen discussions on the similarity between the 8" 3rds vs. whatever the cruisers have, but it might be just as easy to add an LSD to a cruiser (Supra 3rds can be had for around $100 which means an LSD for only $100).

The cruiser in question is very nice in my opinion, and I'd hate to pass it up because it doesn't have the F and R lockers. The extra price I'd have to pay to get one with lockers would be far more than buying this one w/o them and adding ARB's later. For a '95, it's only got 115k and is in mint shape for under $10k. Plus, it's hard enough to find a cruiser around here, much less one in the affordable range.

Since I haven't caved in and made the purchase yet, I'm always open to another LC! There's also a '91 for sale with only 87k, but that quite frankly seems to be too few of miles. Vehicles don't always like being parked for many months at a time, as my '90 4Runner and '85 pickup can agree with. One is my summer vehicle and one is my winter vehicle, and things go bad or sieze from lack of use. I'm in the middle of prepping my '85 for this winter's use, and the parking brake has siezed despite religiously cleaning and lubing it, a wheel cylinder siezed, and a caliper piston siezed. And somehow the front inner axle oil seals (the one behind the birfs) decided to give up, so I'm replacing them as I am swapping in 4.88's. I've been driving with 4.10's for many many years with 33's, and I finally gave in and got 4.88's.

I didn't know about Slee's site, so I've been looking over that quite a bit and will likely be making purchases there. I'm already drooling over getting an ARB winch bumper or similar setup. I've got a TJM to put on my '90 4Runner and a Prozap for my '85. At a minimum, I can tell my wife that deer and stock bumpers don't get along well and I'll NEED a winch bumper for the cruiser .

 

[firetruck41]

I wouldn't buy a 91-92 for any price, in any condition, if I could afford a 93+, which is more powerful, has 16" wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, ABS, etc... (there are a handful of 93+ with the old brakes/axles..)

I bought a 93 w/o lockers, loved it, sold it a year later, a year after that I got my locked 96 LX w/112k for $12k, it's in great condition and I have had it for 3 months, wish I would have just waited for the right one the first time around.
I have seen similar deals locally over the last few months, let us know where you are located and someone might be able to find what you are looking for.

 

[mnwolftrack]

That reminds me, I forgot to finish filling out my profile. I'm located in Duluth, Minnesota. The market here for cruiser's is nonexistent, but there are some around Minneapolis/St. Paul. Or, if I want to drive a long ways, down to Milwaukee. I've purchased my last 4 vehicles ('94 4Runner, '95 Land Rover Discovery, '92 Camry, '99 Discover II) from the Twin Cities becuase there just isn't anything around here. Rust is a big concern too, and local vehicles are typically a lot more rusty than something from the Twin Cities. The 80's don't rust anywhere near as bad as the earlier cruisers, but still.... It's nice to be able to work on the undercarriage and not bust bolts or knuckles.

I am trying to avoid the '91-'92's, but they are more common and obviously at a lower price. I need to stay under $9500. While their engines might be turds, they are more powerful than the 22R/22RE and even 3.0L V6 in the pickups/4Runners. Fuel economy, that's another story.... A mid 1980's (stock) toyota 2wd pickup with a 22RE fuel injected engine can get 30+ mpg. I don't need a fully loaded cruiser, I would like the moonroof, air bags, 3rd row seats, the ability to add CDL (as solved by this post), and after becoming a sissy with the Land Rover--i'd like heated seats (but I know I can add that later based on Slee's website). I'd actually prefer 15" wheels since the tires are generally cheaper with a greater selection, but I won't pass one up just because it has 16's. I have 33x12.50R15's on my '85 pickup and 35x12.50R15's on my '90 4Runner and it can be nice to shuffle tires around from time to time. I suppose I could get a cruiser from the Southern US, but that can be risky and timely.

I "thought" I was going to be getting the perfect cruiser about 3 months ago. I found a '91 on Ebay in Minnapolis and it was supposed to be in the best condition possible in all respects. It didn't sell on Ebay, so I made an offer afterwards. I drove down to pick it up, and lets see... the rear main seal leaked like a faucet, the engine ran rough and ticked (not like injectors either), the transmission whined in 1st gear, the rotors were very warped, it pulled hard when braking, interior was in avarage condition, tires were about 25%, and so on and so forth. Needless to say, I didn't buy it. I happened to spot the Land Rover Discovery Series 2 I bought instead on the way home from that.

 

[firetruck41]

91-92 should be in the 5-6k range. 93+ all have 16" wheels. Passenger side airbags on 95+. Yeah my 3.0 V6 in my 93 4r was a dog, the 3fe powered fj80 I test drove wasn't much better. But you gotta get what fits your needs/$$/etc. I hate rust and have not lived in the rust belt so I am fortunate, I think if I did I would seriously consider getting one from out of the rust belt, prices may be cheaper, you could have someone take a look at it for you, and have that much less risk, plus resale has got to be a little better on a "non" rusted vehicle if you sell in a few years. Good luck in your search!

 

[Beowulf]

the ability to add CDL (as solved by this post)

If you're gettin' it, you're not articulating it very well.

CDL = Center Diff Lock. This is standard and fully functional on all US 80 series. It is a locking center differential; part of the transfer case.

CDL switch was standard on 91-92's. The switch can be retrofitted on 93-94's (same switch as the 91-92 IIRC) and there is a JDM CDL switch that Dan and Christo sell for the 95-97's. All US 80's have the wiring for the CDL switch however, the pin-7 mod should be done on 93-97's for optimum performance and flexibilty in using the CDL switch.

There are some important differences between the FJ80's and the FZJ80's that you seem to be trivializing. As long as you know what you are giving up by selecting an FJ80 vs the FZJ80 then that's fine. The differences between the two are significant.

-B-

 

[CJF]

There are some important differences between the FJ80's and the FZJ80's that you seem to be trivializing. As long as you know what you are gaining by selecting an FJ80 vs the FZJ80 then that's fine. The differences between the two are significant.

-B-

Fixed it for you. ;p

Curtis

 

[cruiserdan]

NOT a good idea to mis-quote the Wulf..........

 

[mnwolftrack]

Beowulf,

Uh, I still understand what CDL is--thanks. I'm referring to the switch and the ability to control whether it's locked or not. That's the whole point of my post. As I asked in my original post, I wanted to know what it would take to add the ability to control the CDL (and if it was more than just buying a button), and I also asked to verify that the CDL engages in low on its own anyway even without the switch.

And I'm not trivializing anything. It's coming down to budget. If you'd like to donate an extra $5000 to assure that I can get an FZJ80, then I will gladly accept it . Nor am I out to segregate myself from '91-'92 vehicles and owners because in the big scheme of things they're still a very nice vehicle. I'll gladly take a '91-'92 FJ-80 over a '99-'04 Land Rover Disovery Series II any day.

 

[mnwolftrack]

Fixed it for you. ;p

Curtis

I'm really liking this forum!