PrePurchase Inspection at the Toyota Dealer (1 Viewer)

[bj70alex]

Hi,

I think that I found a nice 93 FZJ80. It's a two owner vehicle, no rust, 133K mostly highway miles and the asking price is 9K. Well, no lockers. I would like to schedule an appointment at Toyota dealer, unfortunately I don't know any other shops in this area (Elizabethtown, KY) where I can check it. I will ask the service manager to do an inspection.

Here is the list of things that I think should be checked:
- compression
- rear main seal
- gear oil in front diff (make sure it's not mixed with grease)
- gear oil in rear diff
- gear oil in xfer case (make sure it's not mixed with tranny fluid)
- brake rotors and brakes
- exhaust pipes and muffler
- make sure the A/C is working
- universal joints
- condition of coolant
- condition of spark plugs

What do you gys think, anything else should be checked or it's about complete.
Any comments, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Alex
85 BJ70

 

[Beowulf]

Alex,

If you are having a compression check then also ask for a cylinder leak-down test. That test will help identify potential head gasket problems.

 

[bj70alex]

What kind of results I should expect from leak-down test?

Thanks,
Alex

BTW, forgot to mention one thing. When you let your foot off the accelarator to slow down, I heard some kind of hummming, whistling or whining noise, could not really determine what it was. However, during accelarion it was not there.

 

[bj70alex]

I spoke with Toyota dealer this morning abiout the service history of this cruiser. I've found that 2nd owner traded it in (in 2001 with 73k) and the reason was the oil consumtion, the oil light used to come on between oil changes and he had to add up to 2 qts.
The service tech (he worked on this truck) also told me that it has blue smoke on accelaration, maybe rings got stock or????
The vehicle did have a regular maintenance since 8K up to Oct 2002 when it was 106K.
What do you think, should I stay away from this cruiser?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Pskhaat]

[quote author=bj70alex link=board=2;threadid=9985;start=msg88933#msg88933 date=1073922204]
What do you think, should I stay away from this cruiser?
[/quote]

Make a fair offer given that information. If they don't want to sell it at a much reduced rate due then let it be. I'm generally not afraid of burning oil, but if you're looking to get into an 80, you're probably looking for something that is a little more tight?

 

[bj70alex]

I spoke with the service technician in Toyota dealership. He used to work on this cruiser before it was purchased by the last owner. He let it run, idle for about 30 minutes and then accelarated a bit. And indeed he smelled oil coming out of the exhaust. He stated that looks like the rings are shot.
My question is, how much does it involve to replace the rings, is it a complete rebuild, not just the rings, right???? How expensive is this kind of job? Are we talking about between 1500-2000 or way more then that.
Thank you,
Alex
85 BJ70

 

[Jukelemon]

Alex:

I think you can do better.

 

[Asiarider]

Come on,

look for another rig. There are better deals outside.

Mike