Purchasing a 94 LC

[Farley]

I am a newbie to this site and to Land Cruisers in general. I have always wanted one and now the opportunity has presented itself. I have been building 4x4's for the past 16-17 years and finally have the chance to buy a 94 Cruiser with @73K original miles. The tough part is convincing my wife that it will outlast and be much more trouble free than my 2004 Jeep Liberty

I have heard that it is not uncommon for the I6 motors to last well beyond 200K with proper maintinance. I am a strong believer in synthetic lubes and am strict when it comes to regular maintinance.

What do you guys think? With a purchase price of only 9000.00, I'm thinking I can't pass this up...

Thanks in advance for an advice / info.

 

[OGBeno]

uh....where's it located?

 

[firetruck41]

If you don't want it, post up the phone number and someone will snap it up. For low miles, and if it is well maintained it sounds like a good deal to me, especially if it has front/rear lockers. I would still plan on the obligatory oil/trans/trnsfr case/diff fluid changes, and new plugs/wires, etc.
I bought my 93 1.5 yrs ago for ~$9k and it had 175k miles, and no lockers :^( , really wasn't a bad deal at the time in this area, I just should have held out for fr/rr lockers. Now have 198k w/no problems, just routine maintenance.

 

[jjbodean1970]

yeah, that's too much

if you'll give me the seller's name and phone number i will be sure to admonish them for trying to rip you off like that....

 

[cruiserdan]

I suggest you blow the seller off as the mileage is certainly not correct.









What was his phone number?....

 

[lurker]

I am a newbie to this site and to Land Cruisers in general. I have always wanted one and now the opportunity has presented itself. I have been building 4x4's for the past 16-17 years and finally have the chance to buy a 94 Cruiser with @73K original miles. The tough part is convincing my wife that it will outlast and be much more trouble free than my 2004 Jeep Liberty

I have heard that it is not uncommon for the I6 motors to last well beyond 200K with proper maintinance. I am a strong believer in synthetic lubes and am strict when it comes to regular maintinance.

What do you guys think? With a purchase price of only 9000.00, I'm thinking I can't pass this up...

Thanks in advance for an advice / info.

OK first of all this isn't to brag, it's just what I know.

My 93 has right @ 250,000 miles and IMO my previous owner treated this LC like a dog. I do have the previous owner’s records and I can attest to the lack of maintenance, but the price was right $6,000.

If you mention the word synthetic around my LC it will just get a confused look? If you mention new clean oil it's like a puppy dog... mans best friend, it just wouldn't know what to do with synthetic sine its never seen it.

That being said, since I had some concerns from the first owner, I've had a lot of un-necessary maintenance preformed on this vehicle that was self induced. My birfields diffs with 230,000 were only slightly leaking on the driver’s side, the transmission fluid had to be changed 7 times before it came out as clean as it went in and I had to do about 10 oil changes before I felt comfortable with the results. Everything else (not mentioned) was just simple anal on my part.

Now for the surprisingly good new, The FSM says that I should have something right @ 175 psi compression and I had basically 180 across every cylinder. I must have some carbon buildup since its high mileage and everything.

I had spoken to other 80 LC owner on this forum and in person and most just brush off 250,000 miles as "just getting broken-in". I hope there right, because everyone has lambasted be for even mentioning the idea of getting my head (no the engine’s) rebuilt, cam chain replaced, new engine etc... It's always the same story, if it aint broken you're a fool to open it up and mess around with it.

BTW these maintenance abnormalities don't apparently apply to Junk "ka-boom" for some reason?

BTW I'm in the market for a second LC (94 ish) with ~ 120,000 miles and $7,000 doesn't seem to be out of order.

 

[OGBeno]

The tough part is convincing my wife that it will outlast and be much more trouble free than my 2004 Jeep Liberty

Just bring your wife to these pages and show her all of the miles people have in their signatures, and then go to the 'reader rides' pages and show her all of the cool things people are doing to their rides--both mechanically and in the field; then bring your wife to some of the individual owner homepages and take a look at the trips, excursions (not the crappy Ford piece of junk) people take...I think you have enough information on this site to convince anyone about the pure proven abilities of a LC--even with 73K--that's not even out of its teens yet!

I'd check the price--that sounds awefully low for a low-mileage vehicle. I bough my 97 with 123K and still paid $12k for it with some mechanical defects--still bought it!

Take a look at many of the pictures from around the world--when it comes to the United Nations, different NGO's, and even in Iraq--many if not most rely on the LC as their mode of transportation.

Go through these FAQ's at Slee off Road--premier outfitters of LC's here in the states:

http://sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbie100.htm

Take it for a ride, engage the lockers, have it checked out by a known mechanic (at worst, a stealership).

And never compare it to a Jeep!!!

Good luck.


-onur
Akron, OH

 

[NovaFZJ80]

Figure if you purchase the vehicle at $9,000 and put a few more thousand $$ into it, it will run alot longer than other SUVs out there.. i bought mine (check sig) and so far have spent a $2500 on it that includes routine/preventive maintenance, labor costs for work done by Toy mechanic that i didn't have the time/tools to do the job, new cd player, larger collection of craftsman tools...

Being the 3rd owner, i don't think the 2nd owner who had it for 1 yr really did any maintenace on it..so bringing the LC back to where i want it to be like my Civic Si that i've babied w/122,000 miles on it

 

[Farley]

Looks like I spoke a little too soon. It is actually a 1992 - not a 1994. I figure I can run a carfax report to verify the mileage and I am planning on going to see it today.

Other than the smaller engine in the 1992 - is there anything else that I may want to look for as opposed to a 1994?

Thanks for all of the replies.

 

[jjbodean1970]

well, in my opinion the engine will actually be more durable than the 4.5L, but boy is it slow as molasses. $9000 not looking like such a good deal anymore...

could still be a good solid truck for you, though

 

[stayalert]

I hope you get a good deal on a truck you want but i was surprised at a '94 with lowish miles being wortht less than $10K....Not interested in selling...just thought it would be worth more....
Rob M
'94 FZ80 with 125K miles

 

[PDoyle]

Hey, I've had my 94 FZJ for a year and 1/2.It is the best ride I've ever had. I've had Jeeps, Chevy,Ford, Nissan, other toyota's.... I bought it for $9200. on Ebay. If the miles are correct, and it has never been wrecked, buy it!!!!

 

[thorvald]

while theres nothing wrong with a 92, not sure its worth 9k unless its really well maintained and has lots of goodies: slee sliders, arb bumper, ome lift, etc.

and if you have hills where you live, dont plan on going very fast

 

[Montana Cruiser]

As others have stated, being an FJ80 (not a bad thing by any means) and not an FZJ80, makes 9k seem a little spendy even with that sort of mileage. Seems as though there have been plenty of guys picking up the FJ80 on the cheap as of late. Seems to be a buyers market right now. Wish I had the $$ to pick up a second FZJ80 (or FJ80 if the right deal presented itself). If its a good rig and you like it, go on back and get them lower on price.

 

[Vitesse_6]

Hi.
Still havent mentioned where its at?, Lets not forget all the flooding/weather there has been down South.
I think a 92 with 73K on it could last for quite some time, But is $$$.
Good luck

 

[Beowulf]

Looks like I spoke a little too soon. It is actually a 1992 - not a 1994.
Other than the smaller engine in the 1992 - is there anything else that I may want to look for as opposed to a 1994?

Farley,
This fact will dampen the enthusiasm on your "find". The FJ80's are good vehicles but a locked FZJ80 is an outstanding off-road vehicle. The differences are the engine (a significant increase in power), the availability of F&R lockers from the factory, disk brakes at all 4 corners, ABS, a FF rear axle, 16" wheels, and a slightly different xfer case and auto transmission. These differences make the FZJ80 more desireable for most of us; consequently the prices are higher on the used market.

A good low-mileage, well maintained FJ80 is a nice vehicle but, IMHO, not worth more than a high mileage locked FZJ80.

-B-

 

[firetruck41]

Farley,
This fact will dampen the enthusiasm on your "find". The FJ80's are good vehicles but a locked FZJ80 is an outstanding off-road vehicle. The differences are the engine (a significant increase in power), the availability of F&R lockers from the factory, disk brakes at all 4 corners, ABS, a FF rear axle, 16" wheels, and a slightly different xfer case and auto transmission. These differences make the FZJ80 more desireable for most of us; consequently the prices are higher on the used market.

A good low-mileage, well maintained FJ80 is a nice vehicle but, IMHO, not worth more than a high mileage locked FZJ80.

-B-

I agree with -B-, probably too much $$$ for a 92, I would prefer a locked 93+ FZJ80 with higher miles. At least check out and test drive both before making a decision.

 

[Harridig]

I'll have to second that. B said all the reason why I went with a 95 and not an older 80.

Be patient and newer 80 will come by that will be what you are looking for.

And remember, never ever settle for anything but the best.

Later-

D

 

[Farley]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm out in Colorado and head up into the mountains quite a bit. It sounds as if the 92 could present a little problem getting up some of the passes.