Ready to buy my first LC, thoughts on this underside? I GOT IT!!

[linuxgod]

What rust? Maybe my northern genetics prevent me from seeing it. Can’t see okra as a vegetable either and chicken and waffles are not meant to be eaten in the same meal.

If you put enough syrup on it I'll eat lettuce and waffles

 

[mycars]

Those bolts are easy to snap on vehicles in rust country. They seize, and especially for people that take a vehicle to a dealer, the techs commonly snap bolts like that during service. I can't tell you how many have had skids, access panels, etc left off of the vehicle. I've personally had many factory skid bolts on Tundras, Tacos and a 4Runner snapped by dealer oil change techs, that I only discovered when I went to do the next service myself. That is one reason (amongst many) that I do my own service work.

All great points @CharlieS . Thank you very much for the help!

 

[mycars]

The missing bolts on the undercover are easily replaced and often not reinstalled by a lazy tech doing lube work. No biggie but do replace them. Edit: note what @CharlieS wrote about broken bolts.

The Carfax shows 7 services in the last approximately 6k miles, including 2 A/C refrigerant recharges. Likely a leak somewhere?

Also, the cabin filter has been replaced, so confirm the fresh/recirc function is working properly since breaking the mechanism during replacement is common.

Radiator ok? Leaks at the top are frequent at about that mileage.

Thank you so much for bringing up those topics @Sandroad . I hope to see the rig on Thursday and will definitely bring up those points.

 

[Weedhopper]

I'd love to hear some East Coast opinions but it looks pretty good to me!

Spray it with Fluid film and call it done. In CT that’s pretty nice.

 

[yonah]

Unless the KDSS valve is utterly consumed by rust (will look like a rusty boat anchor), with some patience and the right products/common tools, you can easily loosen the bolts yourself. A photo would be helpful for those of us that have experience with this process. No need to remove the valve protective cover. All you really need to inspect are the two bolts through the access holes in the cover.

And I wouldn’t be concerned with that amount of rust. Very common to anyone who doesn’t live in the central (non-coastal) south, southwest, or California. A few hours descaling the rust, with a wire brush, and some fluid film, Woolwax, surface shield, etc. and you’ll arrest the corrosion for the life of the vehicle.

 

[mycars]

Unless the KDSS valve is utterly consumed by rust (will look like a rusty boat anchor), with some patience and the right products/common tools, you can easily loosen the bolts yourself. A photo would be helpful for those of us that have experience with this process. No need to remove the valve protective cover. All you really need to inspect are the two bolts through the access holes in the cover.

And I wouldn’t be concerned with that amount of rust. Very common to anyone who doesn’t live in the central (non-coastal) south, southwest, or California. A few hours descaling the rust, with a wire brush, and some fluid film, Woolwax, surface shield, etc. and you’ll arrest the corrosion for the life of the vehicle.

Awesome! Thank you so much for the detailed and very helpful reply. I plan on seeing the truck tomorrow in person and will try to get some photos of the KDSS valves to post on this thread.

 

[mycars]

I just noticed on the Cargurus listing that it says it has been for sale for 355 days(?!). And looking at the most recent entries on the Carfax report it looks like virtually no miles have been put on since June of last year. Also, the last 3 entries just say "Vehicle serviced." Should any of these things be concerning?

 

[32cls6speedmt]

I just noticed on the Cargurus listing that it says it has been for sale for 355 days(?!). And looking at the most recent entries on the Carfax report it looks like virtually no miles have been put on since June of last year. Also, the last 3 entries just say "Vehicle serviced." Should any of these things be concerning?

I would call the Austin tire and service and see if they can look up what service they provided or what was the issue.

 

[mycars]

I saw the truck today and checked it out the best I could as a novice - exterior, interior, crawled underneath, checked under the hood, etc.

• KDSS Valves - I tried to find them and take the best pics I could, see below and let me know what you think please
• Rust - some areas looked ok and others I'm not sure. Same as above re: pics and your thoughts
• Works well
  • A/C - dealer explained the recent repairs, seems good to go
  • Heated and cooled seats are good
  • Cooler box is good
  • 4WD LO and HI work well
  • Center diff works well
  • CRAWL works well
  • No leaks evident near radiator
• Not up to spec (some minor):
  • L rear bumper cracked (2 pics) and R side scratched, should it be replaced?
  • 2 engine tray bolts missing - to be replaced by dealer
  • Condition of brakes - TBD by PPI
  • No floor mats
  • Missing front cigarette lighter and panel next to it (ashtray?)

The dealer seems like a really nice guy, very transparent, and his father-in-law has owned the LC for the life of the truck. The father-in-law has owned nothing but LCs since 1994 and the whole family are big Toyota/LC fans. However, the dealer was not the most knowledgeable on the ins and outs of the rig, but neither am I as I am looking to buy my first LC.

I have a PPI appointment scheduled with an indie shop, MobileTech, on 5/10 and one with the local Toyota dealer on 5/16 (the earliest they could do). I think I would prefer the Toyota dealer to do the PPI but would appreciate hearing your thoughts on that and everything else here. Thank you!!

 

[mycars]

A few more pics...

 

[Sandroad]

Of all the things in your posts, I would be most concerned about it sitting unsold for a year with almost no miles. What's the story on that one? It's extremely unusual. If it was me, I'd pass unless there was a good, verifiable (not just salesperson) explanation of that. I agree with the above post to check on the "vehicle serviced" notations, if possible.

The KDSS shutter valves look the usual awful. They may be salvageable, but no guarantee on that. The rest of the rust is an odd mix, bad in a couple spots but generally light enough for the year and miles.

The recent work on the exhaust system (new bolts) may have been to replace a blown out gasket that went bad due to rust. That may or may not hold up.

Any explanation on the damage to the rear? Bit of an odd place for a break and deformity like that.

In my experience, dealers are not better at a PPI than a good indy shop, and in places where land cruisers are rare, they can be worse. Dealer techs ignorant of Land Cruisers can miss stuff (these are not the Corollas they do every day) and they can find things wrong that are really ok in hopes of making service sales. So, take any PPI for what it's worth, a quick look at the simple stuff that can help with a buying decision.

 

[bloc]

I agree with Sandroad on most points. Not the worst KDSS, but that thing may not want to crack loose. Rust on the transfer skids not that bad, that's all easily replaceable stuff if it turns into a problem. The exhaust repair worries me a little.. from stock there are studs and nuts. They needed to get it apart for some reason, most likely that corroded flange leaking. So they couldn't get the nuts off the studs and likely torched it all apart, then replaced with bolts. Recently, by the condition of those new bolts. I'm betting that flange doesn't hold up, but then an exhaust repair isn't difficult or expensive.

The bumper damage looks like they just backed into something. Happens a lot, not the end of the world, but it will cost money to fix and therefore should impact valuation.

Did you verify whether the recirc flap works in the climate control? Many are broken, by dealer techs.. to Sandroad's point about dealers not being familiar with these vehicles.

 

[Broski]

IH8RUST as much as MUD it would be a no go for me.

 

[mycars]

@Sandroad and @bloc - thank you for the detailed replies. I will try to answer everything the best I can.

• I talked to the dealer today about why it has been for sale for almost a year. I met the dealer yesterday, local guy, and he and his wife run the place along with the Austin's Garage attached to the building that is mentioned on the recent Carfax history. The rig is his father-in-law's LC, and the FIL has driven LCs since 1994. He has been the only owner of the truck (first registered under his business then as his POV) and recently upgraded to a 2018 LC. The truck has been in their family for its entire life. The dealer put it on the market right after Toyota announced they were no longer bringing any LCs to the States so his FIL told him to list it super high on purpose just to see if anyone would bite on it. So he listed it at $55k with no urgency to sell. It is currently listed at $47k and the dealer told me he has had a couple offers, even from other dealers, at $43k but is in no rush to sell it. Just repeating what the dealer told me.
• 2 recent A/C repairs - it was leaking or something broke, he took it to the local Toyota dealership, they "fixed" it, and when he drove it home that day it was leaking green. So he took it back, they did another repair, and it has been fine since. I got under the rig and saw the new parts and it looks pretty good to my novice eye.
• KDSS valves - again since I am a novice to the LC world, what is the seriousness and/or what are the consequences to having rusty KDSS bolts? Is it only an issue if I wanted to do any suspension mods in the future like a lift or an aftermarket suspension? If so, probably not a big deal because I will likely keep it stock. But if it could be an issue for just regular maintenance then how concerned should I be?
• I had the same thought about what I felt like mild-to-moderate rust in some spots and then zero rust in others. I'm still not sure what to make of that if anything at all...
• I asked about the crack in the rear bumper and he did not have a great explanation. He thought maybe someone backed into it but that was about it. I feel like I would want that replaced though as that could become a bigger problem with water getting in there. Any thoughts on what a bumper like that would cost? And if it would need to be painted to match as well?
• I did check the A/C recirc function and it did work well. Thanks for the tip on that.

I'm going to go with the indie shop PPI on Tuesday, 5/10 and see what they say. I like the one-owner history but the rust and rear bumper are a little concerning. The bumper can be replaced but I'm kind of torn on the rust.

Thanks for your time and help,
Mike

 

[Tex68w]

I'd pass but that's me and likely many others.

 

[grinchy]

There isn’t a path of entry for water behind the bumper skin. You could take it off entirely and be fine as far as weather goes.

Spray some penetrating oil on those kdss, give them 15 min, and try to loosen them. If it seems a no go then you know it’ll be a battle. Many have gotten free after a week of wire brush and penetrant. A few have not had success and it became an issue.

 

[mycars]

There isn’t a path of entry for water behind the bumper skin. You could take it off entirely and be fine as far as weather goes.

Spray some penetrating oil on those kdss, give them 15 min, and try to loosen them. If it seems a no go then you know it’ll be a battle. Many have gotten free after a week of wire brush and penetrant. A few have not had success and it became an issue.

Good call on the pentrating oil and wire brush. Sorry for my novice level of knowledge, but what is the exact issue if the bolts are seized? Is it only an issue if I want to do suspension work like a lift or replace with an aftermarket suspension? Or is it something that can cause an issue associated with regular maintenance over time? Thanks for your time and help.

 

[Sandroad]

Good call on the pentrating oil and wire brush. Sorry for my novice level of knowledge, but what is the exact issue if the bolts are seized? Is it only an issue if I want to do suspension work like a lift or replace with an aftermarket suspension? Or is it something that can cause an issue associated with regular maintenance over time? Thanks for your time and help.

Nothing related to regular maintenance. The system will function fine with the valves rusted shut. I opened mine 3 turns when I added air bags to the rear springs for towing. Someone like @bloc will need to weigh in on whether they need to be opened for shock replacement.

If you get the truck and go after those valves, I’d give penetrating oil a lot longer than 15 minutes. Even days before trying to turn them. My favorite is PB Blaster, but it smells bad.

 

[bloc]

I've seen reports of successful suspension R&R without opening them but they reported it was a total pain in the ass. Our front sway bar is very thick, and even with KDSS "disconnected" managing the end links is a difficult job. Having to do them both at the same time because you can't get the bar to flex would be a nightmare.

But that's assuming work that would keep you at the same ride height.

Any changes in ride height, such as a lift, or even the OEM toyota 10mm front strut spacers.. will induce a serious lean if the valves aren't opened, from what I've read.

 

[mycars]

@Sandroad and @bloc thank you very much for the helpful and detailed replies. I'm going to have the PPI done on Tuesday and go from there, but I'm very much on the fence about this rig because of the rust. It seems like some on MUD think it's not a big deal but others would pass on it. If you or anyone else has any further thoughts it would be much appreciated. I know you've already helped a lot and I appreciate that very much.