Terra Cruisers FJ-43 Review and Lessons Learned (2 Viewers)

[jaysunvoorhees]

Issue 23: Eventually I noticed that the driver seat was leaning towards the center. When I put a level on the seat rails it was around 3/4 inch difference between the left and right rail. This was because there was a difference in either the seat frame height or flooring at the inside rear of the seat. The front inside bolt on the seat frame was also the wrong size ( M8 instead of M10) so it also had worked loose.

View attachment 2358733View attachment 2358745

Solution 23: I shimmed the inside rear seat frame up using washers and replaced the front bolts with the correct size.

View attachment 2358744

How do you like the front captains chairs and center console vs a front 60/40, no console setup? I like the traditional look of the 60/40, but the convenience of the center console is tempting.

 

[Stutes]

How do you like the front captains chairs and center console vs a front 60/40, no console setup? I like the traditional look of the 60/40, but the convenience of the center console is tempting.

The center console is great to have. Holds my YETI fine and it was a good place to put all my accessory switches. It also lets some of the AC blow between the seats and reach the back seat.

 

[FJCowboy]

Kenwood

I put in a Kenwood DDX9906XR which I got at a good price from Crutchfield. That model has already been replaced by the DDX9907XR.

Thanks!

 

[wngrog]

Unreal. You should be getting angry at this point.

 

[Stutes]

Unreal. You should be getting angry at this point.

I tend to be a perfectionist so I was real disappointed at first but got over it and decided to just move on. There are just too many other things to be mad about lately. I actually have really enjoyed working on the truck so far and get a lot of satisfaction as I complete each fix. Doing this list was also good release for me and hopefully it can help others.

Also to be fair, there are a lot of great things about the truck and lots of bells and whistles (see list below) that were not covered in this thread. For example, the body and frame are in pristine condition, there are no leaks in the top, engine and tranny run great, and it will do 80mph just fine on the highway although just like the FJ80s, it's a thirsty beast (10-11mpg at best)

• 1981 FJ43-100608 with Custom Fabricated Hardtop
• Rebuilt - Engine: 1-FZFE with Megasquirt EFI
• Rebuilt -Toyota Heavy Duty H151 5-Speed Transmission
• Rebuilt -Toyota HF1A Manual Two-Speed Transfer Case
• K&N Air Filter
• Magnaflow Stainless Exhaust
• CXRacing Ceramic Coated Stainless High Performance Headers
• Tojo 22gal Fuel Tank
• BF Goodrich 33x10.50 All Terrain Tires and Toyota OEM Steel Wheels with Factory Hubcaps
• Toyota Heavy Duty Power Steering from FJ-60
• ARB Air Locker Differentials with 4:10 Nitro Gears
• Four Wheel Slotted and Drilled Disk Brakes
• 2.5 Lift Leaf with Blisten Shocks
• Warn VR8-S Winch with Synthetic Rope and Factor 55 Flatlink
• Dakota Digital Gauge Cluster and Sensors
• Trucklite LED Headlights
• PIAA LED Front Fog and Rear Utility Lights
• Optima Heavy Duty Yellow-Top Battery (BTW: It’s a POS, don’t get optima)
• High End Kenwood Double Din Radio with Rear View Camera, Kenwood Amps, and Speakers
• Nostalgic Air A/C Heater System
• CCOT Center Console
• Color Matched Jerry Can and Holder
• Forward Facing Rear Seat and I have the original FJ-43 jump seats all refurbished in storage.
• Marine Grade Vinyl interior

 

[Stutes]

Non-Issue: I managed to score a whole bolt of the matching marine grade vinyl upholstery material from the manufacture in Columbia. No charge. They just asked to post pictures of my interior on their web site and social media.

For my first project with the material, I made a boot cover for my parking brake lever to match the shifter boots. I thought it came out pretty good considering that I had to use my daughter's cheap home-ec sewing machine for the stitching.

I plan on making making a role up tool bag next. If anyone has a good pattern or go-by pictures, please send them my way.

 

[Stutes]

Issue 30: Right rear brake light not coming on.

Solution 30: Was caused by loose pin connection in the tail light connection plug. Adjusted pin with needle nose pliers and reconnected plug.

 

[Stutes]

Issue 31: Air condition started rattling when on. Rattle coming from where AC unit touches bottom of dash.

Solution 31: Added a strip of 3M industrial two sided tape between AC and dash.

 

[Stutes]

Issue 15: Rubber pull on the passenger door pulled off. The screw and washer that held the handle on just pulled through the hole in soft handle material.

View attachment 2341750

Solution 15: I added slightly larger metal washers and glued to washers in place to the handles with a little bead of Locktite Shoe Glue. The handles have not come off again.

Issue 15: Door pull failed again. Looking online at PartSouq.com - it appears that the OEM pull has a metal insert to reinforce the pull handle. Since my current ones dont have that, I am assuming they are not OEM pulls.

Solution 15 rev 2: I ordered new OEM pulls ($12 each) from PartSouq. These were 1000x nicer and stronger than the one that were installed by the builder.

 

[iptman]

Dang... Didn't know those were still available.

 

[Stutes]

They still have a lot of new parts in stock for the 40 series. Just have to look under land cruiser - land cruiser - and then select one of the BJ4- models

 

[kingp7]

Thank you very much for stepping up and creating this post @Stutes

Unfortunately, I will be making a similar post next week of my... experience with Terra Cruisers. I will reach out to them one more time before posting.

 

[Stutes]

Decided to get my oil changed at 2K just to be safe. Only burned about one quart over 2K so not too bad. Most report one quart per 1k with the 1FZFE.

Noticed that the engine is running smoother after the change.

 

[wngrog]

Decided to get my oil changed at 2K just to be safe. Only burned about one quart over 2K so not too bad. Most report one quart per 1k with the 1FZFE.

Noticed that the engine is running smoother after the change.

So you got a non rebuilt 1FZ with this build?

 

[iptman]

Most report one quart per 1k with the 1FZFE.

Uh....no. 1 quart over the 7500 mile factory oil change interval maybe. 1 quart over 2000 miles is bad, 1 quart over 1000 miles is terrible.

Also, didn't realize this truck had a 1FZ-FE in it. That's pretty cool.

 

[Stutes]

So you got a non rebuilt 1FZ with this build?

Uh....no. 1 quart over the 7500 mile factory oil change interval maybe. 1 quart over 2000 miles is bad, 1 quart over 1000 miles is terrible.

Also, didn't realize this truck had a 1FZ-FE in it. That's pretty cool.

Thanks for the info guys. Now that it’s changed, topped off, and I know what oil is used I will be monitoring it very closely. If the loss continues at this rate, I have access to mechanic who has extensive experience with these engines and will get him go through everything and determine how to correct it.

 

[bhsdriller]

eh should be able to get 200k out of it. Will be fine

 

[Stutes]

eh should be able to get 200k out of it. Will be fine

While the 1FZFE power is more than enough, I just wish the mileage was better. My long term goal is to setup and use this truck for overlanding with a trailer rig. At best, I'm currently getting 10mpg in town which gives me around 200 mile range with my internal tank with the 4:10 gear ratio and 33s. Hopefully after the next tuning and the engine breaks in, things will get a little better.

 

[iptman]

How are you measuring miles driven and fuel used over that distance? 10mpg is way low for the 1FZFE and the H151. Not that you should be getting 30mpg but you should at least be able to get 15mpg out of that combo.

 

[Stutes]

How are you measuring miles driven and fuel used over that distance? 10mpg is way low for the 1FZFE and the H151. Not that you should be getting 30mpg but you should at least be able to get 15mpg out of that combo.

I am calculating the mileage using the trip odometer and gas volume used between fill ups.

I spoke to my Toyota mechanic and he said, based on his experience, it would be 12-14gpm on the highway in a FJ80 (which was a little better aerodynamically) with the stock diff ratio. He said it was by far the most common complaint from customers with the FJ80-1FZFE when he worked at the dealership.

I think it is running a little rich right now so I hope the next tuning helps.