I bought a 1997 Limited 4WD Auto last year with 163k on the dash (lies: Carfax said 254k so I got it for cheaper) as a daily driver to take a load off the 20k/year I was putting on my old BMW. I was taking the BMW to the Poconos, Catskills, Adirondacks, etc. I love the outdoors and the poor car didn't but she held up. I started my search for a bench player. I heard so much about the reliability of these. Funny enough, my best friend's family car was a 4cyl manual 4wd with 420k miles and that's what sold me. My goal was to spend as little money on this as possible while still making sure it was reliable and capable. I'll be honest, I was ignorantly expecting more power out of it to tow a car every now and then but I guess that's what the 2UZ is for.
Since, I've changed the LBJ's within a week of owning it with OEM parts including LBJ covers (from a 4th gen?). The shocks were shot and it was bouncing all over the highway. It wasn't the safest thing to drive on the occasional city highway. Fast forward 6 months and enter mild lift. I went with the Bilstein Tundra 5100 shocks paired with OEM Tundra springs up front and OME 906 springs in the rear. While getting those nightmare shocks out with a Sawzal, I snipped a speed sensor. Rookie mistake. That turned my attention to my spongy and fading brakes paired with my dry rotted tires. Getting ready for a TUB, I picked up a set of TRD FJ wheels wrapped in some old KO's. They were kept in a heated garage so they actually weren't too dry. 2 weeks ago, I got around to the brakes. Went with PowerStop and a set of Wheelers Off-Road extended brake lines. There's a million other things I need to get to but I'm not too concerned yet. Next week I'll be tackling the radiator, TB, and WP. Wish me luck!
p.s. - I couldn't have asked for a better vehicle to introduce into the SUV/truck world!
Since, I've changed the LBJ's within a week of owning it with OEM parts including LBJ covers (from a 4th gen?). The shocks were shot and it was bouncing all over the highway. It wasn't the safest thing to drive on the occasional city highway. Fast forward 6 months and enter mild lift. I went with the Bilstein Tundra 5100 shocks paired with OEM Tundra springs up front and OME 906 springs in the rear. While getting those nightmare shocks out with a Sawzal, I snipped a speed sensor. Rookie mistake. That turned my attention to my spongy and fading brakes paired with my dry rotted tires. Getting ready for a TUB, I picked up a set of TRD FJ wheels wrapped in some old KO's. They were kept in a heated garage so they actually weren't too dry. 2 weeks ago, I got around to the brakes. Went with PowerStop and a set of Wheelers Off-Road extended brake lines. There's a million other things I need to get to but I'm not too concerned yet. Next week I'll be tackling the radiator, TB, and WP. Wish me luck!
p.s. - I couldn't have asked for a better vehicle to introduce into the SUV/truck world!