Thinking of buying a 71 FJ55 (new to these)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

D

Dartmouthbrian

10 Year
Joined
Nov 12, 2014
Threads
5
Messages
16
Location
Seattle
New to the board here. Cheers!

So I've found a fairly solid FJ55. Of course it has some rust, but far less than I've seen on a few others I've looked at. I've never owned a land cruiser of any kind, I've always been a Land Rover guy. But I do love the FJ55.

So anyhow the rust is in my opinion "repairable" at its current state.

A few questions for you all (who know WAY more about these trucks than I do).


1. Clutch squeals when you have it depressed (doesnt matter if you're sitting still or driving, if the clutch is pressed it's squealing). Any thoughts on this? How tough of a job to repair? I think I read somewhere it's the throwout bearing. Just not sure how easy or hard that job is on a 55.

2. The rear doors will not latch. When I looked at it, the piece on the door seemed to have slack in it. How hard is this to fix?

3. The trucks needs new rubber pretty much all the way around. I found one place selling a kit for like $2200, but in my opinion that seems WAY too much. I found a thread from 2006 with a cross reference for JC Whitney rubbers, but of course one check on the part numbers and they no longer exist. Any insight here?

I look forward to your all's advice!
 
Dartmouthbrian said:
New to the board here. Cheers!

So I've found a fairly solid FJ55. Of course it has some rust, but far less than I've seen on a few others I've looked at. I've never owned a land cruiser of any kind, I've always been a Land Rover guy. But I do love the FJ55.

So anyhow the rust is in my opinion "repairable" at its current state.

A few questions for you all (who know WAY more about these trucks than I do).


1. Clutch squeals when you have it depressed (doesnt matter if you're sitting still or driving, if the clutch is pressed it's squealing). Any thoughts on this? How tough of a job to repair? I think I read somewhere it's the throwout bearing. Just not sure how easy or hard that job is on a 55.

2. The rear doors will not latch. When I looked at it, the piece on the door seemed to have slack in it. How hard is this to fix?

3. The trucks needs new rubber pretty much all the way around. I found one place selling a kit for like $2200, but in my opinion that seems WAY too much. I found a thread from 2006 with a cross reference for JC Whitney rubbers, but of course one check on the part numbers and they no longer exist. Any insight here?

I look forward to your all's advice!
Click to expand...

1. Throwout bearing sounds about right. It requires dropping the tranny, the same way you would to do a clutch. Frankly while you're that deep in you might as well do a clutch as well. Its not too bad a job though, just pay a buddy off with some beer and away you go.

2. Is it the ambulance door style? Those are a bit of a rare animal in the US.

3. I've got no advice for you here, my memory was seeing the kits around $2000, and not much else that could be done. Other folks on here will probably have some better advice for you on this point.
 
You are right. $2300 for a rubber kit is too much. However, your options to do otherwise are very limited. I am saving up for my own rubber kit purchase.

I would warn you that these creatures snowball on you in a heartbeat. The transfer case may need bearings, the trans may need bearings, the brakes may need a complete OH. Just be careful on the pre buy. You should plan on spending 2-3 times what you think you will need to spend to get it right. my $.02
 
Mid: thanks for the heads up. Sounds much like a Land Rover. The brakes are great and it's been converted to front disc. Has a new gas tank ,engine rebuilt a few years ago with receipts. As for the transfer case & tranny... Im not sure what's been done there.

Is there an updated version of this? https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/the-fj55-weatherstrip-guide.90960/
 
Disclaimer: Not to dissuade from a healthy, self injected dose, of the swine-flu virus.

Dartmouthbrian said:
So anyhow the rust is in my opinion "repairable" at its current state.
Click to expand...

Do not be fooled.

There has never been a vehicle in the history of automotive production more capable of maintaining resemblance to form, even driving, concealing a state of decay beyond one's wildest imagination.

There's something different about a Pig's skin, almost magical, as it has a distinct ability to cohesively bond FeO2 molecules together with enough strength to appear as though it's solid, disguising in an apparitional state, it's rotted nature, while their very hearts cry out to one's subconscious with an unavoidable spell just like a Siren at the shore of a whirlpool.

Within an instant, you're stripped of any ability to make sound, rationale, subjective judgements, and their melodic song penetrates into the depths of your soul, exclaiming:

(Cue music from the psychotic purple Dino show)

"I love you,
You love me,
I am really not rusty.

So take me home and you will start to see, how deceptive I can be."

Embedded is a challenge of epic proportions, one that requires a dedication unlike any imaginable, because YOU CAN'T SAY NO to her and before you know it, you'll cave to all get deceptive demands, without care or concern for logic.

She loves you....give her everything she needs to show that you love her too.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, until she begins to demand pink unicorns and little leprechauns, that you'll scour the earth for to appease, or after you begin to sweep up the rust in 5 gallon buckets and she convinces you that she needs to eat and only cannibalism will satiate. You, not batting an eye, hunt earth for her wretched meals of her own kinds skin.

Some aren't as demanding as others, when it comes to their heart, fully accepting a transplant, while there are a rare strain of early F'd that DEMAND heart surgery, not accepting any other organs but their own.

Finishing touches??

Ha. Hours upon hours of eye bleeding perusals of the internet, emails to the far reaches of the globe, with the same intensity as a crack head looking for his next fix, with a borderline orgasmic reaction when finding, not only a pink unicorn part, but NIB NOS, without care that it's origin will elicit special treatment from Customs, possibly them even knocking on your door to hand deliver.

Having no experience beyond being lulled into this soft, fuzzy, "she loves me" state, personally, I can only imagine the confusion one feels upon satisfying her every desire, once she's returned to glory, but speculate it's 50% "I did it, I showed her all the love she wanted, and 50% "I finally beat the b.....h and won."

All that said:

C'mon.

Jump in, the swirling waters of the whirlpool feel fine.
 
tatat said:
Try there.
http://www.rarespares.net.au/rarespares/SearchPage.aspx?type=partsfinder&pno=0&brand=TOYOTA&model=LANDCRUISER&car=37A&productgroup=DOOR SEAL & RUBBERS
Click to expand...

Can't speak for their Pig specific parts, nor would I want to endorse any other than slocruisers, due to his investment into providing unobtanium, but the guys at Rare Spares have been excellent to deal with, sourcing split case output shafts for the ebrake drum and bearings I couldn't find anywhere on earth, and maintaining vigilance in the tree stand, hunting other pink unicorns I gave them a list of.

Good to work with.
 
Delancy said:
Pshaw......amateur.
Click to expand...
Ha! My wife might agree! but it's down from 4 so i can make room for the axles and engines I collecting for the two that are mid build...

My advice to Dartmouthbrian: Pick a side. Jump all in or run away screaming.
But be advised, this community is made of absolutely the best people around. Everyone will pitch in to keep another one on the road.
 
I love my pig and I've never even driven it. Pigs are an addiction, a sickness that seeps into your bones and wont let go.

That pig has ALOT more rust than you realize. Accept that, and you're less likely to be disappointed.
You WILL spend way more than you anticipate restoring, or even just "refreshing" a pig. The above info on rubbers is accurate and a good example of what I'm speaking of.

If you have the money, time and patients, I absolutely think an FJ55 is worth the investment. With the right updates, you can get a great vehicle that is very capable on and off road and that will likely be a one of a kind in your area.

This community is terrific when it comes to offering advise and getting you through tough spots

It's really a matter of deciding if you're ready to jump headfirst down the rabbit hole. Hope to see you on the other side!
 
I agree with tuffmudder it will be worth it in the end. Heck the most driving I've done in mine is take off the transporter and park it in the garage. But I'm enjoying every minute I work on it.
 
Delancy said:
Can't speak for their Pig specific parts, nor would I want to endorse any other than slocruisers, due to his investment into providing unobtanium, but the guys at Rare Spares have been excellent to deal with, sourcing split case output shafts for the ebrake drum and bearings I couldn't find anywhere on earth, and maintaining vigilance in the tree stand, hunting other pink unicorns I gave them a list of.

Good to work with.
Click to expand...


if you look at that rare spares kit, it is only the door seals, not a complete kit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom