To sell, or not to sell...

[zooyork263]

Haha thank yall!! Yes, I live at home now, but am transferring in the fall (War Eagle! ). And as far as workspace, my grandfather's hobby is to work on raceboats, so we have every tool imaginable and a covered work space (which is needed in the Florida weather...). I figured I could do the smaller things my self. Shocks shouldn't be a problem (helped a buddy install some on his Dodge last month, wasn't bad for the two of us). Already did the t bars, diff drop and spacers is a good idea... Timing belt and water pump I was quoted at $900, which if parts are $600, is worth chucking out the cash to avoid opening that can of worms... My main concern was putting all this money/time into my truck only to have something else die on me soon after. I just don't want it to be a constant expensive and extensive project.


Once again, thank yall very much for basically confirming that I'm doing the right thing!

Haha, im in a similar situation but mine has been on the East Coast its whole life so most stuff that can go wrong due to deterioration is sped up over here. Some future things to look out for is brake calipers. hopefully its the rear ones first for you those aren't terribly expensive to replace and your probably going to want to replace 02 sensors (also not to expensive) as for that water pump dont risk it your going to want to replace that asap. Maybe one last thing to check for is your suspension bushings. Nothing to bad has gone yet and like most are saying its probably cheaper to stick with your hundy for now and once you graduate is when you can worry about a new car.

 

[coveboy]

As someone who drove an 85 Oldsmobile Delta in college with 260k miles, 1 door that worked and a rusty coat hanger for an antenna, I'd say part with your darling LC for now. You're in college and you should focus on paying for college, and beer. Remember, it's a 60k truck and can be pricey to keep up no matter how reliable it is. Plus the gas is a killer.

Get a beater Tacoma, it'll be just as reliable as your LC and cheap to fix and cheap to run. (If you don't wheel super hard with it). When you're making 80k a year pick up another LC.

College is all pretty much paid for, scholarships have got me covered (besides living expenses for next year, which suck, but I have been saving and working for some years now)

And me and my dad had shared this Land Cruiser and his old work truck through high school, but work has picked up for him, so things have taken a turn for the better! That poor old thing...old 97 Chevy 1500, 285k miles when we sold it. Driver door only worked, which you had to open from the outside. The flywheel was missing teeth, so if it didnt crank, there was a metal rod we kept in the truck to manually crank the flywheel, radiator leaked, two cylinders would die and the resurrect themselves about once a week, AC and heat were foreign words to the daggum thing. As hard as we were on that truck, it was a sure trooper! I don't really want to go back to something like that for a daily driver...standing in the pouring rain cranking a flywheel after refilling a radiator is something I want to avoid haha.

Honestly, the minor annoyances don't really bother me. It's the big expensive and time consuming ones that get to me.... And if this rig lasts me through college and I can afford a newer one soon after, this Cruiser will definitely become a fun farm truck/project truck...I'm feelin a diesel swap with solid axles underneath and runnin some 37's, far off in the distance, but hey, I can dream. By the time I'm graduated the value of the truck will be purely sentimental.

 

[Bismarck]

Get the T belt and water pump done, then the CV as the budget permits... Spend a few bucks now and it'll be good to go for another 60-90k miles. FWIW, I had the T belt and water pump job done at a Toy dealer for under 900 bucks.

 

[re_guderian]

I like how college kids think a '97 is "old"

 

[patrickfinley]

Sounds like if you've had it for many years as a family owned truck, then it makes sense to keep it. As others have said, you would loose out on taxes, registration, etc with a new truck and would inherit unknown issues. Plus you're probably talking about selling your truck for 10-12k and buying a Taco for 8k, it wouldn't make sense even with the better gas mileage.

 

[coveboy]

I like how college kids think a '97 is "old"

First world problems haha... The year wasn't the problem, it was the condition of the truck... Whole life as a construction truck really puts wear and tear on it and ages it quick

 

[rickyjunker]

Not exactly relating to your issue but this might help you decide to keep the 100.

Not long ago I decided to sell my current rig due to several issues that all seemed to happen at the same time and buy a 100 LC. Well I could have either spent the 2K that I had saved up as a down payment on a newer LC or put that towards my 89 4runner to get things buttoned up.

What I did was shelled out the money to have the valves adjusted, front main seal, rear main seal, clutch, TO bearing, pilot bearing, pressure plate, input and output seals on the tranny and t-case, an alternator while they were in there (the front main went and drenched the alt) and a few other odds and ends done by the local Toyota place. Now before this was all done I HATED to drive the truck that I'd bought and built, I used to love this thing. Well after it was all said and done I'm back to loving it and have put that 2k back into savings for the eventual LC purchase. All I have left to do is put a seal kit in the PS pump and replace some CV's with NAPA's and I'll be good. No leaks, no issues and go where and when I want to go.

I guess what I'm saying is fix it, stay on top of routine maintenance while you own it and stick a little money away each month for your next LC or the next upgrade to the one you have. Man my little 4runner just turned over 245,504 miles today and I'll keep driving it for at least a year while I save for a Land Cruiser. Fix your LC and go from there. A dependable vehicle, that you are not making a monthly payment on, is a good thing.