Fj80oregon
GOLD Star
Finally doing a deep clean!!
What Did You Do with Your 80 This Weekend?
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I keep telling myself I'm going to get some. So far I've been just being really careful but it would be nice to have that extra piece of mind. They look great!
SteelHunterFJ80
SILVER Star
I got them for wheeling just as much as I got them for side protection from some dumb Honda Civic. My buddy got t boned in his 100 series and sliders saved his truck and protected his kids
Knuckles got rebuilt by Yotaworks during the week - awesome job
Put on a stubby antenna - gave up on the extendable one.
replaced the Charcoal canister (AC Delco 215-153) and all the clips and hoses that go to it as they were original and I felt like if I touched them they would disintegrate
new vent hoses and PCV grommet and clips on the top side of the engine as it was all old too.
O2 Sensor nuts - still not found a way to deal with them. Any advice? I don't have an air hammer. nut splitters won't fit. I have new nuts and new denso O2 sensors.
Put on a stubby antenna - gave up on the extendable one.
replaced the Charcoal canister (AC Delco 215-153) and all the clips and hoses that go to it as they were original and I felt like if I touched them they would disintegrate
new vent hoses and PCV grommet and clips on the top side of the engine as it was all old too.
O2 Sensor nuts - still not found a way to deal with them. Any advice? I don't have an air hammer. nut splitters won't fit. I have new nuts and new denso O2 sensors.
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Dremel; get the flex shaft extension too. It's money.
hisandhers80s
SILVER Star
I will second the Dremel flex shaft! It is amazing and worth its weight in gold.
now why did I not think of that? Thanks!
To the man with a hammer, the whole world is full of nails...
How did you route the exhaust with the new bumper?
Looks like he didn’t touch it. You can see it sticking out in the second picture.
I did the tailgate storage thing! Went with the kit from @MongooseGA The Artisan Garage. It’s very DIY as you need to assemble all aspects of the panels and doors, but that is what I liked about it. I got it powered locally, the tan is closer to the interior in person. Overall I’m stoked!
What do you mean you got it powered locally?
He probably meant powder coated
Ah. It threw me because at first glance it looked like wood.
There was no need to reroute the exhaust, but I plan to chop it in the near future for additional clearance
JayMo1
GOLD Star
Pretty massive re-baseline finally scheduled for weeks of May 25th, week pause as they work on another job, then finish up the next week. By mid-June will be a lot more confident while wheeling (man, I really don’t like the word wheeling… off-roading is such a better descriptor, trying to use wheeling for you folks though).
Getting all gaskets/seals, hoses, some grommets, fluids, filters, distributor, spark plugs/wires, and a bump stop replaced. Knuckle job (one starting to have issues, get both to known state sounds good to me). Figure out if any holes in headers are repairable once in there. Replace 8k WARN winch with new 12k ARB winch. Battery isolator for existing dual AGM (new) battery setup. Seat gears replaced. Digital speed corrector for 35s and regear by PO.
I think that is everything. Lot more than I was expecting, and if I had time I would do it myself… but I work all week so that I don’t mind paying that, so that I can spend the time out on the trails with the kids instead of the garage unless we absolutely need to and can’t wait for an appointment a month+ away.
Oh, ACC Garage just west outside of Atalanta doing all the work. Never seen so many Land Cruisers in various states of repair. They seem awesome from everything I researched and felt while they did the very thorough inspection.
Getting all gaskets/seals, hoses, some grommets, fluids, filters, distributor, spark plugs/wires, and a bump stop replaced. Knuckle job (one starting to have issues, get both to known state sounds good to me). Figure out if any holes in headers are repairable once in there. Replace 8k WARN winch with new 12k ARB winch. Battery isolator for existing dual AGM (new) battery setup. Seat gears replaced. Digital speed corrector for 35s and regear by PO.
I think that is everything. Lot more than I was expecting, and if I had time I would do it myself… but I work all week so that I don’t mind paying that, so that I can spend the time out on the trails with the kids instead of the garage unless we absolutely need to and can’t wait for an appointment a month+ away.
Oh, ACC Garage just west outside of Atalanta doing all the work. Never seen so many Land Cruisers in various states of repair. They seem awesome from everything I researched and felt while they did the very thorough inspection.
After attending Cruise Moab 2026, I think the attending Easter Jeep Safari instead, or in addition to, is the smart play.
As mentioned, Easter Jeep Safari is brand agnostic and it is a much longer event.
For others who may find this post in the future via searching.
My take on the TLCA sanctioned Cruise Moab.
Way too short for someone driving from the North East to the South West. Maybe worth doing once, but not twice unless you are a glutton for punishment.
Brutal drive, which includes driving past or through multiple major US cities: congestion, s***ty roads, road construction, dozens and dozens of speed traps (Illinois!!!), and toll after toll after toll (New York!!!)....
Then the constant leg cramps.... Cruise Control has now been moved to the top on my LS Swap Todo list...
Don't forget about fuel cost....an 80 series (or clone) doesn't know how to pass a gas station. I spent about $1,800 in fuel alone. Add in motels, meals, etc.
With that, Cruise Moab gave the Iron Butt award to someone who drove 2,000 total miles less...I think 80 series (or newer) owners need not apply...
I mean, Iron Butt awards, outside Cruise Moab, is all about distance. I mean, how do you mess that up? If a vote is needed, IMHO you are doing it wrong...the Cruise Moab organizers put a massive thumb on the scale for whatever reason. They didn't explain themselves. After the award was given, people were asking me "didn't you drive way more than that?" Yes, yes I did. However, I don't think I drove the furthest (and deserving of the award)...
From now on, my LX450 will now identify as a FJ25 for all TLCA sanctioned event.
I don't know why Cruise Moab organizers suggests the Old Spanish Trail Arena for camping... **** that s***...unless you like your tent being blown down due to overnight sporadic wind gusts, and tenting on a gravel/dust mixture good enough to be used as a road base for a major interstate highway.
It also didn't help that the tenting area that was suggested was absolutely the worst area for tenting. We were the first to arrive, but we soon noticed that people arriving later were tenting up against a small treeline...we were the only tent tenting in the "tent area."
I did park the truck to block the wind, but it only partially helped. We were told to park outside the camping area, but no one did.However, the Moab area is absolutely worth the drive but plan on staying a few weeks...
As for Cruise Moab event itself? Myself and my wife enjoyed it. Our trail leaders were beyond exceptional. They are the ones that make Cruise Moab what it is.
Not my truck obviously, but one of the exceptional trail leaders in foreground:
Not many pics of my truck, but the driving on the dunes freaked my wife out, so she got out and took pictures.
Another exceptional guide, and my truck driving up a rock ledge. Cameras flatten everything out...
A highlight of the trip was Arches National Park.
I did have an issue 200 miles out from Moab,
It was Intermittent no start, and no anything, that I narrowed down to one of the two ignition circuits.
In a McDs parking lot, I was able to hot wire the LS motor, but had no gauges, turn signals, HVAC, Windows, lockers, center diff lock. It is surprising how many things are on that circuit...looking at the EWD on a phone is painful...
The cool thing was that I was able to talk to a one of the Toyota guys @ Cruise Moab. He gave me insights and pointers into my issue and how Toyota designs their ignition systems... Intermittent problems are a bitch to solve.. It might be a fusible link, but I wasn't able to conclusively prove it. I always had voltage upstream, even after manipulating the fusible link (as suggested by the Toyota guy). I generally don't throw parts at a problem but should have a few fusible links on hand.
By the end of Cruise Moab, this was my solution to get the important things working. Don't hate...it got me on the trails and home.
Every morning I would plug the left into the powered side of the defog circuit, and then hot wire the LS engine to start...and then leave the engine running until I stopped for the night...then unplug the above. Repeat until we got home...
The LS engine and transmission performed absolutely brilliantly. 14.8 mpg if I didn't have my foot buried: 65 to 70 mph. Closer to 12.2 mpg when travelling 80 to 85 mph, and sometimes hitting 90 mph. Some areas had an 80 mph speed limit.
The bugs after driving through Nebraska on the way home.
Wow sorry you didn’t have a good time!!After attending Cruise Moab 2026, I think the attending Easter Jeep Safari instead, or in addition to, is the smart play.
As mentioned, Easter Jeep Safari is brand agnostic and it is a much longer event.
For others who may find this post in the future via searching.
My take on the TLCA sanctioned Cruise Moab.
Way too short for someone driving from the North East to the South West. Maybe worth doing once, but not twice unless you are a glutton for punishment.
Brutal drive, which includes driving past or through multiple major US cities: congestion, s***ty roads, road construction, dozens and dozens of speed traps (Illinois!!!), and toll after toll after toll (New York!!!)....
Then the constant leg cramps.... Cruise Control has now been moved to the top on my LS Swap Todo list...
Don't forget about fuel cost....an 80 series (or clone) doesn't know how to pass a gas station. I spent about $1,800 in fuel alone. Add in motels, meals, etc.
With that, Cruise Moab gave the Iron Butt award to someone who drove 2,000 total miles less...I think 80 series (or newer) owners need not apply...
I mean, Iron Butt awards, outside Cruise Moab, is all about distance. I mean, how do you mess that up? If a vote is needed, IMHO you are doing it wrong...the Cruise Moab organizers put a massive thumb on the scale for whatever reason. They didn't explain themselves. After the award was given, people were asking me "didn't you drive way more than that?" Yes, yes I did. However, I don't think I drove the furthest (and deserving of the award)...
From now on, my LX450 will now identify as a FJ25 for all TLCA sanctioned event.
I don't know why Cruise Moab organizers suggests the Old Spanish Trail Arena for camping... **** that s***...unless you like your tent being blown down due to overnight sporadic wind gusts, and tenting on a gravel/dust mixture good enough to be used as a road base for a major interstate highway.
It also didn't help that the tenting area that was suggested was absolutely the worst area for tenting. We were the first to arrive, but we soon noticed that people arriving later were tenting up against a small treeline...we were the only tent tenting in the "tent area."
However, the Moab area is absolutely worth the drive but plan on staying a few weeks...
As for Cruise Moab event itself? Myself and my wife enjoyed it. Our trail leaders were beyond exceptional. They are the ones that make Cruise Moab what it is.
Not my truck obviously, but one of the exceptional trail leaders in foreground:
View attachment 4127020
Not many pics of my truck, but the driving on the dunes freaked my wife out, so she got out and took pictures.
View attachment 4127044
Another exceptional guide, and my truck driving up a rock ledge. Cameras flatten everything out...
View attachment 4127055
A highlight of the trip was Arches National Park.
View attachment 4127076
I did have an issue 200 miles out from Moab,
It was Intermittent no start, and no anything, that I narrowed down to one of the two ignition circuits.
In a McDs parking lot, I was able to hot wire the LS motor, but had no gauges, turn signals, HVAC, Windows, lockers, center diff lock. It is surprising how many things are on that circuit...looking at the EWD on a phone is painful...
The cool thing was that I was able to talk to a one of the Toyota guys @ Cruise Moab. He gave me insights and pointers into my issue and how Toyota designs their ignition systems... Intermittent problems are a bitch to solve.. It might be a fusible link, but I wasn't able to conclusively prove it. I always had voltage upstream, even after manipulating the fusible link (as suggested by the Toyota guy). I generally don't throw parts at a problem but should have a few fusible links on hand.
By the end of Cruise Moab, this was my solution to get the important things working. Don't hate...it got me on the trails and home.
View attachment 4127032
Every morning I would plug the left into the powered side of the defog circuit, and then hot wire the LS engine to start...and then leave the engine running until I stopped for the night...then unplug the above. Repeat until we got home...
The LS engine and transmission performed absolutely brilliantly. 14.8 mpg if I didn't have my foot buried: 65 to 70 mph. Closer to 12.2 mpg when travelling 80 to 85 mph, and sometimes hitting 90 mph. Some areas had an 80 mph speed limit.
The bugs after driving through Nebraska on the way home.
View attachment 4127040
IMO CM is one of the best TLCA sanctioned events out there.
It’s perfectly clear how long the event is when you sign up. And you must have know how long you drive was going to be !!
I always show up the Saturday before the event starts to get the most out of my trip and it’s only 1000 miles one way for me.
The reason why they suggest the old Spanish trail arena for camping as so that you can walk to vendors & raffle night. You also can walk around camp and meet other Cruiser heads have a few beers and not worry about driving.
Yes it windy but it’s windy everywhere in that general area.
Every year there’s a CM thread in the event section that you can ask questions.
Find out about camping what trails to run, anything about the event.
Yes they have great trail leaders the one in the picture name is Rob wheeled with him many times. I think he’s been to every CM that I can remember.
In closing I would say that it’s a lot of work to put on any event. CM is very well organized and everyone working to make it happen is volunteering their time.
Big thanks to all the people that make it happen!!
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Isn’t that cost just pass on to the customers ?
In any case it’s the current administration making everything more expensive for the consumer!