What to tackle first - Newbie

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Munsoned

Munsoned

Joined
Oct 27, 2017
Threads
10
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60
Location
Mckinney, Texas
I just bought this guy in Denver and drove it back to Dallas. 130K very little rust, one owner and very well maintained minus the below. It is my first FZJ-80 (former Jeeper). I knew when I bought it I was going to have a lot of work to do - leaking rear main, Oil pump O-ring and both front axle seals. I will not waste your time asking questions about those other than to ask, which to tackle first? I know I'm looking at 20 hours of work (at least), so I was planning on driving it for a while to enjoy it before it goes up on blocks in the garage
Land Cruiser.jpg
 
Welcome :flipoff2:. How bad is it leaking? Are you adding quarts of oil every 1000 miles or maybe a quart per change? How do the knuckles look? I'd clean the engine and front axle and assess how bad the leaks are before committing to prioritizing. But as mentioned above, the front axle rebuild is a rite of passage.
 
Zombie's....always a real concern...

there is a lot of oil and grease, but on a 800 mile trip I did lose and oil pressure and no leaks in the driveway the last two days. levels are holding pretty well...as far as I can tell.

I was planning on cleaning the undercarriage really well and reassessing.
 
Funny thing is it had the aftermarket cup holder in the dealer pics and forgot to grab it. Too excited to get it home I guess.
 
Pick up the axle seal overdrive tool from Wit's End. It fixed a chronic axle leak for me. Well worth the $35-$40 or whatever it was.

Other than that, just fix the obvious and go wheel it. These are far more capable than many think and often need far fewer mods than other platforms in order to get the job done.

Have fun!
 
Unless you wanna get munsoned id check/replace the PHH and heater valve at firewall ;)

Clean it up and drive it. Monitor.

If excessive leaking tackle the dizzy oring, oil pump cover, front timj g gasket, crank seal at one time. That will get most leaks situated. Inspect power steering before hand to see if ahould be added to list.

If slow manageable leak the. Dive j to front axle first.

Id dismiss the rear main. Mine had a slow hanging drop but no drip 14 yrs ago upon purchase and still does. No lost sleep here.

Oh yeah. Welcome :flipoff2: and check yer nutz! (Steering arm to knuckle)
 
Considering safety first, even though you've already driven it 800 miles......

Check the nuts on the RF steering arm on the bottom.
Check all fluid and grease levels.
Check tires for safety (tread, pressures, weather checking)

Drive it to make your list of stuff to do.

My list for EVERY car/truck I get:

1) Make it run
2) Make it stop
3) Make it go
4) Make it safe
5) Make it reliable
6) Make it pretty
7) Add the bling

All of mine tend to float between 3, 4, 5 because I have too many and they are all old with lots of miles.
 
Mandrake said:
Pick up the axle seal overdrive tool from Wit's End. It fixed a chronic axle leak for me. Well worth the $35-$40 or whatever it was.

Other than that, just fix the obvious and go wheel it. These are far more capable than many think and often need far fewer mods than other platforms in order to get the job done.

Have fun!
Click to expand...
But, but, but bigger tires right... you can't wheel without bigger tires. I have already talked myself in to at least that..
 
Market update request... what did you end up paying for it? Any additional photos? Looks like a nice clean one. Wait a year or so before diving into the mods so you can sort out all of the little maintenance items and get an idea of what you want out of the cruiser. You'll be surprised what it can do stock.
 
What's the deal with the steering nuts? Hadn't seen that on the forum ( haven't been on long though) That must be a thing with 80's...
 
ZackR said:
Market update request... what did you end up paying for it? Any additional photos? Looks like a nice clean one. Wait a year or so before diving into the mods so you can sort out all of the little maintenance items and get an idea of what you want out of the cruiser. You'll be surprised what it can do stock.
Click to expand...
Good question. I should have told you more before hand. 97' $14K, but it is crazy clean and the car fax had steady mileage every year with a lot of maintenance records. One minor accident. I can't believe a truck looks this clean after 20 years. Leather is good and almost everything works. So far the only things I can see off hand that need work inside are DS sun visor, Drive light in dash is out, small slip in DS seat when not all the way back. Vernacular question it doesn't have F/R Lockers. Is that "Unlocked". So your triple locked or unlocked? Technically the transfer case is locked in low so... single locked sometimes.. I need to know this stuff!

FZJ80.jpg
 
Nice find! To clarify "unlocked" means that the factory front and rear differential lockers were not included (all 80's have the center diff lock which means you are in true four wheel drive vs all wheel drive). No worries though you can add aftermarket lockers down the road if needed.

I'd almost feel bad making any changes to a rig that nice. Take it slow and learn as much as you can before going crazy on the mods, there's a lot of mods people would undo if they had the chance in hindsight.
 
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Zack beat me to it.
Congratulations.

Yes, every 80 series land cruiser has a center differential lock, so if you have locking differentials in the front and rear axles, you're triple locked. Otherwise, you're not. No one's "D" light works.

I'd suggest getting the engine bay, axles and undercarriage clean, and then monitoring both for a while, to see where your leaks are and how they compare to each other. If you can get the pipe plugs out of the knuckles, stick a big zip tie in there for a dipstick. Should be 3/4 full. Top off with axle grease of choice; don't stress about which one, you'll be replacing it soon enough. Change the oil and send a sample to Blackstone.

Fill with gas and enjoy.
 
Munsoned said:
What's the deal with the steering nuts? Hadn't seen that on the forum ( haven't been on long though) That must be a thing with 80's...
Click to expand...
Search here for "checking your nutz" "check your nuts" etc. There are 4 on the PS side where the steering connects to in simple terms.
 
Are the nuts ever an issue for street-driven 80s with stock tire sizes? I've only seen threads where they loosened on modified rigs off-road.
 
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