Hi, My name is Amit and I am a relatively new owner of a 2008 Toyota Landcruiser. I bought the truck about 6 months ago and have been spending a lot of time (and unfortunately money) baselining it to bring it to like new mechanical condition and some tasteful upgrades to modernize the interior and some exterior. Using this thread to build a build thread to document my journey and share learnings if anyone is interested. I have learnt so much from this forum and enjoyed the community of cruiser lovers and thought it would only be fair to give back.
When I bought the truck it had 174k miles. I was owned primarily by the family of a dealer who kept it well maintained and then owned by a second gentleman who kept up with routine maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes) and some repairs(radiator etc.) but I wanted to bring the car back to my standards.
Here is a list of what I have done to baseline the truck, followed up a list of mofications done and planned>
Baselining and Associated Cost:
1. OEM Wiper and Gas Cap: $97
2. Oil and Filter Change: $120
3.OEM Front and rear brake pads and rotors: $534 +$250 install
4. Aftermarket Serpentine belt+ aftermarket tensioner pulley+ aftermarket idler pulley+aisin(OEM) water pump: $202+$500 install
5. Aftermarket parking brake shoes: $66+$100 install
6. OEM front driver's inner and outer tie rod (because they were siezed): $178+$150install
7. Wheel alignment: $230 lifetime wheel alignment as I tend to keep this car for while
8. Spark Plugs: $100 w/self install
9. Valve cover gasket with tube seals (since I discovered some oil in spark plug well): $600
10. Throttle body cleaning: $5 self. This was the largest bang for my buck in drivability. The car idles and drives beautfully and it made a larger than expected difference in driving experience.
11. Radiator, radiator hose, clamps, fan and fan clutch (still to be done but is scheduled): $816+$400 install. The car has an aftermarket radiator that I didn't like and recently discovered was leaking so choosing to replace with the superseded radiator part number that addresses the issue with the first gen radiator bursting from the top seal.
Upgrades:
1. Grom Vline VL2: $550 on a ih8mud group sale w/ self install
2. Front driver's seat cover replacement: $250+$125 install. I got them from a company called richmond automotive. They matches color and leather quality 90%.
3. Steering Wheel: In installed a steering wheel from the 2016-2021 LC200 in full black leather. My steering wheel has weathered slightly and had scratches on the top faux wood. I missed the feeling of good leather. I used OEM parts where I could and got the new steering wheel rewrapped in high quality black leather professionally.
4. Gear knob. The LC200 comes with a gear knob with faux wood that weathers really easily. I tried one of those cheap amazon replacements but it left me wanting. I found out about this etsy channel from watching thecarcarenut channel on youtube of a guy who makes toyota gearknobs out of real wood to match the interior and it came out really nice. It is defintiely old school feeling but the real wood makes for a pleasant feel.
Planned Upgrades.
4. Front headlights from 2013-2015 LC200 with used ballasts and new bulbs: $1220+$100 install. This is in the books and parts have been ordered. I ordered a set of OEM headlights from TPD and a headlight harness off off aliexpress after reading numerous threads here. I hope it is as plug and play as others say it is as I am planning on swapping them out during my radiator swap.
5. Dobinson's mild lift and suspension. I have not completely made my mind up on this but a friend of mine who is a LC expert and afficionado runs a group buy and install for Dobinson's IMS 1.5-2" lift with all new control arms and diff lift kits with install for ~3600 and I'm planning on doing this next year potentially. Need to save up a little.
When I bought the truck it had 174k miles. I was owned primarily by the family of a dealer who kept it well maintained and then owned by a second gentleman who kept up with routine maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes) and some repairs(radiator etc.) but I wanted to bring the car back to my standards.
Here is a list of what I have done to baseline the truck, followed up a list of mofications done and planned>
Baselining and Associated Cost:
1. OEM Wiper and Gas Cap: $97
2. Oil and Filter Change: $120
3.OEM Front and rear brake pads and rotors: $534 +$250 install
4. Aftermarket Serpentine belt+ aftermarket tensioner pulley+ aftermarket idler pulley+aisin(OEM) water pump: $202+$500 install
5. Aftermarket parking brake shoes: $66+$100 install
6. OEM front driver's inner and outer tie rod (because they were siezed): $178+$150install
7. Wheel alignment: $230 lifetime wheel alignment as I tend to keep this car for while
8. Spark Plugs: $100 w/self install
9. Valve cover gasket with tube seals (since I discovered some oil in spark plug well): $600
10. Throttle body cleaning: $5 self. This was the largest bang for my buck in drivability. The car idles and drives beautfully and it made a larger than expected difference in driving experience.
11. Radiator, radiator hose, clamps, fan and fan clutch (still to be done but is scheduled): $816+$400 install. The car has an aftermarket radiator that I didn't like and recently discovered was leaking so choosing to replace with the superseded radiator part number that addresses the issue with the first gen radiator bursting from the top seal.
Upgrades:
1. Grom Vline VL2: $550 on a ih8mud group sale w/ self install
2. Front driver's seat cover replacement: $250+$125 install. I got them from a company called richmond automotive. They matches color and leather quality 90%.
3. Steering Wheel: In installed a steering wheel from the 2016-2021 LC200 in full black leather. My steering wheel has weathered slightly and had scratches on the top faux wood. I missed the feeling of good leather. I used OEM parts where I could and got the new steering wheel rewrapped in high quality black leather professionally.
4. Gear knob. The LC200 comes with a gear knob with faux wood that weathers really easily. I tried one of those cheap amazon replacements but it left me wanting. I found out about this etsy channel from watching thecarcarenut channel on youtube of a guy who makes toyota gearknobs out of real wood to match the interior and it came out really nice. It is defintiely old school feeling but the real wood makes for a pleasant feel.
Planned Upgrades.
4. Front headlights from 2013-2015 LC200 with used ballasts and new bulbs: $1220+$100 install. This is in the books and parts have been ordered. I ordered a set of OEM headlights from TPD and a headlight harness off off aliexpress after reading numerous threads here. I hope it is as plug and play as others say it is as I am planning on swapping them out during my radiator swap.
5. Dobinson's mild lift and suspension. I have not completely made my mind up on this but a friend of mine who is a LC expert and afficionado runs a group buy and install for Dobinson's IMS 1.5-2" lift with all new control arms and diff lift kits with install for ~3600 and I'm planning on doing this next year potentially. Need to save up a little.