1997 Lexus LX450 (Toyota Land Cruiser)

Greg@RME

Adventurer
1997 Lexus LX450. Last year for the FZJ and the best available model! Automatic transmission, Full-time 4WD, solid axles front & rear are stock with 4.10 gears and factory electric lockers front & rear. Has center diff-lock as well. Leather interior, power everything and cruise, etc. A/C blows COLD!

Wheels are stock LX450 with 315/75/16 BFG KM2's. Tires are about 80% tread, with a brand new spare. Road Hazard warranty on the tires thru Big O tires.

Suspension is a Slee 4" kit, installed by the previous owner and Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. It's an amazing suspension, works very well for the vehicle. - Slee - Toyota 80 Series Land Cruiser 4" and 6" Lift Details

Hanna Quality rock sliders- : : : Hanna Quality Motorsports : : :

Safari Snorkel- Safari Automotive

Custom front and rear bumpers. Rear bumper has recovery points, lights and a 2" receiver hitch and the swing-out spare tire carrier to keep spare outside of the cab. Painted with POR15 for long life! Also have a 2nd set of swing-out hinges and latches for gas can carrier on the other side, not yet built. Front bumper currently under construction, it's a winch bumper, very beefy and built for the standard winch bolt pattern. I do have both stock bumpers as well and they are included, as is the factory tow hitch.

The interior is in good shape. The leather seats are some of the better FZJ seats I've seen, but they do have their issues. The drivers seat has a fair amount of wear from climbing in & out and some of the stitching has started to come apart. The passenger seat is in better shape, but the leather is getting old and brittle. Seats have been cleaned & treated with Meguires Leather cleaner a couple times a year. Everything else in the interior is great. It has a factory 5 disk CD player in the center console. I have the 3rd row seat as well, they are currently out of the vehicle but look new. Includes aftermarket Husky liner plastic floor mats for the front. I have a ScanGaugeII for monitoring the engine temp, MPG's, etc.

The exterior is pretty clean, it has scratches here and there, but no dents or rust. Paint is good, etc. Recent 4 wheel alignment, tires are wearing perfectly straight and the vehicle tracks well down the road.

Under the hood, the drivetrain has been maintained very well. The engine has had a recent full tune-up, a new upgraded radiator, power steering pump was recently rebuilt by the guys at Safari LTD in Grand Junction, CO. The engine has a AFE air filter. Mechanically, the vehicle has been very well maintained and it shows. No leaks and a very solid, reliable vehicle.

As far as any issues, there's not much. The drivers rear tail light is broken, I need to get a replacement and will work on that. Occasionally the check engine light will turn on, for a P0401 code, which is a tripped O2 sensor issue. This is a common problem for FZJ's. The 02 sensors were recently replaced, so they're good. If the check engine light comes on, it's a 10 second procedure to check the code and clear it with the ScanGaugeII on the dash.


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This FZJ80 has to be one of the most reliable, capable vehicles I've ever owned. It's willing to go places you wouldn't expect it to and gets there in style. I love the thing and have a hard time even listing it... it's been a great vehicle for me, but I need a truck. If it does sell, I know I'll miss it. If it doesn't, well then I can live with that. ;)


Price- $11,500. NADA book value is $10,500. No trades, cash only.

Miles- 195k and counting

Located in Fruita, Colorado


Not included is the RTT, winch or CB.
 
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Greg@RME

Adventurer
I was told that NADA book value is actually $9,500... I honestly thought it was $10,500, sorry about the misinformation. That said, I'm sticking to my $11,500 price... if you feel that's too high, feel free to price out comparable vehicles. If it doesn't sell at $11,500, then I'm fine with that. ;)


I spent the day cleaning the LX450 up for some better pictures. It's not perfect, there are some scratches and mud here & there, but this vehicle does get used like it should be. It's no mall crawler... I have a daily driver and the LX450 sits until the weekend, ready to play.

Here's pics-

Interior;

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Greg@RME

Adventurer
Exterior;

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Extra parts; I have both the front & rear bumpers and the 3rd row seats, plus the factory tow hitch. No pictures of these parts, but the seats are near new.

I also have some other stuff that hasn't found its way onto the LX450 yet or can be added by the new owner. I cut off the factory resonator to fit the rear bumper, the LX sounds better so I left it off. I've also got a headlight alarm, that tells you if you left your lights on after shutting the vehicle off. The factory tow hooks will go under the new front bumper. I have all the hardware for a 2nd swing-out fuel can carrier. Hinge, latch & pin lock. And lastly, a set if 1" back seat brackets... move the drivers seat back 1" for slightly more leg room.

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Greg@RME

Adventurer
CB is always great! Nice trip report and good luck with the sale.

Thank you! It's a great area, I'd like to spend more time up there, especially as the leaves begin to change color.

As we drove thru downtown Crested Butte, I was tempted to stop for dinner and forget cooking over the campfire! Lots of good looking restaurants up there, but I'm glad we stuck to our plan.
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
Have you done a compression check or a head gasket replacement on this? Still interested.

I haven't replaced the head gasket, but I did ask my local 'Cruiser shop (Hugh @ Safari LTD) about the need to replace the head gasket on the 1FZ-FE. I was leery of driving a FZJ with close to 200k and asked if it should be replaced out of preventative maintenance. To paraphrase what I was told (hope Hugh doesn't mind) ... if the cooling system had been flushed, cleaned & well maintained and oil changes done, then the head gasket shouldn't be a problem. If it hasn't gone out by this point, it's probably OK for some time. This FZJ has been well maintained, the cooling system has been taken care of and the radiator had been replaced with the best available option. I keep a close eye on the coolant temp with the ScanGauge and it doesn't get too hot. If the temp starts climbing, I'll give it some time to cool down.

I haven't done a compression check, but if you're truly interested, I can get one done. I understand that you'd want that information to help gauge the engines current condition and I can't fault you there. Let me work on it.
 
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Greg@RME

Adventurer
Compression test done, I was pleasantly surprised. Right about 150#'s across the board...

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Let me know if there's any more information you'd like. :)
 

speybro

New member
Looks good Greg. I have been in the mountains and out of internet reach. Going back in the morning. How much would your 4x4 people charge to install 4:88 gears in the two diffs? also, did you do a scuba mod (moving the breathers up?)
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
Looks good Greg. I have been in the mountains and out of internet reach. Going back in the morning. How much would your 4x4 people charge to install 4:88 gears in the two diffs? also, did you do a scuba mod (moving the breathers up?)

Wish I had been in the mountains the last few days! My turn is coming this weekend and the Lexus that I've spent hours cleaning, is going to get dirty once again. :wings:

Let me get a couple estimates on re-gearing, might take me a day or 2. I'll post up my findings.

I haven't done a scuba mod, as you called it. I've wanted to, but have not.
 

Greg@RME

Adventurer
One last price drop, down to $10,500. At this point, i have no 'haggle' room, that's the price and I simply cannot take any less. Come get it!
 

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