Is a Land Cruiser right for me?

[cruiserbent]

Well, may as well give my 2 cents. Currently own a 97 runner with Sonoran Steel and 285/75/16 BFGs. 33s. Also have a bone stock 04 runner. The 97 averages about 16mpg all aorund. I like the ride and drive with the lift. Dont do any hard core offroading, mainly fire roads & the like. Has a home made drawer system and the few times I have slept in it I removed it & put it under the truck. Now have a M416 trailer to put gear in. When i can get the wife to go we sleep in a tent. Scout trip I let the boys tent and I sleep in truck. The 04 is much more comfortable. Both have leather but the 04 seats are heated. It is a Limited full time 4wd with the v8. 4th gen runners can be had fairly close in price to 3rd gens. Drove the 04 in the snow the other day and it was a little different. Did fine but didnt seam to have the "bite" in the front as the 97. May have been because of the lesser aggressive tire but I think more to do with the full time. if I had thought about I would have locked the center to see the difference. Anyway, I am Toyota biased. Had 91 runner before also. Never had any other. And I work at a Toyota dealer service dept.

[cruiserbent]

All that being said. I still have a lust for an 80 series Cruiser. One day I hope to have one. Just cause

[nkorep2]

What about typical repairs? For example, wranglers have crappy radiators and typically go around 90k, the vent controls go, the ignition switch goes. And I feel like the list goes on and on. Im learning about this head gasket issue with the 4.5. What other common issues exist?

[mtnbike28]

HG, front axle service (then good for 15 more years), sun roof leaks, EGR (CEL and p401?) a couple of seals on a 20 year truck (oil pump, dist O ring) and the PS pump seem to be the most common possible issues. Like has been stated, baseline fluids, fix major leaks and then see. Mine had 167,000 when I got it a couple months ago, did the fluids (difs, AT, coolant, oil) had the dealer do the oil pump seal, used a turkey baster to suck out PS fluid and refilled and I have driven it 5k miles with nothing else so far. Be careful reading ih8mud, mine is still the original HG and PPH, one day I will get to them ; ) but Mud has me convinced they are going to blow up any day! As I talked to folks before I bought mine, the newest 80s are 15 years old..... hth

[86tuning]

Be careful reading ih8mud, mine is still the original HG and PPH, one day I will get to them ; ) but Mud has me convinced they are going to blow up any day!

Ain't that the truth. Mud is full of OCD owners that take preventive maintenance to the extreme. Lol.

There are definitely popular issues with the 80-series. Main issue IMO is fuel consumption. These trucks are thirsty!

[Klierslc]

The newest 80 series in the states is 16 years old. Keep that in mind and you won't be disappointed. I have had 3 (93,94, and 97) and have had no serious issues. 93 bought at 150k, wrecked at 170k; 94 bought at 130k, sold at 170k; 97 bought at 165k currently at 210k.

[Flagster]

The newest 80 series in the states is 16 years old. Keep that in mind and you won't be disappointed. I have had 3 (93,94, and 97) and have had no serious issues. 93 bought at 150k, wrecked at 170k; 94 bought at 130k, sold at 170k; 97 bought at 165k currently at 210k.

good advice...

I fell under the 80 series spell a couple of years ago...it is a fun truck but is still a 17 year old (mine is a 1995) pig that struggles on the mountain grades here in AZ while returning a solid 11mpg average...
I love it and won't sell it anytime soon but it isn't my only car...I couldn't take it if I had to DD it...different strokes for you know...

I also agree the MUD prev. maintenance is way overblown...I change my oil...bypassed the PHH, flushed all the fluids when I bought the truck (tranny/diffs/transfer)...base lined the cooling system but I don't take it to the extreme like some of those posts...don't tell anyone but I think my motor oil hasn't been changed in over a year
After watching the mechanic Roger on Chasing Classic Cars reuse motor oil and coolant on a vintage Ferrari I don't worry too much about red or green/dinosaur or synthetic...drive it and enjoy

[Sempertoy]

Ain't that the truth. Mud is full of OCD owners that take preventive maintenance to the extreme. Lol.

There are definitely popular issues with the 80-series. Main issue IMO is fuel consumption. These trucks are thirsty!

I literally had nightmares about head gaskets blowing after extensive research on mud. Since then I've backed off and treated it like a Toyota.. Something that will run forever!

[krnnerdboy]

I've owned a 98 Tacoma ext cab, 05 Tacoma ext cab, 97 80, 05 xterra, 05 single cab f250, 05 wrangler,and now an 01 100. Plus some irrelevant 4x4's and every single one of them was perfect for the needs I needed them for at the time. The greatest value of the group was the xterra and my favorite is my current uzj100. Can't really go wrong with any of them, except the overpriced Tacoma, and the worst you can do Is over pay for them.

[krnnerdboy]

Btw my fj80 blew 3 head gaskets by 80k mi. My family was the original owners and it was driven very lightly, however it commuted only 2 miles a day!! Who says low mileage cars are good....