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This is why I love my 80 series Land Cruiser (carb, not EFI), it's really simple that a lot of maintenance can be done with just wrenches. And the charm of havi

This is why I love my 80 series Land Cruiser (carb, not EFI), it's really simple that a lot of maintenance can be done with just wrenches. And the charm of having almost no electronics[1] on the car control is that if something is wrong, you will know it by the sounds it makes, and you will have a lot of times to fix it before it's completely toast. I have heard of horror stories about newer cars with electric ABS accumulator that stopped working on the high way, not with my FZJ80[2]. [1] The so called 'emission computer' unit on the car is a simple pulse counter/comparator that activates a VSV on the carb to reduce backfire while descending downhill with the foot off the throttle. [2] My brake booster is leaking a little bit, but at least it won't suddenly gives up on me while I'm riding, still looking for a replacement.

geocrasher 4y ago
Those are excellent vehicles indeed. Unfortunately they're also very expensive to maintain. As for a brake booster, I once swapped a booster from a 1990's Toyota pickup into a FJ55. Would you believe it bolted to the firewall? Might be a worthy swap in your FJZ80.
- atourgates 4y ago
  Really? My '95 FJ80, now over 200k miles, has been one of the cheapest and easiest to mantain, and most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. Overall cost of ownership is rough due to terrible MPG, but maintenance hasn't been an issue at all.
  - geocrasher 4y ago
    Last time I looked, parts were fairly expensive. They are excellent otherwise.
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    So that's like what, 82 in Town and Country years? Point being, 200k and 25yr on an SUV isn't that impressive on something expensive enough in its day to mostly avoid being rode hard and put away wet from day one. There are a lot of pretty pristine 90s Jags kicking around too and they weren't exactly the pinnacle of reliability. Minivans, commuter compacts, station wagons, they got chewed up and spit out.
- coconut_crab 4y ago
  OEM parts can be really expensive, but there are also choices of buying aftermarket ones (mostly made in China) or salvaging from another ones. Near where I live there is a guy who salvages Land Cruisers for a living, he has more than hundreds frames lying around in his yard. Since most of the Land cruisers here have 3rd world spec (carb-ed and detuned engine, part time 4WD, mechanical gas pump etc...), the used parts are often in very good condition. Take the dreaded blown head gasket for example, I rarely see that here because 1FZ-F doesn't run as hot as 1FZ-FE. Or the Birfield, most people just run on RWD mode so they are often pristine. (of course for something critical such as brake booster I would only use OEM).
  - geocrasher 4y ago
    Oh, you're outside the US! Then the scene changes. In the US, they're expensive even for used parts.
adamdevigili 4y ago
I have an 80 as well (1997 LX450) and another positive aspect of owning it is that when maintenance items become due, a lot of them can be fun[1] and enjoyable to tackle, and very very rarely will you run into an issue that doesn't have threads and discussions talking about the best ways to fix it. One downside to that is that you normally have to do a little bit of legwork to filter out the noise caused by other owners also looking for how to solve that particular issue. [1] I've had to do the PHH on a rusty-ish 80, not fun: https://youtu.be/WQabGr4KY5g?t=158 https://youtu.be/WQabGr4KY5g?t=158
- bayouborne 4y ago
  Starter replacement on my strait-six LX450 took ~1 hr. Pull the wheel and you're practically looking at the unit. OTOH the Birfield Joints are kind of like prehistoric CV joints and have to be rebuilt in-situ. I love mine, 400k+ miles, still going strong and slurping fuel at 14 mpg.
- abruzzi 4y ago
  mine had a leaky rear main seal. That was not a fun job. Fortunatly, my brother is an experienced auto mechanic (with ~$50k of SnapOn tools). So we were able to get it done, but there is no way I could have done it myself. The vehicle had 300k on the odometer and ran perfectly when I sold it last year for more than I paid. The reason I sold it was that the plastics had got brittle from the UV in the new mexico sun, so much of the interiod was falling apart.
fy20 4y ago
What kind of fuel consumption do you get on that? I've been considering getting an older vehicles exactly for that reason (and you can easily tinker with it), but I'd imagine the fuel consumption is a lot higher than a modern vehicle, to the point where you are not saving anything by being able to fix it yourself.
- justinator 4y ago
  More "Earth Fucker" than, "Land Cruiser" when it comes to MPG.
  - mox1 4y ago
    These older vehicles emit roughly as much as current (gas powered) small gas engines (aka lawnmowers, leaf blowers, etc). So unless your household (or your maintenance crew) is 100% electrified, your part of the problem. https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/our-sustainable-city-lawnmowers-emit-as-much-pollution-as-a-car/ https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/our-sustainable-city-...
    - lazide 4y ago
      What I love about the “movement” (just like in CAlifornian Politics!) is that everyone is terrible if they try to actually do anything useful, but everyone is great if they do random stuff that wastes time and effort without accomplishing it’s stated goals - as long as it seems futurist and green. It’s basically the now is unacceptable, and the future is impossible.
    - justinator 4y ago
      Personally no lawn, no lawnmower, no leaf blower. No car either, to be honest.
  - hef19898 4y ago
    Having one of those, from England and not Japan, they are less bad for the environment than one might think. You just don't drive them as much, gas milleage takes care of that. Being classics, you don't drive in winter with salt on the road. And you keep them on the road far longer than they were intended, no new car is a net positive.
megablast 4y ago
And all the pollution you spread everywhere you go, from gas and micro-plastics from your car tires. What is not to love?
- Swenrekcah 4y ago
  These are all genuine and critical problems, but the solution can really only come from governments and industry, with more emphasis on public transport, better city design and industry getting greener. We can praise those who organise their lives in such ways as to not be too much of a burden on the planet but I don’t believe it’s effective to shame those that don’t, or do it in different ways than you expect. It is effective to put pressure on governments and industry though.
smackeyacky 4y ago
I wouldn't be sure about that brake booster. They can fail spectacularly, feeding a pile of brake fluid into your intake and leaving you with a huge cloud of smoke / clogged exhaust valves and ports and no brakes. Get it fixed ASAP.
- coconut_crab 4y ago
  I'm not sure how can it spill brake fluid in my vacuum line since they aren't really connected together (the booster has a push rod that connects to the master cylinder). But yes, I will get it replaced soon for my safety.
  - smackeyacky 4y ago
    The safety of others as well.
- geocrasher 4y ago
  Can you give an example of this mode of failure? I've never heard of this. Ever. The worst I saw on a YT channel recently (JustRolledIn) was a booster that exploded from a backfire. But never have I heard of one failing in such a way that it sucked the fluid right out of the (sealed) master cylinder. Now, could a master cylinder and a brake booster fail this way? I suppose if the brake booster was already failed and leaked vacuum at the booster/cylinder interface, and then the master cylinder seal at the main plunger also failed, that this could happen. But I don't see one causing the other.
  - smackeyacky 4y ago
    1975 RHD alfa spider veloce failed on me this way. True the booster setup was stupid, placed after the master cylinder and exposed to the fluid internally. Since then, any sign of a leak == park it and take the bus.
    - geocrasher 4y ago
      Ah, so it was a specific failure along with a specifically bad design. THAT I get. I'm thinking of the Toyota's, Fords, Chevy's, Nissans, Mitsubishi, Internationals, Chryslers that I've owned. You know, mostly non-terrible cars :D

geocrasher 4y ago

Those are excellent vehicles indeed. Unfortunately they're also very expensive to maintain. As for a brake booster, I once swapped a booster from a 1990's Toyota pickup into a FJ55. Would you believe it bolted to the firewall? Might be a worthy swap in your FJZ80.

atourgates 4y ago
Really? My '95 FJ80, now over 200k miles, has been one of the cheapest and easiest to mantain, and most reliable vehicles I've ever owned. Overall cost of ownership is rough due to terrible MPG, but maintenance hasn't been an issue at all.
- geocrasher 4y ago
  Last time I looked, parts were fairly expensive. They are excellent otherwise.
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  So that's like what, 82 in Town and Country years? Point being, 200k and 25yr on an SUV isn't that impressive on something expensive enough in its day to mostly avoid being rode hard and put away wet from day one. There are a lot of pretty pristine 90s Jags kicking around too and they weren't exactly the pinnacle of reliability. Minivans, commuter compacts, station wagons, they got chewed up and spit out.
coconut_crab 4y ago
OEM parts can be really expensive, but there are also choices of buying aftermarket ones (mostly made in China) or salvaging from another ones. Near where I live there is a guy who salvages Land Cruisers for a living, he has more than hundreds frames lying around in his yard. Since most of the Land cruisers here have 3rd world spec (carb-ed and detuned engine, part time 4WD, mechanical gas pump etc...), the used parts are often in very good condition. Take the dreaded blown head gasket for example, I rarely see that here because 1FZ-F doesn't run as hot as 1FZ-FE. Or the Birfield, most people just run on RWD mode so they are often pristine. (of course for something critical such as brake booster I would only use OEM).
- geocrasher 4y ago
  Oh, you're outside the US! Then the scene changes. In the US, they're expensive even for used parts.

adamdevigili 4y ago

I have an 80 as well (1997 LX450) and another positive aspect of owning it is that when maintenance items become due, a lot of them can be fun[1] and enjoyable to tackle, and very very rarely will you run into an issue that doesn't have threads and discussions talking about the best ways to fix it. One downside to that is that you normally have to do a little bit of legwork to filter out the noise caused by other owners also looking for how to solve that particular issue. [1] I've had to do the PHH on a rusty-ish 80, not fun: https://youtu.be/WQabGr4KY5g?t=158 https://youtu.be/WQabGr4KY5g?t=158

bayouborne 4y ago
Starter replacement on my strait-six LX450 took ~1 hr. Pull the wheel and you're practically looking at the unit. OTOH the Birfield Joints are kind of like prehistoric CV joints and have to be rebuilt in-situ. I love mine, 400k+ miles, still going strong and slurping fuel at 14 mpg.
abruzzi 4y ago
mine had a leaky rear main seal. That was not a fun job. Fortunatly, my brother is an experienced auto mechanic (with ~$50k of SnapOn tools). So we were able to get it done, but there is no way I could have done it myself. The vehicle had 300k on the odometer and ran perfectly when I sold it last year for more than I paid. The reason I sold it was that the plastics had got brittle from the UV in the new mexico sun, so much of the interiod was falling apart.

fy20 4y ago

What kind of fuel consumption do you get on that? I've been considering getting an older vehicles exactly for that reason (and you can easily tinker with it), but I'd imagine the fuel consumption is a lot higher than a modern vehicle, to the point where you are not saving anything by being able to fix it yourself.

justinator 4y ago
More "Earth Fucker" than, "Land Cruiser" when it comes to MPG.
- mox1 4y ago
  These older vehicles emit roughly as much as current (gas powered) small gas engines (aka lawnmowers, leaf blowers, etc). So unless your household (or your maintenance crew) is 100% electrified, your part of the problem. https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/our-sustainable-city-lawnmowers-emit-as-much-pollution-as-a-car/ https://www.pressherald.com/2022/03/31/our-sustainable-city-...
  - lazide 4y ago
    What I love about the “movement” (just like in CAlifornian Politics!) is that everyone is terrible if they try to actually do anything useful, but everyone is great if they do random stuff that wastes time and effort without accomplishing it’s stated goals - as long as it seems futurist and green. It’s basically the now is unacceptable, and the future is impossible.
  - justinator 4y ago
    Personally no lawn, no lawnmower, no leaf blower. No car either, to be honest.
- hef19898 4y ago
  Having one of those, from England and not Japan, they are less bad for the environment than one might think. You just don't drive them as much, gas milleage takes care of that. Being classics, you don't drive in winter with salt on the road. And you keep them on the road far longer than they were intended, no new car is a net positive.

megablast 4y ago

And all the pollution you spread everywhere you go, from gas and micro-plastics from your car tires. What is not to love?

Swenrekcah 4y ago
These are all genuine and critical problems, but the solution can really only come from governments and industry, with more emphasis on public transport, better city design and industry getting greener. We can praise those who organise their lives in such ways as to not be too much of a burden on the planet but I don’t believe it’s effective to shame those that don’t, or do it in different ways than you expect. It is effective to put pressure on governments and industry though.

smackeyacky 4y ago

I wouldn't be sure about that brake booster. They can fail spectacularly, feeding a pile of brake fluid into your intake and leaving you with a huge cloud of smoke / clogged exhaust valves and ports and no brakes. Get it fixed ASAP.

coconut_crab 4y ago
I'm not sure how can it spill brake fluid in my vacuum line since they aren't really connected together (the booster has a push rod that connects to the master cylinder). But yes, I will get it replaced soon for my safety.
- smackeyacky 4y ago
  The safety of others as well.
geocrasher 4y ago
Can you give an example of this mode of failure? I've never heard of this. Ever. The worst I saw on a YT channel recently (JustRolledIn) was a booster that exploded from a backfire. But never have I heard of one failing in such a way that it sucked the fluid right out of the (sealed) master cylinder. Now, could a master cylinder and a brake booster fail this way? I suppose if the brake booster was already failed and leaked vacuum at the booster/cylinder interface, and then the master cylinder seal at the main plunger also failed, that this could happen. But I don't see one causing the other.
- smackeyacky 4y ago
  1975 RHD alfa spider veloce failed on me this way. True the booster setup was stupid, placed after the master cylinder and exposed to the fluid internally. Since then, any sign of a leak == park it and take the bus.
  - geocrasher 4y ago
    Ah, so it was a specific failure along with a specifically bad design. THAT I get. I'm thinking of the Toyota's, Fords, Chevy's, Nissans, Mitsubishi, Internationals, Chryslers that I've owned. You know, mostly non-terrible cars :D