My good friend Kyle found a great deal on a 80 series land cruiser today, a 1997 Lexus LX450. I decided to head over and check it out right after he got it!
Looks like a nice project truck. I would definitely have that rust looked at though (or check yourself). Would not be wise to put lots of money (and there will be lots) on top of rust IF the rust is in critical frame components that may not be repairable. Many vehicles in snow or rainy parts of the country will likely have some types of rust. It is non repairable rust that is problematic. Anyway, welcome to the club. I purchased an FZJ80 out of a guys backyard. I had always wanted one. Interestingly, I had the same thoughts that one of you made that the truck really isn't that large. I have actually been kinda surprised at how tight things are for what should be a vehicle larger than a 4 runner. Of course, I am 6'1" and that might have something to do with it. Anyway, head over to Harbor Freight, grab some tools and all the best with your projects...
I'm in the process of baselining ours which has been with us for the past 20 years. After fixing the p0401 check engine light, a few rounds of seafoam to clean the fuel injectors, and sealing the muffler crack, it runs much smoother. I'm in NY so I didn't know about the rust from salt. I checked the frame and it's rusty but surface rust only. The body does have some bad rust like the one I saw on the rear driver side door in the video.
Yeah before you do anything....get a snorkel for it!!! haha Not bad at all. A little bit rusty under there but no biggie and just breaking 200K is nothing for these. Not 3x locked but if you ever need front and rear lockers you can always do that later. It looks like you will need to do an axle job....seals and all that. First thing to do is baseline it. Change the oil, gear oil in both axles (well do that when you do the axle rebuild in the front) and the center diff. Anyway looks pretty clean. Not sure if you are aware of ih8mud forums but they are great so look there if you ever have questions.
When I worked at Lexus toyota, L customers always asked is this a reoccurring problem? I says , Prone to leak from valve cover gskt, other than that great vehicle. Has 3 lockers that’s very unique,,,,, rear undercarriage does have a lot of rust would get that looked at or u looking at it. Here’s a factoid, Lexus only had 1 4 cylinder ender everything else has been v6 v8. Always put in Lexus’s 1st before putting in Toyotas.
