Landcruisers

507,384 Views | 3457 Replies | Last: 2 days ago by reddog90
Jrod05
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I know a guy that would let you swap that
valverde03
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Any recommendations for a good mechanic in the San Antonio area for a 1978 FJ40 that has been sitting for a decade? I know it will need quite a bit of work. Also any recommendations for a body shop in this area? Not looking for a 100% restoration, but it has some rust and I'd like to have it painted so it is protected.
Centerpole90
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I am not in San Antonio, so there could well be the world's greatest LC mechanic there and I wouldn't know it - but if an hour away is acceptable, I believe Daniel Happley (Hill Country Cruisers) in Wimberley fits the bill. I currently have a carburetor in his shop for rebuild - it's the first work he's done for me though. I spoke with him over the weekend seeking some advice and he was working on a 40 series doing just what it appears you're wanting done. I found him and reached out to him on IG; it's the only place I can find he advertises. https://www.instagram.com/hillcountrycruisers/?hl=en

If you don't do IG and you want his number, just PM me - I think it's his cell and I hate to post it without asking first. No help on body shop, although that shouldn't be as hard to find as a mechanic that is well versed in LC.

Share pics of your (BEST YEAR) '78.
valverde03
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Thanks CP...much appreciated. It's not much to look at yet but I will post some pics when I can.
lp01
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Alamo Auto Doctors in Schertz have been very helpful. Very knowledgeable. I'm taking my 2005 in for a timing belt and water pump at the end of the month. Also recommended a friend take their 2015 4Runner, and saved them $2500.
Dumpster Fire
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lp01 said:

Alamo Auto Doctors in Schertz have been very helpful. Very knowledgeable. I'm taking my 2005 in for a timing belt and water pump at the end of the month. Also recommended a friend take their 2015 4Runner, and saved them $2500.

Will you post how much the TB and WP cost from there? Im near there and want to compare prices from the different places ive gone to for other things before.
Streetfighter 02
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Centerpole90 said:

I am not in San Antonio, so there could well be the world's greatest LC mechanic there and I wouldn't know it - but if an hour away is acceptable, I believe Daniel Happley (Hill Country Cruisers) in Wimberley fits the bill. I currently have a carburetor in his shop for rebuild - it's the first work he's done for me though. I spoke with him over the weekend seeking some advice and he was working on a 40 series doing just what it appears you're wanting done. I found him and reached out to him on IG; it's the only place I can find he advertises. https://www.instagram.com/hillcountrycruisers/?hl=en

If you don't do IG and you want his number, just PM me - I think it's his cell and I hate to post it without asking first. No help on body shop, although that shouldn't be as hard to find as a mechanic that is well versed in LC.

Share pics of your (BEST YEAR) '78.
I know of people in Dallas who take their 40's to this guy.
reddog90
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valverde03 said:

Any recommendations for a good mechanic in the San Antonio area for a 1978 FJ40 that has been sitting for a decade? I know it will need quite a bit of work. Also any recommendations for a body shop in this area? Not looking for a 100% restoration, but it has some rust and I'd like to have it painted so it is protected.
I highly recommend Steve at Northwest Design & Fab. He will come pick it up.
Streetfighter 02
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Whew. Just went down the rabbit hole on mud looking for FJ43 soft top bows.
lp01
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Quote:

Will you post how much the TB and WP cost from there? Im near there and want to compare prices from the different places ive gone to for other things before.
Will do. I want to say initial estimate was right at $1200.
Dumpster Fire
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lp01 said:


Quote:

Will you post how much the TB and WP cost from there? Im near there and want to compare prices from the different places ive gone to for other things before.
Will do. I want to say initial estimate was right at $1200.

Thanks. I did my TB and WP last fall with a pretty good small shop in San Marcos. I've gone to him when needing something done I can't do or don't have time for.

He charged ~$900 for the TB/WP including labor and used ASIN parts for my 2000 LC. I've very happy and confident in him and his work.
lp01
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Quote:

Thanks. I did my TB and WP last fall with a pretty good small shop in San Marcos. I've gone to him when needing something done I can't do or don't have time for.

He charged ~$900 for the TB/WP including labor and used ASIN parts for my 2000 LC. I've very happy and confident in him and his work.
That's good to know. This one is ready to go, but will keep that in mind for future reference. I have used Land Cruiser Specialists in NW Austin for a couple of small things, but this shop in Schertz is much closer. Did you use Hill Country Cruisers by chance?
Dumpster Fire
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No its Japanese Auto in SMTX. I've also gone up to LC Specialists for a few things but unless there is something Japanese Auto can't do or doesn't have time for I'm going to keep using him.
91AggieLawyer
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I may have asked this before but assuming a no-issue 2007 GX470 with 195K miles, would you trust this for a daily driver? I know I might have to upgrade the stereo/head unit to get bluetooth and it likely won't have USB. Anything else I might miss in it?
aggiepaintrain
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timing belt and water pump recently done with receipts , check sunroof functionality, telescopic steering wheel functionality
FJB
91AggieLawyer
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Also looking at a newer one that might need new tires. My first thought was BFG Rugged Trail TA, a less aggressive (than KO) but still rugged BFG tire. I had them on my Tacoma and liked them. They seemed to handle road and dirt (not that I do that a lot) both pretty well. However, they don't come in the 18" I'd need for the GX4x0 -- probably looking at a 460 now.

Any suggestions for a similar tire? Not a Bridgeston/Firestone fan.
91AggieLawyer
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aggiepaintrain said:

timing belt and water pump recently done with receipts , check sunroof functionality, telescopic steering wheel functionality


So in what mileage range does the water pump usually go on these GXs?
lp01
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Quote:

So in what mileage range does the water pump usually go on these GXs?
I wouldn't say that there is a mileage that they go out. But if you're looking at a 14 year old vehicle with 195k miles, I would have timing belt and water pump done as one of the first things. If it was done at 90k miles or somewhere since, it should be good.
reddog90
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Drivers side CV on my 200 started ticking when I was in Big Bend in March. Cruiser Kurt told me to pump some more grease in the boots with a needle attachment to see if it was the CV or hub bearing. This didn't help and then both boots started leaking. So I priced out a CV replacement at Duggy's and ultimately just swapped it myself. It was going to be 3.2 hours of labor at almost $500, plus MSRP on parts. I got the axle assembly from EB Toyota Parts and saved $160 there, then swapped it in my driveway in 3 hours with just hand tools including cleaning some blown grease out of the wheel well, a couple youtube breaks and a phone call...

The Ironman kit had settled to just over 3" of lift in the front after 4,600 miles. I was not pleased with my CV angles or the handling characteristics. So after the CV swap I brought the truck to Duggy's to pull the coilovers, lower the front and inch and realign. They ultimately lowered the fronts a little over 1.5" by my measurements. This is tape measuring center of hub to fender cut which is not very precise. The CV angles look great now, truck drives and handles way better and about 99% of my rubbing is gone, even with these big meats. We left the rear alone, and the truck now has 2" of rake, which I'm not used to yet. It should decrease slightly with sliders and drawers. Or I can easily throw in some lighter load OME springs.

Duggy's got me squared away, but I was extremely unimpressed with Duc's professionalism when I dropped the truck off and when we talked on the phone the next day. The outright rudeness reminded me of talking to someone at the post office. TBH, I was so pissed off when I dropped the truck off that the first thing I did when I walked out of his office was call Javier's to get a price and timeline for the work. If I didn't have so much **** going on right now I would have gladly taken my keys back and waited another 3 weeks to take it there. Duc and I had some words on the phone about this. I have no idea why he was such an ass to me, but I guess me chewing him out on the phone worked because he was nice when I picked the truck up. But I told him he has lost my business for forever. This was all surprising because I've met him and a LC event and he seemed nice, and his clients like him. My experience couldn't have been further from theirs.
reddog90
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On a better note, over the past several weeks I tracked down and installed the following in Marge the 60:

OEM thermostat and gasket, and paper housing gasket.
Overland Metric stainless thermostat hardware kit.
OEM intake manifold fuel filter/spark arrestor.
OEM choke cable.
Original VCV in parts box that came with Marge.
Bought a used 60 carb from Steve at Northwest D&F, harvested the green fuel cut solenoid connector and AC idle up and installed them both.
Sourced a used throttle control spring bracket from Classic Cruisers (I think these folks are still on dial up, but they'll have whatever you need...)
Replaced a puking Saginaw PS pump (PO did Georg's Saginaw kit)

Redid some vacuum lines to get everything right and then a friend tuned the City Racer carb for me. It runs great now and is a great daily driver. I am missing my 40 on these nice weather days, but power steering and AC is a nice touch, and keeping a car seat in the truck seals the deal.




K Bo
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Dang, I hate you had that experience with Duc. I've only had my LC in his shop a few times and both times were what I would describe as "fine". I haven't felt like he went above and beyond, and not sure it's been necessary, but I certainly have not experienced what you did. I saw, via social media, they are hiring some positions so I wonder if they've had some people leave and maybe he's stressed? Regardless, that's not how you conduct a business. I have my truck going in his shop for a few things in the next month or so. I'll share my experience thereafter.
TxAg20
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I've swapped front coil overs on my 200 a couple of times. Took it to the dealer for cv boot tear after looking at the FSM. Coils are easy as long as kdss valves aren't frozen.
ac04
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Centerpole90
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While we are venting about shops I am less than impressed with the guy working on my 40.

First, I'm not sure he knows as much as he thinks he does, but it doesn't dissuade him from tackling everything. I don't think he owns a wrench that turns to the right; every time I visit my 40 it's been further disassembled and God knows when he plans to start putting it together. He bills for time he just sits in a chair watching youtube videos on his shop tv, most of which have little to do with land cruisers. All sorts of wildlife and livestock wander in and out of the shop like it's a barnyard. He has a addiction to ordering parts to the point he can't remember WHAT he's already ordered.

But his wife is sweet and a good cook.

Gotta go, dinner's ready.....
reddog90
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TxAg20 said:

I've swapped front coil overs on my 200 a couple of times. Took it to the dealer for cv boot tear after looking at the FSM. Coils are easy as long as kdss valves aren't frozen.
I installed the lift myself so I wasn't concerned about getting the coils out. But I have no way to compress the springs to lower the perch, hence why I was looking for a shop to do it. I bought the coilovers preassembled from ironman.
TxAg20
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Rental/loaner coil compressor tools and prayers. I went ahead and bought a cheap set of coil compressor tools on Amazon.
Centerpole90
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Coil spring compressor is easily one of the best google image searches...

reddog90
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TxAg20 said:

Rental/loaner coil compressor tools and prayers. I went ahead and bought a cheap set of coil compressor tools on Amazon.
The funny guy that does the ironman youtube videos said it's easy to chip your powdercoat with those. But I'll give that a shot next time.
fwag04
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Had to tow about 60 miles through hills and backroads today with my 100. Did 55-60 no problem, but it wasn't happy going uphill. I was really concerned about maxing out the towing capacity, (boat and trailer are 6,600 lbs dry) but it did really well. Pic is before I took the cover off to tow.


Naveronski
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While y'all are browsing LC 's for sale, lemme know if you find a '85 T4R (or later that's already been converted).
Looking for a new project.
rebel 02
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Love this thread, have been searching for an LC for a while and came across this one:
2015 Toyota Landcruiser

Current owner sent me the Carfax. Vehicle looks good, 100k miles, minor rear bumper damage that has been fixed, but not much maintenance history on carfax. Owner said he just had it serviced at a Toyota certified shop and they told him he was good until 120k miles. Located in Virginia through 6/2020, then in Georgia since then.

Curious on the number of owners in such a short time frame, is it possible that owner 2 was just a dealer? Happy to send over the carfax if someone would like to take a look.

Probably won't be able to view in person since I'm in Houston, will get a pre-purchase inspection though. Any other red flags to look for?

Owner1: 4/2015-9/2019
Owner2: 10/2019-11/2019
Owner3: 12/2019-6/2020
Owner4: 6/2020-present

Thanks in advance!
drmwvr
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Looks clean. Seller is on Mud so you can see his post history and nothing strange came up.

Vehicle has aftermarket CarPlay so you should research everything that has been done to the center stack as that module controls EVERYTHING in the car and is $$$$$$ if you have to replace for some reason.

This is the system he installed: https://gromaudio.com/store/vline/lexus-2004-2006-vline-carplay-android-auto-infotainment-system-navigation-upgrade.html

It may be fine but I would want to understand what he did to the vehicle before purchase if I were you.

Good luck!

Naveronski
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I did a good bit of research on the grom unit before buying one for our 460.

Getting it working can be tricky, but it has good reviews once it's dialed in.
It also preserves the factory radio in case you ever decide to go back to stock.
rebel 02
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Appreciate the info!

Not really a tech guy or familiar with that unit, what would it cost to go back to stock? Assuming it is working for him now, any concern going forward? We are supposed to talk tomorrow, anything specific I should ask? Just make sure he's not having issues?

Any other thoughts on number of owners and/or price?
Naveronski
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I guess the short duration owners are dealers? My guess anyway.

Going back to stock radio is as simple as unplugging the box and reconnecting the wiring harness.

You could have him show you how to us it - if it's like the GX, you have all the normal radio functions, then basically press a button to switch over to the grom. But I don't have a LC, so I'm not 100% sure they're the same.
 
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