Landcruiser FJ80

nanna, I have a Jan 1991 std diesel. Great truck 145km when bought now 202km.
Diesel 12-14 lt /100kms, petrol 18-20 I hear. Non turbo is gutless but still Ok,
The LSD is week and needs a locking dif depends on your use. Hope it helps

Hi nanna,

Know a couple of mates with the FJ80, as said above, the diesle is a little bit wheezy but hoots with an aftermarket turbo. Tough as the GQ apart from CV's if combine with lockers and the lsd will need a tweak. Good suspension, tyres and a locker in the front will take you anywhere you want to go!

Would always get a diesel (soley an opinion from experience), petrol equivalents drink fuel like it's still 40 cents per litre, the reliability of these donks is great.

Cheers

Chris.

if wanting an early 90's 80, try and find a 1hdt, and ensure it has had the big end bearings checked [about $400 to replace]

can also get lots of good info from www.lcool.org from the 80_aus series email lists

Gidday,I had a 98 GU(biggest heap of crap I ever bought)for two months spent $10.000 on it and sold it for $15.000.Bought a 80 series and have not looked back.
Looked after they will last a long time.
Just my bit
Locallaw

Good car, but the petrol motor is a 'dog'. I have a 91 GXL diesel with an aftermarket DTS turbo which I fitted around the 200 000 km mark. I love it and it will be a long time before I get rid of it. Go a diesel if you can and have the vehicle throughly inspected before you buy.

Hi Nanna,

I recently bought a 1991 80 series GXL with a Turbo Deisel, and did lots of research before buying including driving about 10 to get 'a good feel' for a good one.

WIth gearboxes, I found that many had problems with syncromesh in 2nd and 3rd. Other problem for high milage is 'popping out of 5th'.

Another common problem with early model 80 series is dash light flicker (warning lights) cause by short wires causing tension on the alternator plug. This is easily fixed by extending the wiring and renewing the plug contacts. (Not sure whether this is also a problem with petrol models)

Be particularly careful with misleading odometer readings. I am 100% sure of at least one case of a car dealer winding back the readings, and have heard of many more cases. Personally, i reckon that driving a vehicle and full inspection is a better indication.

I wasn't in the market for a petrol since I believe diesel is superior for off road and economy (but usually sell for about $5000 more than petrols). I particulary like the braking ability of a diesel in rough or hilly terrain. After driving one turbo diesel i was ruined and then had to have a turbo. If you do decide to go for a turbo be careful with Big end bearings (lots of info on the internet) particularly with aftermarket or modified turbos which could have too much boost for the big ends to handly long term.

I ended up buying a one owner car with 'genuine kms' but 410 000! However this car drove like others with much less kms. The engine was rebuilt at 300 000 and i'm getting around 7.5 - 8 kms per litre. Hopefully someone has some petrol figures to compare.

Hope this helps, twigiee

Hi nanna:

There was a similar enquiry a short while ago on this.

I have a 91 model GXL Diesel (non turbo). Bought it with 166,000kms, now have 250,000 kms. My mechanic says it drives like new ... but as it is my first diesel (and 4WD) I can't comment further. When I bought it it had a full service history, apart from 20,000 kms, which was probably spent in car yards (where I found it).

As in the eralier replies, the gearbox is a bit notchy, but I have no real problems with mine despite that. I did put an additive into the gearbox some time back and it was a bit smoother. Headlights are pretty grim and I am about to get hold of a decent wiring loom to get some brightness into them. The problem is voltage drop, and the local auto electrician told me I was getting about 10.5 votls at the lights. A new loom would be much better.

I service mine every 5,000 km, whcih I thought was a bit much, but recently my mechanic tallied up how much I had spent on it and it was still less than I'd have spent on my previous car ( a new Mitsubishi sedan).

I have no big end worries at this stage, but am aware of it.

The engine is not that powerful, but then again, having been away with mates in new Turbo Nissans, I do not get left behind, and don't push it to hard. They do have an edge on hills though.

What I like is the availability of extras and goodies, which has allowed me to fit it out for considerably less than if I had bought a new vehicle. I managed to fit a steel bullbar, air bags, interior colsole, spare wheel carrier and a few other "lovelies" for the same price as they paid for their bull bar.

Love mine - can't see me getting rid of it.

Jack