FJ40 experiences?

imactj2004

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I know this a TJ group but Im wondering if anyone has any ownership experience with a Toyota J40 (the Jeep-ish Land Cruiser) that can comment on how easy or problematic they are to work on (using Tj mJas a reference point). I realize they were made for many decades but would love to hear any thoughts.
 
You mean an FJ40? They are amazing and beautiful and I would love to own one. I had an FJ60 quite a few years ago which uses the same powertrain as the late model FJ40 but its a 4 door wagon. They are very easy to work on and you can buy just about any part you need online including many reproduction parts. The only downside I see is they have become tremendously expensive, like 6 figures expensive in some cases.
 
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Yeah, I dont know the models specifically. The Wiki ascribes “FJ” to the 07-14 FJ Cruiser, but yeah, we’re talking about the old beauties.
 
They are rust buckets. Will disappear right quick in the presence of salt. Toyota copied design ideas from Jeep and Series Land Rover. They have the typical engine/drive train reliability that we've come to expect from Toyota. If it wasn't for the rust issue would have been a great 4x4.
 
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Ive owned a 67, 71 and 75 FJ40. As mentioned, rust is an issue. My personal opinion is they are built far sturdier than well you know. Dana 60 strength axles, dual wheel cylinders in each wheel which gets pricy doing brakes, funky steering, Industrial duty engines that are slow, get poor fuel economy and are impossible to find quality rebuild parts for which is why so many have transplants. I bought my 75 For $2500 bucks back then with about 70K Miles on it. Today Id ask $45K for it if I still had it. Do they fart butterflies and grow unicorn like appendages when switched to 4wd, NO, but they are cool rigs valued far beyond comprehension these days. Im still tossing around a FJ45 or BJ model as of lately to relive my yout ;)
 
I've owned numerous 70's era FJ40s, along with a couple 80s FJ 60/62 models. They were a stout vehicle with a ride that was as tough (not in a good way) as they looked. As much as I liked them, the cost of parts was a big part of my decision to walk away. As an example, they are notorious for cheap metal that would literally rust into pieces. Getting a back half tub costs somewhere around $9K from Cool Cruisers.

As @roverhi said, the drive-trains, basically a tractor, are nearly indestructible. The only real weak spot they had was the front birfield, which could break under certain conditions. Other than that, unlike the Jeep, there were virtually no upgrades needed (other than power steering on some models).

Although I appreciate them, I'd never own one again.

40-55-70_chromoly_birfield_longifield.width-700.png
 
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I had a toyota pickups for years with solid axles. They share the same birfs as the cruisers and were based on the 40 axles. I wanted an 40 or a 1st gen 4runner instead of the lj but the ride and price lead me to the lj. I'm happy.

Like others mentioned tub rust is common. You can upgrade the birfields to chromoly and not worry about breaking them anymore. Some parts can be expensive compared to other Toyotas because landcruiser. Tcase is a bit different than other toyotas.

Like any 50 year old 4x4, I would check really good for tub rust. Especially under the rear gate/door. People like to cover up rust on these things with bondo and side armor.