1988 Toyota Land Cruiser

SUV

6 Cylinder 4.2 Liter

Automatic

JT3FJ62GXJ0078781

Gasoline

I've invested about $4,000 in this truck over the past year and it was running well until the transmission developed a problem recently. This FJ62 would be a great restoration project or if you fix or replace the transmission can be driven, as is, for quite a while. The truck is running and the engine is fine. The problem is this: the transmission won't shift into 3rd gear. It shifts fine from 1st to 2nd but just won't go into 3rd for some reason. Someone who knows how to do transmission work, or knows a good transmission mechanic, should be able to figure it out. My own mechanic recommended replacing the transmission with a used one, which can be bought for between $500 and $750. But, with the cost of labor, I'm not going to bother. I've got a baby and probably shouldn't be driving a 22 year old truck, and I can't justify (to my wife) putting another $1500 to $2000 into it. If I lived somewhere where I could get the work done for less money (I live in NYC), I probably would just swap a used tranny for the current one. But I've bought a used Pathfinder, because I need something to drive to NJ on weekends, and need to get rid of this. If I lived outside the City and could fix this and keep it as a second vehicle for fishing, I'd probably do that. But, living in the City, that's simply not an option. Other than the transmission, the problems with this truck are relatively minor or cosmetic. The fuel gauge doesn't work (and hasn't worked since I bought the truck in 1996). I just haven't bothered to get it fixed. I use the trip odometer to tell me when I should fill up. There is in intermittent electrical problem that my mechanic hasn't been able to figure out. Every once in a while, when you turn the key to start it up, nothing happens. So my mechanic ran a wire to the starter and, when this happens, the truck starts (every time) by leaving the key in the forward (on) position and touching the end of the wire (which is tied to a hose near the battery) to the positive terminal of the battery. Sometimes this problem doesn't occur for several months, then it will happen a couple of times, and then not happen again for a while. I did have my mechanic replace the ignition switch once but that didn't resolve the problem. It could be a loose or corroded wire somewhere but I can't afford to have my mechanic test everything to try to figure it. Someone with mechanics' skills could probably figure this out eventually. The cosmetic problems are shown in the pictures. There's a strip of rust on the sides of the truck where weather stripping used to be. (A prior owner had put the stripping on. As the rubber has fallen off, a line of rust has been revealed beneath it, due to water getting trapped behind it.) But there's no structural rust eating through the body, so this is an easily fixed problem for someone looking to restore the truck. The other cosmetic problems are a dent on driver's side passenger door, where someone kicked it once when I had it parked on the street, and a dent in the rear bumper, where I once backed into a telephone pole. In the past few months, I've replaced the alternator, replaced the entire exhaust system (which cost me $1700 and included an entire new exhaust pipe/line, including catalytic converters and muffer), and had the A/C overhauled (it now runs ice cold, thanks to a new evaporator -- this cost me over $1600 with the labor). The tires, radiator and tires are all relatively new (replaced in the past year or two, with very few miles put on the truck since they were replaced). The inside is clean and there is no smell or even grime. There's an ARB bull bar on the front with PIAA combination spot lights/fog lights. And there's an auxiliary transmission cooler. Everything not mentioned works fine, although the driver side power window could probably use a greasing, as it opens and closes a bit slowly sometimes. The car was inspected in May, when I had the exhaust sytem replaced, and passed. Last year, I replaced a rear brake cylinder at inspection time. I bought this truck in 1996 to use on weekends, mainly from May until November, to use for fishing. I generally only used it a couple of times a month and would run it, on highways, to my fishing spots. I did drive it on the beach but almost always put it through a car wash afterwards and didn't really spend that many days on the beach, as there aren't that many places around here where you can drive on the beach or, where you can, you need an expensive (for non-residents) local permit. The four-wheel drive system works great, even in soft sand, and, in my opinion, outperformed all other trucks I saw on the beach. If you live near the ocean and want something to use as a beach vehicle, this is a great truck to buy and, once you fix the tranny, you will be quite pleased with how it performs. The old-school tailgate is a big bonus, as you can drop it down and sit on it and relax, streamside or on the beach. The buyer will have to figure out how to get delivery. If you want it shipped, I could take it to a nearby shipping facility, but you'll have to pay for the shipping. The truck drives but, due to the tranny problem, shouldn't be taken far (or driven above 40 mph). It's currently parked in a friend's garage in Hoboken, NJ.On Sep-29-10 at 05:46:29 PDT, seller added the following information:I see that Ebay has attached an AutoCheck report that says there is a title problem with the truck, apparently based upon an incorrect belief that the odometer was rolled back. This is absolutely untrue. I don't know how AutoCheck or Ebay comes up with this garbage and and I'm pretty angry about it. The odometer was never rolled back, the odometer works fine and I have the title to this truck and have been registering the truck without any problems or questions from DMV since I bought it early 1996.