which one should I buy?

[bdruff]

Hello everyone... this is my first post. I am trying to decide which land cruiser to buy. Ive narrowed it down to 4 and was hoping for some input.
1. 1995, 195,000 miles, leather, $8,100
2. 1992, 141,000 miles, blue cloth interior, diff. lock $4,900
3. 1996, 124,000 miles, leather, $12,900
4. 1997, 160,000 miles, leather, $8,500

The 1992 has a 4.0 liter engine, all the others have a 4.5 liter v6. I know the 1992 has the diff. lock but I don't know if the others have it or not. All seem nice and well cared for. I like the price of the '92.

My question is how important is the locking differential and is there a big difference in the 4.0 vs the 4.5. What other differences could I expect from these years.

thanks for reading my post

[sargespd]

I am about as new to this stuff as you are, but I have to tell you, I just bought my 97 LC Collectors Edition for $7250! It is awesome, I have no pics as of yet, but this thing is sweet! No rust, interior is immaculate. Slight wear on the driver's seat leather, but the rest is pristine. 141k miles. I am in love with a car for the first time in my life! Sorry, don't mean to gloat!

[jetwhine]

I like the price on the 97' with the leather. You would be very happy with that one. You will not like the gas millage on the 92'. I have a 91' which is the same and I get about 13 mpg, not matter if I tow or not. The 91' and the 92' do not have the ECT trans. which helps improve the shifting. With the 4.0 it does not have the power it needs to move up hills easily. You can manually shift the auto trans but still it lacks the power. The 97' has all the good features that you would be happy with. Not sure on the CDL though some models do have it. The CDL is awsome and if you can find one with it by all means get it. I would not worry though the LC has a great 4wd system. Hope this helps

[greencamry]

Originally Posted by bdruff

Hello everyone... this is my first post. I am trying to decide which land cruiser to buy. Ive narrowed it down to 4 and was hoping for some input.
1. 1995, 195,000 miles, leather, $8,100
2. 1992, 141,000 miles, blue cloth interior, diff. lock $4,900
3. 1996, 124,000 miles, leather, $12,900
4. 1997, 160,000 miles, leather, $8,500

The 1992 has a 4.0 liter engine, all the others have a 4.5 liter v6. I know the 1992 has the diff. lock but I don't know if the others have it or not. All seem nice and well cared for. I like the price of the '92.

My question is how important is the locking differential and is there a big difference in the 4.0 vs the 4.5. What other differences could I expect from these ye

thanks for reading my post

The 4 liter motor is a 3F which was fitted with fuel injection in the USA. This is a very old design based on the 2F from the 1960s. The 3F is super tough but very agricultural and outdated and uses quite a bit of fuel. The later 4.5 liter motor has better power and better fuel consumption. From your post it is pretty obvious you never drove the 3F and then the 1FZFE trucks. Best take them for a drive and then you will notice the big difference.Also the later models have larger brakes and an increased towing load if that matters. The locking diff in the 80 series is used because these trucks are in permanent four wheel drive and the locking central diff just makes it the same as previous Cruisers that were rear wheel drive with a 4WD engage mode. The front wheels and back wheels cannot all turn at the same time on normal road surface so the central diff just lets them use different speeds like your rear diff does to the wheels or in the case of a front wheel drive as the front diff does. When it is locked the power is then transferred without favor to the rear wheels. hope this helps.

[Makelo]

As previously stated, you need to either decide if you wourld like to use the 3FE or the 1FZFE. My personal choice is the 94-97 LC with locking differentials