Looking for 100 series

REDROVER

Explorer
Guys
I am looking to buy another land cruiser after selling my 1997 80 series ( unbelievable mistake)
I was thinking I should get 100 series of I can’t find the right 80.

I am not familiar with 100s, what year should I get? Budget is available for the right vehicle.

Vehicle will not be DD but it will see lots of off highway expedition miles.
no rubicon trail type roads.

will 100 be as capable as the 80? ( mine had lockers )
how’s the reliability on them?
What year is the last year with rear locker?
I think it comes standard with center dif lock?

I miss my 80 series so much, I bought new Tacoma thinking it will be as capable as the 80, but it’s not even 30% as close.504020

I appreciate all the help.
 

OverlandTrax

Contributor
IMO, the 100 is a great overlanding rig. However, if your wanting something on the more extreme side of things I'd look at an 80 again. The IFS and departure angle limit the 100 somewhat unless you don't mind spending some serious coin on the suspension. That being said the 100 has some serious advantages over the 80. I'd check out tlcfaq.com and Slee for more information.
 

hayde89

Active member
Last year of the locker is 98-99. ATRAC in these things is amazing. I would buy the least rust and most service record one you can find. But if it is seeing high way miles I would get a 2003 and up for the 5spd transmission. Having driven both the 5spd is way better than the 4spd on older year. I also went the LX route. It was cheaper and had no rust.
 

REDROVER

Explorer
I have leaning towards 100 for a few reasons,
One is it’s almost impossible to find low mileage clean 80.
And other, v8 will be nice to have when vehicle is fully loaded and larger tires on it.
I was driving in Idaho with my 80, speed limit was 80, with roof tent and the rack and all the gear, 80 was struggling on gentle up hills.

I won’t be doing anything extreme 100 should be more than enough.
I will start looking for 2003 and up 100. There are
plenty beautiful clean cruisers in Southern California, rust is a funny word.

what’s the mpg on the 100?
My 80 was 11 on a perfect day.

Is there anything particular I should look for when looking at the 100?

Thank you very much.
 

Upland80

Adventurer
Guys
I am looking to buy another land cruiser after selling my 1997 80 series ( unbelievable mistake)


I miss my 80 series so much, I bought new Tacoma thinking it will be as capable as the 80, but it’s not even 30% as close.
Truth spoken here...heed warning folks. If you have a nice 80, best keep it!
 
. Having driven both the 5spd is way better than the 4spd on older year. I also went the LX route. It was cheaper and had no rust.

Meh, I disagree. I've driven both, and I decided on a 2000 w/ a 4 spd as it had lower miles and service records. The 5 spd will maybe get you 1 mpg better on the freeway. A fat pig is still a fat pig.
 

hayde89

Active member
Roof top tent equipped with a lot of other weight I see 12-14. Once upon a time when still stockish I saw 18 but it was more circumstance. Of a lot of down hill:) I’ll have to disagree about the 4spd. I’ve got quite a few buddies with older 100s and every time they drive mine they regret not buying a little newer. I’ve also heard cruiser outfitters guys say that driving the 4spd is fine till you drive the 5spd. With that said if you’re gonna run bigger tires I would run the 5spd. It saves you from having to regear sooner. The slee 100 series guide is amazing. I’d start there. Then move in to mud with all other questions. If you do go the lx route be aware of the adjustable height control. It is hydraulic and if taken care of is so so so good. It can be adjusted to give more lift as well with the movement of the sensors. You do get trade offs with the lx. I’d say if you’re just going to go aftermarket immediately go with the land cruiser. If you’re interested in keeping the ahc then do the lx. Knowing that you might eventually swap it out for conventional suspension. All that said you can’t go wrong with the 100! I love mine. I’ve got big plans for it.
 

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Deshet

Adventurer
Truth spoken here...heed warning folks. If you have a nice 80, best keep it!
If you have a nice 80 keep it especially if the Head Gaskets are good and it has lockers.

It is rare to find a nice 80 in my area. Even the ones that have been driven by teenagers, beat on, and flipped a few times are still expensive. I haven't been able to find one without a bunch of issues.

My 100 is 20 years old it runs and drives perfect with 230,000 miles. The motor in the 100 is hands down a better engine with no known issues. People comment about the weaker front axles but that seems to be an issue with rock crawlers and I believe that it goes away with front lockers.

I don't spend enough time on forums to know what it takes to put 80 locked axles on a 100 but I believe that would be the best option.

Thanks
 

hayde89

Active member
If you have a nice 80 keep it especially if the Head Gaskets are good and it has lockers.

It is rare to find a nice 80 in my area. Even the ones that have been driven by teenagers, beat on, and flipped a few times are still expensive. I haven't been able to find one without a bunch of issues.

My 100 is 20 years old it runs and drives perfect with 230,000 miles. The motor in the 100 is hands down a better engine with no known issues. People comment about the weaker front axles but that seems to be an issue with rock crawlers and I believe that it goes away with front lockers.

I don't spend enough time on forums to know what it takes to put 80 locked axles on a 100 but I believe that would be the best option.

Thanks

My understanding on that is it takes a lot more work than I am willing to do. Boundless overland on insta did it and a couple other guys as well. As cool as it sounds it's a big investment for such a depreciated vehicle.
 

GTV

Active member
The 5 spd will maybe get you 1 mpg better on the freeway. A fat pig is still a fat pig.

4th gear and 5th gear on a 5 speed are the same ratios as the 3rd and 4th on the 4 speed. Therefore the freeway mileage should be identical. The difference is that the 5 speed has a shorter, much closer 1-3 stack. It makes getting that fat pig up and going a lot easier and probably increases city mileage.
 

REDROVER

Explorer
Ok I narrowed down my search considering all your comments and I know 2 of the options I found are far from each other,

I found nice looking 1994 80 with lockers 285k miles for 4500, needs some work of course,

Option two is beautiful 2005 100 with 91k miles for 24.000

I have a Siberian Husky that is my every day every hour body, that 100 May be extra fancy for dirty paws??

On the other hand 80 will need work even though it drives great.

I don’t know what to choose.504782504779504781
 
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4Beast

Observer
You have to sort out your budget, there is no way you should be seriously considering both of those vehicles for the same purpose, so what can you really spend? If you can afford 24k, then you should definitely at least consider a 96, 97 80series. ($24k is probably a decent amount too much for an unmodified '05 anyway, low miles aren't that impressive in these). And FWIW, dirty paws can be ameliorated by a nice seat of Spector Off Road (or similar) sat covers, if you're worried.
 
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hayde89

Active member
24k is honestly a higher mileage 200 series range. It might be a little bigger than the 100 but it has a bigger engine and improves on most the 100s short comings.
 

REDROVER

Explorer
The problem is even though we are taking about Toyota Land Cruiser I still believe 200 is much more fragile , less capable and a lot more complex than the 100 and as numbers go up it gets worse,
I may be wrong, but history proved that’s true with every automaker.

Hummers, H1 H2 h3
Toyota’s, 60 80 100 200
land rovers d1 d2 d3
Tacoma gen 1 2 3 4

Numbers go up capability drops, complexity goes up.
100 series is what I would consider sweet spot.
 

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