SoCalJoe

I am new to this forum, and have looked around a bit, but I apologize if these topics have already been addressed. I posted this question on another blog as well, but I hope I can get more info here...

I am looking at buying a friend's '95 FZJ80. The truck is in really good shape, he is the second owner (original owner was his father-in-law), and he thinks he has ALL of the records, back to the dealer sticker! The truck has 147K original miles, 4 newish Michelin Cross Terrain tires, original tow package, all the interiors work, etc. The body is clean, with just minor scratches. Never been in any accidents.

Now here's the kicker... It has lockers (yes, I checked the data plate on the door - K294) but they are not engaging. Neither he nor his father-in-law ever used the lockers. The truck was put into low several times by the original owner (due to snow in upstate NY), but it is an off-road virgin. When I try to lock the diff's, after puting it in low, the dash lights come on but they do not stop flashing. It does go into low, but I did not see the center diff or the A/T dash light come on either. (Actually, it does come on if the High/Low range is in Neutral)

Unless you all change my mind, I am very interested in getting this 80. This guy knows a bit about LC's and is not desperate to sell, so I thought I'd ask about the value of the value of the truck, given the information mentioned above. I want to put out a good first offer, but I know I cannot BS the guy.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

firemedic

The truck needs to be moving for the splines to line up and engage, and the center diff lock needs to lock before the front/rear will lock. Try driving in a circle on gravel/dirt, this will make the shafts rotate at different speeds and make the splines line up sooner. The diff locks tend to take a while to engage if they have not been used but respond better once they have been "exercised".

It is not a good idea to use 4 lo or the diff locks on dry pavement as you will be introducing a lot of driveline bind.

SoCalJoe

Firemedic,

Thanks for the advice. I have heard that from a number of people, and I have tried driving in circles and 8's on a bumpy dirt lot. The center diff has not yet engaged, nor have I seen the dash light in anything but "N" in the range selector. Any guess as to how long it might take? Or, asked a better way, how long would you drive in circles before you assume that it will not engage without some service?

Also, would you care to suggest a starting offer? I've heard that FZJ80's are in relatively short supply - at least those in good shape and with lockers. How does this affect the price?

Any further help/info would be greatly appreciated.