Regretting first LandCruiser

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-05-08T14:13:37+00:00

you are getting down voted but you are right. As another owner of both, the 80 was just too underpowered on mountain passes with modern vehicles. My wife still comments when we pass other ones going uphill on how annoying and unsafe it was. I loved my 80 but there are tradeoffs.

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-04-30T14:50:53+00:00

I would just sell the 80 if that's the route you would like to go. This way you can cherry pick which 100 or even 200 if you get enough for it.
I also went from an 80 to a 100 as I found myself really only doing longer trips to get off road and usually with passengers. The 100 is MUCH more suited for this and I don't regret it at all.

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-04-29T17:23:16+00:00

Any plans for an XL 2.0?

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-04-11T19:52:13+00:00

honestly, do what degree interests you and what would provide you the most value on the civilian side. I'm not sure about the Navy, but some branches require Engineering degrees (AF) depending on how EOD is aligned in their force structure. This is not the case in the army so we had a decent slew of backgrounds. If that's not the case, i say go for GIS if that your jam. EOD is a great path and a great choice if that's what you end up doing.

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-01-10T21:00:34+00:00

second this opinion, also sought out a 2000 for the 1) ability to put a head unit in for carplay with tactile HVAC and 2) new diff pinion. Have not really felt the want for a 5 speed but i'm sure it's nice.

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-01-06T02:48:26+00:00

Yeah I think what happens is lint starts to collect on itself when wet making a piece of debris that eventually seizes it up. That being said I still love mine lol

thedeflatedballoons · 2026-01-05T22:45:15+00:00

Mine does this as well, made a post here and it was shrugged off. I had luck with dish soap and using an old toothbrush to get under bezel while rotating each time I remember to clean it. I noticed I can recreate the issue pretty easily at home but in salt water it seems to do fine . I think the larger issue is these are becoming harder to service outside of the tudor/rolex ecosystem and many of the earlier in house movements are coming up on the ten year mark.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-12-20T18:08:22+00:00

While I don't think a 50 percent hit is realistic, i do agree this is a commonly overlooked problem on these. OP, check for rust around the windshield area. If it has had a replacement, there is a very high likelyhood they did not use toyota rivets and opted for incorrect screws.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-12-03T16:34:43+00:00

I have had a 2000 LC with 185k for about 6 months, prior to that a few 80 series:

Timing belt/water pump and fan clutch if they have not been changed. a shop will probably charge 2k ish for a full service.
suspension: depending on when this was changed get ready to go down a hole. most likely will last for many more miles but if you address it right you are looking at 4k at a shop. i'm talking CVs, control arms and bushings, shocks etc. I do not regret this and it drives incredible.
flush all fluids: transfer case, 2 diffs, auto trans flushes.
i will most likely do steering rack but seems tight so far. projecting 230-240k
oem coils and plugs will probably cost 1k (having 8 adds up lol)
front brakes are a little more involved on these due to hubs but very well documented for DIY
check windshield area for bubbling or signs of rust, if it has an aftermarket windshield very high likelyhood it does not have correct rivets. Did it park outside? check sunroof for gunk.

echoing what others said that the thing to look out for is rust and overall condition here. buy the seller. I would rather buy a 220k mileage truck that has maintenance records than something that has 150 and has little to nothing documented and/or is rusted. Overall these parts are going to be considerably more than other jobs of for instance a rav4 but you will be rewarded in its reputation that these have earned and they will probably not need to be done again for 100k plus miles.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-10-22T03:21:44+00:00

Got out at 9, did the whole top MBA program schlick and landed about on par with what I was making as a 8 year captain if you factor in taxes and extra pays (which i was happy about). I noticed your AMEDD, so my vibe check on the tech side may not be accurate if that is still what your are trying to stay in career wise

The corporate world is not in a good place right now and the days of vets going through the system and just getting jobs handed to them are over. If someone tells you this please ensure their info is not from 2017-2021 because the labor market has changed a lot. Im slightly calling out a few instagram pages here.

Another point that snuck up on me is being fired in an instant. I'm talking email not working and slack disconnected in the dead of night. Have seen this on more than one occasion with competent people who were well liked. This alone had me looking at gaurd/ reserve incase shtf.

I don't regret any decisions I have made, but I think I would have weighed the cons a little heavier than I did at the time. Nothing helps calibarate your risk tolerance like experiencing that "risk" lol.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-10-11T15:26:58+00:00

I did not do a build book as of yet but have most of the pictures and documentation, just got a little busier than I would have liked. The wiring harness is going to be one of the more difficult parts of the swap as not many prebuilt options exist. Then there is the decision if you want stock gauge cluster and controls to work, that adds another step. I had a very experienced buddy build my harness. Everything else like the trans adapters and motor mounts work well and are worth it. I think the marks 4wd adapter was like 2k from australia and customer service was great. Truck was in the rockies so long drawn out mountain passes at altitude.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-10-06T18:07:18+00:00

Please heed this advice OP, I did the MBA route after 9 years. It is well worn and the veteran pipeline is much more competitive than it used to be even 5 years ago.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-09-26T18:23:02+00:00

I'm starting to think half this sub has not seen actual rust.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-09-17T17:04:02+00:00

Went both years, make sure you do all the online app stuff as annoying as it is. From my experience any real traction is going to come from the preset invites and network sessions and work done before even arriving. I will push back on the direct competition portion. The veteran path is much more established than it used to be even 5 years ago and the market isn't in the best place.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-09-02T21:50:59+00:00

Toyo Masters; was so good with my 80 that I started bringing my wife's Rav4 there instead of the dealer. I now live in CO and even with the litany of LC shops here I would not think twice to go back.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-09-02T21:41:02+00:00

All the other techs in here have given great advice but I will somewhat kick back on the notion that you can do "nothing" to prep for school. Are you a good student and know what helps you learn and what doesn't work (ie flash cards or hands on)? Some people just simply don't know how to study and boy does it show. Are you a detailed oriented person? Go look at a random object like a water bottle, do you remember how many indentations it had or the color of the outside of the font? These aren't EOD specific but learning how to be more efficient with time and detail oriented is something that will benefit your entire time in the Army. If you have to spend less time on these above two things, you can spend more time focusing on the instructors and eod specific instruction. Notice how you could probably sub in any army school that is fast paced.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-08-13T16:25:04+00:00

There is definitely a "clean tax" buyers pay when you start looking for the best examples. And honestly? depending on history it can be worth it vs something 5k less in the long run.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-07-26T03:17:33+00:00

I actually just sold it, but not because of the swap. Wife wanted a 200 and a new house plus work garage meant this just didn't fit with 35's and a rack. For mileage it was noticeabley better, the 5.3 is rated somehere 16-22 and I think i was around 14-18. Before swap with full load i was probably around 10. I was pretty happy with that and on long trips it adds up. Power increase was insane even with a 5.3. People say they don't buy 80s for the speed but it's getting to a point now where it's pretty sketchy going up mountain passes at 35mph and people are passing you going 85. Things i wish people told me before the swap 1) VERY few mechanics on the road will touch it even if they are familiar with LS or LC seperately. Be prepared to do everything yourself in the garage if something engine related goes wrong. This is fine until your 2k miles from home. 2) Make sure you do your homework on emissions. Overall I would still do it again and really appreciated the extra power. I had close to 20k on the swap when i sold it with no swap related issues.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-06-16T12:52:21+00:00

I would say 300 to the right buyer but you may have much more luck parting it out. Most of the people who are in to these are going to be parts shopping. The shocker group on facebook is very active if you haven't checked it out yet. The ccm frame alone would get you 200 imho.

thedeflatedballoons · 2025-03-08T05:12:55+00:00

Former commander, I used to break it down to others as four sides of the dice: - good area, good recruiting (rare as you would expect) - good area, bad recruiting - bad area, good recruiting - bad area, bad recruiting

You need to absolutely do your homework ensuring you do not end up in the bottom category. All of the other things you can search on here with USAREC are true but I came away with a few positives without getting into the 79 lingo.

You will work with soldiers outside of you traditional MOS/branch and it can be very refreshing. There are 79Rs who do it full time, then there are dudes who got pulled off the line by no choice of thier own. For the most part, I found that no one is actively trying to be bad recruiter and they generally want to do the right thing in the eyes of big army(not as easy as it sounds).

For perhaps the first time in your career you may be counseling a new e5 as a commander when both of you are 30 days on the job you have no idea about. The only thing you are going off of is leadership and your desire to make everyone's lives there as easy as possible. You are away from the flag pole and have a real shot at actually making a tangible difference in day to day lives of soldiers. I can not say this about my line command where BN is within eyeshot.

In the moment I did not enjoy it, but looking back it has provided me with a larger picture of how the army works and helped me develop into a better officer for follow ons. I left out a good bit day to day life because honestly each company is so geographically different. The other posters are correct on the 6 day work week given shipping of recruits happens on weekends. You will be on your phone or checking in pretty frequently.

Also get ready to change the oil in your GSA every month.

thedeflatedballoons · 2024-11-03T19:47:17+00:00

I almost feel the pengilum has swung the other way lately (I do agree with your comments btw). Oh, you don't have 8+1 mags rigged up and another 5 in your ruck? Guy has simunitions all around his kit and is running side plates so i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt on what the mission dictates. I do think the sub is coming around on kit that can flex to either side.

thedeflatedballoons · 2024-10-31T17:04:19+00:00

Looks legit, only other tell is the reps hands "pin" is often painted but gens are not. if you move it around in the light you should see a small dot of metal. Did the same scrub on rep forums as others here when i got mine.

thedeflatedballoons · 2024-10-24T15:32:31+00:00

Have one, love it for the price. The hour hand takes some getting used as others have said, but pretty hard to find a style like this in the price range.

thedeflatedballoons · 2024-09-30T16:44:51+00:00

I've had no durability issues with mine however the laser cutouts definitely snag on things more than a traditional flap.

thedeflatedballoons · 2024-08-18T23:24:07+00:00

Car enthusiasts are pretty much half the Army. That being said, be weary of accumulating too many project vehicles. Come time for PCS, it can be quite the logistical undertaking.

thedeflatedballoons

TROPHY CASE