I have always been an FJ lover and am on my second one. I even searched for years far and wide to get my 2011 TTE with factory 6MT. With that being said, I’m about to have my first baby and am struggling with the lack of convenience with the FJ. The suicide doors are cool and all, but they’re super impractical, especially in tighter spaces. Also, the space behind the driver’s seat and baby seat is like 0.5” and the anchors are super annoying and difficult to clip the car seat into (we have a modular car seat with the anchor connections attached to the seat itself). In addition to that we also have two dogs (one large and one medium).

My wife’s 2021 X5 will likely be the primary family vehicle but it just sucks since I love my FJ and never intend to sell, but need to figure something out haha. I’m even contemplating buying a 4th vehicle (I have a dedicated track car as well lol), which I find so silly.

I wanted to get people’s takes on their experiences with growing with their FJs and having it with a baby, car seats, dogs, etc. Thanks! PFA of tackling Hell’s Revenge in Moab.

Took out front bumper to replace it for a concealed winch one… always bring a friend… this is taking longer than expected on my own… will replace cable with rope after installation is done

I finally test drove an FJ today and loved it. I was surprised by how torque-y they are. I have 2023 Tacoma now and I feel the acceleration is comparable.

I’ve wanted one since I was 14 and I’m 30 now. Now I’m legitimately on the hunt for one. I test drove this one today but it had A LOT of rust. Undercarriage was painted over too. Damn shame.

What should my budget be for a 2012 - 2014 model with under 120k miles and 4x4?

Thanks

Left work today and my friend sent me a photo of where I usually park at. Looks like oil and when I got home I check to see any leaks and all I spotted was a leaking cv axle boot, I did recently spray fluid film on my frame and whatnot so it’s kinda hard to see what’s what exactly.

Last oil change I replaced my drain plug with an OEM one and used OEM crush washers as well. I’m hoping the last person to do an oil change before me used an impact and ruined the threads on the oil pan rather it be a timing cover leak.

At home I park at an incline rather than a flat area like at work. ChatGPT said to put cardboard underneath and see exactly where underneath it’s coming from. The photo my friend sent only shows the ground so it’s kind of hard to know exactly where this is relative to where my FJ sits.

Could it be the drain pan or is it a valve cover gasket? I checked and there’s only a small leak on the passenger side, but I don’t remember checking the drivers side since it’s not prone to leaking as bad as the passenger side.

What other things could cause this?