Every 80 Series Land Cruiser for sale carries a code: FJ80, FZJ80, HDJ81. The letters tell you the engine. The last digit tells you the market. Mine is a 1990 HDJ81, and here's how to read all of them.
/80 SERIES CODES: THE SHORT VERSION
- FJ80: 4.0 liter 3F-E gas inline six. Sold in the US for 1991 and 1992.
- FZJ80: 4.5 liter 1FZ-FE gas inline six. Sold in the US for 1993 to 1997, and under the Lexus LX 450.
- HDJ80: 4.2 liter 1HD turbo diesel, export markets. Not sold new in the US.
- HDJ81: the same turbo diesel, built for Japan.
- HZJ80 and HZJ81: 4.2 liter 1HZ diesel, no turbo.
/HOW TOYOTA'S 80 SERIES CODES WORK
The letters before the number name the engine family, and the J means Land Cruiser. FJ is the 3F-E, FZJ is the 1FZ, HDJ is the 1HD turbo diesel and HZJ is the 1HZ diesel. 80 is the series.
The last digit is the part forums argue about. Toyota's own parts list for the 80 files HDJ81 and HZJ81 only under Japan. It lists HDJ80 for Europe in both right-hand and left-hand drive. So an 81 is a Japanese-market diesel. It doesn't mean right-hand drive, even though most 81s are. Japanese gas trucks stayed FJ80 and FZJ80.
You'll also see FJZ80 in ads. It's a misspelling of FZJ80.
/80 SERIES LAND CRUISER YEARS
Toyota released the 80 in Japan in October 1989. It reached the US in spring 1990 as a 1991 model and sold here through 1997. Japanese production ended in 1997, and the 100 Series replaced it for 1998. Hagerty counts 80,861 sold in the US.
/FJ80: THE FIRST US 80 SERIES
In the US, FJ80 means a 1991 or 1992 truck. It runs the 3F-E, a 4.0 liter pushrod inline six with 155 hp and 220 lb-ft, per Hagerty. US FJ80s were all automatics with full-time four-wheel drive. Advance Adapters notes the manual and part-time options were export only.
/FZJ80: THE 4.5 LITER, 1993 TO 1997
For 1993 Toyota fitted the 1FZ-FE, a 4.5 liter twin-cam inline six with 24 valves. Toyota quotes 212 hp and 275 lb-ft. Factory front and rear lockers became an option the same year.
The Lexus LX 450, sold for 1996 and 1997, is an FZJ80 too, and Hagerty notes the lockers were an option there as well. 1997 brought the 40th Anniversary Limited, 4,744 of them in the US.
/FJ80 VS FZJ80: WHICH ONE?
- Power: 155 hp in the FJ80, 212 hp in the FZJ80.
- Lockers: factory front and rear lockers were only offered from 1993, so only on FZJ80s.
- Years: the FJ80 is the older truck, 1991 to 1992. The FZJ80 covers 1993 to 1997.
/HDJ80 VS HDJ81: THE DIESELS
Both run the 1HD, a 4.2 liter turbo diesel six. Early trucks got the 12-valve 1HD-T. From early 1995 it became the 24-valve 1HD-FT. XAT Racing, a US importer of Japanese 80 parts, lists the 1HD-T at 162 hp and 267 lb-ft. Sources vary by a few horsepower.
The US only ever got the two gas engines. Every diesel 80 here came in later as an import.
The HZJ80 and HZJ81 use the 1HZ, the same 4.2 liters without a turbo. XAT lists it at 133 hp.
/WHAT THE V IN HDJ81V MEANS
Japanese model codes add a letter after the 81. Per XAT, in Japan the van version means two rows of seats and the wagon means three. So an HDJ81V is a two-row Japanese diesel.
/WHY HDJ81S ARE FOR SALE IN THE US
The 25-year rule. NHTSA allows any vehicle at least 25 years old to be imported without meeting US safety standards, counted from the date it was built. Japanese 80 production ended in 1997, so every one of them now qualifies. That's where the right-hand drive diesels in US ads come from.
/MINE: A 1990 HDJ81
Right-hand drive, the 12-valve 1HD-T turbo diesel and an automatic. It runs 37s, an Alu-Cab pop-top and an interior by Wasatch Overland. It's my daily, my camp and the studio. The radio in it is covered in the GMRS posts.
Every service since July 2025, with the intervals I run, is in my HDJ81 service log.
/80 SERIES PARTS IN THE SHOP
The 80 Series Land Cruiser collection has the suspension and steering parts we carry: 7075 aluminum lower and upper control arms, steering linkage and the small things that break. Check each page's fitment against your code.
Kingston
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