So dad picked up a beat up 1997 4runner, and we completely redid the front end, control arm, tie rods, cv axles, etc. New tires!
Then he decided he doesn't want to deal with all the little issues on a vehicle with 270k miles.
Like the rear window just randomly going down at any time including highway speed (Unplugging the control module on the rear hatch fixed that for now). I can't even figure out why you'd want the window to go down when you could just open the hatch, just one more thing to go wrong!
He wants to sell it to me cheap. Anyone had experiences with these? Looks like it'd be a capable off roader to do some exploring around southern colorado with.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!
no matter the age or condition, 4runners go for big bucks on the west coast. it is like a cult, they go nuts over them, and spend way too much. The price you chose should be between buyer and seller, and what is resonable in the local market.
Since it is a family member, you might get it for a deal, and when it come times to sell it, offer to split what you get over your price when you sell it later.
Another good site for Toyota https://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php None of the Toyotas of that era get great gas mileage & are somewhat under powered .
I have a 90 4runner with 390,000 on it & still working fine. Which engine does it have?
Petros wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:44 pmSince it is a family member, you might get it for a deal, and when it come times to sell it, offer to split what you get over your price when you sell it later.
I'm not sure what he bought it for but he put a few thousand in parts in it just for the front end plus timing belt kit and new tires and he wants to sell it to me for $1,000. We were thinking the same thing, if we resell it, we'd split the difference after repairs.
Our main issue with buying it, is we have two cars and the RV and not much space for a 4th vehicle!
It probably just needs an entire replacement hatch from a junkyard, someone drilled a bunch of holes in this one and the window regulator is shot.
LowBuckCanuck wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 7:34 pm
Check the rear diff breather. Always rusts shut, always blows out the axle seals, and then makes you wonder why your rear drums have oil in them.
Had that happen in a 2001 tacoma, then my friend's 1999 4runner did the exact same thing. It's a common and annoying little issue.
AHA! That's one of the "pressing issues", the rear axle seals are bad, leaking oil, and the rear brakes are shot.
atoyta wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:40 pm
I have a 90 4runner with 390,000 on it & still working fine. Which engine does it have?
To be honest, no idea. I'll find out.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!
Petros wrote: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:44 pmSince it is a family member, you might get it for a deal, and when it come times to sell it, offer to split what you get over your price when you sell it later.
I'm not sure what he bought it for but he put a few thousand in parts in it just for the front end plus timing belt kit and new tires and he wants to sell it to me for $1,000. We were thinking the same thing, if we resell it, we'd split the difference after repairs.
Our main issue with buying it, is we have two cars and the RV and not much space for a 4th vehicle!
that is a bargain, hard to pass up. you will just have to get a larger home and yard, there is no other solution.
atoyta wrote: Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:39 pm
The 3.4l v/6 is a much better engine than the 3.0
The 3.4 is a damn good engine, forged internals and lots of nice aluminum bits. Only thing to make it perfect would be a timing chain instead of a belt, but you can't always get what you want.
The 3.0 gets a bad rap though, if you get around its couple issues it can last as long as a 22r.
Take it! Even if you end up with $2500 into it. My daily driver is a 1998 4Runner 3.4 with 285k miles on it. Like petros said, they hold their value very well (not quite as good as Tacomas) especially on the west coast and also are very hard to kill. There is a lot of bang for the buck even if you don't get one super cheap and if you can get one cheap, its even better. Tons of value for $1000. I recently found a 99 2WD for very cheap from a tow yard that I'm fixing up and selling. Plus t4r.org is an exceptional resource, you can figure out anything you need to know there.
PS the sliding rear window is worth fixing! makes a huge difference if you want to drive with the windows down on the freeway, great for dogs back there, allows you to carry 8+ foot lumber with the hatch closed when you otherwise couldn't... the list goes on.
So we ended up there over labor day to take apart the back end and see what was going on.
The PO Replaced the breather with a 90 degree angle and a tube tied up to the frame. So it's not plugged now. But when it DID plug, it blew out the inner rear seals, and he had them "fixed".
But the rear brakes were soaked in gear lube! Why?! Well after doing some research, it looks like whatever shop he took it to did it the cheap way and didn't replace the bearings (you have to cut off the ABS ring), apparently when the inner seals go, the gear lube flushes out the bearings so they end up going bad which then chews up the new seals.
Ordered another $175 in parts for round 2!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)
Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!
(Unplugging the control module on the rear hatch fixed that for now). I can't even figure out why you'd want the window to go down when you could just open the hatch, just one more thing to go wrong!
