Thinking about dipping my toes in with a 2nd Gen 4Runner (1 Viewer)

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airon23

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Found a decent one near me with a reasonable price of $1300. I don't have my finger on the 4Runner pulse as much as I do the FJ40 right now, but is that a decent price on a running (ad says runs but not great and burns oil) 4Runner? It's automatic, 150k miles, no rust, interior is good, exterior is fair, needs new tires, timing belt changed at 140k.

Any thoughts on convincing me to get it or should I stay away?
 
Does it have the 3.slow or the 22RE? If it had a 22RE I'd say buy it immediately. Even with the 3.slow depending on overall condition it's not a horrible buy.
 
90-95 4runner is likely going to have the 3.0 which is infamous fir HG issues.
Recommend that you get an inspection unless you are looking for a project.
 
3VZ-E? I'm assuming that's the 3.slow you're referring to.

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I'll 2nd the 3.4 swap route if the burning oil is a real issue and you want an upgrade. Honestly a good 3VZ isn't the worst setup if you can find one or fix the oil issue on that one.

I'm biased for 2nd gens but the price if the body and interior are in good shape seems on par. Check rust in the rear doglegs and lower rear quarters behind the rear bumper.
 
There's a head gasket service campaign on these. Check with Toyota (any dealer, or Toyota dot com) give them your VIN and they can check. AFAIK there's no expiration, it's not a recall but a service campaign. It's a one-time deal per VIN, so if it's already been done then so sorry... Time to either do it yourself or think about a 3.4. As cheap as the truck is, maybe it's worth it. Good Luck!
 
There's a head gasket service campaign on these. Check with Toyota (any dealer, or Toyota dot com) give them your VIN and they can check. AFAIK there's no expiration, it's not a recall but a service campaign. It's a one-time deal per VIN, so if it's already been done then so sorry... Time to either do it yourself or think about a 3.4. As cheap as the truck is, maybe it's worth it. Good Luck!
That's good to know. I'm going to take a look at it tonight so I'll get the vin and see if that is a possibility.
 
Just to end the thread, I went to take a look at the 4Runner, and it was somewhat a little more work than I wanted to take on so I'm going to pass. It had several things going, exhaust leak, runs very sluggish and slow as predicted, needs new exhaust, rear door doesn't open nor window slide down, etc.
He was willing to take $1300 but even at that I wasn't ready and willing to take on that work to do at this time.
 
Unless you are planning a SAS, I would skip the 2nd gen and go straight to the 3rd. It is such a better vehicle including far superior motor/s, coils vs torsion, obd diagnostics, available factory rear locker, more aftermarket support and easier to source parts.
 
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The 3VZ-E isn't bad but it's very finicky. My suggestion? Don't mod it. Keep it running and up-to-date on maintenance and it'll treat you right. My 88 4Runner has 250k miles on it and I did the first headgasket on it at 200k. Problem free since other than failing California smog. It's always been a strong running rig, though.
 

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