Opinions please (1 Viewer)

[Number6]

I came across during work on my route. It has me thinking about a more everyday stablemate for my 2000 100. 1996 SR5 Premium. 150.6K miles. $4300. It has a rear locker.

The highlights: no service history, but was shown the title- I'd likely be owner #3. Interior- passenger seat track is messed up- seat stuck forward, couple of trim items missing. Exterior= nothing major to my eye- couple of very small surface rust spots under driver rear door sill and corner of liftgate. Dead power antenna. Some scuffs, etc. on cladding and wheels- looked ok for a truck this old. Underside- different Michelins on front and back. Good boots. Undercarriage looks to me to be pretty clean for living up in these parts for 22 years.

The test drive. Dealer said tires needed balancing- it sure seemed like it. Other than that the test drive went well. The truck was quiet and still screwed together well, no wandering, brakes ok, shifted nicely, 4wd worked.

I can post more pics. but these seem to be what' s important.

 

[Number6]

Interior

 

[Number6]

Underneath

 

[Number6]

Misc.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Enough rust visible that I'd want to drop spare and take a further look. Check inner frame rail near exhaust for corrosion, and also where rear shocks attach. Weak spots on these are rear axle seals, steering rack and front suspension in general. Check if timing belt has been done recently. Even without service records there should be a sticker in engine compartment indicating it's been done. Photo shows that there probably is one. Tires needing balancing sounds fishy to me. That's such an easy fix-why wouldn't dealer already have done this to help sale?

Meh, it's a smaller, more nimble and fuel efficient Land Cruiser. You've already got one-get a Subaru to go with it.

 

[Number6]

Enough rust visible that I'd want to drop spare and take a further look. Check inner frame rail near exhaust for corrosion, and also where rear shocks attach. Weak spots on these are rear axle seals, steering rack and front suspension in general. Check if timing belt has been done recently. Even without service records there should be a sticker in engine compartment indicating it's been done. Photo shows that there probably is one. Tires needing balancing sounds fishy to me. That's such an easy fix-why wouldn't dealer already have done this to help sale?

I zoomed the original picture- timing belt was replaced at 77281, so there is about 17K left on that repair. Not a big concern for me as I drive a company car for about everything. It's taken me 3 years to get almost 15K on my 100.

As to the "tires need balancing", at 150K it's due for ball joints. WIth the pics I took of them it looks like the drv side on has no dust cover. On the pass side the cover loos to be there, but from the pic I wonder if the coil-over is busted. Some grease on the A-arms as well- more on the PS. I may wander down and ogle the front end and look closer for rust some more over the weekend.

Front end pics:

 

[pappy]

All that mess underneath is probably from the front main seal. Looks like they steamed the top, but not the bottom. You should be able to tell crawling under the front.

 

[Number6]

Rejected. Checked out the underside last weekend. Went to scratch a small patch of surface rust from the bottom of the frame rail- instead my index finger went right through...