1992 4 runner...What to look for?

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phippsj

phippsj

10 Year
Joined
Oct 4, 2012
Threads
36
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445
Location
Denton, TX
Planning to look at a 1992 4 runner, lift, 33's for an offroad/weekend trail truck. 225k miles and lots of maintenance history.

What are the major items I should be looking for when I check over this truck, other than the obvious rust and leak issues?

I'm familiar with maintaining my '05 Land Cruiser daily driver. Not familiar with older 4R issues.

Thanks,
 
Run far far away.

Not trying to be a jerk, but that is by far, Toyota's worst engine. They seriously screwed up on the early 90's stuff. I'm also not a fan of those autos. I would pass. Find a 4 cylinder with a 5 spd. You will be much happier.
 
I think that year is beyond headgasket recall time frame. The v6 is known for blowing headgaskets due to design. I'd be concerned about gear ratios 33's with an auto should be 5.29s and of course who built them. I'm sure you know that from LCs though. Manual hubs are preferred to auto for trail. I'd be concerned about lift also. Front: A bracket lift is one option some like them. Balljoint spacers are another. As is torquing down torsion rods. But regardless these will cause problems with idler arm and CV wear, if no dif drop. Rear: lift blocks, more arched springs, or longer springs? I started out with cranked torsion bars and blocks then to more spring arch. Just depends on what you mean by offroading of course.
 
Autos aren't bad. I loved mine behind my re. As for the 3.0 see if there's a header on it along with a different exhaust. Those can help with the HG issue. And same thing about gears with the auto and 33's
 
Forget the head gasket issue, ever wrenched on one!? They suck! Everything is a PITA to get to and everything requires the removal of other things to get to desired thing. Autos aren't bad but those particular autos aren't the greatest. I've had friends with them and over time they start to have issues with the t case or something. And IIRC the t case and tranny are one complete unit. I have nothing good to say about these runners. I've had to maintain them for friends and each time they brought them to me I cursed Toyota more and more...
 
They are one unit and I've almost worked on one. But then found my 84. But if this is what the OP wants than at least we've given him some advice on things to check. Also check for codes and see if the valves have ever been adjusted.
 
Now now now... the 3VZ isn't THAT bad. And it is NOT Toyota's worst engine. I have seen many of them go over 300K with no issues.

Is it a pain to work on? Yeah. You want a PITA day? Try doing anything on the sideways 5MZ that's in my Highlander.

I had a '92 V6 5-speed for 6 years. Loved that truck.
Red2.webp


It had just over 200K on it when I finally sold it (to the same guy I bought my pickup from), and it was over 300K when he finally got rid of it a couple of years ago.

Flop the tailgate down, look along the bottom edge for rust. It usually starts there first. I kept mine marinated in oil. Rear bumpers are thin tin, pretty much worthless.
 
The age old battle of:
22RE vrs 3VZ
5spd vrs auto

I'm biased but will warn you that these trucks are addictive. Though your a Toyota guy already so you know how it goes:)
 
Ok. Going to check it out tomorrow. From the carfax, looks like a one owner mommy mobile with regular oil changes that had a lift and big tires added recently. Lots of basic maintenance items recently done as well: belts, plugs, u-joints, fluids, etc.

Any ideas on what it's worth?

Just looking for a good, clean platform to start with. Has to be able to commute in Dallas traffic, as well as driving long distances to run some trails.

I'll give an update after I give it a go.
 
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Toast said:
What is the worst engine Toyota ever built???? I'm all ears...
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There are a couple of diesels that have been prone to serious problems. I'm no expert on them and I'm not doing the research (I'm sure somebody will jump in and scold/correct me), but I seem to remember reading about a few that liked to crack their cylinder heads frequently.

And I've heard a lot of grumbling about problems with the latest Tundra V8.

Honestly, it's been my experience that once you replace the factory head gaskets, the 3VZ-E will run a loonnnnng time. I was fortunate that Toyota paid to replace them in all 3 of the ones I've owned. Like the 22RE, it's not very powerful or thrifty, but it is reliable. And at 23 years old, it's not like you can expect Toyota to still honor any warranty at this point, for pete's sake.
 
Price is had to say. Seems these day folks around here are asking well above blue book and all state "I know what these trucks are worth." So really boils down to what it's worth to you. Honestly it kinda gets on my nerves. Especially when it doesn't run, just beyond me.
 
muddpigg said:
Price is had to say. Seems these day folks around here are asking well above blue book and all state "I know what these trucks are worth." So really boils down to what it's worth to you. Honestly it kinda gets on my nerves. Especially when it doesn't run, just beyond me.
Click to expand...

Right, at that age, it's worth what someone is willing to pay. I'm a lowballer. Gives me room to negotiate!
 
I've weighed in on a few of these debates and having worked on a few, while they can be cumbersome to work on, like @KLF said once the factory HG's are done, they are good little motors. I wouldn't pass on a nice rig because of the 3VZ. And these motors get a bad wrap, but all the motors have there issues, I mean how many 22re's have eaten the factory plastic guides on their way to the timing covers, how many 3RZ stock manifolds have cracked, etc., etc. If that little v6 sucked so bad then why did it live under the hood of so many trucks and 4runners from 88 to 95? Just sayin' :meh: I mean if the 3.4 hadn't been a better motor, I would have been disappointed, but at the time we didnt know any better. That's the evolution of things, the next generation should be better than the last If not we'd all have F motors in our cruisers with an 18r in our new tacomas.

To the OP, ask about the head gaskets, get VIN and see if it might have been done on recall. Look for leaks around the rear main area. Make sure everything works and look for rust, ask about the timing belt and when it was done last. Other than that, start low and go from there.

Good luck.
 
The bumper on my pickup was bought from a guy who had over 500K on his 3.0. 22RE's blow head gaskets too. Mine was blown when I bought it. So, would I take a 22RE over a 3.0? In a pickup, yes. In the 4Runner, not especially.
Auto is nice, but the gearing is not ideal for 33's. If it's already set up that way, the tranny has taken some abuse and may be a weak link. Auto shifter bushings are prone to disintegrating, which is a minor issue but something that would be immediately obvious when you test drive.
Look for: cargo window works-or not. Manual or ADD hubs. Manual are preferable. Idler arms are prone to wear. In addition to the HG check, ask about or look into the recall for the relay rod.
 
Checked it out this morning. Nice, clean truck, but the used car lot bought it on auction and did a quick 4" lift at put some off-brand big tires on it. Started and ran great. Cold air and the back window even worked.

However, with 33's and stock gears, it wasn't really driveable. Plus, the lift was done with bolt-on brackets, no diff drop and stock UCA's. Looked like autozone stuff. Not very heavy-duty.

Biggest problem was that the oil pressure gauge never came up from zero. Probably the sender or something simple since it ran and idled great. Why would they do all that work to it but not fix a simple thing?

It would have been perfect before they screwed with it. Plus, they were wanting $6k firm. I didn't make an offer and walked.
 
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