As Jason said, the 3rd Gens are like most Toyota's and are pretty well made. I bought my 98 a little over a year ago with 169k on the ticker, I am now at 206k and still rolling strong.
At that mileage here is what I would check.
- Make sure the T-belt has been serviced, at 236k it should have been serviced at least twice and will be ready for the 3rd one.
- Radiator and trans cooler. The AT cooler is in the bottom of the rad and there have been several stories of the cooler failing and contaminating RAD.
- Ask about the lower ball joints, they will probably need replacing if they haven't been. They are a wear item and have been know to fail without warning
- Have a look at the CV boots. They may be getting a little dry and may be due for replacement if they haven't been replaced
- The valve cover gaskets deserve a look. If they have pressure washed the engine look closely around the bottoms of them
- give the rear shaft a shake to make sure the u-joints aren't too bad.
- It will most likely need a tune-up, so plan on plug and wires.
These are really good rigs and if I had to give you a hit list, Jason pretty well nailed it. Timing belt, Radiator and cooling system and the lower ball joints would be the main items to check out, other than making sure all the electrics work and the sunroof doesn't leak.
I can only hope that my little girl will want one when she is old enough.
Good Luck
P.S. This has solidified my want to build a 3rd gen as a wheeling rig.
