Buying a supercharged 100 with 160k, any major concerns?

[jharley]

Hi, new member here. I am on the hunt for my first LC, have narrowed down to a 100 series for my purposes (family vehicle, wilderness exploring, snow blasting, etc.) My other interesting vehicle is a VW Vanagon, which I've cared for for about 8 years now, including doing an engine conversion to a newer generation VW 2.0T.

Anyway. I looked at a 2002 LC today with 160k miles that has (I think) a fair price, is in nice cosmetic shape, and seems mechanically well cared for. Service records covering the first 140k of its life.

Unexpectedly, when I showed up I learned it had the TRD supercharger in it. It seems to run pretty quiet, and its quite nice to drive, but because I hadn't read up on it, wasn't looking for it, hadn't educated myself, I was hesitant to pull the trigger.

From what I can discern, this was installed either when the vehicle was new or in the first 30k miles. So it could have as much as the full 160k miles on it.

Part of my desire for a 100 series is for the bulletproof reliability. Whatever truck I buy, I plan to take good care of, do the majority of my own maintenance, and squeeze 15+ more years and/or 200k+ more miles out of it.

Yes the supercharger makes it notably more fun to drive, but I don't generally drive aggressively, accelerate hard, plan on going hardcore wheeling, or any of that. Probably don't really need a SC.

I think I've read about every relevant thread here on this SC, most of which were posted years ago, and the things that jump out to me are:

1) Might see a small reduction in fuel economy, although some people say it can actually provide an improvement if you are driving conservatively

2) There are multiple references to this unit having a 100k service life. Some conflicting reports of what that means. Fairly clear that it should have an oil change at that point. Some references say it should be removed and sent for service.

3) There is speculation that adding a SC can negatively impact overall reliability, which again is one of my main reasons for getting a LC. The highest mileage I can find anyone mentioning on any forum for a vehicle with the 4.7 + TRD SC is about 220k.

Any comments or opinions about whether or not I should shy away from this SC vehicle based on my interest in reliability and long term self-maintenance?

Another thought, I wonder if its difficult to revert back to the stock intake setup? Imagine I would need to source a stock intake manifold, probably a pully, and remove the piggyback ECU. Maybe could remove it and sell to offset the price of the vehicle (although its already in my price range)? Maybe a specialty shop would do the work for me in exchange for the SC itself?

Long ramble I know, but I appreciate any opinions, info, thoughts you might share.

 

[planomateo]

I had a supercharged 5.7L Tundra. Installed about 6 months after I purchased the Tundra new. I put about 50k miles on it. In my experience, fuel mileage was roughly the same, but had to put in premium.

If you purchase, you'll want to replace the oil in the supercharger. I doubt it's been done.

Perhaps others with an SC'ed 4.7L can chime in on reliability.

 

[Nick T]

I have a TRD supercharged 2UZFE with 260k+ miles on it (230k of it supercharged). Overall reliability will be less, there are more things to go wrong. The coupler will need to be changed every 100k miles, supercharger oil every 30k miles, my bearings are still ok but I have no idea how long they will last, probably new bearings and re coat the rotors in the near future. You also have to make sure your plugs, coils, injectors are always working correctly else when you hammer the throttle you could get excessive knock and/or bend a rod. It is also a hassle getting the drive belt and spark plugs for it since you can't get Toyota OEM anymore
I would buy the rig you are looking at, at worst you can remove the charger and put it back to stock. A fully functioning and complete charger could be worth alot, although I don't think many tundra/LC/LX/sequoia owners want to spend $3000+ for a supercharger on a 20 year old car .

And if you decide to not buy it, PM me th info and I will (west coast assuming no rust?)

 

[Gassiper]

I’m a buyer on the supercharger if you decide you like the truck and are worried about that pesky supercharger!

 

[RusoArmo]

Hi, new member here. I am on the hunt for my first LC, have narrowed down to a 100 series for my purposes (family vehicle, wilderness exploring, snow blasting, etc.) My other interesting vehicle is a VW Vanagon, which I've cared for for about 8 years now, including doing an engine conversion to a newer generation VW 2.0T.

Anyway. I looked at a 2002 LC today with 160k miles that has (I think) a fair price, is in nice cosmetic shape, and seems mechanically well cared for. Service records covering the first 140k of its life.

Unexpectedly, when I showed up I learned it had the TRD supercharger in it. It seems to run pretty quiet, and its quite nice to drive, but because I hadn't read up on it, wasn't looking for it, hadn't educated myself, I was hesitant to pull the trigger.

From what I can discern, this was installed either when the vehicle was new or in the first 30k miles. So it could have as much as the full 160k miles on it.

Part of my desire for a 100 series is for the bulletproof reliability. Whatever truck I buy, I plan to take good care of, do the majority of my own maintenance, and squeeze 15+ more years and/or 200k+ more miles out of it.

Yes the supercharger makes it notably more fun to drive, but I don't generally drive aggressively, accelerate hard, plan on going hardcore wheeling, or any of that. Probably don't really need a SC.

I think I've read about every relevant thread here on this SC, most of which were posted years ago, and the things that jump out to me are:

1) Might see a small reduction in fuel economy, although some people say it can actually provide an improvement if you are driving conservatively

2) There are multiple references to this unit having a 100k service life. Some conflicting reports of what that means. Fairly clear that it should have an oil change at that point. Some references say it should be removed and sent for service.

3) There is speculation that adding a SC can negatively impact overall reliability, which again is one of my main reasons for getting a LC. The highest mileage I can find anyone mentioning on any forum for a vehicle with the 4.7 + TRD SC is about 220k.

Any comments or opinions about whether or not I should shy away from this SC vehicle based on my interest in reliability and long term self-maintenance?

Another thought, I wonder if its difficult to revert back to the stock intake setup? Imagine I would need to source a stock intake manifold, probably a pully, and remove the piggyback ECU. Maybe could remove it and sell to offset the price of the vehicle (although its already in my price range)? Maybe a specialty shop would do the work for me in exchange for the SC itself?

Long ramble I know, but I appreciate any opinions, info, thoughts you might share.

Do you happen to be looking at the one in Lynnwood/Seattle area? That one has been posted for a long time, something seems off. My buddy just paid $13k for a 2000 with 20Xk miles that had just recently done all the bigger maintenance pieces, Slee lift and UCAs and a Rhino Rack. I'd think a clean supercharged '02 with 160k would sell very quickly at $15k