Great info guys,, my wife just decided she wants one as well, so we've been looking around a bit. Test drove an 07 last night and I'm thinking the pinion bearing was whining a bit. Looks like we'll be shopping for an '10 or better..
The rear failures on the early years which in the big picture of production numbers is still a small percentage.
And of those, 99% of the time it's from rock crawling. Most failures occurred when the rear DIFF was locked while trying to get over difficult obstacles. DIFF locked, heavy skinny pedal, on an obstacle and a bounce = almost all of the failures.
There was a limited run in 07 that these occurred on.
Factory autos have 8"- 3.73 gears. The 6 speed manuals are setup a little differently and have a different transfer case. They are also full-time 4WD.
Most upon a failure and again, almost all failures have been during extreme use, will get a new 3rd from
East Coast Gear Supply
for a fairly reasonable price and usually upgrade to 4.56 gears to help when running 35s and other larger tires.
I wouldn't be too scared to buy an older rig. I have one and am not too concerned about it. If the rear grenades, I'll get it fixed up stronger than new. Some are swapping to the 8.2 rear, some the Dana 60 and some have even done the ford 9.5.
But if I had the money, I'd buy the newest model I could afford as they are out of import. Not that parts are difficult to find as they share a lot of parts from 4th and 5th gen. 4Runners. The 1GRFE is a staple in the Tacos. So that's not a concern. But what I learned since owning one is that they continued mechanical improvements every year up until '14. There were interior improvements:
Backup cameras
Extra map and dome lights
Bluetooth connectivity for hands free
Crawl control in 13-14
No body changes but there were engine tuning in 10 that increased HP and MPH. Less torque. And of course going to the 8.2" as well as beefing suspension component mounting brackets etc etc.
I think you'll find better pricing here in PA as I don't believe they "caught on" like they did in the west and CO. Out there they bring a premium.
Most of the aftermarket stuff I purchase is coming from the west coast, TX or Co.
and the aftermarket selection is endless.
It's a shame to see them go as they were built to run and abuse. I know they aren't a fan favorite from the purists but Toyota did build a niche off-roader that wouldn't appeal to everyone. They didn't market the crap out of them either. Just took the Trail Teams around the country to off-road parks to market their capability.
You'll see them for sale with low miles as I believe most thought they were buying a modern SUV... They don't have lots of bells and whistles, rubber floors for easy cleanup, poor gas mileage, and the aerodynamics of a dog house. The damn thing wont coast going down hill!! So the soccer moms realized that and trade them in for hilanders and outbacks instead as they are more practical.
The A-TRAC is such an impressive off-road tool. It took me awhile to figure it out but after I did, it makes crawling much easier. That combined with DIFF lock makes for a pretty decent off-roader.
The independent front is always up for debate but it makes the overlanding part of life and road manners much better. So there is a bit of a compromise there. Some of the more serious have done SAS on them.
I was very skeptical buying having come from my old '86 4Runner. But I have been nothing but impressed and plan on keeping mine as the 40 and 80 folks have done. If I get lucky, I'll try to find a 13-14 in a few years when the pricing hopefully come down to a realistic number IMO.
