Need mech advice on a 90 toy 4x4 PU (1 Viewer)

[Chase77]

All,
Not a cruiser, :whoops: but i have a line on a 90 toyota and need some trusted advice from you mechanics out there. Its a deluxe short bed, 4x4, zero rust, 2 owner 94k on orig engine, good interior and orig paint, for $3500. Private party blue book is 2800 but its apparently very nice and i get the idea that the guy would take 3k. Usually would give it a good run down and research the consumer ratings for reliability, problems etc and then have a mech look at it as well but time is of the essence. I can get there before the other dude tomorrow but its a 2 hour drive and having my mechanic uncle look it over isnt goin to happen. I am fairly knowledgable and am bringing another shade tree along for the ride but we both never really worked on a car newer than my cruiser due to the simplicity of my rig. So anybody have any experience with these trucks? Anything I should look for other than rust? Does this year still have the bullet proof 22re? This will be my DD and Cruiser parts getter so im looking for something as reliable as my current 95 mazda mx3 w/ 100k miles but with all the advantages of a toyota truck. Just dont want to get home with a POS and start ing myself for being a dumbsh*t.
Thanks in advance and sorry for the repost from chit chat.
-Chase

 

[Gumby]

Nice truck. IFS, but they ride better than the solid axles. If it has the V6, check for the head gasket repair. I'm not sure what year they started to have the problem, but it was right around there somewhere.

 

[Dianna]

Gumby is right on the head gasket problem in the V-6 3.0L, they weren't recalled but there was a service bulletin so the p.o. might not have taken it to the dealer to take care of the problem. A lot of people have had problems even after the head gasket issue was taken care of. If it's a 22RE and the oil was changed every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, it will run forever. Awesome trucks, I'm sure you won't be disappointed! Shouldn't be a rust issue, in '89 they stopped spot welding the beds so that eliminated the rust problem that the '88s and older models had. If it is a V-6, I'd do a compression check and cylinder leak-down test, that should tell you the condition of the engine. Some awesome web sites for Toyota Trucks are http://www.4x4wire.com/index.htm and http://t4x4pickup.com/dgroup/ Good luck!!!