Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddaximus
Hello everyone, yesterday I purchased my first 4Runner. A ‘99 SR5 V6 with 218,000 miles on it. The dealership said they purchased it from CarMax. What maintenance should I do before just driving it all the time. It looks all original.
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congrats. here's my path to sanity, more or less in the order i've done things:
oil, oil filter, air filter. top off PS fluid and any others that are obviously low. don't mix coolant types.
when you have time, and sooner the better, drain and refill the front and rear diffs, transfer case and transmission. drain and refill the PS fluid, perform full coolant flush. grease the driveshaft(s) / propeller joints. new spark plugs and spark plug wires. new PCV valve.
check for uneven tire wear, drifting or vibrations. if present, address via alignment, tire rotation, new tires, or more-involved steps such as replacing inner and outer tie rods. sway bar end links or at least their bushings should probably be replaced if they look crappy or have excessive play.
put new OEM LBJs on. if 5spd and it's needed, replace master and slave cylinders.
if braking is a nightmare, consider TBU mod, but at least replace pads and properly bed them.
if handling is iffy or you have some horrid-sounding clunks either when turning or when you hit a bump or pothole, replace shocks in pairs. if tracking seems fiddly, alignment may be the culprit, and it could also be rear control arm bushings.
check all exterior and interior indicator and instrument panel lights; if found to be nonworking or defective, repair or replace. if you use the parking brake and it's loose (as in, it needs lots of clicks to actuate, or doesn't ever work right), have it adjusted or the rear brakes adjusted or replaced.
if AT, plan for and complete a radiator replacement to avoid the strawberry milkshake.
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