So my son needed a better car to drive to CA for college, and I bought his ‘97 Limited. It’s been maintained for the most part, and still running strong with over 330,000 miles! But it looks rough and the mileage alone means it will need some TLC. Going to be my fishing & fun truck, especially once we move to upstate SC and can go I to the Blue Ridge / Smoky Mountains. Plan on keeping it mostly stock, but thinking hard on the Tundra brake upgrade and going with the Bilsteins used in the TRD trucks.

Welcome and if the suspension parts have been replaced and timing belt done the car might not need much other than all fluids changed and serviced. These 3rd gen can be rock solid after 300k miles. I recently just got the timing belt, suspension parts replaced /upgraded, all fluids changed along with the fuel filter and TB cleaned and replaced and the truck runs like new.

I know this is all about ones driving habits, but I can't find ANY fault with the stock 4r brakes. If anything, I find mine a bit too grabby at slow speeds (parking lots, very hard to make a smooth stop). Because my route was to leave the stock brakes alone since everything was pretty fresh/new, I personally would recommend spending money on Bushings. They absolutely, and completely, transformed the quality of ride. From "old SUV loosy goosy" to something that doesn't give me pucker moments at 55mph on a straight road when the whole thing would feel like it was going to shift sideways. And my 1999 only has 197k on it.

Beyond that, the Lower Ball Joints are a known failure point, where the wheel will fall off. The other BIG issues is the OEM radiator will corrode through in the transmission cooler section, allowing for a mixing of coolant and ATF, causing "pink/strawberry milkshake", and destroying the trans. Those 2 items are about $300 in parts and an Easy days work for replacement.

My (new to me) 4runner has similar behavior with braking at low speeds. Likes to bite. Along with the fact it violently shakes when stopping at high speeds even though the shop said the pads have 75% meat left. I guess the guy I bought it off of was hard on the brakes and they are 'warped' from deposits already which is a bummer. I want to do the tundra upgrade but waiting for funds.