Price listed is $4995. But I asked what he was looking for and he said 400-500 off at most.

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Rusty engine bay brackets hint at rust problems underneath again. Cross your fingers that the frame is good!

Engine is non-interference, so even if the belt breaks it isn't a big deal.

-Charlie

For sure, that helps with some reassurance.

Man - some sellers are jerks. I'm just asking questions over here like why they decided to replace an engine at 70k. Not this one but others I have been reaching out to. Getting all bent out of shape when I ask about frame. Usually not a good sign.

Still no response from this seller about additional pics of inside of the frame and dropping the spare. I'll keep my eye on it and see how long it stays available or even a price drop. All the info here has been great.

$4500 truck. That rusted panard bar mount may need attention latter down the road. You may need to get the timing belt and lower ball joints (at a minimum) done since you can't confirm when it was last done.
Are you sure you want this truck? Do you have the extra funds and comfortable with doing your own wrenching to bring this rig back up to base line?
If not, I would walk and look else where for another 3.4l 5sp rig. True, they are hard to find but, they are out there. Just saving you from getting burnt out trying to baseline the truck, when you can wait for one that is in better shape and needed less work.

I surely won't be replacing the axle myself, thats for sure.

In that case I would avoid it and look for a cleaner vehicle that has been well maintained, even if the axle doesn't end up needing replaced a lot of other little things that might crop up can end up with you dumping more money into it than it's worth.

I've put way more into mine than it's worth, and that's with me doing all the work myself, but I didn't know anything about working on vehicles before I bought it so with the learning experience I still consider it a net gain.

I found another candidate. 2002 Sport with 232k miles. Another one in Maryland. One owner. All maintenance records.

Seems to be less rust than the other one. Some flaking too...

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I think it's at least worth a drive to see it in person. Tap around myself and get a feel. Asking $4500 but I can probably knock $500 off because she said its 30k past timing belt service. It's an older lady so I feel bad having her crawl around to snap these pics.

Here is the actual vehicle.

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That frame doesn't look too bad. The rear dif is questionable because you don't know how much metal might flake off once you start to do any rust mediation. The underbody on my truck looks better even being in NJ but it was undercoated at sometime in it's life before me (and it spent a portion of it's life in the Southeast part of the country) and I've been pretty meticulous with rust mediation after my 1st 4Runner which was a complete rust bucket (before I knew any better)

The problem with getting pictures of the INSIDE of the frame is you need some sort of borescope. There are cheap ones that actually work great. I bought one so when I sell my truck, I can provide those pictures which will be soon (I hope) if the frikkin DMV would ever open up again.

I'm seeing it tomorrow morning. I'll bring a flashlight, wire brush, and a hammer to tap around. My investigative nature shows me that looking at the frame holes - the thickness is still there. Meaning it doesn't look to be thinning on the other side. Or maybe not...who really knows. The one owner fact really has me excited. I can only hope for so clean here on the east coast.

This one looks a lot nicer. The fact that the running board brackets are not bad is a good sign for the rest of the truck.

Main rust spot is around the rear lower control arm mount where the frame bends up. It’s a catch point that traps crap. Pound from the outside and a finger in a hole will give you a clue about the inside. Expect 2 inches of dirt if it’s never been washed out.

A timing belt job is easier to live with than a rust bucket in my opinion.

Other bargaining points are the rad and lbjs if they have not been changed. Both will need to be.

It’s a nice looking runner. Good luck.

Edit- the rusty pic is the gas tank skid. No big worry imo.

Welp, I am now the new owner of a 2002 Sport Edition Thundercloud Metallic. I went and looked at it this morning and bought it. Its in really good shape and gave me no mechanical doubts on the 200 mile drive home. 30k miles past due for the timing belt....but oh well.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in and gave me things to look for and think about. This has a factory, or dealer, installed trailer hitch that has more rust than the 4runner itself. Taking that off ASAP. And looking for a good touch up pen to cover the multiple nicks, dings, and what have you.

Not sure what my plans are. Probably keep it to what I did with my other Toyotas. Upgrade tires, KO2 or Falken Wildpeak. Weathertech everywhere. Upgrade brakes. I am super excited and I can't believe how sound everything is after 232k miles.

Congrats. Get a wire brush and a can of rustoleum for that hitch. You will want it there if some idiot rear ends you while texting.

Good. Then I can get them to replace the rear bumper that’s all dinged up from the previous owners wife.

Out of the million rust prevention videos- is there one you recommend? Same basic process I’ve seen. Wire brush or grind out rust. Some type of rustoleum rust stopper. Maybe primer. Maybe paint.