coming from a 2000 and now in a 2001...I will say IM looking for a 99 or 2000 limited with locker in back.
Ive only had this 7 months ( due to totaling my 2000) and it has not let me down and I might keep....might. It was what was available at the time... ( yes there was jeeps and subies avail....I only wanted a 3rd gen t4r)
It has 270k and is on its 2nd transmission according to previous owner. they just put in a used one...so who knows
I dont like the mastercylinder....but all the yotas after 2000 have them....tacos etc....but they are spendy. The trac system is a pain , but you can put in a switch that turns it off...some other toyota models that had the trac had that switch, so why they did not put that in the 4runner who knows. ( my switch is out of a camry of all things) Ive added the switch to turn off.....if not familiar...basically if you get stuck the trac system cuts the throttle down....and that is when you need the power most....when your stuck. Timmy and sean did a video on that mod. The throttle body is not as user friendly as the early ones.
As far as price.....3rd gens are getting expensive...and up here getting harder to find. Ive missed out on a 99 and a 2000 recently....and they both went for 10k.
Someone said if your doing that money , get a 4th gen....well they are not as user DIY friendly and 2003 to 2006 had head gasket issues. the head gasket was redesigned in late 2006. I looked at a 2005 and for fun looked into having the head gaskets replaced ( just to give me an idea if needed) and was quoted from 4800-6500

all that said.....and even though I knew the issues of the 2001-2002 and I trash talk my 2001.....3rd gen 4runners are great rigs and I would have a 2001 b4 many other cars out there.

Hey you know how it is out here, the prices are crazy. But I'm not really concerned with that. In the last 10 years or so, so many cars that are slightly desirable have become stupidly priced that the only purchases of those cars are because you really, really want one. I've wanted a 4Runner since I was six years old, it's going to be my forever car. 3rd Gen is my favorite look, and this is about that as well.

So many of the ones currently around here do not feel taken care of. I'll push back against the idea that superficial stuff doesn't matter -- to me that can be an indicator of how the rest of the rig has been treated over the course of it's life. And it's easy to see through the dealer's Armor All and tell if a car has been treated right or just cleaned up. This one has been taken care of.

I'm turning the one I buy into a daily queen. Probably some camping mods, but not a crawler. That's the other thing I'm trying to duck -- so many listed out here have big lifts and 33" mudders on them, I just assume they've been driven hard by dumb 24 year olds and wear and been more difficult on them. Plus, who knows who did the mods. I'm looking for stock stock stock.

Anyway, thanks for the good wishes! I dunno if this one is the right one for me, that will come down to my mechanic and the price. Let y'all know how it goes.

btw....my 2000 I bought in Portland, and I sure do miss the lack of rust in cars there. Brought mine up to alaska 3 years ago, it was great till last fall
I live pretty inland and they dont use salt here.....too expensive to truck here,,,,so they use gravel...but a lot of cars esp older ones...come from anchorage or along that area and they use salt...my current one came from anchorage....and im paying for it now in repairs that get slowed down alot due to rust.
I think the price your looking at is pretty normal for Portland area. M&W used to be high priced, still are i hear, but they only used to sell clean, rust free , low mile 3rd gens.

The rear diff lock was not exclusive to Limited trims only, but the last year for that factory option was 2000.

also, dont take a dealers word for anything....get the vin and run a car fax on it...but even that can be misleading.....Ive seen cars that were selling as "limiteds" that were not. I seen one that still had the locker switch on dash...being sold that way....yet locker rear end had been replaced with a non locker at some point.. and ive seen car fax that said minor damage, listing only a bumper, tail light and tailgate...when looking at it hard.....it had been hit a whole lot harder and a lot more than that replaced. like spliced in a rear quarter panel , new rear window ( what caught me was the missing antenna in that window) and the fender well inside had wrinkles you could feel through the carpet.
If your new to 4runners,,,get a good independent guy to look at it.

Definitely agree to not trust dealers or car fax wholesale. Car fax is a good tool but is imperfect. Good mechanics can be great but again, these things are old and will require some stuff. I think you'll need to account for a budget to baseline every wear item you don't have a record for. All fluids, the rad, lower ball joints, etc.

Seeing your post about it being a forever car and you really want a 3rd gen... If that's true, I think it's worth holding out for the 99-00 limited. Though they aren't available every day, a clean 99-00 with 200k will come up in that price range if you remain patient. 99 is when the interior was updated which made a huge difference IMO. 01 is when the electronic crap was introduced and I think the weaker transmission planetary gear design, which I don't understand, as well. For those reasons, the 99-00 is desired. Clean is a priority but if you have some time and money, I'm pretty sure there are well over 100k 99-00 4runners out there and you'll find one.

I love the 3rd gen design. It was also my first vehicle and I have nostalgia for it. If I were in the market right now, I'd probably be purchasing a v8 4th gen. The power and towing capability would be nice while still not being way too large.

But was the awd/center diff lock specific to limiteds? (4wd push button j shift tcase)

Isn't that a step down?

Triple down on the radiator. I would pull the dipstick and see if that stuff has gone milky. The top of my rad was nice and black but underneath one of the hoses was that same green tinge and that area shattered in my hands.

That thing is about to blow.

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Center diff lock is only on 99-00 Limited's. 96-98 Limited's had a electric actuated transfer case, but it didn't have a 4HI in addition to 4HI locked. All 01-02 4wd 4Runner's have a center diff lock, but the transfer case lever in those only changes high/low range.

Edit: I wasn't implying that your earlier comment about 99-00 Limited's was wrong or incorrect. I just wanted to make sure the OP knew that he didn't have to look for a Limited to get a factory rear locker.

my 01 is an SR-5 and has the awd/center diff....but is not a j shift, its a straight line... but I beleive the 99 & 00 limiteds were j shift and awd/center diff lock....could be wrong

That's crazy! What would cause something like that? It's limited to where the hose makes contact with the plastic. Chemical reaction??
Are the radiator and hose aftermarket?

One thing I found out about our '02 is when a light bulb is out the cruise control won't work(crazy I know).

Dunno. That was the original radiator and probably a supply house hose. I'm wondering if was possibly the focused heat from the hose. If it was chemical from my choice of coolant then there should have been widespread damage to the rest of the plastic.

In fact, I've since cut the upper and lower tanks off and then the lower one in half. The plastic was still in fantastic condition.

Thread here!

I have mine listed local to you for $16,500 and has thousands more into it than that one!!