Build up my 98 SR5, or get a newer one with less miles?

Here goes. I have a 98 SR5, and I am pondering whether I should put a lot more money into it, or find something newer. Ideally I would get something with under 100k miles, and it very good condition. I see pros and cons both ways. Either way I go, my plan is to drive the vehicle for years to come. So, wighing the options . . .

My 98 SR5:

It has some issues, though nothing I would consider too major.

-Jitters. I have a thread on this. I have still not been able to pinpoint where they are coming from. Could be upper/lower ball joints, a arm bushing, hubs, bearings, tires, steering component, or a combination of several things. I did just get a remanufactured steering rack and new OEM tie rod ends, just need the time to do the work.

-Miles. At 170000 its getting up there. Although I know this engine is built to last. But I plan on supercharging at some point, and I wouldnt feel safe supercharging untill i rebuilt the engine. Thats gonna cost.

Other negatives

-No fog lights
-Cup holders
-No rear dif locker
-Only one power outlet
-Terrible ABS
-At this point I can count on parts wearing out at a fairly consistent rate. Ball joints, timing belt, injectors, alternator, hubs, u joints, etc. All that stuff. I am definately planning to do all repair work myself, specially after graduating this semester when more time and money become available. But Im just wondering if it would make more sense to get a newer runner in great shape with low miles, and the options I like.

With a newer runner:

I would be more willing to mod it knowing that it has a longer lifespan. Something with under 100k is relatively young for a 4runner. And there are a lot out there in great condition. I know I would need to be willing to spend around 10k for something like an 01-02 with low miles and in great condition. But in the long run that may be worth it. And that way I would have the upgrades there, and on a newer vehicle in better condition. I can do all of them myself on my current runner. And I like the thought of building it up myself. But weighing out time and cost, is it worth it? Keep i mind Im not considering "mods" that dont come with a factory 4runner. Stuff like aftermarket suspension components, tires, wheels, intakes, bumpers, fog lights. All that stuff I will have to do either way. Just might make more sense to do those mods on a newer one rather than my current. And with less than 100k miles I would be willing to throw on the supercharger without doing anything else to the engine. I see it going either way.

What are your thoughts?

a lot of those things you'll have to do to any 4Runner.

Just for comparison, some of those things can be easily swapped. For starters, cup holders, power outlets, fog lights, easy stuff.

Even the diff lock can be retrofitted.

All of the new parts you'll need (Ball joints, etc) will insure that your runner is in tip top shape. I personally wouldn't wheel a 4Runner I just bought without that kind of maintenance, don't want any nasty surprises.

I've got 180k on mine. Mine was arguably the worst possible 3rd gen to build, but I've done all of that and that's not even the tip of it. I've still got a V6 swap in progress and I've gotta do a 4WD conversion which I'm still shopping for.

All of the midgen upgrades are swappable, and if it bothers you that much and you want another color, etc... then go for a 99+

Otherwise, I think you're golden.

The decision is going to be based on your finances, I think its an obvious choice its MUCH better an idea to invest money into something that will last longer. IF you dont care how long it lasts then mod this runner..

I would choose to buy a new one..

id say keep the one you got thats already payed for. 170k is nothing for these trucks, even for a supercharger. My last runner had 230k and it had a supercharger and ran perfect. Several other buddies have supercharged 3.4s with over 200k miles and have not had a single problem with them. 70k miles will not make that big of a difference when it comes to adding power unless it has been abused for those 70k miles and already has issues.

Like COB said earlier you can upgrade all the little stuff like cupholders etc. fairly easily and cheapily. Id just take the 5 grand extra you would spend on a new truck and stick it away for this one so that when things do need to be handled you can do it in a timely manner. A truck with 100k miles is gonna need all the same things within a couple years anyway so you may as well do it to this one now.

I was in the exact same boat July of last year... My '97 was at 165K and I was itching to lift it, but at the same time, I wanted to start with something with lower miles (so I could spend time racking up the miles while enjoying my mods). I also wanted a sunroof, hood scoop, fender flares, and all upgraded features that come on the 99+ models.

My '97 was paid off, and I found myself browsing C-list everyday for my ideal 4Runner. I finally found one and checked it out. The price was right, so I jumped on it.

So my advice would be to start fresh. It takes alot of time to retrofit all the factory stuff... If you're just graduating and starting a career, you're not gonna want to blow a ton of time just trying to get your 4Runner to have the same factory features a newer model comes with, not to mention doing all the maintenance. Start with a fresh platform that has everything you want from the factory, and you can spend your time/money on mods... enjoy them in the meantime, and save for maintenance down the road.

The only thing I can add beyond that is if you keep your old one, watch out, because soon you might have two projects going on. I'm having a very hard time letting go of my '97 and with the suspension worn out from 170k, I'm seriously considering lifting it... and who knows where things will go from there.

If you have the money the obvious choice is to buy newer and build on that. I'd love to have a 99 with the mid-gen upgrades just for the cup holders, lol.

BigFishAllDay said:

I was in the exact same boat July of last year... My '97 was at 165K and I was itching to lift it, but at the same time, I wanted to start with something with lower miles (so I could spend time racking up the miles while enjoying my mods). I also wanted a sunroof, hood scoop, fender flares, and all upgraded features that come on the 99+ models.

My '97 was paid off, and I found myself browsing C-list everyday for my ideal 4Runner. I finally found one and checked it out. The price was right, so I jumped on it.

So my advice would be to start fresh. It takes alot of time to retrofit all the factory stuff... If you're just graduating and starting a career, you're not gonna want to blow a ton of time just trying to get your 4Runner to have the same factory features a newer model comes with, not to mention doing all the maintenance. Start with a fresh platform that has everything you want from the factory, and you can spend your time/money on mods... enjoy them in the meantime, and save for maintenance down the road.

The only thing I can add beyond that is if you keep your old one, watch out, because soon you might have two projects going on. I'm having a very hard time letting go of my '97 and with the suspension worn out from 170k, I'm seriously considering lifting it... and who knows where things will go from there.

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I think it will come down to finding the right one . . . like you said. If I see something I really like with low miles, I'll probably jump on it. I should add that my current runner, or the one that would replace it will be my daily driver. Not so much an "off-road" specific vehicle. Really my "everything" vehicle. Stuff like a suspension lift, though something I really want, is not necessarily my top priority.

I'm having the same dilemma, whether I should sell my '00 and '98 and get a lower millage 99+ with most of the things I want. I've already lifted the '98 and have an ARB, Budbuilts, sliders, etc. but I will be able to easily swap everything but the lift over to the new one. If I sell the '98 it is going with the lift. It would be more trouble than it's worth trying to keep it, especially since one of my stock rear shocks broke when I was taking it off.

The way I look at it is this.. my '98 has 210k miles on it and I know it is going to last me at least until 300k, but I'm only 19 and another 100k isn't going to take very long to put on it. I usually end up driving 16-18k per year. I want to drive my truck into the ground, and then once it's there dig it back up and drive some more. At 19 with 210k on the clock already I'll be digging it up a lot sooner than I would like.

So in my opinion, if you have the means to do so, it will be well worth it to sell and buy one with less miles and with the upgrades you want.

i have almost 200k on my 98 it has a 5spd and a factory e locker i wouldn't trade it for nothing sure it has its plus and minus ... fog lights i've got some on my winch bumper cup holders that's easily fixable with the 99 cup holder mod and the outlets that's another easy fix

Just keep it, the 99 Center and Roof console swap take all of 1 night to do, and the extra power outlet takes like an hour. If you plan on modding the truck, you will likely end up with a winch bumper and auxilary lights anyway so a 99+ Bumper is the answer for you. And i know of a member who Supercharged his 97 with 180k miles + on it without a rebuild and it runs fine.

But see stuff like the cupholder and outlets are an obvious easy fix. Those are not the major things I listed in my post. The major things are my suspension issue (which I believe will require replacing several parts because the people who owned it before me just let it go, and when one part wears out it increases the rate at which everything else wears out), the miles, and the combination of parts that will continue to go bad. Also, I believe that people have supercharged their engines with higher miles with success, but Im not going to take the risk. And as far as a newer runner, Im wasnt really thinking of something with 100000 miles. I was thinking to find something with more like 60-70k. Thats a pretty significant difference. So its not an issue of "well mine has the crappy cupholders". Its the miles, suspension, lack of several upgrades available on newer models, and culmination of parts that will consistently go bad with 170k miles. Sounds like Im convincing myself to get the newer one. But, still undecided at this point

Bottom line is if you want to keep it for the longest time possible get one with less miles , simple as that .

If you see yourself moving on in 3-4 years keep the one you got and pimp it .


The only thing I could see is that if getting a new one with less miles costs more then 5k difference just put that money aside to rebuild your current engine and trans for another 300-400k miles , and mod it in the mean time.

I think options one or three is what would be best for longest life in the truck for your money

1985taylor1925 said:

But see stuff like the cupholder and outlets are an obvious easy fix. Those are not the major things I listed in my post. The major things are my suspension issue (which I believe will require replacing several parts because the people who owned it before me just let it go, and when one part wears out it increases the rate at which everything else wears out), the miles, and the combination of parts that will continue to go bad. Also, I believe that people have supercharged their engines with higher miles with success, but Im not going to take the risk. And as far as a newer runner, Im wasnt really thinking of something with 100000 miles. I was thinking to find something with more like 60-70k. Thats a pretty significant difference. So its not an issue of "well mine has the crappy cupholders". Its the miles, suspension, lack of several upgrades available on newer models, and culmination of parts that will consistently go bad with 170k miles. Sounds like Im convincing myself to get the newer one. But, still undecided at this point

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If you sell yours, its gonna be a $3-5k difference in price between what you have now and what you will get, and all that will do is buy you time because at 70k the suspension is close to worn out, your approaching a timing belt change... If you invest like $2k into your truck right now you can fix the suspension and rebuild the engine to take a supercharger, if the motor is rebuilt your back to close to zero miles, and besides bearings and and such miles on the chassis are just a number. Miles dont kill these things people do. You can also fix the cupholder problem and the 99 bumper probem for about $200.

170K is nothing on a Toyota, look at all the thousands and thousands of 80s Toyota trucks still on the road (not to mention the thousands that have been turned into rock crawlers and truggies). If it was a Ford or a Chevy I would say sell it and start with a newer truck. But it's not so I say keep it, pimp it, love it. If you get another 3rd gen, sooner or later you'll end up having to do the same maintenance you're talking about doing anyways so I would just keep what you got, maintain it and fix it if something breaks.

Fyi chassis are rated to one million miles usually

Just based on what you stated in the begining and your reply to the posts I think you are already sold on a new lower mileage runner, if this is so what I would recommend is starting a thread on the pros and cons of the different model years. Doing this you will have information that you need to pick the exact year and trim package that you want and you can start your search.

From what I have been reading the 4wd in 96-99 is a little different that 00-02 let alone some of the creature comforts, so make sure you have a good idea of what you want and what your finished product will be and do before jumping on the first one you find.

I would love a 99 sport w/5spd, however I don't have the funds and I love what my '97 does for me. sure I upgraded to 99 interior including seats front and rear, center console and some nice exterior mods to make her my own.

To sum this up, learn everything you can about the difference each newer model year has in each of the SR5, Sport and limited trim packages and start your search! Good Luck!!!!

Hmm . . . Well there is alot about my 4runner that I do really like. Coming from Colorado, it has very little undercariage rust for a 98, and literally no body rust whatsoever. Though it lacks power the engine does feel bullitproof. Love the way it looks. Finding exactly what I want in black may be difficult. And I like the thought of moding it and making it uniquely mine. One option would be to keep it for the long haul, and slowly transform it into more of an off road/performance truck. Then get something with better gas mileage for my daily driver. Im still weighing the options . . .

You're going to have to revise your search criteria. 01-02's did not come with a locker so you'll have to find a 99-00 with 70K miles on it which will be tougher.

If you end up going aftermarket, I'd also vote to build the one you have.