New Member - may be buying 2nd gen tomorrow! Need advice...

Hello all! This is my first post here at the 4runner forums! I am happy to join as my wife and I will be going tomorrow to look at our first 4runner we are considering buying. I have been thinking of getting a 4runner for a while now, especially after doing a lot of research and settling in on what we were looking for.

In any case, we will be looking at a red 1992 4runner, 4 cylinder, 5-speed, 4x4 (these have been pretty hard to find!), with 137k on the clock. From the pictures and description, its looks VERY clean and well cared for - owner says it has no rust. SO! Armed with that information, we will be heading out tomorrow. And now I turn to you...

I really know little to nothing about these 4runners. I don't know trouble spots (except for the clunky noise while turning) or what to look for. Can you all help me by guiding me in what to look for when buying a used 4runner of this vintage? Any rust spots to look for? Frame/body rot? Any tips on the engine/drivetrain? Noises? Power? I've never driven a 4 cylinder 4runner so I'm not exactly sure what to keep my eyes/ears out for. Are there particular things that would make it a deal maker or breaker?

Since I plan to remain an active member once we do get a 4runner, good maintenance and then mild/moderate upgrades will follow as budget allows. If you were to buy an older used 4runner, what would be the first things you would replace/change out? I saw a post (I think on another forum) where a guy replace every coolant-related hose on his 22RE and it came to like 11 or 13 hoses and over $200! I'm thinking would be prudent to replace sparkplugs/wires/distributer, coolant flush, trans fluid flush, oil change, air filter...anything I'm missing? Any grease fittings?

Maybe I'm going overboard? Well, any help is appreciated! Thanks guys!

You are not going overboard, you just care for your vehicles and that is perfectly normal. Well at least among us .

With a used 4runner first and utmost you need to consider the used car buying rules that apply to any vehicle. Such as the walk around, checking for rust spots especially under the body if you are in the east coast, overall body shape, if the motor is warmed up before you arrive ( always a bad sign), how hard it is to start it, noises from the engine compartment, wobble check of the pulleys, leak checking the fluids and even if no leaks are found looking by the head gasket or valve cover gaskets for oil residue, pointing to an early oil leak. If all good and dandy, electrical in the car can be checked by playing every possible button and making sure they work, and a test drive will tell you if you should buy the car or not. Since this is a manual and 4x4 also checking the 4x4 system and the clutch would make sense. What you listed up there as far as the first things to flush/replace is a good guide. However before you do anything or even purchase the vehicle, right after the test drive ask yourself this question. Would I buy this truck if nothing on it was going to improve with my care and dedication. If the answer is no then don't buy it. Sure an oil change, coolant flush, plugs, wires, rotor, cap, seafoam and fresh gas will help your car run better, but they will not provide miracles. If the truck runs bad, it will continue to run bad, maybe for a longer period of time than intended due to your intense care.
Good luck

Andy,

Thank you so much for your input. Went and checked it out this morning with the wife. The body and undercarriage were in fantastic condition...if there were rust spots, they were extremely minimal. The problem was with the engine. I felt the radiator and the manifold heat shield when I popped the hood - they were warm. The dealer seemed to be pretty honest, saying that he did use it this morning, but I really was hoping for a cold start to check it. There was an oil leak around the oil pan (oil pan gasket) and a leak around the valve cover (and actually, one of the valve cover bolts turned when I twisted it). Overall the engine was pretty dirty with oil, mostly around the bottom and bottom front, as well as around the valve cover. Head gasket area seemed dry and looked good.

I have heard that the timing chain/timing chain tensioners are the first things to go in these engines, so I was sort of hyper vigilant in checking that. When it started up, I didn't hear any rattle-can sounds, but when driving it, mid-rpms in 2nd and 3rd gear, I did hear rattling, mostly on the drivers side (my wife in the passengers seat didn't hear anything like that). Knowing the issues these engines have with the timing chain, that was pretty unsettling.

I'm kinda bummed because besides the engine, everything else was sweet. Overall condition (discounting the engine) was great. But...I know I would be kicking myself if I bought it w/ these issues.

Again, thanks for your post Andy...I think you really helped to confirm my gut feelings.

You did the right choice my friend. That vehicle would have been perfect if you were going to dump that whole motor, get another 22re and drop it in. Such as a hobby car or something that people do not mind spending $10000 or more in it just to drive an old school vehicle that is pretty much in new condition. As far as buying and driving it as is, with minimal cash spend, than mechanical sometimes takes a more important place than the body.

As an example the one i bought was hit in the back, with a blown rear window and destroyed tailgate ( second gen). No rear bumper broken taillight, bent front bumper broken corner lights, broken turn signals and dented wheel wells. It was $800 and except a cracked intake hose and very small wobble on the power steering pulley, it was in great mechanical condition. I patched the bare metal areas where the bumper ripped off against rust, got me a tail gate with a rear window and motor relay etc.. for $100 off a junkyard, ordered used tail lights and turn signals and paid $800 for the truck itself. After the tuneup, fresh battery, fresh fluids and the tail gate I have a %99 operational 4runner for $1100. I still don't have bumpers but thats next time.

What I am trying to say is, if you are not in a great hurry there are thousands of possibilities out there for you and I am sure you can find one that operates much better than the one you rejected.

+1 you might want to skip buying it from a used car dealer as well...

Actually as a person who worked at used car dealers, I agree with the previous post. All that, if you buy it from a dealer you get a better car since you don't know what the car has been through if you buy it private party is total bullcrap.
That 110 point inspection they call is a lot worker washing the car in and out and spraying some air freshener in there. They also sometimes take the car out for a drive to see if there is an excess amount of noise in it. Most cases they will spend money to fix small cosmetic things rather than do mechanical work on cars. I have never seen them change belts, gaskets, do lifter adjustments etc on them. Oil change max. Oh and I am not talking about a hole in wall used car dealer. These are official Ford, Toyota, Honda dealers.

I am going a little off topic here but here it goes.
If you trade your car you get less money for it. In many cases a lot less. The only way you will let go off your car for much less than what its worth is...
1- You know there is bunch of things wrong with it and you dont want to fix them or try to sell it. you are happy that the sales man is taking the keys from you.
2- it is a hard car to sell because it is a crappy car to begin with
3- You do not have the time, so you just go and try to negotiate the best deal.

Except the third case the car is junk. On the third case, which is a small possibility the car is what a dealer calls a cherry. Which means it needs nothing and its still a nice car. For example a really clean 2002 Toyota Camry with 50000 miles on, traded in by an older lady who drove it from store to home and it has been serviced in the dealer all of its life. I agree thats a nice car but that is a car which will be very expensive and the dealer knows they can sell it. They wont negotiate much on it and usually sell it to someone with payments, who couldent afford a new car.

Moral of the story, you never get a good deal from a used car dealer. Proof is every dealer i worked for had a more profitable used car department than new car department. Usually about %200.
Ps: More than half of the cars on a dealers lot come from auctions or trades from other dealers. If one dealer can't sell a car for 45-60 days they will trade it to another dealer for their 45-60 day old car. Again meaning its junk.

Watch out for the 5spd popping out of 1st. Shift forks & syncros are weak. 22re's are pretty bullitproof. Other than that, use common sense.

agreed, used car dealers get cars for next to nothing, cars that are sold for next to nothing arent typically in good shape...or they have are rebuilt status...

I dont know man..I'm new here too but I get the impression that the 22re is way more desirable than the 3.0 v6 a lot of us have. Gaskets can be replaced and often need to be with a used car. That's not the end of the world if say the bottom end, crank - rods etc sound good and you don't have excessive tick in the top end. If the body and underside is cherry like you say then I think it deserves another look...and a cold start, so pop in on the guy first thing one morning. Anyway, good luck and go with your instinct.

oh ya the 22re is far more desirable Id much rather have it...and yes you do have a point about the shape of the body, finding 1st/2nd gens without rust is rare I think the real question here is how much is it? I got my 88 v6 t4r for $300 Canadian and i found $60 in change in it when i cleaned up the interior compression is good across the board, clutch is newer, 4x4 works flawlessly, brakes are good, newer rad etc. my truck had very little wrong engine drivetrain wise...so far Ive bondo'ed the rust, rattle canned her satin black, replaced the clutch MC, replaced the seats and most of the interior, replaced the drivers and passenger side window regs., replaced the locks, replaced the tops L-trims, replaced the rear window motor, replaced the corner lamps and taillight lenses, replaced the bumpers and reg. maintenance items like plugs fluids, plug wires etc. all of which is cheaper and easier than engine/drivetrain work, next Im going to replace the water pump drivebelts and timing belt anyways my point is internal engine problems can be more costly, time consuming and frustrating than any of the above repairs i have done. Ive only spent $1000 thus far and have been able to drive it while doing the repairs(untill the pump started going) so keep this in mind when looking...

also if you live in damp rusty areas the hammer test on the frame is always good if the owner is ok with it and if theyre not u may want to look elsewhere...