Hi All,
15 posts to start a new one? I understand the point, but now I have to think of 14 more things to post that aren't stupid and/or annoying before I can ask for opinions on a 4Runner I just looked at.
My wife and I have been halfheartedly looking for a truck for a while. It's not an immediate need, but we'd like to have one. A 3rd gen 4Runner seems to make the most sense. It looks to be plenty capable off road, super reliable, and less expensive than other capable, reliable possibilities.
I found a 2000 Highlander with a manual gearbox (yes, I'm one of those people) near enough to me to easily check out. The next nearest 3rd gen stick I've seen is something like 500 miles away. I'll go ahead and post my questions/comments here while my memory is still fresh and ask again later when I can.
The good:
The body and frame are in really good shape. The car lived its life in MD and VA and doesn't appear to have seen much salt at all. There's some surface rust on the frame, but I didn't see anything on the body.
The interior is passable.
It has 163k miles, which doesn't really seem to be much for a 3.4L 4Runner.
There was no sign of axle seal issues. I checked both before and after driving it.
The bad:
It sounds like it has a bad throwout bearing. When you let out the clutch pedal, it gets quiet. When you depress the clutch pedal it gets very grumbly. It's not a squeal, but more of a lower pitch rumble. Also, the clutch pedal engages just off the floor. (Just checked and see it's a hydraulic system and the slave is external to the gearbox!)
There are no service records, except the Carfax, which says basically nothing, except that:
The transmission was replaced last fall. That, with the above issue, worries me. Would anyone replace a gearbox without also doing the clutch? Is my diagnosis off and I'm hearing gearbox noise or something else?
It sounds like it's supercharged. It's not. That sound is related to engine speed. Do these things have
massive amounts of intake noise?
The brake pedal goes nearly to the floor before engaging (but, no death wobble).
There is a bit of seepage from the valve covers.
There's also a bit of seepage along the lower 1/3 or so of the rear diff.
No locker.
The weird:
I think it may have been owned by a volunteer firefighter at some point. ??? There are three wired electrical gadgets on the inside of each A pillar. They look like lights, but seem to have a lot of electronics under their clear covers for just being lights. I didn't flip the aftermarket switch on the dash to see what happened.
***
I've had a couple of old cars - two classic Minis and an early Bronco - and a bunch of regular cheapo cars. I'm not too worried about having to do the timing belt, brakes, suspension bits, regular maintenance, etc. I'm old enough now that I could afford to pay someone else to do something bigger like a clutch, if I didn't feel like dealing with it. But, I don't do welding or bodywork, which makes this one quite a bit more attractive.
The asking price is $8400. I mentioned the clutch issue to the dealer. He's going to have his mechanic check it out. If it needs a clutch, they'll do it and the price will be $8400
firm. (I assume I'll be able to tell if they try to scam me on the clutch. I can't think of any way of "fixing" a throwout bearing without actually fixing it. Unless it's something else...)
Anyway, I really liked the vehicle overall. $8400 seems fair to me, so long as there's nothing major wrong with it. The 4Runner looks like it would be near perfect for my needs, so if not this one, I'll probably wind up with another at some point.
Dean
Linear Mode
