possibly buying a 3rd gen w misfire
 

There is a somewhat local 98 Sr5 for sale with little no rust (Im in Ohio) and seller claims there is a misfire on 1,3,5. Also no compression on same bank. States seller replaced timing belt and I'm thinking the timing could cause that if not installed properly? States no coolant mixing. Seems a little flaky but its a 98 with ~125k on it. I currently have a 2000 LtD which is rusting to pieces and don't have an issue swapping some parts If need be. Hes asking $3,200 but im not sure what its worth being that its not in running condition so its ALMOST as good as having to replace an engine to me.

Any thoughts? Appears to be 100% stock.

That's the key, pricing in a worst case scenario. If you need to swap and engine, what would that cost as far as $'s and time? If $3200 is worth it to you, go for it. I did an engine swap last year for roughly $1800 but did take me two months.

Yea I guess I just feel bad since I'd have to be extra low around 1,500 to feel comfortable...

Offer him 1500. Him being transparent about the repair is one thing, but also consider the fact the seller let it get to that point.

The fact that it doesnt run is an advantage on your part.

1400-1500 is a fair price for that.

Shoot, its probably cheaper for you to buy a plane ticket to south like houston, check craigslist, but a running one for 3200 then drive it back.

I also would really super check out that frame really good. OH is a Rust belt state like PA. If any holes in the frame it significantly drops the price of the 4 runner.

I know OH doesn't have state inspections, so I am sure there are a pile over there running with half rotted frames underneath them. However, unless you are a big DIY and can rebuild frames like I do. You really don't want to pay someone else to fix it.

My Tetanus 2 doesn't look that rusted up. However, its frame needs completely redone its that rotted. So I would crawl under it and really check it out before spending 3.2K {1.5K } on it. If the chassis is really good on it. Then you may have found a replacement for yours. :-}

I'm guessing this one: 1998 Toyota 4Runner (rust free)(low miles) - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

It's 'concerning' that he bought it with misfires, replaced the t-belt, and it still runs the same way. So he didn't cause the crappy running with a botched t-belt install, something else was pre-existing.

Could be that someone did a headgasket and really did a lousy job. Leaking compression on all 3? Seems like that would be hard to do. Maybe a more likely thing would be to have misaligned the gears between the intake and exhaust cams. On one head you align them dot to dot, on the other you you have to align dot to two dots (IIRC, it's been a bit). Someone doing a quicky shade tree fix might have gotten that wrong, tried to fix it without knowing the issue, this guy bought it and did a TB on it as a hail mary, that didn't work, now looking for a third owner to triple down on the parts cannon.

Might be worth a bit of a gamble. It is just very unlikely that all 3 cylinders on the same side would have a serious bottom end issue (rings, bores, piston).

Even though it has low miles, it's not worth above $2k IMO. Like others said, even though it says rust free, if it lived in Ohio for any period of time, it's gonna have some corrosion on at least the frame welds. I'd like to think you could fix it though, and say you have to stick a grand into it, that would be a very good price for a low mileage 3rd gen. Good luck!

Somebody was playing with the cams and didn’t know what they were doing. I guess they felt as if they might as well replace the timing belt while in there. A remanned head is about $500 give or take.

In present condition, $1500 max.

I was thinking the same thing JohnMc they had to really screw up to have no compression in all 3 cylinders. Piston, rings wouldnt be bad on the entire side. If the head gasket is good. I suspect the valves out of time as well. Thankfully these engines are non interference or it would smashed and did real damage to the piston valves etc.

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