3rd Gen T4R Longevity is UNREAL!!!!

My rig is owned by me for about a year and a half, and I got it at like 195k miles (it was the first good condition v6 M/T I came across so I snagged it!), but I have had to have the rack and pinion replaced - with lower control arms at the same time - but one of the lower control arms crapped out of me within a month or two after that so I finally got OEM, learned my lesson.

Been skeptical to really put a ton into it, even though I know they run forever, just a skeptic I guess. This has been an encouraging thread and now my rig is gonna get some extra loving!

Fun to hear everyones stories! Jealous of the low-mileage find for sure.
 
205,000 on my 1999. We've owned it since it was a year old. Just rebuilt the front end and installed new front struts and rear shocks. Haven't done the timing belt or water pump yet.
 
i bought my 3rd gen in 2009 with 100k on it. it was a one owner dealer maintained prior to my purchase. i now have 200k on it and other than normal maintenance and random upgrades of my own, the only parts ive had to replace was a Alternator and a throttle position sensor and those were roughly 5 years ago. by far the best vehicle i have ever owned and im a sprts car nut thats had Supras prior.
 
I had 265M on mine when someone piled in the back of it. Insurance gave my $5 grand.


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3rd Gen

Me and my wife moved to our current house a little over a year ago. I noticed a 3rd gen 4runner in a back yard of a house a couple miles down the street. I finally saw a guy out in the yard a couple months bk and i stopped and talked to him. He hit a dear over a year ago and the fuel pump is out he thinks. I asked if he would sell it and said he wanted $900. I told him i would get bk to him. I didnt have $900 to spoend. I have a one year old and money is tight. So i offered the guy $400 the other day. He declined and said $750. Me and my wife agreed no higher than $650. I text him the next day and he said it had been sold. I was heartbroken. About a week later my wife woke me up and asked if i would help get some stuff out of the Highlander. So i got up and walked out side and behold there sat THE 98 4RUNNER in my driveway! She paid $650 for it. Besides the front end it is mint! 186k on it. Jut wanted to share. I finally got a 4Runner!!
 
I bought my 2000 5 speed 4x4 in January. Needed rear axle seals and bearings, valve cover gaskets, output shaft seal, brakes and a change of fluids. No regrets. It runs perfectly and with all the maintenance, it was still cheaper than buying new since I did most the work myself. I plan on changing the swaybar bushings, UBJ, LBJ and suspension when time permits. Such a fun rig.
 
bo4osu said:
Me and my wife moved to our current house a little over a year ago. I noticed a 3rd gen 4runner in a back yard of a house a couple miles down the street. I finally saw a guy out in the yard a couple months bk and i stopped and talked to him. He hit a dear over a year ago and the fuel pump is out he thinks. I asked if he would sell it and said he wanted $900. I told him i would get bk to him. I didnt have $900 to spoend. I have a one year old and money is tight. So i offered the guy $400 the other day. He declined and said $750. Me and my wife agreed no higher than $650. I text him the next day and he said it had been sold. I was heartbroken. About a week later my wife woke me up and asked if i would help get some stuff out of the Highlander. So i got up and walked out side and behold there sat THE 98 4RUNNER in my driveway! She paid $650 for it. Besides the front end it is mint! 186k on it. Jut wanted to share. I finally got a 4Runner!!
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I hope you realize how fortunate you are to have such a wife! Congrats on the 4runner, sounds like a good deal.
 
I've owned mine for about a year. Has 221k mi on the clock. '99 4wd SR5.

Runs great. First thing I did was the Tundra break upgrade, then mounted an external tranny cooler (autoMagic tranny) to prevent the dreaded strawberry milkshake.

Gotta do some frame resto -> being in Ohio has obviously been rough on the frame. Got a small patch of the lower frame rail the exact size of the block of wood I used to jack it up doing an oil change. But, I also lucked out in that I was able to pick up a low miles '96 with a rotted frame for $800. SR5 w/ locking rear diff, manual trans and a strong motor.

I know people who's ODO's went out at 200k miles, 4 years ago, and they still routinely put 10k miles on it a year and have had 0 issues.

Truly bullet-proof, unless you don't wash the frame off and protect it from the elements.
 
ironman27 said:
My rig is owned by me for about a year and a half, and I got it at like 195k miles (it was the first good condition v6 M/T I came across so I snagged it!), but I have had to have the rack and pinion replaced - with lower control arms at the same time - but one of the lower control arms crapped out of me within a month or two after that so I finally got OEM, learned my lesson.

Been skeptical to really put a ton into it, even though I know they run forever, just a skeptic I guess. This has been an encouraging thread and now my rig is gonna get some extra loving!

Fun to hear everyones stories! Jealous of the low-mileage find for sure.
Click to expand...

Never ever put aftermarket lower control arms on these trucks. Plenty of info here to read before doing it wrong. (buy once cry once) Either OEM LCA's or replace the bushings with something high quality like prothane, oem, whiteline, energy etc. NO MOOG anything.
 
The gospel truth here!!!!

Scramble said:
Never ever put aftermarket lower control arms on these trucks..
Click to expand...

I was in a bind could get Dorman LCA's with bushings within the hour days for OEM. 2k mi Dorman bushings were chit truck pulling to the right wondering all over. Rebuilt OE arms with OE bushings good to go for 1,000,000 mi.

Where you been Scramble ?
 
My 2002 is still in the family, dad 1st owner to 125k(he thought it was showing too much age HA!), then passed it onto me and still going strong at 265k. I've had to do a lot of preventive maintenance due to the rust belt life (Western, MD). Still original Engine and tranny. Front, tran case replaced at 150K, I sent it hard and blew them all u at once :). last month had to replace the rear ring and pinion(tore 2 teeth off). Other than that major work its been the standard, ball joints, control arms, timing belts etc. Within the next year plan on doing a total grind down of frame and under body, repaint etc.

I never plan on getting rid of it since its been in the family and its the sentimental value. At least the wife is giving me the green light to get a 4runner TRD Pro to add to the collection.
 
jeredcollins said:
Guess I bought a lemon or something... here is the list of items I've had to repair/replace under 125,000 miles. Originally purchased my 2000 4Runner with 98,000 miles two years ago.

Transmission (whole transmission breaks going 45mph one day)
CV axles (popping constantly)
inner and outer tie rods (can't keep the 4runner in alignment)
lower control arm bushings (popping and alignment issues)
radiator (driving on interstate and it just starts pouring out the bottom)
rack and pinion bushings (steering very loose)

Now my brakes are shuddering very bad when I brake hard. Guess I'll have to replace those next including the wheel bearings. Also my exhaust has a leak now. Eventually, the whole 4Runner will be new parts at this rate. I regret ever buying this POS.
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Are you sure the parts replaced are OEM? I bet no. Some treat toyotas as other cars and replace a 99% healthy alternator (due to miles) with an aftermarket crap and yes, after that it is unreliable. The mileage in your truck does not correspond to the age as well, perhaps someone swapped the odo meter. Also, your truck was in a front end collision. My friend in Sacramento bought an 01 4runner with a clear title and it had a brand new radiator support! and had similar front end issues you have ever since he bought it. There is NO WAY a 98K mile 4runner gets a bad transmission, no way trust me.

My experience with toyota trucks and cars dates back to 1995 and it is always a pleasant experience. I recently drove my 92 corolla with 273K miles on a 560 mile drive (8 hours one way) at RPM's in 3500 and back. It burnt around 1/4 of a quart each way and that is the only thing I can say something bad about this 27 year old car!
 
I have a 2001 SR5 Sport 4WD. What ever they changed in the Auto Transmission int that year and the 2002, was not good. The overdrive clutch pack just “goes out” whenever it wants to. Mine did and its been a 3 geared truck since then. Can’t use an earlier trans because of the electronics,etc...

Will cost over 2 grand to fix at any shop. If you buy a transplant tranny it has to be from one of those years. Do a search and there are plenty of people in my situation. I love the truck, but Toyota should of had a recall for this issue..

Rick
 
On my 4th 'runner now (92, 98, 02) and picked up a '99 automatic with 263k for $2500. It's an SR5 with the J hook 4x4, but it's the blue color that is so hard to find. I looked at a blue Sport Edition, but it was scratched up pretty bad and already starting to rust. They wanted $4500 for it, so I decided on more mileage for $2k less. Up next are 5100 Bilstein's, 7 wraps, 17's with 31/33's and some interior mods for the trails. Kentucky trail rides and camping in the near future!
 
Scramble said:
Never ever put aftermarket lower control arms on these trucks. Plenty of info here to read before doing it wrong. (buy once cry once) Either OEM LCA's or replace the bushings with something high quality like prothane, oem, whiteline, energy etc. NO MOOG anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah i wish i had found my way around this forum a bit better earlier on, but better late than never i guess! The guy working on it said that they had had some OEM ones bust earlier than normal on these things and wasnt sure if it was just a bad batch or what so he suggested giving the aftermarkets a try. Ill definitely be searching this forum more before making those sorts of decisions.

Thanks for the tip, I may look at putting a different bushing in the LCA that is still aftermarket. Any tips on good ones on a budget and where to find them?
 
I just bought a 99 4unner at 145k Miles, planning to get into this scene wish me luck :D

Btw, do you guys know what exact part that rubber piece that ripped off would be and where i would be be able to purchase it?
 

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