doofenshmirtz
New member
Shout out to the 4th Gen, especially the v8, for being so danged reliable. Yes, there's issues here and there (cough.exhaust manifold tick.cough.), but I put in oil and end up draining the same amount out 6-8months later. Never replaced a single gasket on the engine and she's nearly 185k. Transmission was opened up at 180k to look for an issue, but EVERYTHING was still in full operation.
The only thing that has "broken" on my car that isn't really a normal wear item was my rear diff making a hum and the u-joints going a little loose.
By and large, most of the money I've put into my 4Runner has been for fun and to satisfy my itches to work with my hands.
On the other hand - and what made me appreciate the 4Runner even more - is that I recently purchased a project car. 2004 BMW 330Ci Convertible. I knew full well I was going to NEED to wrench on it, but holy cow. 3 discreet oil leaks right off the bat. New oil pan gasket, oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, rebuild VANOS, replace DISA valve, new sensors almost everywhere, replace upper and lower intake boots, new fuel filter, new FCABs, new lower control arms, new engine mounts, new tie rods and boots, new sway bars fr&rr, heli-coiled stripped threads on the engine block for the oil pan, diagnose stuck convertible top, and LOTS of oil cleanup in the engine bay/block. The internals of the engine look great, but I've done like 3-4 years worth of repairs if it were on a 4Runner timescale. I've easily got 60+ hours in reconditioning the car, and less than 200miles driven. At least I expected to wrench on it...
All in all, though, I would never have been able to undertake a project car if it weren't for having the 4Runner to teach me how to wrench in the first place. Before the 4Runner in April 2016, I'd never even changed my own oil. This past weekend, I was drilling and tapping the block on a BMW, while the oil filter housing and alternator were sitting on a work table.
Thanks, 4Runner. and thanks to t4r.org for massive amounts of help. That's not even remotely a goodbye, I'm still here and still driving the 4Runner. She's never leaving me.
The only thing that has "broken" on my car that isn't really a normal wear item was my rear diff making a hum and the u-joints going a little loose.
By and large, most of the money I've put into my 4Runner has been for fun and to satisfy my itches to work with my hands.
On the other hand - and what made me appreciate the 4Runner even more - is that I recently purchased a project car. 2004 BMW 330Ci Convertible. I knew full well I was going to NEED to wrench on it, but holy cow. 3 discreet oil leaks right off the bat. New oil pan gasket, oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket, rebuild VANOS, replace DISA valve, new sensors almost everywhere, replace upper and lower intake boots, new fuel filter, new FCABs, new lower control arms, new engine mounts, new tie rods and boots, new sway bars fr&rr, heli-coiled stripped threads on the engine block for the oil pan, diagnose stuck convertible top, and LOTS of oil cleanup in the engine bay/block. The internals of the engine look great, but I've done like 3-4 years worth of repairs if it were on a 4Runner timescale. I've easily got 60+ hours in reconditioning the car, and less than 200miles driven. At least I expected to wrench on it...
All in all, though, I would never have been able to undertake a project car if it weren't for having the 4Runner to teach me how to wrench in the first place. Before the 4Runner in April 2016, I'd never even changed my own oil. This past weekend, I was drilling and tapping the block on a BMW, while the oil filter housing and alternator were sitting on a work table.
Thanks, 4Runner. and thanks to t4r.org for massive amounts of help. That's not even remotely a goodbye, I'm still here and still driving the 4Runner. She's never leaving me.
