90+ day trip around U.S. keep gen 4 or ?

4th gen owner and still have original head gaskets

  • Yes original gaskets

    Votes: 7 70.0%

  • No Gaskets had to be replaced

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Total voters
    10
S

Seasparrow

New member
2004 4WD sport edition 154,000 miles

I had no idea I would like my 4runner as much as I do, I was simply trying to get a great vehicle that would last, but oh no, I love every day of driving it, quiet, smooth, has 5 more horsepower than my 72 Challenger with a 340 I had as a kid. It's interior is great (a few dash cracks), runs great, drives great. 4WD works great. Had a small amount of rust on front cross member that was corrected, other than that great.

So, after a few years of never going anywhere I am in the situation to take a big trip, and I want to see the U.S. northwest. I looked at amtrak etc etc and it hit me, what are you thinking, you have a great vehicle, it just needs a mid life refresh. The fluids are done, diffs and cooling. But in order to have piece of mind on a 15,000 mile trek, and to eliminate some small but growing concerns I would need to do some work.

Head gaskets are original. 2000$ I can not myself wish i could
while there pulleys & w/pump etc 250$
machine heads new valves 600 ???? it is a guess
serpentine, plugs, wires etc 140$
probably time for exhaust converters 500
it's time for shift solenoids 700 + labor
needs headlight lenses 400
brakes and LF wheel bearing ??? right one done 2 yrs ago
Tires 800
heater door servo 70
Stereo 500

Well you see where this is going. I am a nut when it comes to refreshing stuff. A newer 2010, 11 or 12 is around $17,000 and the mileage isn't all that much lower than what I have. I figure I could get 6500 for mine easy. A refresh would be somewhere around 6000. That still leaves a lot of components, brake system, A/C, tranny etc etc to go bad. A lower mileage 2012 4WD is prob 20 grand at least.

So what to do,

1. shut up and drive,
2. do the minimal head stuff, idlers etc.
3. go for the newer gen 5
4. do the mid-life refresh

At what point does a well cared for 4runner begin to need frequent parts.

Thanks for your opinion.
 
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Are you seeing signs of head gasket issues? Because if you're not, I wouldn't go in there just as preventative maintenance.
 
What do you not like about the 5th gen ? How many 4th gen people rack up the miles without the head gaskets going ??

Thanks for the replies folks, it is helpful
 
While my HG's were completely gone, there was starting to be some seepage, and with the thought of keeping the car forever I just decided to have the issue taken care of.
 
Seasparrow said:
What do you not like about the 5th gen ? How many 4th gen people rack up the miles without the head gaskets going ??

Thanks for the replies folks, it is helpful
Click to expand...

Absolutely nothing wrong with the 5th Gen to me. I just wouldn't personally put 15k miles on a new car. Hell mine probably won't hit 15k for 4 - 5 years at the rate I'm going.

Never had a 4th gen so can't help you on the head gaskets.
 
Dillusion said:
Absolutely nothing wrong with the 5th Gen to me. I just wouldn't personally put 15k miles on a new car. Hell mine probably won't hit 15k for 4 - 5 years at the rate I'm going.

Never had a 4th gen so can't help you on the head gaskets.
Click to expand...

you live on a F'ing island :caked: I put 16K on mine in the first year
 
I’d say this purely a personal preference thing.
Some of the stuff you have listed doesn’t seem necessary if you’re not seeing signs of any issues yet.

What would factor into it for me is how much other stuff have you done to your 4Runner? Lift? Any kind of armor (skids, bumper, etc)? I have a few goodies on mine, so I’m more apt to put money into it to fix things and keep driving it.

Of course having a paid off vehicle is a great plus too. If your 4Runner is in overall good condition and just needs some general high mileage maintenance items, I’d go that route (I have gone that route). I’d rather spend $500-$1000 once a year or so to fix some things as they come up than pay $300-$400 for a car payment every single month, but again, that’s a personal preference thing.

A head gasket job is a big one, so it’s not something I’d just do as preventive maintenance. Have a compression test done, that should give you an idea if your head gaskets are good or beginning to go.

Catalytic converters should be fine, I’ve got 202k on mine and still going strong.

I just had my thermostat housing replaced a couple thousand miles ago, parts and labor was $170.

Serpentine belt and spark plugs? I’d definitely do those. That’d be $100ish
Tires, brakes and wheel bearings are normal wear and tear that will need to be replaced as needed.

New headlight assemblies can be found on amazon for $150 or less, your $400 is way high for that I think.

A new stereo is obviously not necessary and doesn’t have anything to do with vehicle reliability, but I do totally get wanting to do that. I’m actually having a new stereo with CarPlay put in tomorrow.

So my personal opinion is to fix the stuff that needs fixing and enjoy it. Not including tires, you could do a big chunk of this stuff and have some peace of mind for under $1k. It should take you on that long trip without issues. I know I’d trust mine to go cross country tomorrow if needed.

I won’t make my long reply even longer by listing everything out, but I’ve logged every tank of gas and every maintenance item I’ve done on my 4Runner since I got it at 101k. I’m at 202k now, if you wanted I could tell you what I’ve had to do to mine in the last 50k to give you an idea.
 
srpuywa said:
you live on a F'ing island :caked: I put 16K on mine in the first year
Click to expand...

Its miles the hard way here if you seen our traffic.

Its not my DD thats why it doesn't get a lot of miles. I put about 12K on my company car a year. And hours and hours in traffic.
 
I'd look back across your last 15k or 30k miles. Did your Runner need much work? 154k isn't much for most of the parts on these trucks, and another 15k of mostly highway miles are pretty easy on it. That said, it MIGHT be a good idea to replace alternator brushes - cheap and easy, and PITA if one fails, because NOBODY nearby will have brushes, just rebuilt alternators.
 
assuming you aren't experiencing any actually issues, I would just run it as is. any maintenance items that pop can be dealt with on the trip. some WILL need to be done on that long of a trip anyway. oil changes, tire rotations, air filter...


pack a bag, grab some snacks and hit the road.
 
Thanks everyone for the help,

So, I am going with tune up stuff & serpentine (surprisingly expensive belt), radio, and take care of a few pita things like the seat rocking & rear view mirror slop, roof rack cover I broke yesterday, tires, alt brushes, water and vacuum hoses, check brakes & bearings, climate & info display lights and definitely will not forget heater servo. A few other things like throttle body clean.

P.S. Is September a good in between month for Northwest, vacationers gone but probably not snowing like heck yet ????

Thanks again, big help from all of you folks.
 
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