96 being put out to stud,

[96Grimace]

Hi, 2 weeks ago I bought a 96 4cyl with 357,000 kms, my plan is to drive it to work for the next 22yrs.


After reading the great threads on here, I thought I'd throw some in on what I've done.
After purchase of $3000 took to toyota and they replaced rear seal and all brakes and all fluids, $2000. Did I get soaked? Probably as everyone on here calls it the stealership, but was in my budget and now have a starting point as I have no history on this other than it was filthy.

From threads, mine buzzes when shut off, open the gas cap and it goes away, no part made for that anymore.

I had a good oil leak from the top down, took to a car wash, used magic bubbles bathroom cleaner and cleaned it up, went home took off air intake to clean MAS and throttle body, also replaced the PCV valve, all for ~$30 from Napa.
While air intake off, tightened down the valve cover gasket and all of them were pretty loose. Took pics thru out yesterday but haven't figured out how to post more than one.
Next up will be plugs and wires, let me know what you think I should change or upgrade.

 

[shootmymime]

Sweet man! That's always exciting to have a new project and know your the one taking care of it so it will last a few more years.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

3rz is a rock solid engine. You have one that is barely broken in. Next up I would do a seafoam treatment through the vacuum line and put another treatment in the gas tank to clean injectors and the tank.

Another thing to check is your valves. The 3rz is not a self adjusting valve so that's an easy check. It's a fairly easy fix too that would run you another 500 starting at the stealership.

More pics of the truck? 2wd or 4wd, stick?

To be honest the rear seal on the 3rz is a PITA and very easy to screw up. There are guys who are yota professional mechs and they complain about it. To get a starting point you might have gotten hosed......but you didn't get screwed and there is a difference.

 

[T4R2014]

DD for the next 22 years?

...why?

 

[Range]

DD for the next 22 years?

...why?

+100

In 22 years were all going to be driving hovercrafts

 

[jeremyc74]

In 22 years were all going to be driving hovercrafts

I heard the same thing 22 years ago! :hungry:

 

[UnderFire]

+100

In 22 years were all going to be driving hovercrafts

Except me and the OP who'll still be driving our 3rz 4runners.

 

[T4R2014]

Why not 23 years? Or 24? Might as well go for 25.

 

[96Grimace]

Why not 23 years? Or 24? Might as well go for 25.

I'm retiring in 22,

 

[96Grimace]

It's a 4wd, auto, got lots of pics still figuring this attaching out, underneath is quite rusty, will be wire brushing and painting that too, lots to do, play around with.

 

[01KY4R]

Nice truck! I bet it would look better with a sport hood... I'll just leave this here:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/sale-t4r-items/192570-oem-3rd-gen-steller-blue-sport-hood-cincinnati-oh-$300.html

 

[Mellemel]

I bought a 97 with 352,000km about 18 months ago.Paid $2,500 Cdn.It is a Ltd V6 3.4l mine was in a semi decent shape but was in need of TLC. I changed the timing belt and water pump changed the belt for alternator etc. pcv valve, got NGK wires and Denso plugs which made a BIG difference. I cleaned the dirty MAF and traced an intermittent misfire to the downstream 02 sensor.Runs sweetly now ! One of the Lower Ball joints failed recently so check them too. Did rear springs and shocks,and most recently front calipers and pads. Next to do are the sway bars bushings on the front and rear panhard bushings.
I have almost zero rust on the body but am waiting to have some welding done on the frame . I too would love to keep this T4R running for as long as possible. At least until I retire too, another 15 years !

 

[habanero]

If you want the buzz to go away it's very simple and cheap to do. All you need is to create a dead air space, I used an old mustard tin, you can use any old thing. Search for 'moo' or 'buzz' here or post 2 in my build thread will show where my little how-to is.

 

[96Grimace]

Sweet man! That's always exciting to have a new project and know your the one taking care of it so it will last a few more years.

I took some pics of my shocks/ struts, you feel every bump in this ride, like I'm riding on plywood, maybe an air ride seat is what I need haha, check out the rust (grey hair) on this old girl.

 

[96Grimace]

Another pic

 

[96Grimace]

And another

 

[96Grimace]

And the last one, I'm thinking they are originals? Maybe newer would make the ride more comfortable? This was supposed to be a hobby fixing it up $100 here, $100 there, but I see that it could become an obsession quickly... Love it! My wife still hates it,

 

[01KY4R]

Love it! My wife still hates it,

She might hate it at first (like my wife did) but now mine wants a Highlander to replace her VW after realizing that my 4Runner has 179k miles and still runs like a champ with only normal maintenance. She realized that a newer Durango would have a hard time keeping up with the dependability of a Toyota! You're not wasting your money.

 

[Mellemel]

Sounds like a mixture issue to me.

So could be running lean if it begins after the warm up period when running rich and with gentle pressing of the gas pedal after! My mechanic wasn't convinced that it was the O2 sensor on my 4R especially being the downstream one, he said that has no relevance, but after my own research I was sure it must have, why would it be there ? Pretty sure it was giving false reading to the ECU and screwing up the mixture, the OBD11 reader, ($19 Thanks Amazon) kinda confirmed this too. I picked up a sensor from NAPA BTW.

Are all the hoses snug ? there could be an air gap/leak somewhere, something to check.

Here are the rust areas I have right now. Not too bad for 18 years eh ! There's a couple of winter snow shots too.

 

[96Grimace]

She might hate it at first (like my wife did) but now mine wants a Highlander to replace her VW after realizing that my 4Runner has 179k miles and still runs like a champ with only normal maintenance. She realized that a newer Durango would have a hard time keeping up with the dependability of a Toyota! You're not wasting your money.

My wife has a '15 Armada, $700/month payment, soon she will appreciate the '96 and her $0 payment, everyone says 4Runner will last, I'm new to owning one but each month it runs good I will put a little more into it, at first I didn't want to fill it right full of gas incase it broke down I'd be out a tank of gas haha, but so far so good, will get the new bumpers on and a new rad just showed up($40 Amazon) so once those are on I'll look into plugs wires and then ???? Maybe get valves adjusted at the dealership and order some more parts, lots to do on this project, truck just needs to keep running and all.