A few questions about a Gen 3 I'm looking at ...

[MrEMan]

Around here (CO), 4runners are as common as weeds and a limited will still command a premium price. You might be better off going with an 01-02 SR5 just because they're more common and likely to be less expensive.

Oddly enough, around here there seems to be a pretty even mix of Limited's and SR5's. But it's hard to find equivalent vehicles in each, so it's hard to tell how much of a premium is being charged for the Limited's. With that being said, I'm sure that there is a premium.

Also consider that Limiteds have the digital HVAC controls which are great when they work and super-expensive when they don't. : SR5's have pretty simple, reliable mechanical HVAC controls.

Good point. Interestingly enough, I think she would prefer the SR5 ... she's not all that interested in leather seats, etc. But she'll also never use the locking rear diff, so that's not really an issue either. We'll see.

And by the way, thanks for your service ...

 

[T4R_Finally]

Oddly enough, around here there seems to be a pretty even mix of Limited's and SR5's. But it's hard to find equivalent vehicles in each, so it's hard to tell how much of a premium is being charged for the Limited's. With that being said, I'm sure that there is a premium.

I wouldn't put pressure on yourself to compare. There may be a premium but it's not like you don't get something for it. It's just a matter of whether or not what you get suits you or not. I didn't even go out looking specifically for one or the other. We just knew we wanted a 3rd gen with 4wd that was one of the light colored paints, that was clean with as low miles as possible, and for it to have had the service it should have at whatever mileage it was at. Or, if the service hadn't been done, the price would have had to be right to make up for what I would have turned around and put into it.

Just look around and consider each vehicle individually as far as value for the price. It's hard to put a price on having been well maintained with the records to prove it. Carfax's are basically only good for telling you if the title is clean and any reported accidents. It won't tell you squat as far as service history goes. I paid about top of my budget for mine when I probably could have found one similar for less, but this one had relatively low miles and everything I would have wanted checked or serviced had been done, except for the radiator. And, as of now, the radiator is fine. But I don't want to wait until it fails to do something about it. It's a $120 insurance policy against the pink milkshake that should give peace of mind for many more years.

I actually didn't realize until after we got it, what the multi-mode was all about. So just got lucky there. But had I known up front, given who will be driving it, I would have definitely made it part of my search criteria.

 

[Nelsonmd]

I don't want a debate. Bottom line, for me, the stock setup works fine and has worked fine for 12 years. I don't have a need for additional tranny cooling. All I want to do is avoid the pink milkshake. So, I'm going with how it was designed and what works. Again, just relating my decision and why.

I'm not debating. I am just presenting the predominant experience of the guys running external coolers in bypass. I am glad the stock setup has worked for you. It hasn't worked for the guys that have had pink milkshakes (which is the OP's reason for wanting the cooler anyway). The way it was originally designed is what led to the milkshake, so I don't get how "going with how it was designed" is supposed to prevent that. And I am not trying to sell you or the OP on the merits of the external cooler, I am just trying to present to the OP the predominant experience I have read both here and on yotatech. I haven't heard of anyone having issues with the tranny overheating because of their external tranny cooler not getting air flow; everyone (that I have seen at least) gets significantly lower ATF temps from the external cooler.

OP, here is a thread from a guy that also didn't have a problem, but is pointing out the design flaw of the stock setup; it's a great information thread. The guy that wrote this thread replaced his radiator to fix it, but lots of vehicles have used dedicated tranny coolers as part of the stock design, and they are a great option. I am not sure if the Koyo's are exactly the same design as the OEM's, so I don't know if they have the same susceptibility.

any body ever crack-opened up OEM rad, if not, here we go! - YotaTech Forums

 

[MrEMan]

I wouldn't put pressure on yourself to compare.

Oh, I'm not really ... just commenting on Martinjmpr's post. At this point I'm simply limiting my search to '99-'00 Limited's and/or any '01-'02. We'll see what turns up ...

 

[MrEMan]

OP, here is a thread from a guy that also didn't have a problem, but is pointing out the design flaw of the stock setup; it's a great information thread. The guy that wrote this thread replaced his radiator to fix it, but lots of vehicles have used dedicated tranny coolers as part of the stock design, and they are a great option. I am not sure if the Koyo's are exactly the same design as the OEM's, so I don't know if they have the same susceptibility.

any body ever crack-opened up OEM rad, if not, here we go! - YotaTech Forums

Thanks! Very interesting read ...

 

[SCRunner12]

Just to clarify, most 01-02's have 16" rims from the factory and all Limiteds have 16's. Just wanted to clear that up. Stock size for a 16" rim is 265/70/16 ~31", but many people bump up to a 265/75/16 ~32" for the added ground clearance. You can't go wrong with a 99-00 Limited, but a 01-02 Limiteds have heated seats if your daughter likes those.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

As far the cooler vs. new radiator vs. cooler and radiator goes, it seems to be a matter of preference as opposed to anything else. My plan is to replace the radiator for safe cooling bypass the cooler for no risk of the milk shake and putting an external cooler on it to do it's thing. I don't necessarily think there's a right or wrong way to do it as long as you do something.

 

[MrEMan]

Just to clarify, most 01-02's have 16" rims from the factory and all Limiteds have 16's. Just wanted to clear that up. Stock size for a 16" rim is 265/70/16 ~31", but many people bump up to a 265/75/16 ~32" for the added ground clearance. You can't go wrong with a 99-00 Limited, but a 01-02 Limiteds have heated seats if your daughter likes those.

Thanks ... in all honesty, I'm probably leaning toward the '99-'00 Limited, but won't pass up a good '01-'02 either. We'll see what comes available ... patience is a virtue. Thankfully, I'm not in a hurry.

As far the cooler vs. new radiator vs. cooler and radiator goes, it seems to be a matter of preference as opposed to anything else. My plan is to replace the radiator for safe cooling bypass the cooler for no risk of the milk shake and putting an external cooler on it to do it's thing. I don't necessarily think there's a right or wrong way to do it as long as you do something.

Yep ... in this case, I'm still leaning toward bypassing the internal with an external tranny cooler regardless of the vehicle. But if I end up with what looks like an older (or original) radiator, I may replace that as well just on principal. But that would probably be a lower priority item as long as the internal cooler is bypassed ...