auto vs stick?

[greatskiiiier]

ok, looked at the 2000 4runner and think its the one

its everything i want exp for rear locker, 00' 4runner sr5, 141k miles, black with leather interior, stick, didnt shift as perfect as the 97 but still one of the smoothest 5spds ive driven, going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow

my only concerns are that:
- sunroof seems to be frozen up
- the keyless entry worked but he said it never has before lol
- rear bumper was rusty but he had a brand new one too
- he bought it with 70k miles and said he hasnt changed the timing belt or clutch:wow:
- there was a little vibration in the shifter at times like most cars but the 97 didnt have that so im not sure
- there was a small noise that seemed to come from the passenger floor board or tranny (heat shield hopefully?)
- he said it needs a new up n maybe an 02 sensor but there was no CEL
- when i hit the throttle it seemed to hesitate for a split second then rev up
- lastly he had the truck warm when i got there (i like to walk up to a cold truck personally) so when i asked him about that he said its been off the road for a month or so and not started regularly so when he warmed it up it seemed like the battery was dying but it did start

out of all that, as long as the tranny noise is in fact just the heat shield, and there is no codes after i scan the ecu, itll be my truck but the end of the week

he was asking 5000, lowest hell go is 4000 cash (kbb excellete- 7500, poor- 6000, trade in excellent- 5800, poor- 4500)

 

[WrexHAmm]

I'd go for the 98. I would rather have a babied engine with less options than the beat to sh*t one with more. If you get the mod bug then the options won't really matter. You'd be suprised what you can add to your T4R to make it yours . The low miles would also win me over. I know these things will run forever but this way you can be the one responsible for making it run forever.

My 2cents.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

I agree, the 98 is more but you get what you pay for.

 

[JohnsD90]

For you i say get the 98 but try to get it for under $6500.

 

[Jon]

Are you sure it's white smoke or just steam from the cold? If it's 2qts low then have the mechanic top it off and make sure it doesn't make the smoking worse.

 

[Hepar]

I say go '98 too. You can just hear the doubts about the '97 in your writing.

 

[brian2sun]

For you i say get the 98 but try to get it for under $6500.

WTF? John, what's happened to you? Did you actually suggest an automatic to this man? The world has turned upside down, lol.

 

[JohnsD90]

WTF? John, what's happened to you? Did you actually suggest an automatic to this man? The world has turned upside down, lol.

Seeing as i own the the problemed 5 speed all i can say is that sometimes its nice getting into a vehicle and being able to go somewhere without strange noises or little quirks the vehicle has, although those little quirks are what gives you the relationship with the vehicle, i think that that 97 he has listed has a bit too many issues for my liking especially for the price. Personally i wouldnt buy the 98 as i refuse to buy an automatic vehicle, but if it was me i would buy a 5 speed just not that particular 5 speed. But it seems the OP is ok with owning an auto so my suggestion is that he found the vehicle he was looking for.

 

[greatskiiiier]

Seeing as i own the the problemed 5 speed all i can say is that sometimes its nice getting into a vehicle and being able to go somewhere without strange noises or little quirks the vehicle has, although those little quirks are what gives you the relationship with the vehicle, i think that that 97 he has listed has a bit too many issues for my liking especially for the price. Personally i wouldnt buy the 98 as i refuse to buy an automatic vehicle, but if it was me i would buy a 5 speed just not that particular 5 speed. But it seems the OP is ok with owning an auto so my suggestion is that he found the vehicle he was looking for.

lol, i REALLY rather have a 5 speed but i wouldnt mind an auto in my truck if its the best thing,

i found another 2000 4runner that i remember i was going to look at but it has 141K miles and the guy said to his knowledge its the original clutch, when i first heard this, it turned me off the truck but after driving the 97 i think i fell in love with the stick (ive owned both a w56 and r151f in my older yota pickups and this was is 100x smoother than those and about 2x as smooth at the t56 in my camaro)... hes asking 5000

as for the "problemed 5 speed" comment, i thought these had the r150f tranny which is suppose to be built proof? if the stick isnt good then id obviously prefer and auto

 

[YotaZach85]

I would try to get the 97 as close to $4k as possible but like Jon said, top it off with oil and see if it smokes more. Does the engine make any strange noises? You already said the trans is smooth so you're ahead of the game there. Don't let a little abuse scare you away. I got my 98 with 212k miles on it for $2000, leaking oil, broken finger on the pressure plate, 1 rear shock broken off, just falling apart. I knew I was going to lift it so the suspension didnt matter, the oil leak turned out to be a double gasketed oil filter, did the timing belt, and threw a clutch in it and it was good to go. I just got back from my third 800 mile road trip with out any trouble out of it.

 

[J-money$$$]

problemed 5 spd? thats strange... I have 235k on my trans and its fine. Maybe its the driver........ lol

 

[JohnsD90]

lol, i REALLY rather have a 5 speed but i wouldnt mind an auto in my truck if its the best thing,

i found another 2000 4runner that i remember i was going to look at but it has 141K miles and the guy said to his knowledge its the original clutch, when i first heard this, it turned me off the truck but after driving the 97 i think i fell in love with the stick (ive owned both a w56 and r151f in my older yota pickups and this was is 100x smoother than those and about 2x as smooth at the t56 in my camaro)... hes asking 5000

as for the "problemed 5 speed" comment, i thought these had the r150f tranny which is suppose to be built proof? if the stick isnt good then id obviously prefer and auto

I meant my truck in general, i bought it off auction for $1850, had its own can of worms, engine and tranny are/were solid, the suspension needed to be completley replaced, clutch needs to be replaced, rear diff needed to be replaced, rear bumper was rusted out, rims were pretty beat up, i still have random squeaks and noises, but the truck does what its supposed to do, and looks pretty good doing in so no huge complaints here.

 

[SoCal]

Do either of them have an e-locker? I think that would be a selling point worth mentioning. I have the 5 speed and enjoy it but I can see situations where an automatic would be nice (traffic and at times off road). You do sound hesitant about the condition of the 5 speed you mentioned though.

Keep us posted either way.

 

[JohnsD90]

FYI my truck runs great with no tranny issues or engine issues.

 

[Gerdo]

Mine is a manual and I really like wheeling a manual. The more difficult trails/obstacles I wish I had a second reduction box (crawl box, 2nd transfer). There is a lot of slipping the clutch and keeping the RPMs up enough to keep power. (I need to save my pennies to buy a crawl box)

With Automatics you can let the auto slip and crawl up things.

 

[Nelsonmd]

lol, i REALLY rather have a 5 speed but i wouldnt mind an auto in my truck if its the best thing,

i found another 2000 4runner that i remember i was going to look at but it has 141K miles and the guy said to his knowledge its the original clutch, when i first heard this, it turned me off the truck but after driving the 97 i think i fell in love with the stick (ive owned both a w56 and r151f in my older yota pickups and this was is 100x smoother than those and about 2x as smooth at the t56 in my camaro)... hes asking 5000

as for the "problemed 5 speed" comment, i thought these had the r150f tranny which is suppose to be built proof? if the stick isnt good then id obviously prefer and auto

Well dude, then go for the 2000. There are a alot of little additions in the 2000 that I love.

 

[greatskiiiier]

Well dude, then go for the 2000. There are a alot of little additions in the 2000 that I love.

ya im ganna see how it turns out, a 99 limited just popped up too so ill check that out if i have time

also, if any of these had the rear elocker that would be the selling point, but they dont do im SOL, lol thats another advantage of a 99-00 limited is that adding an aussie to the rear with the awd option wont hurt snow performance,

i think im ganna pass on the 97 due to price and lack of mantaince, and the 98 due to price and besides being maintained it has nothing going for it in my book (locker, leather, 99+, awd, auto)

FINGERS CROSSED

 

[greatskiiiier]

updated the first post!