Buying help 02 Sport w/ Rust and Leak

[Niteghost]

Hey T4R Fam, I went to look at a 3rd gen today and I wanted your opinions on some findings.

The frame is fairly rust free, the gas tank skid is pretty bad and will need to be replaced, it was flaking badly.
The mounts as seen in the photo all look pretty much like that.
The Axle is rusted like that on the driver side only. Looks to be mostly surface rust.

I found this leak on the driver side under the vehicle at the back of the engine, it feel like oil and as you can see it has some blow by on the sway bar and other components as well.

Thoughts on all this and if its a deal breaker. Car is 1 owner with only 115k will all the service records. Tbelt will still need to be done as it has not yet.

T4R Photos - Album on Imgur

 

[Formidable]

Oil leak is prob valve cover. Mine had 127k when I resealed.

Rust on the body mount looks pretty severe. You sure the rust on the rest of the frame is minimal?

 

[Niteghost]

I added two more photos of the frame itself and surrounding areas, The rust on the frame is good just a bit on the welds which from my experience is normal. I might be wrong here though.

 

[Formidable]

Agree. Those shots are unimpressive. The body mounts can probably be refabricated and welded to the frame. Obviously I would use the valve cover issue and the rust to negotiate the price down.

I added two more photos of the frame itself and surrounding areas, The rust on the frame is good just a bit on the welds which from my experience is normal. I might be wrong here though.

 

[Niteghost]

Agree. Those shots are unimpressive. The body mounts can probably be refabricated and welded to the frame. Obviously I would use the valve cover issue and the rust to negotiate the price down.

Absolutely will be. I just wanted to see if the rust was bad enough to where I should walk away from it. My last 3rd gen was pretty damn spotless which was a feat, elderly owned and only had 58k when I bought it years ago. Brother in law needed a car so now he has it. Wish I could get it back, but 2wd

 

[brillo_76]

The body mount on the driver side is the center mount? Is the bottom of that frame open? Maybe its just the photo angle.

The frame condition isnt bad. Weld joint always rust first due to the rapid heating abs cooling of the weld.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[Niteghost]

The body mount on the driver side is the center mount? Is the bottom of that frame open? Maybe its just the photo angle.

The frame condition isnt bad. Weld joint always rust first due to the rapid heating abs cooling of the weld.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

Correct, that is the center mount. Bad angle on the photo sorry, the frame is not open, that looks like a shield or something behind the frame.

Frame looked to be in pretty solid shape overall just a few areas like this that were pretty gnarly.

 

[Formidable]

By the way, I would check the front body mount and where the bumper attaches to the frame. If the center mount is already rusted to that degree... this area may be toast. Pics below.

 

[Niteghost]

By the way, I would check the front body mount and where the bumper attaches to the frame. If the center mount is already rusted to that degree... this area may be toast. Pics below.

Okay, I will definitely check that spot out. Your frame is unbelievably clean! Thats amazing

 

[Formidable]

Nah this is expected for a west coast truck 130k.

Okay, I will definitely check that spot out. Your frame is unbelievably clean! Thats amazing

 

[Devbot]

Cat's obviously been replaced - very interesting.

 

[NJ-4Runner]

That rust is so minimal. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Niteghost]

Cat's obviously been replaced - very interesting.

Haha yeah I thought the same thing, I was like well damn thats shiny.

 

[Niteghost]

That rust is so minimal. Nothing to worry about.

I appreciate that!

 

[mikeferg]

Seems in really good shape by the photos but I cant commit on the rest, is the interior grey? supercharged?

 

[Devbot]

Haha yeah I thought the same thing, I was like well damn thats shiny.

as far as rust goes it's extremely minimal, if you wanna nip it in the bud just hit it with a wire brush and throw a little rust converter on - shit is magical. It's impossible not to get an even coat and the shade of black is perfect.
The leak is most likely a valve cover leak (often neglected by many owner), but if not I wouldn't worry too much if your oil level isn't affected. I did my valve covers a while back and while that greatly stopped the leak I had, I still notice a constant shine on my steering rack with some drops hanging here and there. But it's so minimal it doesn't lower my oil level any, so I couldn't really care.
Another big area to leak with age is the oil pan gasket itself. Some hold up well, some don't

 

[Niteghost]

Seems in really good shape by the photos but I cant commit on the rest, is the interior grey? supercharged?

Interior is grey, sadly not SC. Prior owner added an odd JVC 6 disc changer I traced all the lines and it looks like it should come out pretty easily.

 

[Niteghost]

as far as rust goes it's extremely minimal, if you wanna nip it in the bud just hit it with a wire brush and throw a little rust converter on - shit is magical. It's impossible not to get an even coat and the shade of black is perfect.
The leak is most likely a valve cover leak (often neglected by many owner), but if not I wouldn't worry too much if your oil level isn't affected. I did my valve covers a while back and while that greatly stopped the leak I had, I still notice a constant shine on my steering rack with some drops hanging here and there. But it's so minimal it doesn't lower my oil level any, so I couldn't really care.
Another big area to leak with age is the oil pan gasket itself. Some hold up well, some don't

Thanks Devbot, I agree I thought it was probably the valve cover since that is the typical leak. Im glad everyone here agrees on that so far.

The rust was my wifes biggest worry since in some of those areas it seemed bad but like I said the frame was pretty much spotless just those mounts and that bit on the driver side rear axle.

 

[Niteghost]

Here is another photo I found on my phone I was trying to located, ended up being on my wife's phone. This I believe is the gas tank cover, probably the worst of the rust other than that driver side mount. Could not get a screw driver through it but will definitely need to be replaced with probably an aftermarket gas skid.

 

[Niteghost]

Here is another photo I found on my phone I was trying to located, ended up being on my wife's phone. This I believe is the gas tank cover, probably the worst of the rust other than that driver side mount. Could not get a screw driver through it but will definitely need to be replaced with probably an aftermarket gas skid.

You can see on the left of the tank skid that there is some flaking. My screwdriver did not poke through but some of the flakes fell off.