Craigslist help with 4th gen V8

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Found a 2004 V8 Sport Edition in seattle
For $12.5k. It has 126,000 miles on it.
Originally vehicle was in Wisconsin up to 75,000 miles , then moved to Washington. That’s when the current seller bought it and put the remaining miles on it over the last ten years.
2 years ago timing belt was changed and new brakes, but it has rarely been driven in that time; 4,000 miles on new timing belt and brakes.
The owner is not much of a 4x4 guy. Just drove it for work and liked it for the masculine look.
My concern is that the 4 Lo was not used enough to maintain healthy use, I’m concerned that the 4Lo case is seized due to inactivity.
What are some things I can look for to poke around at the car and inspect the transfer case condition?
I’m trying to avoid buying into a bad car condition.
The seller says he maintained it regularly but there are no records.
Help with purchase decision would be helpful
 
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Make him engage 4 lo on a dirt road and prove it works before you buy it. Not really sure you can visibly tell if anything is wrong without tearing it open, though I'll defer to wiser minds on this topic...

I bought my rig with 134k on it from Nevada, spent it's American Life there. Driver was a total soccer mom as evidenced by the remnants of poor detailing under the seats and such. Guessing it NEVER saw dirt judging by the undercarriage at the time of purchase. So, I tested out the 4wd prior to purchase, and to my delight it worked. Never been a problem. If that's any consolation, they are pretty reliable trucks...btw that price in California is SUPER hot!
 
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You don’t need to be on a dirt road to engage 4LO. You can’t putz around the neighborhood streets no problem.

Just make sure the center diff (button with two axles and an X in between) stays off.

My two cents: $12.5k seems insane for an 04 v8. I payed roughly that much for my 08 v6 3 years ago (still overpaid).
 
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Seems High to me.

This year I have purchased 2 x '07 V8 Limiteds

180K miles $10,500 base limited
94K miles $12,600 loaded limited

Add tax + document costs to both, roughly $2K.

12.5 for an '04 sport seems a bit high, I would expect it to be closer to 8K plus tax if it's clean.
 
Zim mentioned it, RUST as it was in Wisconsin. Take a real good look at the crossmembers as well as the rear axle and link mounts. If it’s been coated or something obvious for rust take a screwdriver and poke around. Sometimes rust seems like it’s on the surface until your screwdriver finds it’s mushy or brittle. Only other concerns are the transfer case which is easy to check by engaging and timing belt/water pump which sounds like it has been replaced.


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Ideally, a shop that knows about Toyotas, particularly that vintage of 4.7L V8's.

You're gonna wanna know about the header cracking problem, the air pump problem.

Was the timing belt done on schedule? Was the "sealed" transmission fluid changed... ever?

Also, not only whether Low Range engages or not but also that the center differential lock engages. There's two different buttons and indicators for them, if they only flash they're not engaging.

The center diff lock should (obviously) work in both Hi and Lo. They're separate and distinct functions. I see plenty of times there's confusion about that:

High Range<->Low Range

and

4WD (Part-Time) <-> 4WD (Full-Time)

are separate systems

Check the CV boots. Make sure the brakes feel solid and don't make any funky noises. Brake SUPER hard to walking speed and then re-accelerate immediately to see if it has the ol' "wups, forgot to put 'er in 1st" problem.

If it clunks when you brake or accelerate, it may have an extension tube in need of grease.

If it has XREAS, and RAS, do they work? Good shape? Is the XREAS leaking? Does the RAS look like it's riding high?

That's all I can think of right now.

The cracked manifold problem may be a deal breaker (but most V8s have, had it, or will have it). That's a $2000 fix... if it's "livable" now, a few winters or one giant puddle is all it needs to devolve into terrible: a good heat-shock and the cracks can get huge very quickly... Then it'll sound like a Ford Triton V8.
 
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Keros said:
Ideally, a shop that knows about Toyotas, particularly that vintage of 4.7L V8's.

You're gonna wanna know about the header cracking problem, the air pump problem.

Was the timing belt done on schedule? Was the "sealed" transmission fluid changed... ever?

Also, not only whether Low Range engages or not but also that the center differential lock engages. There's two different buttons and indicators for them, if they only flash they're not engaging.

The center diff lock should (obviously) work in both Hi and Lo. They're separate and distinct functions. I see plenty of times there's confusion about that:

High Range<->Low Range

and

4WD (Part-Time) <-> 4WD (Full-Time)

are separate systems

Check the CV boots. Make sure the brakes feel solid and don't make any funky noises. Brake SUPER hard to walking speed and then re-accelerate immediately to see if it has the ol' "wups, forgot to put 'er in 1st" problem.

If it clunks when you brake or accelerate, it may have an extension tube in need of grease.

If it has XREAS, and RAS, do they work? Good shape? Is the XREAS leaking? Does the RAS look like it's riding high?

That's all I can think of right now.

The cracked manifold problem may be a deal breaker (but most V8s have, had it, or will have it). That's a $2000 fix... if it's "livable" now, a few winters or one giant puddle is all it needs to devolve into terrible: a good heat-shock and the cracks can get huge very quickly... Then it'll sound like a Ford Triton V8.
Click to expand...

In the case of the OP hopeful buy the air pump problem is mute, no AIP on the 2004 V8.

The rest is all relevant.
 
The prices in PNW esp. Seattle Metro are high due to demand, I ended-up buying a 04 SE V8 with 260K but with a host of things that needed fixing, but I paid waaaaaay less for it.

I found a DIY garage in the area or perhaps I will rent a temporary place to do the suspension (xreas) swap and the TB job over the coming weeks as I do not have a place to work on my truck.

I had a low budget at the moment as my wife is finally starting to drive, so probably will end up with two cars soon (she likes Rav4).`
 
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