Daily driving a 4Runner

I will probably be daily driving a 4Runner forever. I work from home now, so I don't really have to "daily" drive, but I dailied my 99 with 341k on it when I bough it. I lost count of trips to the beach, driving 2-3 hours to get there, driving on the beach in 4x4 for about 10 miles, chilling all day, and driving 2-3 hours back home. I just picked up a 2001 with 200k, so at the rate I have been driving these past 2 years, I'll be retiring before I even hit the 341k that my 99 had. Just keep up with fluids, etc, and pay attention to the way it drives.
 
mine is also a DD. I , however, would like to find an old corolla to be the beater to drive into town for junk. But I really like my T4R and with propper care I know it will last a long time
 
Devbot said:
iirc the 3rd gen T4R is still in top 5 vehicles with least amount of deaths or something. Very safe and sturdy car - I knew someone who rolled his and walked away without a scratch. But that's also by the grace of god
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This guy got his 4runner to do a couple wheelies and a finally leap into the store. The driver seems to be in good shape. Not sure about the employees, looks like they got a good hit.

YouTube
 
My daily is a $500 nearly 275k mile 97 that I've been slowly getting back up to snuff. I've had no real issues now approaching a year of daily driving since resurrecting it.

This is where I disagree with some people though. I have the knowledge, skills, tools, etc to easily maintain a 23 year old vehicle as a daily driver. I also have a relatively short commute so I'm not piling on miles.

If you do not have the ability to maintain and repair the vehicle yourself, I simply cannot recommend it. The things I've done to get this runner up to my standards have been relatively cheap, but if I had to pay shop labor prices and markup on all the parts I've installed it would be an insanely large bill, close to $5000 I'd imagine.

Couple that with the comparitively insane prices you see on the market and the obvious drawbacks that are there for people doing even an average amount of miles in a year and there are 100% much better options for a daily driver.

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Just bought an old echo for a winter daily. Now the corolla can be spare and 4 runner can hibernate nice and dry and salt free. That’s the best rust proofing you can get.
 
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Kanoe said:
Just bought an old echo for a winter daily. Now the corolla can be spare and 4 runner can hibernate nice and dry and salt free. That’s the best rust proofing you can get.
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No offense but isn’t the 4Runner for the winter and not a Echo car?
 
Jay4runner7 said:
No offense but isn’t the 4Runner for the winter and not a Echo car?
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A lot of people would think so but no. A small front wheel drive takes to extreme cold and block heating better, less to warm up and less to break. Much better fuel economy too.

We tend to cold and icy, not a lot of deep snow. A front wheel drive on studded tires is more than adequate. Actually the front wheel drive is more predictable than a rwd in wintry conditions. I’m not one to use 4wd all winter, rarely in fact.

And lastly, my 4 runner is essentially rust free and I hope to keep it that way.

YMMV.
 
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UnderFire said:
My daily is a $500 nearly 275k mile 97 that I've been slowly getting back up to snuff. I've had no real issues now approaching a year of daily driving since resurrecting it.

This is where I disagree with some people though. I have the knowledge, skills, tools, etc to easily maintain a 23 year old vehicle as a daily driver. I also have a relatively short commute so I'm not piling on miles.

If you do not have the ability to maintain and repair the vehicle yourself, I simply cannot recommend it. The things I've done to get this runner up to my standards have been relatively cheap, but if I had to pay shop labor prices and markup on all the parts I've installed it would be an insanely large bill, close to $5000 I'd imagine.

Couple that with the comparitively insane prices you see on the market and the obvious drawbacks that are there for people doing even an average amount of miles in a year and there are 100% much better options for a daily driver.

Sent from my JSN-L23 using Tapatalk
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Although you make some very good points, I don't think the situation for a non-wrencher is as dour as all that. $5000? Well that is reflective of a $500 car right? I've had my wife's 3RZ since 2013, and my 5VZ since 2016. The value of what I've done on both might add up to that much, but that includes a TBU and 4 different sets of tires(used of course). But still some people over spend on repairs, get taken by crooks, or try replacing parts before knowing what the problem really is. So although we have some awesome rigs, they are not without their issues that for some people would be a deal breaker. I've needed rear axle seals for the last year, someone less informed might have spent big money getting that done right away. Oil on my brakes? Oh the calamity. I'll get to it this fall. Still compared to making a $500/mo payment, the maintenance isn't really that bad. And ALL vehicles need maintenance, some just need less. Some need more **cough"bmw"cough**. Haha
 
Kanoe said:
Just bought an old echo for a winter daily. Now the corolla can be spare and 4 runner can hibernate nice and dry and salt free. That’s the best rust proofing you can get.
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I also have an Echo hatchback for a commuter car. It paid for itself in gas savings over DD the 4runner in less than a year!

My 4runner is absolutely NOT rust free, but at least I can slow it down if I'm not driving it every day
 
Am currently daily driving a 98 sr5 with 296 and building an overlander out of a 98 limited.


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My rig has 280,000 miles on it. I put a fresh engine in it 14,000 miles ago. It was my DD until I put 10,000 miles on the new engine.

If you don’t know how to wrench on a vehicle and require a garage to fix your stuff etc these older vehicles are ummm less desirable. I paid 550 for my 97SR5 needing an engine and trans. I fixed the trans and installed a spare engine I had from my wrecked 96. That 240,000 mile engine died on me a year later and I ended up rebuilding the engine I pulled out.

If I had to pay someone to do all that.......

Oh yea, I got a bad axle seal also. I’m going to clean the vent and see if that stops the leak. If not it’s seal time.


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IBallEngineer said:
Although you make some very good points, I don't think the situation for a non-wrencher is as dour as all that. $5000? Well that is reflective of a $500 car right? I've had my wife's 3RZ since 2013, and my 5VZ since 2016. The value of what I've done on both might add up to that much, but that includes a TBU and 4 different sets of tires(used of course). But still some people over spend on repairs, get taken by crooks, or try replacing parts before knowing what the problem really is. So although we have some awesome rigs, they are not without their issues that for some people would be a deal breaker. I've needed rear axle seals for the last year, someone less informed might have spent big money getting that done right away. Oil on my brakes? Oh the calamity. I'll get to it this fall. Still compared to making a $500/mo payment, the maintenance isn't really that bad. And ALL vehicles need maintenance, some just need less. Some need more **cough"bmw"cough**. Haha
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Not necessarily. The only repair I've had to do that I wouldn't consider necessary to daily drive any 20+ year old 4runner or Tacoma is a new headgasket. I didn't include that in my estimate, but my runner also has the 3RZ. Any 3.4 4Runner will need the timing belt done unless you've paid a premium for one that's already been done.

By the time you go through the brakes, suspension, misc interior repairs, radiator, timing belt, water pump, along with other possible things like tires, battery, filters, etc. You are simply hemorrhaging money. Thousands of dollars in repairs and maintenance. That is my whole point as it's probably less than $1000 done yourself.

For the average person who's not going to be doing repairs and maintenance themselves I personally believe that the 4th gen is a much wiser investment at this point. It still carries full factory and aftermarket support for everything. Will be anywhere from a couple years to 13 years newer, has more power, an extremely solid nearly maintenance free drivetrain (215k on my moms 08 FJ without even an oil leak) and is an overall more refined and comfortable vehicle without sacrificing much of anything.

You'll likely pay more upfront, or you could pay the same amount even, I've seen the "low mile" 4Runners at some local dealerships listed for the same 12-13k as the equivalent 4th gens, so it depends where you shop.

Like it or not, the 3rd gen runners and 1st gen Tacomas are quickly becoming hobbyist vehicles more than everyday drivers.

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I bought a 3rd gen last week with 185k miles on it. I'm planning to daily it and get 5 years out of it, hopefully more if I sand as much of the rust off as I can and add some rustproofing to it.

The only thing I wish I had known before is that the ride is really rough, especially when going over bumps. I expected a heavy SUV like the 4Runner to have a more comfortable ride but unfortunately it's not. I plan on replacing the shocks later this year, hopefully that will help.
 
:tea:
Kanoe said:
We save our 4runner for a camping/travelling rig. 4 trips from the Yukon to Mexico or the Mexican border so far.

We DD an old corolla to keep the miles and wear and tear off the runner.

It's only as reliable as you keep it. The 4runner is good.
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awesome
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