Finally found one Im buying

B

bluecollarjock

New member
Long story short, found a 3rd Gen finally after almost going 4th Gen expensive and newer...picking it up probably wed so will likely be back on the forum reading through stuff and asking you guys lots of questions...it wasnt a steal, but I think its a good deal considering this area, and the owner is a 4runner nut who took great pride in it mechanically.

1998 with rear locker, 5 speed, 4.30 gears, racerunner coilovers in front set for 2" lift, rear heavy duty OME coils with Bilsteins, tundra rims with 265 BFG ATs, brand new fancy stereo system, amp, speakers, and subwoofer (doesnt matter to me but its nice its all new), 150k miles. New brakes, near new clutch, water pump, timing belt, plugs, wires, cap, sensors, etc...paint has the fading in it from SoCa, and there are a few dings oh well...and a dent in tailgate but I dont mind. Leather drivers seat is horrific, Im gonna need a seat cover for it so any suggestions going cheap or spend the cash for those fancy $200 ones maybe for matching front set Im all ears. Also will take pics it looks like it might need new CV boots in front, seemed like there was a little gap on the CV boot where I can see the axle inside....he said you can get new boots but gotta take off azles, or there is a kit where you can do something where you dont have to take off axles and zip tie it or something....and I did a very limited search and it looks like some threads on here and other sites say its cheap enough to just buy new axleshafts at Pep Boys or Autozone for $75 or something and replace them, keep the old shafts for trail spares.

It was a random last minute find, got it as soon as he posted it....looking forward to my new commuter and some mountain trips..and since its older and cheaper than a low mileage 4th gen, I wont be worried about wheeling it and using it for real!
 
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You could re-boot but it's probably easier to just replace the whole thing. Advanced or AutoZone. How bad is the drivers seat? I mean, a cover is only going to give you a little padding. If there is padding missing in it then a new seat might in order. Good job on the find, and welcome to the community!
 
ARKRWLR said:
You could re-boot but it's probably easier to just replace the whole thing. Advanced or AutoZone. How bad is the drivers seat? I mean, a cover is only going to give you a little padding. If there is padding missing in it then a new seat might in order. Good job on the find, and welcome to the community!
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Thanks! Yea Ill check with my Jeep mechanic once I get it, he races a Yota desert truck so will be able to do the boot on that or replace the whole thing. As for the seat I cant remember, but it was kinda bad...Im sure I can deal with it, the thought crossed my mind on a new seat but didnt know how much a hassle finding one would be, and how simple it is to install...as if I can find one easy enough from another model that bolts right in at a price that doesnt gouge me too bad.
 
Well not too bad, Im procrasinating homework and did a quick CL search for seats..there is a set of cloth seats from a 2000 4runner, they say like new condition, front and rear seats from sport edition, for $800 and they would install. Im not sure I wanna pay that much but nice to know maybe there is the chance of scoring a used seat or a set of used seats to bolt in there. I wouldnt mind cloth, Im not a huge leather fan to begin with. So maybe this might work out. Maybe Ill do a quick search for a carpet kit, if it isnt too bad carpet and seats and make it "new" for me to enjoy a little more :-)
 
Yup thats it! Guess Im glad I told him I was sure, looks like it was up to a grand more than Im paying him for it! He was a super cool guy, owns 4 3rd Gen 4runners! Totally honest, knew what he was talking about, and other than blemishes on exterior and interior issues, mechanically it looked and drove amazing!

yes such a relief, such a huge relief....I dont have time to car shop now with 4 new grad classes starting, an 80 mile round trip commute, and being a grandpa on campus trying to figure out college stuff when my last time in a classroom was grad school 12 years ago, we didnt even have email...so I got enough going on trying to adjust without worrying about car shopping or the temptation to get a $30k loan on something new...this is gonna be perfect commuter, and a good trail truck I dont have to worry about scratching!
 
You can probably fix the cracked leather seat for < $200 by doing a direct leather replacement purchased from EBAY.

This T4R thread goes over it well.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/82717-cracked-leather-options.html


SNIPPET:

93toy said:
First pic shows passenger seat done, drivers seat original. You can't really see how cracked the bolsters are, but they were shot as well as the entire base of the drivers seat. Old leather was also discolored and almost had a shiny look to it.

DSC03445.jpg~original


Second pic shows them both completed. Note how the passenger seat leather smoothed out (specifically on the seat back) after a bake in the sun. Also, the headrests are original, so that gives you an idea of color/grain match.

DSC03450.jpg~original


And reinstalled. Note the color match to the original rear seat and original door panels.

DSC03453.jpg~original


DSC03454.jpg~original


Initial impressions: Took me about 7 hours to do it in my basement. It's not rocket science, but some of those hog rings were really hard to reach with my big hands!

Bruce Lee's (made the covers) work is VERY impressive. I'll be anxious to see how they wear, but I must say the workmanship is top notch! This is the closest thing you'll find to rewinding the calendar to the year 2000!

Already gave them a good coat of Lexol conditioner, I'll keep you guys updated.
Click to expand...
 
Not bad! Looks nice....Im half tempted to just go cloth and replace all of the seats with a set someone is selling on Craigslist they said is like new...the took them out to put in leather and seats have just been sitting in their garage...heck if I got a new set of all 3 seats and a carpet kit Id be "like new" inside.....seats are light tan, which would match the interior, but Im all about darker colors, especially charcoal grey/nearly black...if I could score a set of darker seats and get darker carpet kit Id be all over it! So what if the headliner is a different color :-)
 
bluecollarjock said:
Not bad! Looks nice....Im half tempted to just go cloth and replace all of the seats with a set someone is selling on Craigslist they said is like new...the took them out to put in leather and seats have just been sitting in their garage...heck if I got a new set of all 3 seats and a carpet kit Id be "like new" inside.....seats are light tan, which would match the interior, but Im all about darker colors, especially charcoal grey/nearly black...if I could score a set of darker seats and get darker carpet kit Id be all over it! So what if the headliner is a different color :-)
Click to expand...

The cloth seats IMO suck compared to the manual adjust leather. As a temporary measure, you can swap the seat bottoms between driver & passenger. They are identical (at least in a '97). If yours is torn up on the outboard seat bottom bolster, it's the sheet metal height adjust bracket doing the damage. I swapped seat bottoms and covered the edge of the metal with a few layers of gorilla tape to protect the new (passengers) seat...
A few months later, SWMBO requested cloth seats thinking they'd be better in summer. So we found a pair on craigslist and swapped them in (the reason I know the difference in comfort). We had them in the 'runner for about a month, then decided the leather was better (lumbar primarily). When swapping the leather back in, we put a cloth seat bottom on the pass. side with intentions of having some local upholstery shop repair the old spent drivers...still on my to do list...
 
Good info to know...maybe I should repair these as you are all suggesting, or look for used leathers at some point.....are the seats interchangeable from all models up to 2002? If so maybe I can find a nice wrecked newer model or low mileage model...

Carpet kits look pretty cheap....thinking if I fix the seat situation somehow and throw in a carpet kit Im good to go and loving this thing...well that and fixing the CV boots....already lifted with better tires and rims, has a locker, has 4 KC lights up front, Im good to go and can just commute and wheel it without needing to put cash into it. So excited, my first Yota!
 
Here are pics from the ebay ad:

Toyota : 4Runner | eBay

It needs seats bad. Guy in my area has a set of seats that match my interior, cloth, for $800....and I offered $400 he said no way....dang....yea the leather seats are shot and some big chunks missing from drivers side, and passenger is really cracked bad and gonna go the same way....if I could bolt in those cloth seats, and get a detail job, it would be perfect! But $800 is out of my price range for a rig I paid $6500...

I love it, hope it lasts a long time..cant wait to commute in it tomorrow! Save me some gas!

it sits really nice with the 2" lift (racerunner coilovers and OME rear springs plus Bilsteins), and 17" Tundra rims with what I think is equivalent to 32" tires (maybe 265/70s-17 I looked but forgot). Rides nice, brand new brakes all around, clutch has 20k miles on it feels great.

It needs CV boots up front or the axleshafts which Ill try to deal with next week, oil change, tranny flush for insurance measures (how often do you fluish a stick shift tranny?!), check front diff and tcase. Everything else he had paperwork on and confirmed through Toyota site service records.

Seats and carpet would be for pleasure and comfort,I can survive without but I do like nice clean interiors. Maybe for now if I could score those seats for cheaper, and get a good detail job, it would be good to go. Then simple stuff like the shifter knob leather is pealing off and turns your hand black, Im sure I could score a shift knob cheap and easy down the road. Other than that Im very very excited....lift, locker, bigger tires, 4 KC lights up front and 2 KC fog lights in stock fog location, heck Im hillbilly happy commuter in LA now :-) Now the question is, do I put a NRA sticker and Dont Tread On Me sticker on the rear window?? hahah

Anyone in SoCal with 4runner knowledge and who maybe does light weekend trips let me know. ID love to get my girl and her kids out on some easy trail rides for scenic stuff. If you wanna get crazy Ill take the Rubicon and go by myself.
 
Oh as for the cloth vs leather...the owner of this is a 4runner fanatic...he had 4 of them now 3...he said the cloth "sport" seats are comfy and different than another type of cloth seats? So he said the seats I found would be really nice, but that $800 was insane even with installation....thats how the guy is advertising it, $800 and free install haha...
 
bluecollarjock said:
Oh as for the cloth vs leather...the owner of this is a 4runner fanatic...he had 4 of them now 3...he said the cloth "sport" seats are comfy and different than another type of cloth seats? So he said the seats I found would be really nice, but that $800 was insane even with installation....thats how the guy is advertising it, $800 and free install haha...
Click to expand...

That guy has been posting that set for over 2 months now, you can low ball him and see if he'll bite, maybe ask this dealership how low they'll go on the driver seat.

1999 toyota 4runner for parts parting out no engine ******************
 
thanks sp...i emailed the guy and asked, will call this weekend..

Yea i thought it looked like the guy had multiple posts in OC and LA CL, as if he keeps reposting before the last ad expires, and if it has been 2 months at that price and he will only drop it to $650 jeeze.....do you think $650 is a "deal"? I dont know if its for any types of seats, but today my usual 4Wheel Parts flyer came for weekly specials, and it says stock seats new $229 for fronts....Im sure thats the general low price, but hell if I could get new front buckets close to factory for that price wonder why this dude is being so stiff on his pricing...Id love to get the new seats in Friday if he would drop the price, then saturday get a nice detail job done...

Im only going to get to commute in it for now, but excited whenever it is I do get to hit the trails....I love my Rubicon with the lockers, so Im excited to see how nice this does on the trails with a locker!
 
Got him down a little.....getting them installed tomorrow :-) Thats one issue down....a good detail job is in order.....and trying to get my 4x4 mechanic for Sat or Mon to do the CV boots, oil change, tranny flush, front diff and tcase fluid change, and adjust rear brakes...all new brakes all the way around, but they were smelling bad this morning in back and previous owner says they need backed off/adjusted a little bit...
 
bluecollarjock said:
Oh as for the cloth vs leather...the owner of this is a 4runner fanatic...he had 4 of them now 3...he said the cloth "sport" seats are comfy and different than another type of cloth seats? So he said the seats I found would be really nice, but that $800 was insane even with installation....thats how the guy is advertising it, $800 and free install haha...
Click to expand...

He is correct the "Sport Cloth" seats IMO are WAY better than any Leather, no comparison.
Stay cooler in summer, warmer in winter, you don't slide all over the place when off road and will last twice as long.
 
$650 for cloth seats?!?
:jaw drop:
I paid $140 for a pair of regular cloth in great shape off Craigslist to use temporarily while I get the drivers leather bottom fixed.....which I still have to do.
 
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