Gen 4, V-8/4.7 liter issues?

jrose · 2012-10-02T18:22:03+00:00

Hey, I've owned three generations of 4Runners, an '89, a '95 and a '98. The first one may have been the best vehicle I've ever owned, the 2nd Gen was a real dog, power-wise, though still dependable, and the '98 rivals the '89 in my heart. But I'm beginning to think about a 4th generation. Typically, I buy them used, with less than 100K miles, drive them into the mid-200s, begin to get tired of the color or whatever, and move on. So I'm approaching 230K on my '98 and I'm beginning to have a few problems that I'd rather not mess with, and I can feel the itch for change coming on. 95% of my miles are as a daily driver; however, I use it essentially as a truck, hauling around lumber and tools, and I do have a little cabin in the mountains of east Tennessee that's off-road, and requires 4WD, as well as a couple of creek crossings, and often involves pulling around a utility trailer, so we're not talking about a 20 mile commute to the mall. And then, there's my wife's cabin in northern Michigan which involves several 1500 mile round trips, each year, often pulling a U-haul. So in looking around, it seems there's a disproportionate number of Gen 4 V-8s for sale. Is that because there are more on the road (vs. the 4.0-liter) than I'd expect, or because of the price of a gallon of gas? Or something else? As for the mileage issue, given an average of 16 mpg for the V-8 and 18 mpg for the V-6, it looks like you'd be spending an additional $300-500/year on gas. But if you can buy the vehicle for less, to start with, then it all evens out. Sort of. So have the 4.7-liter engines proven to be reliable or are there known issues? Anything else I'm missing or should be wary of? Any features that I should look for? Or as it sounds like the torque/horsepower differences would be a toss-up for my use, should I just stick with the 4.0-liter engine? Sorry if this has already been gone over a hundred times, but I did do a search, and didn't really find my answer. So if I missed something, please direct me there. Thanks, Jack