Hopefully getting a 1st gen, a few quick questions.

[dystopic]

Hey, I recently found this really nice 4runner. And I had a few questions if you don't mind.

1) What is a fair price for this? asking is a little under 4k, but that seems a little high to me. 3k seems reasonable as it's in pretty good shape. It has about 190k miles.

2) I've been hanging around the last few days, and from what I can tell the head gasket is a recurring issue on these. Is the oil cap the best place to see if there is a problem? Anything else to keep and eye out for mechanically?

3) Should I take to to a mechanic to have it checked out before I buy it?

Thanks.

 

[turboSR5]

Yeah, that is kinda expensive....it must be really nice. Never hurts to ****er on price.

You can tell if a head gasket is leaking by checking for condensation on the oil cap, also pull the dispstick and look for "milkshake" oil. You can also pop the coolant reservoir cap and sniff the reservoir, if it smells like spray paint that is what exhaust gas smells like when exposed to coolant (head gasket).

Another thing to check on is the timing chain, see if they have records showing the work has been done. More than likely it has had one chain already but I bet it is due for yet another. These need to be changed out about every 90k miles.

I don't trust mechanics...if you know of a good one it wouldn't hurt to see what he has to say about it, maybe have them do a compression check and put it up on the lift to check the driveline.

EDIT: This is assuming the engine is a 22RE, I won't comment on the V6.

 

[fourwd1]

There's a lot of factors that can affect worth.

What year?
What engine?
What transmision?

Where are you?

 

[zombie]

If youre looking at spending $4000 the why wouldn't you spend less than a hundred to have a mechanic look it over. A safety really means nothing, just that everything is at least minimum. Call around or ask on here where there is a mechanic that is familiar with the first gens and have him go at it. It may be a great truck or it could be a shiny bondo buggy. I paid less than that a few years ago for a first gen with original paint and no rust. There are good trucks out there. Have them stop the inspection immediatly if they find anything major and let you know, you are paying by the hour. It will give you peace of mind and may give you some barganing options. If the owner won't let you take it then have him take it over and not to his mechanic.
Better to lose $100 now and walk away than spend thousands more in the future on repairs that you don't expect. Remember that nothing is perfect, it is a 30 year old truck after all. It probably will need a few things.
Good luck with it.

 

[DuckieAZ]

I paid less than 3500 for my 86 Sr5 22re with 155k miles, no rust. And it was already lifted, had 15x8s with 33x12.5s, and an ARB front bumper with a Warn winch.

I wouldn't pay over 3k for a 3.0 with almost 200k personally.

 

[fourwd1]

OK, it's the V6 and manual.
Looks pretty clean too. Same color as my 89.

The rest of my questions still stand. They'll all effect price.
$4K is too high no matter what

 

[dystopic]

Alright, Thanks for the advice. I'm definantly going to have it checked out by a mechanic then.

It's an '88 btw.

 

[88T4RE]

$4000 is really steep around here this truck would no doubt sell for around $2500-$3000. This is what I found on Craigslist near me its an 88' 5inches of lift thorley headers 22re 35's no rust mint interior $4000

 

[BlakeFogt]

when i bought mine it had a similar price but was loaded with a marlin crawler tranny and new dif, brakes, suspension, rebuilt engine, stereo, guages, interior. Its basically done, just needs touch up paint.. but dont we all