How many is too many miles for you

T

taylor.leblanc

New member
I will be getting home from Afghansistan soon and will be buying a thrid gen 4Runner. I am looking at 97-2000 due to cost. Biggest issue is how many miles is too many for those years? I am tracking that I need to get the E locker and make sure the timing chain has been replaced. What else other than the miles
 
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Really no such thing as too many miles. If it's been maintained, miles don't really matter. And if it hasn't low miles don't matter either. Just look for no rust and maintenance records.
 
if I were to buy a used one today 120,000 would be too many miles. not too many to own but too many to buy it at.

I have listed all my truck maintenance in my build thread below, including costs. about 80% of the fix were done after 120,00. I have now crossed the 200,000 mile threshold but it wasnt cheap. I love my truck andam in for the long haul. I believe it is more reliable than all other suv but expect to fix a lot of things between 120-200k.


there are some people who never fix anything even to 200k but that is not as common as the hype.
 
I picked mine up a year ago with 212k on the clock and it has 231k on it now. The only things I've done are the timing belt service, a clutch, rear wheel bearing and seal, cat, and lower ball joints but my truck was pretty neglected by the previous owner. As Tom said, if you can find one that has been well maintained the mileage really won't matter, he has over 190k on his and it doesnt look or sound a day over 100k.
 
Mine went down hill since the 200K mile mark. Maybe its how i treat y 4runner... I would say 150K is a good mileage, but you could have issues with one 4runner, and not with another.
 
Zach,

not trying to stomp on your comment but you bought the truck at 212k.


does it still have the original:

ball joints
radiator / trans bypass
front rotors
rear diff seals L&R
transmission
wheel bearings
steering rack
steering bushings
valve cover gaskets
ect..

I could go on...

OP, it is simple, expect to fix your truck. if you make it to 250k without an engine rebuild that is great. I made it to 199k before my engine needed work. if you disagree fine, no problem but I suggest you start reading back through older posts. I think you will find that a huge percent of people post specifically looking for help fixing their trucks because something broke.

I think 4Runners are the BEST suv on the road but you have to be realistic; I think 120k is a good cutoff.

THERE IS A HUGE EXCEPTION: if you can do all the work yourself or with friends then you wont have to spend as much when things break. Since you are in the service you can probably use the on-base vehicle ilfts to work on your truck.

Good luck!
 
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They'd definitely great trucks. Anywhere in the 80k - 200k range i'd look for reasonable maintenance and body condition. Things such as fluid changes, tb service, and a general lack of rust.
With that said, i recently bought a 99 limited 4X4 auto with elocker and 113k for 5k.
It wasn't neglected but never needed any work, so had limited work or maintenance done.
In the first couple months it needed:
Front brake rotors (warped)
New radiator (leaking)
External trans cooler to be safe
Brake fluid, trans, and diff fluid as i think they were original
TB kit (only had 60k but wanted to get it out of the way)
A couple bulbs
Sway bar links (1 had snapped)
Plugs and wires (just very old).
Wired up a trailer brake controller to tow a 5k race car trailer.
Depending on how it was used and maintained i'd go up to 150k with little concern.
 
brianemc2_42 said:
Zach,

not trying to stomp on your comment but you bought the truck at 212k.


does it still have the original:

ball joints
radiator / trans bypass
front rotors
rear diff seals L&R
transmission
wheel bearings
steering rack
steering bushings
valve cover gaskets
ect..

I could go on...

OP, it is simple, expect to fix your truck. if you make it to 250k without an engine rebuild that is great. I made it to 199k before my engine needed work. if you disagree fine, no problem but I suggest you start reading back through older posts. I think you will find that a huge percent of people post specifically looking for help fixing their trucks because something broke.

I think 4Runners are the BEST suv on the road but you have to be realistic; I think 120k is a good cutoff.

THERE IS AN EXCEPTION: if you can do all the work yourself or with friends then you wont have to spend as much when things break.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I replaced the lower ball joints~$110ish
Manual trans so no need for the rad/external cooler
My front brakes were in perfect working condition but I wanted the Tundra upgrade for my heavier wheels and tires~cost about $200
Replaced the left side rear bearing and seals~parts left over from my Tacoma
Transmission is quiet and smooth, needed a clutch~$200ish
Front wheel bearings have a little play but still quiet
Steering rack appears original with no leaks
I did the Wheelers rack bushing kit~$40
Valve cover gaskets are wet (seeping) but not leaking
Cat went out at about 220k~$200 ebay cat
muffler was starting to rot out but I wanted the Magnaflow anyway $115 installed
The suspension was beat but I knew I was going to lift it anyway so it didnt bother me.~re-used my Tacoma front lift and got used LC coils and cheap shocks, made my pan hard drop and bought the diff drop-~$130
I only did the timing belt service because I swamped it and the belt jumped and had a couple of rocks go through it.~$300

I understand what you're saying but I only paid $2,000 for my truck and with the work I have in it I'm still ahead of the game if I had found a nice one with 150k on it for $6k+.
 
Personally I wouldn't buy any used car over 100,000 miles but thats just me call me crazy but I want to be the one who crosses that mile mark
 
It all depends on how the truck is maintained. Ive never owned a car under 100k. But got my runner with 200k, no issuse with it. However I can do all the work myself, so when it is time for major probs I dnt have to pay labor.
 
Brianemc2 made a good point but why not buy one after 120k when someone did all the maintenance??? It comes down to your price range. I'd rather buy a higher mileage truck that had been maintained, for less money then a lower mileage truck for more money that will need it all... But that's just me.

Congrats and thank you, coming home from Afganistan deserves some recognition. If you're in the Philly area hit me up, you're welcome to come see and drive my 4R, I bought it with 190K on it, I wouldn't call it showroom new but it's clean as can be. Very mechanically sound too.
 
I agree, pretty much all 3rd gens are getting older and they are going to need at least some work if you want to keep it running good for a long time. I don't think the mileage is a huge concern (as long as it isn't like 250K+), but I agree with the <100-150K range is what I would look for. All cars and trucks are going to need some work, but I would say a 150K Toyota is equivalent to about an 80K Fordodgerolet. That's been my experience at least. My engine took a big crap at 205K, but it's rebuilt and running good now. I think mine died a little earlier than average because it has been my mountain truck for 10 years and those miles are a lot harder than freeway and suburb miles. Still, 205K until any major issues isn't really too bad for even a city car.

And yes, thanks for your service. :)
 
I was aiming for 150k miles or less but really the important thing to me was maintenance history and condition of the truck. I've purchased 2 in the last 6 months, one with 145k miles and the other with 160k. The one with 160k miles was in better shape... I have no regrets, just knew that there were some maintenance items that would need addressed (timing belt, lift to replace the 13yr old suspension-that's my justification and I'm sticking to it...and tires were the only relatively big ticket items). Happy so far. GL with your search. Be PATIENT
 
While i generally agree I bought my 4runner with 260000 km on it. seems like it was well maintained cuz it runs like a top. bloody hard on gas though.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the rplies and to SCRunner12 for the link. I dont plan on doing anything to the truck except neglected maintenance for now since it will be my daily driver but who knows what the future holds.
 
I have a 98 with 246,000 miles. This is the history of my car.

First 150,000 miles...

changed oil and filter every 7500 miles...
changed timing belt and water pump at 90,000 miles.

Rest...

Went to mobil 1, changed filter and oil every 10,000 miles
Changed transmission fluid by just draining via plug every 10,000 miles.
Changed water pump and timing belt at 180,000

What has broken?
Atenna
starter
rear axel seal.
lots of brakes.

I drove it hard, and it still runs well....I have towed a lot, a boat weighing 5000 lbs...

Needless to say, it has been very reliable even though I have done little of the standard "tune up" stuff.

Hoep this helps.
 
I had a 97 that I bought with 70k and sold at 240k, knowing it was running as strong as the day I bought it. Just purchased a 99 with 120k with the intention of running it into the ground. Its not a dd as I take the gondola to work, so I imagine it'll take me a decade to throw 100k on top of that, but def something 120k or under was what I was shopping for, would have preferred under 100k. Though it seems everyone wants ridiculous amounts of money for that kind of mileage.
 
I bought my 2002 Limited with 181K. The previous owner was in the military. He had the vehicle serviced like clock work at the Toyota dealership. I went to a Toyota dealership and gave them the Vin Number and they pulled all the service data for the vehicle. Now being in the military myself and being beaten into my head PMCS.

For My satisfaction and peace of mind I did the following:


Toyota4RunnerServices.jpg~original


This vehicle was purchased for my daughters to go to school with so, things were done more for their safety.

The only thing left to replace is the orignal suspension that is still on the vehicle. Will keep it stock.

I think I spend 2500 dollars for everything to date.
 
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