I just picked up a 97 SR5

[jreask]

I found a 1997 SR5 4WD with a 5 Speed manual transmission and the 3.4L V-6.
It has 90,xxx miles on it. It has a few bumps and bruises, but nothing too major. It seems like the '97 is not as "plush" as the 01 and 02 that I owned before. The truck drives really well, even at 70MPH plus on the interstates.
Looking at the window sticker it has 4.10 gears . I like the power and also like the way you have to "shift" it into 4WD instead of the A.D.D. system on the side of the shifter in the newer 4Runners. The motor seems a little noisier than the newer ones I owned also. I thought it was a good find. I took it to the body shop today the get an estimate on the couple of slight bumps on the body and the estimate was only $490 for all three. Sorry about the pics, I took them from my Iphone in the dark garage. I will post more tomorrow.
Is the 5Speed manual transmission desirable?

Thanks
Joe

 

[brian2sun]

Congrats man, looks like a very nice find. Really low miles for a '97 too! 5 speeds are definitely sought after by a lot of 4runner fans and are much harder to find than autos - especially with the V6.

So no more '01? BTW, you still have ADD like the rest of us (all 3rd gens came with it), you just don't have push-button 4hi now. That's still an improvement though IMO because a button/electrical switch can fail easier than a manual lever.

 

[jreask]

Congrats man, looks like a very nice find. Really low miles for a '97 too! 5 speeds are definitely sought after by a lot of 4runner fans and are much harder to find than autos - especially with the V6.

So no more '01? BTW, you still have ADD like the rest of us (all 3rd gens came with it), you just don't have push-button 4hi now. That's still an improvement though IMO because a button/electrical switch can fail easier than a manual lever.

Thanks Brian2, I didn't know it was still ADD. I agree about the manual lever being less troublesome than the electric/vacuum switching.
I sold the '01 a few days ago. It seems like I sell them for a small profit as soon as I get 'em like I want 'em. I know these run forever but I just couldn't pass up the '97 with 90K miles.