Just bought a 2002 T4R with 200k miles what to do first?

lsu4runner

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So I just bought a toyota 4runner. It was a trade in from a dealership, the only owner took very good care of it, the carfax has 27 maintenance records for the same dealership service where the car was purchased. Its about to break 200k miles. I am a college student so I do not need it as a DD, except for the summer months, and a few 2200 mile round trips a year. Besides changing the oil every 3-5 thousand miles, what preventative maintenance should I do in order to keep the car going for another 50 thousand miles. Thank you for your input.
 
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Read the stickies for sure. This site is FULL of great info and helpful people. I bet you are excited to start the mods. And post pics so we can see your new toy.
 
Read the stickies. They have all the info you need. Don't start modding until it is up to date on maintenance.
 
where do we start my friend?

check and read all the service records you mentioned. I personally have an Excel sheet with all my maintenance items derived from service records (Paperless approach, and easy to analyze all the data).

timing belt and water pump if they haven't been done (search the forum on this point, if you need to do them there are various other things you can replace along with them at the same time)

either a new radiator or an external transmission cooler with bypassing the stock cooler (the former is easier IMO) - read about the pink milkshake.

fluids - what mileage were they last replaced? if you don't know... doing them will give you a fresh place to start logging it.

list of fluids besides the oil change - coolant, transmission, power steering, brake, front and rear differential, transfer case fluids.

spark plug wires and spark plugs

air filter

fuel filter

pcv valve and grommet

lower ball joints at your mileage if they have play.

unfortunately, this isn't even the complete list. if you can get past all that, check the undercarriage for other stuff (tie rods with leaking boots, cv boots, pinion seal leaks on the differential, brake pads, bad steering rack bushings, etc etc). A tip for you -- Firestone auto care will check all of this for you for free, just tell them you need a 'brake check'.

take care of the 4runner and you will go further than another 50k miles, and always reach out for help -- this forum is an incredible place.
 
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