Looking at an 1989. Questions Help?

[206pete]

Hello,
New to the forum. looking at buying an '89 4 runner V6.
Owner says it ran fine up until 6 months ago now over heats. Its a good price the body is straight. just wondering what I might be getting myself into. researched the 3vze a little, saw some of the issues. This will be my daily so reliability is very important.
Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[fourwd1]

The 3.0 has head gasket issues, which could be the cause of the overheating.
But it could also be something simple like a rad cap or t-stat.

 

[206pete]

fourwd1-
Thanks for the info. Really excited it has 214k any other stuff I should be looking out for other than rust?

 

[92-SR5]

Are you handy with a wrench? It will come in handy knowing how to do basic things on these old trucks.
In my opinion, the 3.0 can be a good engine, or it can be a complete nightmare. Personally I have had them blow headgaskets on me, but I have friends that have the same engine and have zero problems. I'm sure maintenance plays a huge role.

 

[206pete]

92-SR5-
I can turn a wrench alright. At least to do some minor maintenance, I'm not worried about the upkeep. Just want to make sure there aren't any major things I'm going to miss out looking for on this rig.
Thanks for the help

 

[541joseph]

92-SR5-
I can turn a wrench alright. At least to do some minor maintenance, I'm not worried about the upkeep. Just want to make sure there aren't any major things I'm going to miss out looking for on this rig.
Thanks for the help

Take it to a trusted shop and see if the headgaksets are bad. Or you can go to an auto parts store and buy a kit to let you know if there are exhaust gasses in the coolant

 

[206pete]

Already bought the test kit.

 

[Aznwolf118]

That happened to the one I bought.
I did a car fax and it had the head gasket placed under dealer warranty/recall and 80k, it now has 184k and another blown head gasket after just 3k of my miles. Luck would have it I only paid 800 for it and turned out to be a motivator for a swap.

 

[DeathCougar]

Pete;

No doubt this is the truck?

1989 4Runner V6 CLEAN!

I have seen that thing on CL for many months now. Doesn't seem to be selling, not sure why other than his price is quite high.

Off the top of my head, I see the following issues:

-Bad Radiator (cracked as stated, likely leaked out water, overheated engine)
-Valance MIA
-Bumper end caps MIA
-Appears lightly hit in the front?
-Has power package, but power mirrors have been replaced with manual mirrors

Without seeing the engine bay its pretty difficult to ascertain what aftermarket or "young kid" fixes have been performed.

The 3.0 is a known problem motor, that was poorly designed. IF you decide to fix it, make sure you use OEM parts and do it right the first time. I would personally suggest doing a 3.4L swap, but I understand its not for everyone. TorFab is a great local option for engine swaps (TorFab).

Just be sure to check it over really well, and keep an open mind; it IS 24 years old after all. But if the owner claims CLEAN, it darn well better be clean for that asking price.

:tea:

 

[206pete]

That's the one. Gonna take a look tomorrow, I hope. Thinking about swapping the engine anyway, just replacing the rest.