Looking to buy a 2002 T4R...

[MarkhamT4R]

Hi.

I'm a newbie from Markham, Ontario, Canada.

I'm thinking of buying a 2002 3rd Gen T4R with a specific purpose in mind...

I plan to drive to Guatemala at the end of this year - 2010 - and have identified the T4R as the only vehicle choice for this journey. (I do volunteer work in the Guatemala Highlands most years, and would like to drive down next time and stay a few months.)

With so many T4R owners and all their experience available in this club, I hoping that i can get a lot of advice on:

• Potential T4R problems to watch out for
• The 'good', 'bad' and 'ugly' things about a 2002 model
• Has anyone made a trip like this before? If so, what kind of advice can you give?
• Mileage on the T4Rs I've looked at and tested range from 100,000 kms right up to nearly 300,000 kms. Anyone got any experiance, advice or other words of wisdom to share about buying a high mileage T4R?
  
  Thanks...and looking forward to participating in forums, etc.,:keyboard:

 

[JAC]

Here is an old thread from a guy that was moving also to Guatemala. Hope this helps.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/gener...g-guatemala-need-help-how-fix-up-4runner.html

 

[MarkhamT4R]

Here is an old thread from a guy that was moving also to Guatemala. Hope this helps.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/gener...g-guatemala-need-help-how-fix-up-4runner.html

Thanks JAC... That's an awesome thread for my purposes - lots of good info.

I'm hopeful that a few people will give me some 'things to watch out for on a 2002 T4R" info too.

Happy New Year!

 

[gptoy96]

Welcome aboard. Sounds like quite the adventure.

A couple things that pop up for things to look for. One is to check on the timing belt when you find one. Depending on the km's it may need to be replaced and that's a few bucks. And usually do the water pump at the same time. (Mine was done at ~180K km's-I can't recall exactly when they're supposed to be done but a quick search on this site will fix that).

Sometimes rear axle seals go, typical culprit is a plugged breather. If it goes long enough it could wreck your back brakes also so good to fix quickly.

Lastly, starter contacts sometimes go too. You'll turn the key to fire it up and it'll just "click", try a few more times and it'll go. It's not a big deal, a couple of bucks for new contacts and a couple hours to replace.

Other than that this is a great vehicle. This is a pretty minor list and you could just imagine other "lists" of other vehicle choices out there! Just check maintenance history (if possible) and pull a carproof to see if it's been in any wrecks.

As for the km's, you sound similar in situation to when I bought my 96. I bought it in 03 w/ 164,000 km's off the original owner, changed the timing belt/water pump shortly after and basically did nothing but maintenance to it until I sold it this past fall after 6.5 years and another 100,000 km's added to it. Always ran like a top (I'm going to miss it for some time).

 

[MarkhamT4R]

Thanks gptoy96 - really helpful info that makes me feel more comfortable about buying a higher mileage T4R.

I'm taking time over my search, so I hope to end up with a pretty decent purchase.

Thanks for your help.

 

[gptoy96]

Thanks gptoy96 - really helpful info that makes me feel more comfortable about buying a higher mileage T4R.

I'm taking time over my search, so I hope to end up with a pretty decent purchase.

Thanks for your help.

Anytime! You'll find there are many knowledgable people on this forum that can answer a lot of questions.

As you find potential candidates of T4R's if you have questions about them feel free to ask.

At the end of the day make sure you update us with pics etc. of what the final one ends up being. You're in what I consider the best part, the shopping!!!