Hi. First post here. I am looking for a 4x4 vehicle to drive on the beach, and do a little towing. I've been told 4Runners have a great reputation, so I'm looking at older ones (mainly pre-1996 to avoid emissions inspections). I'm a car guy, but have no experience in the Toyota world.
I am looking at a 1995 4Runner that is for sale. It appears to be very nicely kept, as far as the exterior and interior.
I drives relatively smooth, and brakes well. No visible rust.
Two issues:
1.) There is a major clicking sound from the front end, seemingly on the left side, only under acceleration. The front driver side CV joint boots (inner and outer) are torn. Could a bad CV joint be the source of this clicking? The car was in RWD during this clicking sound, so if there is no front wheel power, could that be the CV joint making the clicking sound?
2.) There is oil everywhere around the engine. After a 5 minute test drive, oil was dripping from 4-5 different spots on to the ground. Too much oil to see specifically where it was coming from, although looking from the top, it appears the valve cover gaskets are leaking, and there was some smoke after the test drive. The engine was too hot for me to take off the coolant cap, so I did not check there. What are the usual points of leakage in these vehicles? Valve cover gaskets? Head gaskets? Oil pan gaskets?
It has 195K on it, and he is asking $3600 obo. He also says it needs a tune-up. The drive belts and waterpump (the part that protrudes from the timing belt cover) look pretty worn.
I can do tune-up stuff myself. And the CV joint replacement. (I hope that was the source of the clicking sound.)
What would be the cost of the rest, assuming valve cover gasket, head gasket, and/or oil pan gasket, and/or whatever you think may be another source of a leak?
I live in eastern NC.
Thanks!
I am looking at a 1995 4Runner that is for sale. It appears to be very nicely kept, as far as the exterior and interior.
I drives relatively smooth, and brakes well. No visible rust.
Two issues:
1.) There is a major clicking sound from the front end, seemingly on the left side, only under acceleration. The front driver side CV joint boots (inner and outer) are torn. Could a bad CV joint be the source of this clicking? The car was in RWD during this clicking sound, so if there is no front wheel power, could that be the CV joint making the clicking sound?
2.) There is oil everywhere around the engine. After a 5 minute test drive, oil was dripping from 4-5 different spots on to the ground. Too much oil to see specifically where it was coming from, although looking from the top, it appears the valve cover gaskets are leaking, and there was some smoke after the test drive. The engine was too hot for me to take off the coolant cap, so I did not check there. What are the usual points of leakage in these vehicles? Valve cover gaskets? Head gaskets? Oil pan gaskets?
It has 195K on it, and he is asking $3600 obo. He also says it needs a tune-up. The drive belts and waterpump (the part that protrudes from the timing belt cover) look pretty worn.
I can do tune-up stuff myself. And the CV joint replacement. (I hope that was the source of the clicking sound.)
What would be the cost of the rest, assuming valve cover gasket, head gasket, and/or oil pan gasket, and/or whatever you think may be another source of a leak?
I live in eastern NC.
Thanks!
Last edited:
