My first month cost of ownership - catching up with maintenance

[vukos]

I recently bought a '99 Limited roughly a month ago. I live in the rust belt so naturally it had some rust, but beyond that it was in beautiful condition. 108k miles, $5995 at the dealer. Problem is it had very little in the way of maintenance history and the only thing I knew for sure that was done was a transmission flush at about 90k miles. I basically had to start over on the maintenance if I wanted to be sure, using the great resources found in this forum.

Unlike many people in this forum, I am not familiar with working on my own cars and between work, the wife, friends, and other hobbies, I have very little time to perform major maintenance and repairs, especially for a daily driver. Basically, most of the work was/will be done at a trusted mechanic.

I can't imagine I'm the only one in the situation to A) Really care about the vehicle and its health and B) Not have time/skills to devote to personally doing the work. This thread is perhaps to serve as an informational to those who may also be in my situation now or in the future.

All parts OEM Toyota where possible, as recommended by you fine people.

Stuff I paid mechanics to do (located in Missouri):

• New Battery + install -- $120.00
• Engine Oil Flush -- $60.00
• Oil Change - Penzoil High Mileage SAE -- $67.99
• Radiator/Engine Coolant Flush -- $109.00
• Rear Axle Seals (developed leak) -- $372.40
• Differential/T-Case Fluids -- $245.00
• Timing Belt/Other Belts/Water Pump/Fuel Filter parts and labor -- $870.00
• Lower/Upper Ball Joints + External Trans Cooler, parts and labor -- $1,270.00

Stuff I did myself:

• Complete Rust treatment (Rust cleanup, application of Rust Bullet and Fluid Film), all parts and equipment -- $375
• Spark Plugs -- $25
• Removed Running Boards -- $0

GRAND TOTAL: ~$3,515

I had the shocks/struts/etc inspected along with steering fluids and brake fluids and those are apparently in good order.

I consider basic maintenance "done" at this point, but definitely correct me if I'm wrong. This was all recommended/required maintenance and the only actual repairs were the rust treatments and rear axle seals. Some of those things I definitely didn't need to do (LBJ/Trans Cooler), but I definitely have more peace of mind now that they are done. All of this was more than I originally expected but now that I'm caught up I should be good for tens of thousands of miles on most of the stuff.

Before the 4Runner I've owned a new 2012 Hyundai Accent that required nothing in the way of maintenance so this is all new to me. Shoot me some comments/questions/criticisms/whatever

 

[LeeMajors]

You changed your spark plugs but didn't change your own oil?

:wow:

You paid almost 70$ for 25$ worth of oil/filter. My goodness.

 

[MN4runnerman]

$70 for an oil change and it wasn't even synthetic oil is a bit much. But I'm nitpicking.

 

[LittleCaesar]

My rule of thumb of owning a car/truck that is 15+ years old is that one should be doing as many of the repairs as possible. If not, then possibly taking the said car/truck to get fixed for X amount by the dealer or independent mechanic can quickly outweigh the KBB value of the said car/truck.

My friends, most who have much newer autos than mine often say how nice my 4runner looks. That is true, because I have to make time to repair it myself in order to keep it rolling down the road. If one doesn't have the time to wrench on one's car, my advice for those friends and others is to buy as new a car/truck as possible within one's fiscal budget.

 

[Metallurgist]

I've been doing the same thing by catching up on neglected maintenance with my purchase, but I've done most of the work myself so I'm nowhere near your cost. I did end up having to have a shop weld up a diff leak and change the fuel pump while it was there, but I think I'm still only around $1500 at the moment.

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[vukos]

My friends, most who have much newer autos than mine often say how nice my 4runner looks. That is true, because I have to make time to repair it myself in order to keep it rolling down the road. If one doesn't have the time to wrench on one's car, my advice for those friends and others is to buy as new a car/truck as possible within one's fiscal budget.

This is indeed sound advice in general. I think maybe 3rd gen 4Runners or others vehicles known for their reliability may be an exception to the rule. I've done research on the kind of 4wd vehicle I wanted and for my budget this fits right in. I could have bought a new 5th gen but at 5-6x the cost (purchase + my first month) and had to worry little about maintenance. I could also have gone for a newer model year 4Runner but with anything used, especially higher mileage, unless you've got one with a perfect maintenance history you pretty much need to do the maintenance again anyway

Now if this was some 17 year old random brand of vehicle not known to live long past 100k miles then I certainly wouldn't recommend spending what I have

 

[Rock_Rat]

Why did it have a transmission flush at 90K and no other maintenance? Doesn't seem right to me. Red flag.

Since you replaced your own plugs you must have some basic tools and some basic knowledge about cars/trucks. You could've done a lot of this stuff yourself with a decent tool set and loaners from O'Reileys. The only priority I don't see on your list is a new radiator. If it looks new, then the PO probably had a strawberry milkshake.

You mentioned you didn't need to do the LBJ's. Yes you did if they were never done before. That was the best decision you made, although you could've easily done them yourself.

Don't underestimate your ability. All are half-day jobs or less. Tons of folks on here would easily talk you through it if you're ever stuck.

I would try and find out a little more about the transmission flush at 90K if you can. Find out who did it and why.

 

[zoombyu86]

I cringe thinking about the $ I've spent on upkeep and I've done 99% of it myself, that's the only reason it's worth it to me. I don't touch ANYTHING son my brand new car but I'm still paying for the warranty. I'd do some more research and look into tackling yourself. Pretty sure you can rent almost any toll, including jacks, stands, sockets, to tackle any job.

 

[LittleCaesar]

This is indeed sound advice in general. I think maybe 3rd gen 4Runners or others vehicles known for their reliability may be an exception to the rule. I've done research on the kind of 4wd vehicle I wanted and for my budget this fits right in. I could have bought a new 5th gen but at 5-6x the cost (purchase + my first month) and had to worry little about maintenance. I could also have gone for a newer model year 4Runner but with anything used, especially higher mileage, unless you've got one with a perfect maintenance history you pretty much need to do the maintenance again anyway

Now if this was some 17 year old random brand of vehicle not known to live long past 100k miles then I certainly wouldn't recommend spending what I have

Also with used cars/trucks there is a reason(s) the owner is selling it. Sometimes they are forthcoming with the reason and possible problems but for the CL bunch, used car lots and others, that usually isn't the case. Due diligence is mandatory when buying a used car/truck.

As Rock Rat and others have said, most repairs don't take very long on the 4runner. Others do, however, and can be costly. Invest in a basic set of hand tools and go from there.

 

[GangsterOfLove]

I'd say what you have now is a $9,500 truck that should go another 200K miles plus with just normal maintenance. That's not even first year depreciation on a new truck.

Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

 

[BrianK14]

A few things

I would recommend a couple more inexpensive, easy items. Plugs wires, PCV valve , rear diff breather. A bad rear diff breather is likely the reason you had axle seal failure, and will be the reason they fail again if it's not replaced.

 

[vukos]

I would recommend a couple more inexpensive, easy items. Plugs wires, PCV valve , rear diff breather. A bad rear diff breather is likely the reason you had axle seal failure, and will be the reason they fail again if it's not replaced.

I had the mechanic check this specifically and he said it was all gunked up at the time of the failure. He said simply cleaning it out would be enough, rather than replacing it. Is that something I should look at replacing myself anyway?

 

[BrianK14]

It's a $10 part and easy to replace. And will save another expensive repair in the future.

 

[scottydoo79]

Just picked up a 2000 limited a week ago and I just ordered up a lot of the same stuff as you. In addition to yours I'm doing valve cover gaskets and all acc belts and I'm doing the whole radiator instead of the external cooler. Not to worried about trans temps. Ill be runing a cooler thermostat cause of the supercharger I'll be doing ball joints when I do the lift and shocks.
I think you have a good start on having a reliable 4Runner for years to come.

Oh and for some peace of mind for you mine has 215k on the supercharged engine and trans and it runs and drives great. Minus the sacked out suspension

 

[Tyler James Inc]

I disagree with people saying you should have done it yourself.
Although I'm sure you could have done it all yourself, it sounds like it's worth the cost for you to have a trusted mechanic do it for you. I need to find someone like you to supplement my income.
I'd say you've got a solid base for a nice reliable rig.
At only 108k miles, your bushings are probably still in decent shape. My '97 has 240k miles, so replacing the steering rack bushings and front sway bar bushings really tightened up my front end.
Hope you enjoy your rig. I think you made a great decision to find a low mile 3rd gen vs spending more on a nice new 5th gen.


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[vukos]

I've been doing the same thing by catching up on neglected maintenance with my purchase, but I've done most of the work myself so I'm nowhere near your cost. I did end up having to have a shop weld up a diff leak and change the fuel pump while it was there, but I think I'm still only around $1500 at the moment.

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Was your differential leak due to rust?

 

[Metallurgist]

Was your differential leak due to rust?

Yeah. It looked like it was coming right around the brake line brackets, but I couldn't ever tell for sure. I shined it up and tried both JB weld and LeakSeal, but neither held. So I shined her up again and took it to the shop. They said it was thin enough that they punched a hole through when they started, but they got it patched and strained out all the fluid and put it back in to be on the safe side.