Need advice on 2nd Gen

[28.]

Hello guys just wanted to chime in and say I've always had a soft spot for the stepchild (2nd Gen) 4runner.. Turns out though I was never able to find one for myself, I am lucky enough to have found one for my oldest son who is away at college right now. Haven't told him about it since I wanted to surprise him but I've acquired a little gem for 1700 bucks. Looks good, runs good though not very strong(201K miles), and everything works on it. 4x4 seems to work fine and all the gizmos seem to as well. It has alot of miles and a minor oil leak which I haven't located yet but other than that I really would like some advice on other items to check. I'll get pics ASAP.. Thanks in advanceeace:

 

[85straight]

Hello guys just wanted to chime in and say I've always had a soft spot for the stepchild (2nd Gen) 4runner.. Turns out though I was never able to find one for myself, I am lucky enough to have found one for my oldest son who is away at college right now. Haven't told him about it since I wanted to surprise him but I've acquired a little gem for 1700 bucks. Looks good, runs good though not very strong(201K miles), and everything works on it. 4x4 seems to work fine and all the gizmos seem to as well. It has alot of miles and a minor oil leak which I haven't located yet but other than that I really would like some advice on other items to check. I'll get pics ASAP.. Thanks in advanceeace:

Ask the PO if the head gasket and/or the timing belt have been done yet. Those would be my biggest concerns

 

[28.]

Ask the PO if the head gasket and/or the timing belt have been done yet. Those would be my biggest concerns

I did and he said he didn't know. We went over the truck and everything looked fine cept paint was rough and he mentioned back window rolled up very slowly and of course the oil leak which I haven't pinpointed.. Even sunroof worked though.. I figure for 1700 its decent plus assuming I drop another 500 to get it tip top it would be worth it if running good and 4x4 worked. I will have to look at belt and wondering if head gasket's whats leaking..hmmm.:shrug:

 

[85straight]

I did and he said he didn't know. We went over the truck and everything looked fine cept paint was rough and he mentioned back window rolled up very slowly and of course the oil leak which I haven't pinpointed.. Even sunroof worked though.. I figure for 1700 its decent plus assuming I drop another 500 to get it tip top it would be worth it if running good and 4x4 worked. I will have to look at belt and wondering if head gasket's whats leaking..hmmm.:shrug:

Even at 1700 if you could do the t-belt and head gasket yourself( a lot of work), youd still have a good truck for cheap( in my part of cali anyway). A oil leak wouldn't be coming from the head gasket, clean it up, let it leak, and post a few pics from where its coming from.
Its hard to suggest where a leak is coming from without pics. And if you have some extra time, search HG leaks for your motor, then youll see what happens when the HG goes, which is prone to happen on the 3.0
Hope that helps

 

[28.]

I'll do that thanks

 

[Footofgod]

Head Gasket.....If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Do regular maintenance on:

Plugs (NGK Only)
Wires (Denso Only)
Timing belt
Water pump
All filters
Exhaust (change the damn O2 sensor)
Fan and fan clutch
Clean EGR
Replace PCV
Clean AFM (aka MAF, aka mass airflow sensor, aka Air Flow Meter)
Check, clean or replace all the vaccum lines.
Fuel filter (see mods on moving it or eliminating the hard lines)
Replace valve cover gaskets (never hurts)
Clean plenum and throttle body
flush the radiator or just replace if old

If after all that it doesn't run better than it did the day it was made, junk it and put in a 3.4L 5VZE.

 

[Footofgod]

Putting my money on the rear main seal for the oil leak.

 

[85straight]

Putting my money on the rear main seal for the oil leak.

I wanted to do the same, but i dont like to be wrong haha

 

[Footofgod]

I wanted to do the same, but i dont like to be wrong haha

3.slo oil leaks almost always come from either the valve cover gaskets or the rear main.

 

[85straight]

^^^^^good to know, im not to experienced with them, so i didn't want to steer the op in the wrong direction

 

[BucknutBob]

"runs good though not very strong", "rear window rolls up slowly"...yep, I'd say you've got a standard 2nd Gen there! LOL Since you're new to these, I'll save you one embarassing question...there is NO chip for these. Do as FootofGod suggested and take care of all the maintenance items, and enjoy! As 85straight mentioned, a blown head gasket won't be leaking oil--when they go, you get fog out the tailpipe, you may start running hot or overheat altogether, and your oil will turn into a foamy grayish-brown milkshake because the coolant will start mixing with your oil. At that point, the clock is ticking down quickly. For the record, my first two never developed any gasket issues over years of driving and wheeling them (unfortunately, my third one did...but hey, that just ushered in the V8 era for me!).

 

[veesix]

First thing you have to confirm is the timing belt. Don't send your son down the road without confirming that the timing belt is good.

What do you know about past maintenance? Any records? If you can't work on it (and I can't do much work on mine, so that's not a slam) take it to a good shop and have them baseline it. "Runs pretty good" means nothing - there could easily be $2000 worth of important work that needs to be done to a 4R with 200K on it. Brakes, u-joints, tune up, timing belt, belts, hoses, pulleys, fan clutch, yadda yadda. Don't mean to sound like a downer but I've done CPR on several old Toyotas including one for my daughter (a 2nd gen 4Runner) and they require no less maintenance than anything else, they're just much better engineered.

 

[28.]

Agreed. And yea I actually do check for the standard stuff as far as maintenance items and wear and tear.. I will need to check timing belt and make sure its in good shape cause guy really has no clue on how old it is. Heater and AC both work good. No smoke and radiator and fan looked good as well.. I just need to locate that leak and fix it. I checked valve cover gaskets and no leaks there either..

 

[Rester5350]

How difficult or expensive would it be to replace or have the rear main seal replaced? I am looking at a 95 tomorrow that has a lite drip.

Sorry to thread jack.

 

[Footofgod]

Worst part is that you have to pull the transmission.

 

[Rester5350]

Thank you.

 

[28.]

Worst part is that you have to pull the transmission.

This. Part itself is easy and cheap. But you have to pull tranny.. ive done it once on an 01 yukon 4x4.. sucked..