Need Some Advice on 4th Gen Purchase

[JMat]

I have a couple 3rd gens and am pretty comfortable working on them and valuing them, the first one I've had for 18 years and it has ~350k miles on it.Now I'm looking to sell one of them and get a 4th gen and am looking for some advice. This is a 2004 V8 Limited with 2 owners and all records. Here's how the add reads
"Mechanic fixed "everything" that needed to be fixed. Planned to keep forever but need a really big truck. You can buy one with less miles, but it won't be in this good of shape. Has 208,000 miles but major work at 202,000 miles. I put about $10,000 into it. Upgraded to BILSTEIN SHOCKS 5100 and front struts, which are the best you can get. Gaskets and seals replaced. New brakes with new TPMS sensors, new upgraded battery, CV axles including sway bar links, serpentine belt,, Exhaust manifolds, ABS modulator replaced. Never used as off road vehicle. Thoroughly detailed. Smells clean (not fake scent), never smoked in. Besides all the replacements and repairs, I added leather seats, new stereo with CarPlay NAV and hands free phone. Backup camera. LED headlights and LED interior lights. Lots of extras: 2 sets of floor mats. Body in good shape. No rust."
So I'm looking for a little help as to what this might be worth. I know this is a very subjective question. If this was a 3rd Gen I could handle the mileage but how about these 4th Gens. I appreciate any help. He's asking $9k but I wouldn't pay that much. Thanks.

 

[iruninca]

There are a lot of variables at play, as you know. All that stuff sounds pretty good, but how's the rust, and how has it been maintained over the past 16 years? Anyone can through Bilstein's under an old truck. Also, Bilstein 5100s are definitely not "the best you can get". But that's besides the point.

This thread might help you nail down the value: What did everyone pay for their 4th gen?

My personal experience: I paid about $5k USD for a 2003 Limited with 186k miles on it, and also had Bilstein 5100s. It had a smashed in tailgate that I had to replace, but otherwise was in good shape.

Post some pics of the truck, including the frame and engine bay. It might help understand the rust situation.

 

[JMat]

There are a lot of variables at play, as you know. All that stuff sounds pretty good, but how's the rust, and how has it been maintained over the past 16 years? Anyone can through Bilstein's under an old truck. Also, Bilstein 5100s are definitely not "the best you can get". But that's besides the point.

This thread might help you nail down the value: What did everyone pay for their 4th gen?

My personal experience: I paid about $5k USD for a 2003 Limited with 186k miles on it, and also had Bilstein 5100s. It had a smashed in tailgate that I had to replace, but otherwise was in good shape.

Post some pics of the truck, including the frame and engine bay. It might help understand the rust situation.

Thanks for the response... Just went and took a look at it and will post up some pix in a little bit. Overall... As it turns out it's an SR5. Exterior body has some scratches and that's about it, all body panels are solid. Engine bay is clean without the steam cleaned ArmorAll look. Frame has some surface rust, primarily at the welds, but took a screwdriver to it and could easily scratch it off. No flaking or blistering, a wire wheel should clean it all up pretty quickly. That plastic grille attached to the hood is a little weird though.

 

[Captsolo]

You need to test drive it on a highway at 70 mph. Look for any front end shakes or "drift". Should start up on first crank and run smooth. No engine misses? 208,000 miles is a bunch. Get him down $2,000. Has to run great - or pass it by.

"Has 208,000 miles but major work at 202,000 miles." How's tranny? Any slip?

I have 2005 SR5 4runner with 150,000 miles. Starts great and runs great. Interior is like new. No tents. Paint like new. Never been in accident. Original owner. Engine and tranny never been touched except for fluid changes. I'm going to drive mine another ten years.
:frog:

 

[MikeinNH67]

I was wondering about the model as limiteds come with leather. I didn't think TPMS came until later. I got my 03 limited with that mileage for a 3rd of that price but it did need a good amount of work. In this area, brake lines are a big failure for this age vehicle. I can get newer for less up here but maybe your area is more costly, 9k seems quite high to me.

 

[JMat]

You need to test drive it on a highway at 70 mph. Look for any front end shakes or "drift". Should start up on first crank and run smooth. No engine misses? 208,000 miles is a bunch. Get him down $2,000. Has to run great - or pass it by.

"Has 208,000 miles but major work at 202,000 miles." How's tranny? Any slip?

I have 2005 SR5 4runner with 150,000 miles. Starts great and runs great. Interior is like new. No tents. Paint like new. Never been in accident. Original owner. Engine and tranny never been touched except for fluid changes. I'm going to drive mine another ten years.
:frog:

It fired right up and after I drove it around a little took it up to 70mph without any shimmy. Drove it up a mountain road and it pulled hard, no misses at idle or when I was on it. Transmission shifts different than my 3rd Gen and I'm not sure what it should feel like. It felt soft, almost as you couldn't feel it shift much and no slip at all. The one thing it does need is a timing belt, it has 100k on the current one. That's something I can do but it also affects the the price. Shifted in to 4-Lo without any trouble or hesitation but I could feel it. The actuator is a little bit of a concern to me though... It was wet, no drips and you could tell it hadn't cleaned off but still wet. I've attached some pix.

 

[JMat]

Is this anything to be concerned about?

The rust was easily scratched away down to bare metal

 

[MrSeth]

View attachment 355195
Is this anything to be concerned about?
View attachment 355196
The rust was easily scratched away down to bare metal
View attachment 355197

View attachment 355198

Looks pretty nice! Make sure the timing belt has been changed at 90k mile intervals because our V8s are interference engines. Looks like your transfer case input shaft seal has a leak, but not bad. Mine has the same thing with no issues. Also be sure to cycle into and out of 4lo to make sure it engages and disengages. Check the sunroof rails for corrosion, as well as the lower and upper front ball joints/tie rod ends. Take a peek on the LCAs to look for signs of oil from the steering rack too. Body mounts are somewhat not super important, but couldn't hurt. Check the CV shaft boots for tears, and for specs of sparkle on the dip stick and you'll be golden.

221k on my '04 V8 and it has only been in the shop once in the past 5 years. Granted, I bought mine when prices were higher at $11k hah, wish I would have waited.

 

[Seasparrow]

Some 4TH gens can have bad head gaskets 03,04 & 05 I think, which "gaskets" were replaced and was there any head gasket sealant ever used ?

Any wheel bearings replaced ?

 

[NWTrailRunner]

+1 for the Timing Belt Change, unless you DIY it like I did, shops will charge 1000-1800 for that job.

Also check rust on the circular cross member right behind the top of the rear shocks. I found some crud in there on mine about 2" in, so it might be easily missed. (wetter climate than Reno though)

Expect to have to put on new LCAs and lower cam bolts as the bolts are likely fused to the LCA bushings making it hard to get an alignment. They have to be cut out.

 

[JMat]

Thanks for the replies... It definitely needs a timing belt, it was last changed at 102k miles and currently has 208k. I was planning on doing it myself... I've done it on my 3rd Gen 3.4l but obviously this is a completely different engine.

 

[xtremewlr]

Some 4TH gens can have bad head gaskets 03,04 & 05 I think, which "gaskets" were replaced and was there any head gasket sealant ever used ?

Any wheel bearings replaced ?

That only applies to the 4.0 V6. This is a 4.7L V8. They never had head gasket issues.

Pics looks good.

"Never offroaded" is concerning. That means the PO probably never pout it into 4lo which can lead to frozen tcase servos. Make sure you verify the center diff lock engages and the tcase goes into 4lo. Being a little wet isn't overly concerning and normal for a tcase that didn't get used in 4lo or have the center diff lock engaged. Might dry up over time if you start to use those regularly.

5100 Billies aren't "top of the line" either. The seller put a lot of big talk into the ad that doesn't mean shit to someone that knows what they are looking at.

Timing belt needing done should drop the price by at least $500 but probably a little more, regardless if you are doing it yourself or not. It's not a cheap job to pay someone to do and the seller doesn't need to know that you are doing it yourself.

 

[JMat]

That only applies to the 4.0 V6. This is a 4.7L V8. They never had head gasket issues.
Pics looks good.
"Never offroaded" is concerning. That means the PO probably never pout it into 4lo which can lead to frozen tcase servos. Make sure you verify the center diff lock engages and the tcase goes into 4lo. Being a little wet isn't overly concerning and normal for a tcase that didn't get used in 4lo or have the center diff lock engaged. Might dry up over time if you start to use those regularly.
5100 Billies aren't "top of the line" either. The seller put a lot of big talk into the ad that doesn't mean shit to someone that knows what they are looking at.
Timing belt needing done should drop the price by at least $500 but probably a little more, regardless if you are doing it yourself or not. It's not a cheap job to pay someone to do and the seller doesn't need to know that you are doing it yourself.

I played with putting it in and out of 4lo and it engaged and disengaged without issue. Having the 3rd Gens I wasn't used to these things happening at the turn of a switch so it seemed a liitle weird but there was no delay at all.
Funny thing is... The rig doesn't have 5100's on it... I have 4600's on my 3rd Gen and these are 4600's. When I was looking at the paperwork I think I remember the mechanic had put 5100 on the work order.

With that mileage I'm thinking about offering $7k andf see how that goes.

 

[xtremewlr]

I played with putting it in and out of 4lo and it engaged and disengaged without issue. Having the 3rd Gens I wasn't used to these things happening at the turn of a switch so it seemed a liitle weird but there was no delay at all.
Funny thing is... The rig doesn't have 5100's on it... I have 4600's on my 3rd Gen and these are 4600's. When I was looking at the paperwork I think I remember the mechanic had put 5100 on the work order.

With that mileage I'm thinking about offering $7k andf see how that goes.

I hear ya on the dial shift for 4lo and such. I wasn't used to it either. Once you get one, just to put the bug in your head, there is an option out there to swap in a FJC transfer case, eliminating the dial shit completely and giving you a twin stick, 2lo tcase. Runs about $2500 and you do the install yourself. I really want to do that and it's in the plans but still a ways out.

 

[JMat]

Check the CV shaft boots for tears, and for specs of sparkle on the dip stick and you'll be golden.

By that I'm guessing you mean metal in the oil? Are these engines known for chewing up bearings or other parts of the bottom end or engine?

 

[xtremewlr]

By that I'm guessing you mean metal in the oil? Are these engines known for chewing up bearings or other parts of the bottom end or engine?

No, not that I have heard of. The 2uz-fe V8 is a proven million mile engine with proper maintenance.

 

[AuSeeker]

By that I'm guessing you mean metal in the oil? Are these engines known for chewing up bearings or other parts of the bottom end or engine?

NO these engines are known to be more or less bullet proof...as long as the proper maintenance is done as it should be.

The V8 engine in these 4th Gens is the same engine that is in the 2 Toyota Tundras that were bought back by Toyota after they reached 1,000,000 miles, I'm not sure what the second one looked like but the first Tundra was taken completely apart and dissected by Toyota to look for any issues,etc. , when they took the engine apart the Technicians said the cylinder walls looked almost new and still had the honing marks from when the engine was new.

 

[Seasparrow]

That only applies to the 4.0 V6. This is a 4.7L V8. They never had head gasket issues.

Yeah I knew that. brain fart, old age, ADHD, 60's child, pick one .......