New 3rd Gen 4Runner Owner

itsmekai

New member
Hey everyone,

Been a fan of 4runners for a couple years now and finally got a chance to pick one up locally on CL. It's a 96 4Runner 4x4 5-speed with 156k miles, lifted on Sway-a-way coilovers in the front with some variation of OME shocks in the back (my knowledge of lift components is fairly limited, sorry) with 33" Durtatracs. My original search didn't necessarily include lifted 4Runner's but I happened to find a good deal and thought the black on black looked really great so I took the plunge. The ideal 4runner for me probably would've been a 2002 Sport 4x4, but they're a bit difficult to find and would've required out-of-state travel most likely.

I've been a member for a little while, but just spent my time lurking/reading threads for info. I actually park in a lot near 4-Ripcord during the week and he was kind enough to leave me a note the other day (I recognized your vehicle from reading the Buyer's Guide and seeing various pictures on the forums. I'm fairly jealous of your car, it is the exact color/year I would've got if I had sought out a newer model)!

Not sure how much I'll post since my knowledge of these vehicles is just beginning, but glad to be a member! I've added some pics below since these threads are pretty worthless without them!


Mmmm, all black everything:
YQI6X.jpg


Interior is a bit rough in spots, renting a rugdoctor will probably happen fairly soon:
Kh7tr.jpg


Not a huge fan of the grill delete, looking for a replacement in a junkyard is on the list of things to do. Also it rained last night AND got windy blowing dirt everywhere so it looks pretty dirty. An exterior detail will also happen when ever it isn't so cold/windy. In the background is my 94 Cherokee 4x4 which I'm looking to put on CL after I fix a couple small things. Also my dad's Tundra in the background:
OM0xM.jpg


The debadge job was a bit sloppy (lots of scratches, residue etc) so part of the detail will include a polish/compound of these areas. Overall the paint is in really good condition given the age, lots of rock chips in the front but those are to be expected:
SvMDx.jpg

:banana::banana::banana::banana:


QUESTIONS:
-The previous owner only owned the vehicle for about 9 months as a second vehicle, one thing she had replace was the clutch master cylinder. The mechanic told her that "the clutch needs to be replaced or the master cylinder will go out again". Not sure if this info was being relayed correctly to me, and didn't make much sense after looking into it. Is there any truth in this? Clutch feels fine to me, haven't noticed any slipping and it drives similar to my friends 02/03 5-speed Tacoma.

-Balljoints. I know these cause a nightmare in the rare case. With little to no mechanical history I don't know if these have ever been replaced. Being lifted on steel wheels and 33" tires probably doesn't help my paranoia. This something that is easy for me to check/replace if needed?
 
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Welcome to the world of 4runners.
It looks like a nice rig. Good looking too.
As far as the clutch/MS, total BS. The two work together but are totally separate parts.
Ball joints? It isn't isolated failures. They all wear out around that 180,000 mile mark. Replace them before they go. Spend the money and use ONLY Toyota parts. Everything else is junk.
 
Oh good you got my memo!

Glad to see you here. I love that black on black, looks killer!

We have a few local Abq guys. I have tried in the past to organize wheeling trips, but they always fall though. Would you be interested in a trip to rio puerco or jemez? I can try to set another one up..

So do you take the Blue line too?
 
How much did you get it for, if you don't mind? I've been lurking/searching for awhile too and I recently came across a '96 with 145K miles. Guy is asking $4,900.
 
Welcome! And thank you for the pics. You have learned quickly.

Rig looks awesome. Makes me want to put 33's on mine, but there's no way I'm doing that until I have more power.
 
nice rig man! great stance! im originally from santa fe, we'll have to have a new mexico meet sometime soon! :guitar3:
 
Thanks for the comments everyone.

As far as the clutch/MS, total BS. The two work together but are totally separate parts.
Ball joints? It isn't isolated failures. They all wear out around that 180,000 mile mark. Replace them before they go. Spend the money and use ONLY Toyota parts. Everything else is junk.
That's what I figured, have a feeling the mechanic just meant to say the clutch was going out. After driving a bit more I felt a slight slip in second under harder acceleration yesterday, so I'll probably start looking around at labor-only quotes for a replacement.

Yeah looks like Toyota balljoints run about $160 for the pair, probably wait a couple thousand miles before tackling those.
Oh good you got my memo!

Glad to see you here. I love that black on black, looks killer!

We have a few local Abq guys. I have tried in the past to organize wheeling trips, but they always fall though. Would you be interested in a trip to rio puerco or jemez? I can try to set another one up..

So do you take the Blue line too?
Hey there. I'd be interested, let me know. Ironically I'm not much of a 4-wheeling guy since I don't know many people with 4x4s (my car before the jeep was a civic coupe), much more of a snowboarding type hah (saw your snowboard racks).

Yeah I catch the blue line too, MUCH better than paying the gas to drive 25+ miles to campus and back each day.

How much did you get it for, if you don't mind? I've been lurking/searching for awhile too and I recently came across a '96 with 145K miles. Guy is asking $4,900.
I paid $5,400, might've been a bit much but I was somewhat tired of looking. Plus 4runner prices are somewhat hard to gauge since bluebook was like $3000. Some 97's in my area with 180k+ miles still had asking prices of $5-6000.
 
keep in mind for the ball joints that you can upgrade to the beefier tacoma ones, granted you have to use the beefier tie rods/ end links. cant hurt though!
 
Hey there. I'd be interested, let me know. Ironically I'm not much of a 4-wheeling guy since I don't know many people with 4x4s (my car before the jeep was a civic coupe), much more of a snowboarding type hah (saw your snowboard racks).

Yeah I catch the blue line too, MUCH better than paying the gas to drive 25+ miles to campus and back each day.
Yeah gotta love that blue line. I have another friend that lives in corrales and he drives every day and bought the A-lot pass (the expensive one) haha, sucker. I keep trying to convince him to take the bus, but he thinks he is too high and mighty for it..


And I agree there, snowboarding takes the cake. Where do you usually go? We need to hit it up this season!

I am usually up at santa fe (I get the sandia/santa fe season pass every year and its a great mountain for a solo day trip), also I usually spend quite a few days up in angel fire. And last year I was able to make 2 trips up to Denver area ski resorts.
 
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I know it's random, but are those bullet holes more of a matte black or a gloss black? I'm just debating if I want gloss black or matte black with my black 4runner
 

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