New guy with a 1999 4runner with 45k

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gray_es300

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New guy with a 2000 4runner with 45k

So I have recently acquired a 2000 4WD sr5 4runner. Story is grandparents bought it brand new in 1999, drove it daily until 2005, then they just stopped driving, parked it, and that was it minus some rare exceptions when they took it out. In the past 3 years, it has only had 100 miles put on it (just to drive it to get inspected then back home). Last month after not being started all year, i charged the battery that night, and in the morning started right up and drove it for a week and everything was great. The car now has 45k miles on it, and I was wondering what i should do to get it ready to start driving it as a winter car as I'm trying to save my GS300 from the elements here in western NY. The power steering, coolant, oil, brake, and transmission fluid were all been changed when i got it inspected. I cleaned the throttle body and MAF sensor, replaced the air filter, got new tires, a new muffler, new rear brakes, and will be getting new front calipers, pads and rotors this weekend (they are really rusted). Will also be getting it "rustopped" this weekend, sort of like krown rustproofing (i guess its a canadian thing?) Some issues are the antenna still goes up and down, but doesn't retract all the way into the fender (i probably wont fix this), the a/c doesnt work (needs to be charged?) the starter takes a while, sounds like normal, just takes a little longer. Could this be because of to small a battery? The one in the car is bout 3 years old, and looks like its a smaller size or something. Also, there is some rust, not structural, but to much for 45k miles i feel like. Also, the bulb? for the diagram showing a transfer from 2wd to 4wd is burned out and nothing shows on the dash. Is this easily changed? Before i got it, all that was really done was oil changes. Is there anything else i need to get done before i start driving it again? I'm not trying to modify it at all as I just need it for driving to school, work, and the occasional ski trip. As stated before, last month when i was driving it, it drove and rode great. I just need a reliable car for winter, I don't mind putting money into it, but I don't want to go replacing everything just because either, if that makes sense. For those interested, here is a picture (the 560sel next to it only has 10k miles). I will say this, i didn't expect to like this thing as much as I do. Its just so different from my GS300 and just has this indestructible feel about it that reminds me of the LX470 we used to have, that being said any input would be great. I've read the threads, and looked for the common problems, but I am not nearly as familiar with this thing as most of you guys are. Sorry for rambling.
 

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If your already doing replacing the calipers rotors and pads, I highly recommend that you do the tundra brake upgrade. Search BigFishAllDay. He is a member and has a wonderful right up on the process. In your case it's a simple as buying different parts and cost would basically be the same.
 
zgensler31 said:
If your already doing replacing the calipers rotors and pads, I highly recommend that you do the tundra brake upgrade. Search BigFishAllDay. He is a member and has a wonderful right up on the process. In your case it's a simple as buying different parts and cost would basically be the same.
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This! ^

When I purchased my 4runner last year I chose to replace the pads and rotors. Now I'm in the process of doing the 231mm tundra upgrade. I wish I would have researched more and did it properly the first time. The stock brakes are crap. Since you're replacing all of the parts, might as well go big for basically the same price.
 
^^^ yes yes yes do the TBU, dont waste your time or money on the stock 4runner brakes. fyi you can turn your stock 4runner calipers in for cores when you swap them over, just dont tell the parts guy. order parts for a 2005 4x4 tundra 4.7l and you should be good to go. i did this and got all my parts at NAPA and i think it was like $350 or so. -the stock brakes were only marginal for these and really easily warped. very common issue and easily fixed with tundra brakes.

other than that, id look at changing the plugs and wires, only use NGK or Denso plugs (dual electrode) and either sumitomo or NGK wires.

might want to change out the fluids in the diffs, as well as the transfer case. id also replace the fuel filter. and air filter

the bulb in the dash is faily easy to replace, you will have to pull the drivers side of the dash cluster out to get at it, not a huge deal takes about 10min the first time, about half that after you know what your doing.

i would replace the battery as you stated it was dead, i dont think it will serve you well in the cold, especially if its been in that vehicle for as long as you say it has and no one has been driving it. i think your long starts are because of the battery, replace it with a good 750CCA or higher batter and you should be good.

replacing the radiator would be a good idea as well

the AC might be a couple of things... one it could be an expansion valve is stuck, or two the dyer might be bad. i would have the dryer replace irregardless and have the whole system checked.

other than those fairly minor issues you have a very solid truck and most of us are jealous of your mileage... i have 292K+ miles on mine
 
Timing belt!! If you want it to be reliable not piece of mind. They are only good for about. 5 years or 90,000.
 
541joseph said:
Timing belt!! If you want it to be reliable not piece of mind. They are only good for about. 5 years or 90,000.
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not one ounce of truth to this....

i have seen several belts last 10+ years and well over 200k... the belt is not what fails, the water pump fails before the belt does or other pulleys such as idler pulleys or the tensioner...

toyota recommended the belt be changed at those intervals for the water pumps as they tend to not last as long, but they will typically start leaking before they strait up fail. another reason toyota said to replace it then was marketing maintenance... 99% of all dealers make their money on service, not sales, if they can get a car in on a service of some sort they can either up sale more service or at least do the service its in for, and thats where they make money. so the owner goes oh hey i have 85k on my runner i should look at doing the TB/WP, so they bring it in and have it done... but why? was it leaking was it bad? no, but they just paid the dealer $700 to do work that really didnt need to be done yet(other thank the factory said so).

these motors are a non interference motor, meaning that IF the timing belt were to break for what ever reason, no harm would be done... your motor would simply shut down and you would have to be towed to the local shop(or your home) and the belt be replaced... what ever the cause of the belt to break it is always good advice to replace the water pump at that time, because to change the water pump you have to remove the belt. other things that can be changed at this time are cam seals, hydraulic tensioner, and idler pulleys if you feel the need or desire, check them for play, and smoothness both in the surface but in the rotation of the pulley. if everything feels tight and smooth then i say leave it alone.

if your gonna tell him to do this you may as well throw in the lower ball joints as well. but i dont think this rig has enough miles to warrant either of these concerns. especially since its so low miles ill almost guarantee its the original belt and toyota belts are superior to other aftermarket belts. if it was some budget brand belt i might be a little more willing to say sure, but the OE belt will be fine for another 45k at least. -dont waste you money on this OP, use this money for the TBU and a new radiator -oh you could put in a new thermostat though, its like $20 and super easy to replace when you do the radiator. but again its not a must do
 
I did notice on the car, the brake pedal goes down a little further than on my GS but i contributed that to old pads and just being the way it is. Unfortunately, i already ordered all the parts and they are sitting in the garage and returning them would be a pain, so ill hold off on the TBU. I know people suggested the radiator, but does it really need to be changed with this low of mileage? I should add i dont have the time nor the tools to do stuff like radiator and brakes, so I'm paying someone to do it so if i can hold off on it, for at least a few months, I'd like to.

I also got a 700CCA Autocraft Gold battery from Advance Auto. I will get the diffs and transfer case fluids drained as well. The timing belt i was going to ask about, but figured someone would mention it. I thought about changing it, but considering the low mileage, stored in a climate controlled garage, and a non-interference engine, I'll save the money...at least for now. I know how detrimental not changing it can be on interference engines, so usually i'm all over it, but for this car and having AAA, ill take my chances i guess. Same for lower ball joints, these are notorious for breaking and causing havoc on the Lexus GS, but i figured the mileage is still pretty low, and it isn't all that common.

So to sum it up, this weekend im changing brakes, diff/TC fluids, sparkplugs and wires, getting it rustproofed, cleaning the hell out of it, and maybe getting the front two windows tinted to 35%. Also thinking about some Sylverstar Ultra headlight bulbs (even though they don't last that long), the stock headlights aren't that great. Pics to come soon, but i appreciate all the feedback.
 
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gray_es300 said:
I did notice on the car, the brake pedal goes down a little further than on my GS but i contributed that to old pads and just being the way it is. Unfortunately, i already ordered all the parts and they are sitting in the garage and returning them would be a pain, so ill hold off on the TBU. I know people suggested the radiator, but does it really need to be changed with this low of mileage? I should add i dont have the time nor the tools to do stuff like radiator and brakes, so I'm paying someone to do it so if i can hold off on it, for at least a few months, I'd like to.

I also got a 700CCA Autocraft Gold battery from Advance Auto. I will get the diffs and transfer case fluids drained as well. The timing belt i was going to ask about, but figured someone would mention it. I thought about changing it, but considering the low mileage, stored in a climate controlled garage, and a non-interference engine, I'll save the money...at least for now. I know how detrimental not changing it can be on interference engines, so usually i'm all over it, but for this car and having AAA, ill take my chances i guess. Same for lower ball joints, these are notorious for breaking and causing havoc on the Lexus GS, but i figured the mileage is still pretty low, and it isn't all that common.

So to sum it up, this weekend im changing brakes, diff/TC fluids, sparkplugs and wires, getting it rustproofed, cleaning the hell out of it, and maybe getting the front two windows tinted to 35%. Also thinking about some Sylverstar Ultra headlight bulbs (even though they don't last that long), the stock headlights aren't that great. Pics to come soon, but i appreciate all the feedback.
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Are you planning on sticking to stock size tires? The stock brakes are quite sufficient for that application. Make sure your rear brakes are in good shape. Radiator might be a good idea since it sat for a while with that same coolant.
 
Ya the tires i got put on were Yokohama Geolanders 265/70/16. I'll get the radiator done, just need to wait a month as I've already put around $1900 between the brakes, the tires, the rustproofing, the fluid changes, battery, muffler, rear brakes, other minor stuff, and the soon to be done sparkplugs and wires. Which is a lot of money to spend in the course of 2-3 weeks on a car. Like i said, I don't to my own work, so even though the person who does it for me charges very little, money and time is tight for a college student haha.
 
gray_es300 said:
I did notice on the car, the brake pedal goes down a little further ...

I know people suggested the radiator, but does it really need to be changed with this low of mileage?

The timing belt i was going to ask about... non-interference engine, I'll save the money...at least for now.

Same for lower ball joints
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Probably water in the brake fluid causing the mushiness. BF s/b replaced every 2-3 years because of this, the remaining brake system parts will last much longer as a result.

No, not really on the radiator. This area is your biggest risk to take care of soon. The real issue is the weak design of the trans cooler seals within the radiator. The seals can leak trans fluid in, mix w/coolant and return to trans - killing it very quickly and leading to really expensive repairs (give or take $4500). So it doesn't Really need a new radiator (unless it looks bad) but it really needs to have the trans cooler bypassed at least.

any body ever crack-opened up OEM rad, if not, here we go! - YotaTech Forums

Yeah screw the TB for now (but don't forget the WP and related components when you get it done), at worst it will just leave you stranded.

You can check the condition of the lbjs yourself, just youtube on how to vid.

Check your VC bolts, they're notorious for getting loose, just snug 'em up, don't really need a a VC gasket.

Then Enjoy driving that child! Its needs a good long drive to make it feel loved again. :banana:
 
T4R2014 said:
Are you planning on sticking to stock size tires? The stock brakes are quite sufficient for that application. Make sure your rear brakes are in good shape. Radiator might be a good idea since it sat for a while with that same coolant.
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Ehh idk I have seen several stock 4runner that have warped rotors and they are driven by soccer moms and people who only use the vehicle for transportation... If you are replacing the brakes why not upgrade them for the same price... You will never have to worry about the brakes again. One and done(pads will still require replacing as they wear out no matter what).
 
The brake upgrade for the same price would be a good plan, but most people don't realize the factory brakes aren't as bad as they seem. You just need to take the rear drums off, clean everything, make sure the surface is lubed up where the shoes rub the back, put the wheel back on, and spin the wheel while you adjust the shoes out until they're just rubbing and slowing the wheel down from free spinning. Then go pull the parking brake a few times and go back and adjust them again. Most people just don't get as much assistance from the rear brakes as they think they do and they end up overworking the front which is contributing to that warping issue more than anything else.

If you can find all of the parts for the Tundra brake upgrade for around the same price as replacement parts for all of your 4Runner parts, then it definitely wouldn't be a bad move. I'd still go back there and service the rear brakes regardless.
 
sterbenlicht said:
The brake upgrade for the same price would be a good plan, but most people don't realize the factory brakes aren't as bad as they seem. You just need to take the rear drums off, clean everything, make sure the surface is lubed up where the shoes rub the back, put the wheel back on, and spin the wheel while you adjust the shoes out until they're just rubbing and slowing the wheel down from free spinning. Then go pull the parking brake a few times and go back and adjust them again. Most people just don't get as much assistance from the rear brakes as they think they do and they end up overworking the front which is contributing to that warping issue more than anything else.

If you can find all of the parts for the Tundra brake upgrade for around the same price as replacement parts for all of your 4Runner parts, then it definitely wouldn't be a bad move. I'd still go back there and service the rear brakes regardless.
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i adjust my rear brakes every time i do a tire rotation, and every time they are needing to be adjusted... i also used my ebrake almost every time i park... doing the tundra brake upgrade eliminates the issue of warped rotors, with or without constant adjustments of the rear brakes. again i picked up my tundra brake kit from NAPA auto parts for around $350, if i remember right it was only like $30 more to do then the stock 4runner stuff. to me the difference was more than worth it. and i didnt even get them on a sale price(i know my local NAPA stores have employee pricing on everything every second saturday of the month... who knows it might just be my local stores in the PNW but i doubt it. -you only get that with purchase made on that saturday... so you might want to go in earlier in the week like monday or tuesday before and order the parts in so they will be there by saturday so you can pay for them then. also if you are a AAA member you get 10% your purchase.
 
the kid said:
i adjust my rear brakes every time i do a tire rotation, and every time they are needing to be adjusted... i also used my ebrake almost every time i park... doing the tundra brake upgrade eliminates the issue of warped rotors, with or without constant adjustments of the rear brakes. again i picked up my tundra brake kit from NAPA auto parts for around $350, if i remember right it was only like $30 more to do then the stock 4runner stuff. to me the difference was more than worth it. and i didnt even get them on a sale price(i know my local NAPA stores have employee pricing on everything every second saturday of the month... who knows it might just be my local stores in the PNW but i doubt it. -you only get that with purchase made on that saturday... so you might want to go in earlier in the week like monday or tuesday before and order the parts in so they will be there by saturday so you can pay for them then. also if you are a AAA member you get 10% your purchase.
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Yeah it's an upgrade I would consider doing if I have a caliper failure in the future. I sometimes think about getting the parts together and setting them aside for one day down the road. To be honest, V8 swap has been on my mind more than anything else and I can't focus on anything else.

OP: Congrats on your truck and I'm incredibly jealous of that mileage. Hopefully the rust isn't too serious. Honestly, I wouldn't do much else with it other than what you've already done and plan to do. I would only add a radiator replacement. I'd pull old one out and put a factory one right back in its place. I wouldn't bother with the external cooler or anything like that. It's a pretty cheap part considering the preventive benefit and potential costs of failure, and it'll last another decade. Otherwise, I'd just leave the rest as is and fix anything that breaks if anything happens to do so. As for the long start, it could be the result of some issue, but these trucks very commonly turn over several times before they start. I wouldn't spend any money or time chasing a problem that may not even exist. Just look into it if it becomes an obvious problem like no-start.
 
So I got home from work, went over to where the 4runner is and took it out for a long drive. Check engine light came on, of course. It's been off for 100 miles, then came on since I charged the battery. I'll get the code scanned tomorrow. Like I said all the parts are here already for the brakes, but maybe I'll due the tundra upgrade later on. Attached are a few pictures, mainly underneath. If you guys could give me an assessment of how bad it looks that would be great. I've seen worse, but hopefully after the rustop treatment it doesn't get any worse.
 

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