Hi guys,
I mostly joined this forum as a lurker for random parts, but I figure I should introduce myself and my ride. I'd love to hear from you guys any tips or things to watch for on this new 4Runner. I'll first introduce my old 1995 4Runner:

Fully loaded SR5 package, manual transmission and 300,000kms. I took pretty good care of her and she was fully maintained. The plan was to keep her forever, but unfortunately a terrific deal came my way in the form of a 3rd gen 1998 4Runner SR5:




Paid $3000 for this baby, which is also how much I managed to sell the old ride for. It was a terrific deal. 300,000kms with the rare manual transmission. I also found dealer maintenance records for some recent major servicing items such as new diff + transfer case + transmission fluids, prop shaft lube, cooling system flush, power steering flush, and spark plugs. Oh! And the interior was SUPER clean.
She looks to be in pretty fantastic condition. The only aesthetic imperfection is a small rust hole in the rear bumper. Not a big deal, I'll just patch it with fiberglass in the summer. I do all my own mechanical work, and so far I've done the following:
-Oil change with fully synthetic Motomaster Formula 1 + Quaker State filter. I am thinking I will do 7000km change intervals.
-Fixed rear parking brake (it was seized)
-Replaced front calliper assembly + new pads. I actually just wanted to replace the pads, but the stupid slide pins were seized on and I couldnt get them out no matter what I tried. Oh well.
-Brake + clutch fluid flushed out with new DOT 4 fluid.
-Seafoamed the intake and also added to the crankcase before oil change.
-Fuel filter replaced.
-PCV valve replaced.
-Extended the rear differential breather (old one was clogged too...Im glad the seals havent blown!).
My immediate future maintenance items to do are to replace the shifter bushing + seat and also to replace the lower ball joints. The ball joints seem fine right now, but after seeing some of the catastorphic failures, I figure I will replace them for safety. Timing belt I will probably do in a year from now. The notorious rear heater coolant lines also seem to be developing some rust, so I will probably bypass those or cut out the rusted section and replace with some flexible line. The rest of the chassis has some minor rust (as you would expect from a 10+ year old Canadian vehicle). I might just take some zinc based rust paint and spray the underneath.
I'm pretty anal with maintenance and for the most part, I think I have all my bases covered. What do you guys think? Are there other things I missed that I should watch out for? Comments/thoughts would be great!
Thanks!
I mostly joined this forum as a lurker for random parts, but I figure I should introduce myself and my ride. I'd love to hear from you guys any tips or things to watch for on this new 4Runner. I'll first introduce my old 1995 4Runner:

Fully loaded SR5 package, manual transmission and 300,000kms. I took pretty good care of her and she was fully maintained. The plan was to keep her forever, but unfortunately a terrific deal came my way in the form of a 3rd gen 1998 4Runner SR5:




Paid $3000 for this baby, which is also how much I managed to sell the old ride for. It was a terrific deal. 300,000kms with the rare manual transmission. I also found dealer maintenance records for some recent major servicing items such as new diff + transfer case + transmission fluids, prop shaft lube, cooling system flush, power steering flush, and spark plugs. Oh! And the interior was SUPER clean.
She looks to be in pretty fantastic condition. The only aesthetic imperfection is a small rust hole in the rear bumper. Not a big deal, I'll just patch it with fiberglass in the summer. I do all my own mechanical work, and so far I've done the following:
-Oil change with fully synthetic Motomaster Formula 1 + Quaker State filter. I am thinking I will do 7000km change intervals.
-Fixed rear parking brake (it was seized)
-Replaced front calliper assembly + new pads. I actually just wanted to replace the pads, but the stupid slide pins were seized on and I couldnt get them out no matter what I tried. Oh well.
-Brake + clutch fluid flushed out with new DOT 4 fluid.
-Seafoamed the intake and also added to the crankcase before oil change.
-Fuel filter replaced.
-PCV valve replaced.
-Extended the rear differential breather (old one was clogged too...Im glad the seals havent blown!).
My immediate future maintenance items to do are to replace the shifter bushing + seat and also to replace the lower ball joints. The ball joints seem fine right now, but after seeing some of the catastorphic failures, I figure I will replace them for safety. Timing belt I will probably do in a year from now. The notorious rear heater coolant lines also seem to be developing some rust, so I will probably bypass those or cut out the rusted section and replace with some flexible line. The rest of the chassis has some minor rust (as you would expect from a 10+ year old Canadian vehicle). I might just take some zinc based rust paint and spray the underneath.
I'm pretty anal with maintenance and for the most part, I think I have all my bases covered. What do you guys think? Are there other things I missed that I should watch out for? Comments/thoughts would be great!
Thanks!
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