Hi Everyone,
Just bought a 1995 SR5 3.0 4x4 manual transmission. I have a few questions that I hope people here can help me with.
Vehicle has 209k miles. A gross polluter when I bought it, as the seller is, uh, not very car savvy, and attempted to smog it with a bad misfire. Bought it because it was a good deal, and was the best condition truck I'd seen in my price range. I've replaced one headlight bulb and one 1157. Everything else seems to work! Except for the broken power antenna.
I put in new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. Plugs were gapped (or eroded...) at about .055"-.060" Cap and rotor were in poor condition. Two wires were damaged during removal (my bad, but I couldn't find my boot pliers, and the caps were really well bonded to the plugs).
I also put in some seafoam in case it was a dirty injector (truck had sat for ~6 months), so I'm not completely sure what fixed it. I suspect it was electrical. Yes, a "parts shotgun" approach, which is not my normal style, but I had a clock running and was willing to spend up a little to get it smogged asap.
No smoke. Appears to use little or no oil - just did a 475 mile trip from the SF bay area to Tahoe. 17.6 mpg uphill, 19.3 mpg downhill. Seems typical. This with a thule top box.
Questions:
1) Shocks. I'm likely considering:
Bilstein 4600/B6 (~$75 ea tire rack)
Koni adjustable (~$100 ea tire rack)
Rancho 9000 (~$110 various online)
Other suggestions welcome!
2) Tires. I'm unlikely to do any hard-core off-roading. I do expect some snow and some dirt roads. I took my old 2wd Mazda B2000 onto a lot of dirt roads with a Michelin LT tire - I think it had a M+S rating, but was really a highway tread. I'm looking for a similar tire. M+S rating to get past chain control, but mostly a long wearing, QUIET, highway tire. The current tires are a Big-O all terrain tire. Almost worn out. Noisy. Lots of cogging, I keep thinking the engine has quit when it stops rolling because it gets so quiet.
3) Hitch. Cannot believe it, but I must have the only gen 2 4runner on the planet that does not have a hitch. Looking at the Curt for $150 or so. Maybe look for a factory hitch from a wrecking yard? Anything to consider here besides price and obvious fitment issues? I'm unlikely to use tires larger than 31".
4) Trailer wiring. Only thing I've seen splices in. Is there a plug in harness available? I can do the splice, and do it right, but I just hate to cut the factory harness. If I have to splice, I'll cut the wires in the tail lights, past the main harness. Don't care if I have to put in another grommet.
5) This should probably have been item (1). I've got a minor valve tap or exhaust leak. Didn't notice it on the test drive - though the misfire made focusing on anything else difficult. I hear it now, and it seems to get a little louder with throttle, so I'm thinking exhaust leak. Any comments, suggestions, warnings, common failures, etc. on this issue?
6) Radiator, water pump, and timing belt were supposedly replaced less than 20k miles ago. Since it's a non-interference engine, I'll probably assume this to be true. I can tell that the radiator and (I think) water pump are newer. Though this is a minor red flag given item (5)...
7) Anything else to watch for? Truck drives great (allowing for the poor shocks and worn A/T tires)!
Thanks in advance!
--Soren
Just bought a 1995 SR5 3.0 4x4 manual transmission. I have a few questions that I hope people here can help me with.
Vehicle has 209k miles. A gross polluter when I bought it, as the seller is, uh, not very car savvy, and attempted to smog it with a bad misfire. Bought it because it was a good deal, and was the best condition truck I'd seen in my price range. I've replaced one headlight bulb and one 1157. Everything else seems to work! Except for the broken power antenna.
I put in new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. Plugs were gapped (or eroded...) at about .055"-.060" Cap and rotor were in poor condition. Two wires were damaged during removal (my bad, but I couldn't find my boot pliers, and the caps were really well bonded to the plugs).
I also put in some seafoam in case it was a dirty injector (truck had sat for ~6 months), so I'm not completely sure what fixed it. I suspect it was electrical. Yes, a "parts shotgun" approach, which is not my normal style, but I had a clock running and was willing to spend up a little to get it smogged asap.
No smoke. Appears to use little or no oil - just did a 475 mile trip from the SF bay area to Tahoe. 17.6 mpg uphill, 19.3 mpg downhill. Seems typical. This with a thule top box.
Questions:
1) Shocks. I'm likely considering:
Bilstein 4600/B6 (~$75 ea tire rack)
Koni adjustable (~$100 ea tire rack)
Rancho 9000 (~$110 various online)
Other suggestions welcome!
2) Tires. I'm unlikely to do any hard-core off-roading. I do expect some snow and some dirt roads. I took my old 2wd Mazda B2000 onto a lot of dirt roads with a Michelin LT tire - I think it had a M+S rating, but was really a highway tread. I'm looking for a similar tire. M+S rating to get past chain control, but mostly a long wearing, QUIET, highway tire. The current tires are a Big-O all terrain tire. Almost worn out. Noisy. Lots of cogging, I keep thinking the engine has quit when it stops rolling because it gets so quiet.
3) Hitch. Cannot believe it, but I must have the only gen 2 4runner on the planet that does not have a hitch. Looking at the Curt for $150 or so. Maybe look for a factory hitch from a wrecking yard? Anything to consider here besides price and obvious fitment issues? I'm unlikely to use tires larger than 31".
4) Trailer wiring. Only thing I've seen splices in. Is there a plug in harness available? I can do the splice, and do it right, but I just hate to cut the factory harness. If I have to splice, I'll cut the wires in the tail lights, past the main harness. Don't care if I have to put in another grommet.
5) This should probably have been item (1). I've got a minor valve tap or exhaust leak. Didn't notice it on the test drive - though the misfire made focusing on anything else difficult. I hear it now, and it seems to get a little louder with throttle, so I'm thinking exhaust leak. Any comments, suggestions, warnings, common failures, etc. on this issue?
6) Radiator, water pump, and timing belt were supposedly replaced less than 20k miles ago. Since it's a non-interference engine, I'll probably assume this to be true. I can tell that the radiator and (I think) water pump are newer. Though this is a minor red flag given item (5)...
7) Anything else to watch for? Truck drives great (allowing for the poor shocks and worn A/T tires)!
Thanks in advance!
--Soren
