Noob to Toyota 4 Runners

[Garlic]

Hi, I'm real new to the 4 Runners, My back ground has been for the last 35 years I have been a mechanic and worked on just about everything that doesn't fly. I am purchasing a 90 4 Runner as a favor to a acquaintance. The body is clean, no oil visible, no signs of any front end issues. 5 speed (don't know what kind yet), V6. I am looking forward to using it as a weekend play truck and to haul my mobile kitchen to BBQ contests. I do know it will need front brakes soon and tires and rims (it appears to have been near some place wet, rust on the undercarriage but no visible rust under the paint or body.

I am looking for suggestions on where to start and what types of upgrades are cost effective. I will attempt to post pictures this week after I pick it up.

Looking forward to learning more about this rig.
Thanks....

 

[buchaja]

Hi Bill, congrats on the new-to-you rig and welcome from a fellow New Mexican.

 

[Garlic]

Picked up the "new" ride this afternoon. It is a 91 and has some rust on the rear quarters and the gate, park brake is inop, the gate window doesn't roll up properly, brake light is on, tires are in serious need of replacement, gutless over 50, low oil pressure when hot, A/C condenser has a leak.
I am looking for suggestions???
Going to get emissions inspection and oil change tomorrow and look into tires.
Where do I go from here???
I would like a utility vehicle out of it and a 'play on the mesa' truck.
Looking for the experience from the forum for suggestions.

 

[Garlic]

The repairs are moving forward, got the tires and rims replaced, park brake cable replaced, front brakes done, sway bar links replaced, tuneup started, parts ordered for the rear gate window, battery done, lower valiance replaced, front bumper straightened, shift knob replaced. Next on the list is the fuel filter, rear brake inspection and adjustment, windshield with sun visor, door mechanism lubrication, alarm removal, trailer brake and electrical hoop-ups, total fluid change and rear springs and shocks. Anything I left out???? Oh yea, the AC condenser replacement and recharge.
Suggestions???

 

[Garlic]

Its operational!! Fixed the rear window, what a pain, took nearly and hour, it is kind of nice to be able to roll it up and down from the inside!, The A/C was just low on the charge, added some refrigerant to it and it works great (just in the nick of time too).; Not knowing what to expect as far as the power issue goes, did a bunch of reading (thanks to everyone that really knows their stuff!) the 3.0 is really a gutless pig, that being said it gets reasonable mileage and for an in town commuter car, I think it will do just fine. We played in the dirt some last weekend.... It does not like sand......
All is good, the next challenge is it must tow a 4,000 pound mobile kitchen about 30 miles in a week or so, nothing cosmic, just a slow tow to a BBQ contest and back. Having it around should save me an extra trip to get the equipment in place.

BTW.... Thanks to everyone that really knows their stuff when it comes to these 4Runners, even though I have been a mechanic for over 30 years, useful knowledge from these Forums are great (especially the rear window read)....

 

[Ironback]

Hi Garlic,

And welcome aboard. So... do you have a secret recipe' for your chili? As long as it doesn't have beans I'll give it a try!:toilet:

 

[buchaja]

Its operational!! Fixed the rear window, what a pain, took nearly and hour, it is kind of nice to be able to roll it up and down from the inside!, The A/C was just low on the charge, added some refrigerant to it and it works great (just in the nick of time too).; Not knowing what to expect as far as the power issue goes, did a bunch of reading (thanks to everyone that really knows their stuff!) the 3.0 is really a gutless pig, that being said it gets reasonable mileage and for an in town commuter car, I think it will do just fine. We played in the dirt some last weekend.... It does not like sand......
All is good, the next challenge is it must tow a 4,000 pound mobile kitchen about 30 miles in a week or so, nothing cosmic, just a slow tow to a BBQ contest and back. Having it around should save me an extra trip to get the equipment in place.

BTW.... Thanks to everyone that really knows their stuff when it comes to these 4Runners, even though I have been a mechanic for over 30 years, useful knowledge from these Forums are great (especially the rear window read)....

:trophy: Congrats. That rear window is nice, isn't it? It's one of my favorite things in my runner. And AC? A must out here. And, you're not kidding about it being "just in the nick of time". Gonna be hot this week!

Sand requires fat tires, for snow skinny ones are best. Rocks don't care.

BBQ contest every week? That's some commitment right there. Where does this take place?

Take care.

 

[Garlic]

And welcome aboard. So... do you have a secret recipe' for your chili? As long as it doesn't have beans I'll give it a try!

ChilE doesn't have beans, that's the way we roll. Quality Hatch New Mexico Green Chile is the only way for us.
If you are from Texas the chilI has beans and meat and typically red Chile.

BBQ contest every week? That's some commitment right there. Where does this take place?

Not every week, that would be like...... Work.... I have enough of that at my real job. This is fun for us. The first contest is Friday and Saturday June 28 and 29 at the Eddy County Fair Grounds in Artesia, New Mexico for the 2nd Annual 'Smokin' on the Pecos' State BBQ championship, then back home to Albuquerque/Rio Rancho for the 10th Annual 'Pork and Brew' State BBQ championship on Friday, Saturday, Sunday July 5, 6, and 7th at the Santa Anna Star Event Center in Rio Rancho, then back to work trying to arrange another trip to Columbia towards the end of the month.
If you haven't thought of BBQ as a competitive sport, you really need to find a contest to go to and check out how serious some of these guys are. For us it is a vacation. We have been competing for 18 years now (not any real big awards, but we do place well). The Rio Rancho contest we vend, we have cooked and served up to 2,000 pounds of meat in 3 days plus compete in 6 categories. Yup, its a vacation for us.

The 4Runner will get a work out getting my mobile kitchen to the Rio Rancho event (about 30 miles through town), should prove to be interesting. Might even stage a picture with it hooked to the BIG Smoker.

BTW our team is BS Grilling if any of you locals want to come out and have some dang fine BBQ, come by and say HI...

 

[KidVermicious]

Have you replaced the tires yet? If playing on the mesa includes sand and rocks, you'll want a good set of all terrain tires like BFG ATs or Cooper ATPs, and you'll get even better results if you air them down to 15 PSI or so. Don't forget a way to air them back up.

Welcome to the forum! Kick off a thread in the Classics forum if you like, more guys will see it there.

 

[Ironback]

I still want your recipe'. :boink: