Picked up a 1998 SR5 in mint condition

[longhaul747]

Hello all. New to the forum!!

Last week I picked up a 1998 SR5 from a Land Rover dealership. Mileage is a little high at 110,500 but it was very well maintained and one owner. All service records came with it and car fax is clean. Other then a few minor wear details the interior is perfect. Non pet and non smoker.

Even came with weathertech floor mats

Other then a minor scrape on the right mirror and a small dent about the size of a dime on the back bumper its in perfect shape. Amazing how someone can keep a car in such great shape over 110,000 miles on it. Tires are also very new with Toyo Open Country A/T tires.

Drives and feels like new and drove it in some pretty heavy snowy rutted roads Other then a minor interior rattle or two its very solid. 4WD works like a charm and amazingly gets around in 2WD as well. Might have limited slip on it.

Only issue I noticed is I hear what sounds like a blower fan in the dashboard that is always on. It does not seem related to the heater fan since it never gets warm inside until you turn on the heat. However you hear it constantly. Not sure what it is but it might be normal since i seem to remember a friends Tacoma made the same noise regardless if the heat is on or not. Some info regarding this issue would be great though!!

Again I was a little nervous about the miles but its very well maintained. Also being a Toyota I am rest assured it will soldier on for many more miles. Last but not least the price was right. I paid $7,900 for it. Seems to be about fair market value. Seen many in much worse shape with more miles for more $$. Seen a few for less but I would not touch them. This one was a nice compromise.

Not planning on doing anything to it other then keep it maintained. It will likely not be a daily driver but use it when I need the capacity or when the weather is bad. Plan to take it camping as well.

According the dealership they changed the oil but just to be sure I will do it very soon. That way I know it got done. Not sure what type of oil to use. I like synthetics and use it in my other car but not sure about the mileage being an issue. I don't think it makes much difference. These Toyota engines are so solid as long as you got the proper amount of whatever is cheapest oil they will last forever.

 

[Ron Helmuth]

solid score

good looking ride.

the fan noise may be the back seat heater is on-no way to control from up front-have your rear seat passengers play with it a bit.

5w-30 is the recommended oil for the V6 engine

I like the Mobil 1 5w-30 myself.

Welcome to our fine forum-we will have you upgrading in no time.

 

[4Evr4RunN3R]

Nice find! at that mileage, you have nothinmg to worry about. I bought mine with 162xxx miles on it and no major problems yet(knock on wood).

 

[longhaul747]

Re: solid score

good looking ride.

the fan noise may be the back seat heater is on-no way to control from up front-have your rear seat passengers play with it a bit.

5w-30 is the recommended oil for the V6 engine

I like the Mobil 1 5w-30 myself.

Welcome to our fine forum-we will have you upgrading in no time.

Yep.... just Checked the rear heater and the fan switch was set to high and the slider was to the right. Have not test driven it yet but I suspect this is the cause of the fan noise inside the dash. I did not even know it had a rear heater...cool!!

Checked the oil and it was at the proper level and looks very clean. Does not have a metallic or gasoline odor yet. Can't see the filter though. I bet they did change it but just to be safe I will do it again. Could use some new wiper blades as well.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Congrats on your new 4runner.

That mileage is not a problem at all. I'm glad you figured out what that noise was.

I've used synthetic oil since I've had mine and it seems to be good.

Just like Ron said, I'm sure you'll be upgrading parts in the near future.

 

[K2Runner]

Yeah it's black, very clean rig :bigok:
Enjoy!

 

[broncosi]

hah yea i cant tell you how long i tried to figure out what that noise was only to find out it was the rear air blowing.

The mileage thing shouldn't worry you, i bought my 98 sr5 with 180XXX in mint condition and it now is pushing 250XXX just as strong as when i got it.

 

[Matthew Starr]

are you in Colorado? Your picture looks like my old neighborhood in L-wood. Awesome Runner btw. I just got mine in June and I've never driven anything that handles better in the snow than my 4runner. I would say that my dads 4th gen is better but you can't turn the tcs off so its no fun. Enjoy it and take care of it and it will more than take care of you.

 

[TN4RLIMITED]

that mileage is just a bit lower than my new one. not too bad

 

[longhaul747]

are you in Colorado? Your picture looks like my old neighborhood in L-wood. Awesome Runner btw. I just got mine in June and I've never driven anything that handles better in the snow than my 4runner. I would say that my dads 4th gen is better but you can't turn the tcs off so its no fun. Enjoy it and take care of it and it will more than take care of you.

Nope this is not Colorado but Lake Forest Park Washington. A suburb about 20 miles north of Seattle.

Been driving it all weekend and I just love how it drives. I am starting to understand the appeal Toyota trucks have. BTW, the mystery blower noise in my original post was solved. It was indeed the rear heater being on. The dealership kid must have hit it when he detailed it.

Took a closer look at the engine yesterday. Engine is very clean except for some very minor corrosion on the cast aluminum bits. Nothing serious but some white haze on some of it. Battery is an Autolite and seems one size smaller then what the tray supports. Battery is not loose though. Battery installed April 18th 2007. So as long as it works I should not worry about a battery for a while.

Oil level is good but looks dark. Dealer claimed they service all used vehicles but I had my doubts. Inspecting the oil filter its a Toyota OEM filter and its a bit dusty dirty looking and no recent sings of being touched.

Hmm...Priority number 1 is getting the oil changed this weekend. I have not decided yet how I am going to do it. Will I do it myself or will I just stop by a quicky place? Or perhaps call a local dealer to have it done? I would like to do it myself but the location of the oil filter is having me think otherwise. I guess it will come down to how easy it will be to remove that plastic piece inside the wheel well to reach the filter. With a filter socket and a long extension it looks like it can be removed without removing the plastic cover but then you have no control once the filter is loose.

Also still debating on going synthetic or conventional? Going over the service records it had its oil changed pretty religiously but always dealer serviced. So I doubt it ever had synthetic in it. I would like to go synthetic now but not sure what the results would be as far as oil leaks and what not after switching. Now days I think I am fine since Synthetic and regular oil is not that much different in that regard.

Looking at other details the coolant reservoir is low. Hopefully just evaporated off. Will stop by the Toyota dealership and pick up some Toyota coolant. One thing I don't like about the quicky oil lube places is they will top off the coolant but odds are they will use the wrong stuff. They are also famous for putting on wrong oil and air filter elements and everything else.

I do see some evidence of oil weeping out of the head gaskets on both the left and right side dead center on the bottom. Does not look serious and have seen the same thing on many Toyota's. Nothing to really worry about until it gets worse. I could have them replaced but it will do it again in time.

I missed it in the service records the first time through and will have to look again. I did find an official Toyota service sticker by the radiator that indicated that the timing belt was replaced at 90,232 miles and hand written (+ water pump) on it. So I don't have to worry about these parts for a long while.

I would say overall its a good clean used truck and well maintained that will provide me years of service. Is it new? Heck NO!! Did I pay 33K (original sticker) nope!! I would say its a pretty solid buy!!

 

[Ron Helmuth]

glad to help in such a simple way

Glad you figured out the heater noise-drives me nuts when my kids leave it on and then I am driving alone and hearing it.

I encourage synthetic at the dealership. Supply your own oil and buy a case of Yota filters for a great price so you don't have to pay markup each time...Synthetic is good protection in case of catastrophic failure-like an after market oil filter exploding off the threads.-happened to me and Mobil 1 saved my engine.

Labor at my dealership is like $19 and then your oil changes are recorded and done by professionals. And they wash my beast while they are at it.

I have had two too many bad experiences at the Jiffy/Quickie lube places.

 

[MunkeyTX]

Again I was a little nervous about the miles but its very well maintained. Also being a Toyota I am rest assured it will soldier on for many more miles. Last but not least the price was right. I paid $7,900 for it.

Ha, with that mileage, it's just breaking in! I bought my '98 with 257k on it, now at 264k, and it's been an awesome vehicle! Mine wasn't i such nice cosmetic condition as yours as it sat for close to three years (paint peeling on hood & roof, interior very dusty), but mechanically it's damn near perfect, and the price was just right at $3800.

Nice find, have fun and keep us updated!

 

[longhaul747]

Today I had the oil serviced at the local Toyota Dealership. For an extra $20 they rotated the tires and inspected the brakes. Brakes are in good shape as is the rest of the vehicle.

They highly recommended that I get the valve cover gaskets replaced to the tune of $500. I don't disagree that they need to be replaced but I have seen many Toyota's with leaky valve cover gaskets and other then making a mess its harmless. So I put it in the "fix it later" category and will just keep an eye on it plus the oil level. I doubt a significant amount of oil is leaking out of there. BTW, it was the valve cover gaskets leaking and not the head gasket I mentioned above. A typo on my part.

As for oil this time I just had them put in whatever oil they have. This dealer uses Chevron. Maybe next time I will go synthetic.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Today I had the oil serviced at the local Toyota Dealership. For an extra $20 they rotated the tires and inspected the brakes. Brakes are in good shape as is the rest of the vehicle.

They highly recommended that I get the valve cover gaskets replaced to the tune of $500. I don't disagree that they need to be replaced but I have seen many Toyota's with leaky valve cover gaskets and other then making a mess its harmless. So I put it in the "fix it later" category and will just keep an eye on it plus the oil level. I doubt a significant amount of oil is leaking out of there. BTW, it was the valve cover gaskets leaking and not the head gasket I mentioned above. A typo on my part.

As for oil this time I just had them put in whatever oil they have. This dealer uses Chevron. Maybe next time I will go synthetic.

That's pretty interesting you mention the valve cover gaskets. I just went in two weeks ago and they suggested the same thing. I have similar mileage also.

 

[longhaul747]

That's pretty interesting you mention the valve cover gaskets. I just went in two weeks ago and they suggested the same thing. I have similar mileage also.

Mine are definitely leaking. Both the left and right sides show oil residue on the aluminum valve cover in the middle. The left side seems a little worse then the right side. Dealer says the gaskets are 10 years old and they dry out and leak. Not so sure I completely buy that since really they should not leak until the valve cover is removed and then put back on without replacing the gasket. My take is its a manufacturing defect and/or perhaps the machining between the engine block and the valve cover is not the best and overtime oil finds its way out.

Dealer service rep admitted it was not a critical thing to fix. Only a few drops find its way out at a time. That's all it takes for it to make a mess. He suggested fixing it before it gets worse though. Its the only thing wrong with it that they could find. So only this will keep it from being perfect. For me I am going to clean up the leaky area and see just how bad it is. Next 5 paycheck month I will and have it done.

 

[KellyJ]

Mine are definitely leaking. Both the left and right sides show oil residue on the aluminum valve cover in the middle. The left side seems a little worse then the right side. Dealer says the gaskets are 10 years old and they dry out and leak. Not so sure I completely buy that since really they should not leak until the valve cover is removed and then put back on without replacing the gasket. My take is its a manufacturing defect and/or perhaps the machining between the engine block and the valve cover is not the best and overtime oil finds its way out.

Dealer service rep admitted it was not a critical thing to fix. Only a few drops find its way out at a time. That's all it takes for it to make a mess. He suggested fixing it before it gets worse though. Its the only thing wrong with it that they could find. So only this will keep it from being perfect. For me I am going to clean up the leaky area and see just how bad it is. Next 5 paycheck month I will and have it done.

Just got my gaskets replaced a few weeks back. Had about 116k, and had been noticing the seepage for a while, but it was something I could handle until they completely separated and caused a more consistent leak. Oil was dripping onto the headers and burning up

 

[Sleddogg]

Looks good dude! I picked up a 98 SR5 in May. It had 90,000 on it and was sooooo clean. One owner, locally, garage kept. I paid outta the nose, plus ate about 2500 in negative equity from the piece of@#$% Nissan that I was driving around in, but believe it was well worth it. Absolutly love my T4R!