Price check on a 1989 t4r

[Frogue]

It seems the prices of the 1st gens keep going up and because of their age and rarity its hard to find prices that are current. I'm looking at an '89 V6 SV5 with a seized engine. Here is info from the seller:

MOTOR NEEDS REBUILDING-- locked up motor just happened November 2014. Over $2000 spent on it in 2013-1014.
*V6 5Speed Manual Transmission
*266,000 miles approximately
*Only has had 2 owners!

NEVER WRECKED!
Straight sheet metal [fenders, doors, quarter panels] are in great condition!

PARTS THAT NEED REPAIR/REPLACING:
* Motor is locked up
* Sunroof is cracked
* Gas tank needs cleaning or replacing and new fuel filter and clean out fuel lines
* Windshield Surround needs sealing and replacing
* Both car doors need control units for power windows and locks
* Back window is electric.... it mostly works, but think wiring needs checking
* Convertible top fiberglass lip/rain gutter broken off from racks
* Some rust on hood
* Dash has some sun damage
* Windshield is cracked

THESE ITEMS HAVE BEEN REPLACED IN PAST COUPLE YEARS:
* New Starter
* Alternator
* Fuel Pump
* Fuel Injectors Cleaned, and replace 2 with new ones
* Plugs
* Air Filter


PARTS THAT WORK OR ARE IN VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT CONDITION:
* Interior Seats are in excellent condition, both front and back seats
* Console Arm Rest has been recovered with grey vinyl cloth/professionally stitched by upholstery
* Sun Visors are good with mirror
* Sun Roof Cover is good
* Air Conditioner, Filled with Freon last year
* Back Wiper and Washer
* Front Wiper and Washers
* Aluminum wheels
* Newer never used 4WD Hubs
* Has Trailer Hitch with 2" ball
* All 3 mirrors, both sides and rear view are intact
* Both side mirrors adjusted by electric motors are working
* Rear defroster works
* Cruise Control works
* Comes with original manual
* 4 Plastic covers at floorboard for back seat are intact
* All trim around interior windows

He's asking $1500. I'm afraid that by the time I rebuild/replace the motor I would have been better off buying a different truck although the body is in good shape and these are getting harder to find.

First I want to know if its a fair price for the state this truck is currently in. 2nd, I've found a 96 4runner that was rolled which would give me a running 3.4, he's asking $650 for the car. Would this work or even be a good idea? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[broken wrench]

first off it's what ever you can negotiate him down to, it is clean body wise. The interior is not all sun dried and missing another plus. I would take if he dropped to 1000-1200 for it, do not try to rebuild the 3.0 it will be a money pit and a waste of time and truck!!!!

The 96 will be a some what easy swap since the 88 is a manual, and for 650 can't beat a full donor truck. Is the 96 a manual also?

 

[Frogue]

The 96 is an automatic but my understanding is the motor will bolt right onto the 89's transmission, or am I wrong on that? Also could a seized engine have cased damage to the transmission?

 

[fourwd1]

The 96 is an automatic but my understanding is the motor will bolt right onto the 89's transmission, or am I wrong on that? Also could a seized engine have cased damage to the transmission?

The 3.4 has the same bolt pattern as the 3.0, but it is not a drop-in swap. There is a lot of work involved in a 3.0/3.4 swap, if you search you'll find plenty of info.

 

[shawski]

The 3.4 has the same bolt pattern as the 3.0, but it is not a drop-in swap. There is a lot of work involved in a 3.0/3.4 swap, if you search you'll find plenty of info.

I second this. I just rebuilt my 22re on my 87. Prior to doing that I cost compared going up to a 3.4...it was significantly more than a full rebuild with quality parts on the existing 22re.

If dollars are no concern, 3.4 is good.

The trickiest piece (out of a few) was the oil pan. The lowest point of the oil pan needs to be reversed. Meaning, the 3.4 lowest point on it's oil pan is in the front (i think, off memory), this interferes with the front suspension/axle/etc on the 1st gen. Anyways, whatever the actual low point is, you'd need to solve that issue. There is a guy in PNW who fabricates oil pans for this exact need, but it was "expensive" (this is relative), if you're on a budget.

Best of luck to you!

PS, I bought my '87 22re out of AZ about 5 months ago for $1k. Also needed a rebuild on the 300k mile 22re. Body is straight. 99% of original parts included. Just needed TLC (and still does). Your list looks longer than mine was, that being said, maybe don't go higher than $1000???

 

[broken wrench]

The 96 is an automatic but my understanding is the motor will bolt right onto the 89's transmission, or am I wrong on that? Also could a seized engine have cased damage to the transmission?

okay, yes it will bolt up. You have to swap motor mounts, oil pan w/pickup tube and flywheel from the 3.0 to 3.4. But the auto trans ecm will go nuts without an auto tranny to send signals to it, so you have to get a manual harness and ecm or repin your harness to a manual ecm. This is not fun !

there is no comparing a 22re rebuild to a 3.0 cost wise, or to a 3.4 swap if you do not have compatible trucks. The 4cyl frame has to have mounts reworked then buy all your mounts and parts, versus pulling from the 3.0 to soften the blow of $$$ out the door.

 

[89FourRunner]

Im of the opposite camp, Id just throw a used or rebuilt 3.0 in their with that $650.

 

[DW4RUNR]

It all depends on what you want to get out of it. If you want to get it back to original specs, you need to think about how much it costs to replace a bunch of stuff or how much your willing to spend. It you don't care what it looks like or runs make it a trail runner. $1500 isn't bad. If your mechanical inclined and can do the motor your self, that would save some cash. Good luck!

 

[Frogue]

So the journey begins but the questions continue I bought the truck, we settled on $1200 and the interior is in very good shape so I'm happy with that. The body panels have no dents but due to a cheap paint job there is tiny spots of rust (about the size of a pencil eraser) where the paint has flaked off. The hood does have rust starting on both sides so it'll get replaced at some point.

The seller said the engine locked up due to rust/metal flakes in the gas tank and not from heat. I'm not sure if that's better or worse but I'm currently putting it through the P'Blaster treatment, its been 2 days so far. I wasn't counting on getting this engine running but I figured if I could without putting any money into it then that would just be a bonus.

As far as doing an engine swap, money is a concern but not a big one. If this truck had a 3.4 in it then I would expect to see it sell easily for $4k+ around here. My monetary goal is to do it in less. I plan on doing all the work myself. With that being said I should also say I'm mechanically inclined but I'm no mechanic (I lack knowledge/experience) so I have a lot of research ahead of me.

On to my questions and if any of my assumptions are wrong please correct them. It seems that buy a full donor truck is the best way to go because if I buy a full engine from somewhere I'd still be missing pieces. I've found several 4runners 96-97 that have been wrecked but still had a good motor, however they've all been automatics. I'm in no rush in getting a new engine, I'd rather take my time and find a good deal. Would it be worth waiting to get a donor 5 speed since I'm going to have issues with an engine from an automatic? I'm starting to just read through post about a 3.0 to 3.4 swap both here and on Yotatech. Any other sources of information on this would be much appreciated.

 

[4Reak Show]

So the journey begins but the questions continue I bought the truck, we settled on $1200 and the interior is in very good shape so I'm happy with that. The body panels have no dents but due to a cheap paint job there is tiny spots of rust (about the size of a pencil eraser) where the paint has flaked off. The hood does have rust starting on both sides so it'll get replaced at some point.

The seller said the engine locked up due to rust/metal flakes in the gas tank and not from heat. I'm not sure if that's better or worse but I'm currently putting it through the P'Blaster treatment, its been 2 days so far. I wasn't counting on getting this engine running but I figured if I could without putting any money into it then that would just be a bonus.

As far as doing an engine swap, money is a concern but not a big one. If this truck had a 3.4 in it then I would expect to see it sell easily for $4k+ around here. My monetary goal is to do it in less. I plan on doing all the work myself. With that being said I should also say I'm mechanically inclined but I'm no mechanic (I lack knowledge/experience) so I have a lot of research ahead of me.

On to my questions and if any of my assumptions are wrong please correct them. It seems that buy a full donor truck is the best way to go because if I buy a full engine from somewhere I'd still be missing pieces. I've found several 4runners 96-97 that have been wrecked but still had a good motor, however they've all been automatics. I'm in no rush in getting a new engine, I'd rather take my time and find a good deal. Would it be worth waiting to get a donor 5 speed since I'm going to have issues with an engine from an automatic? I'm starting to just read through post about a 3.0 to 3.4 swap both here and on Yotatech. Any other sources of information on this would be much appreciated.

Check out OffRoadSolutions.com. Company that used to specialize in this swap. I used their website countless times for my project and it's a beast. Never complained once about it. Hardest parts are crossover pipe, wiring conversion, tachometer customization (solder in a resistor on the back) and cutting the hood. Everything else is straightforward. Here to help if you need it.