Purchasing a 4th gen. Am I missing anything?

[Chihlidog]

Hey all, new member here. Never owned a T4R but I've always admired them. I dont have a ton of money so I do all the research I can before I make a large purchase. It's time for a new (used) 4x4 and my wife and I have decided that a 4 runner is worth the investment.

Here's what I've learned from searching this forum. Please guide me along if I have missed anything. I really kind of need this vehicle to last me a good long time.

- Timing belts on the V8s are critical. I walked away from a nice 2003 because the dealer was jerking me around on this issue ("well, if it was THAT critical that it could damage the rest of the engine, toyota wouldnt have designed it that way. I'm sure it will be fine.")

- Possible head gasket leakage on the V6s. I'm thinking of an extended warranty purchase just in case of this issue.

- T-case needs to be checked before purchase, both for engagement and for the actuator leak.

This is all I could seem to find on potential major issues. I'm not being picky on V8 vs. V6. I've looked around at both but I want to make sure there's nothing I am missing. Right now, the prime candidate is a 2004 SR5 with the 4.0 with 110k on the clock. Body in excellent condition. 6 month warranty (like I said, I may consider the extended just in case of the leakage issue). Dealer wants 10k for it but no service records.

I'm still open to looking around. This will be a daily driver. Dont plan on serious wheeling with it, but it may get dirty from time to time, and being in PA we get some decent snowfall in winter. My current DD for the past 10 years has been my XJ Cherokee. I need the capability. I cant take snowdays from my job so I need the assurance of a real 4x4.

I'd realistically like to see 250k out of whatever T4R I buy. If I check the things mentioned above, based on what I have read on this forum I feel like I have a good shot. Appreciate any input like "Um. Dude. You forgot x, y and z you n00b". Thanks!

Oh, also....you can make fun of my Jeep. I give permission. (It HAS been a great vehicle overall, but with minor annoyances. Its engine and tranny are rock solid though.)

 

[peebee]

Everything you have listed is pretty accurate, but I wanted to mention that the V6 head gasket issue I believe was fixed in 2006. I don't believe Toyota ever admitted to the problem, but I think there was a significant reduction in head gasket issues in the 2006 model (as well as a different head gasket part being used). Try and find something newer than 2005 if you can afford it.

As for the V8 timing belt - yes, maintenance is an absolute must.

Also wanted to say, these are great trucks. My current 2007 hasn't had any issues at 90k and my 3rd gen 1997 has over 280k on it and doesn't seem to be letting up one bit.

Welcome to the forums.

 

[Synister]

4runners also have a habit of having sticky brake pistons, especially in the salt belt where you are from. Its not specific to V6 or V8, just a design issue. Lots of posts here on it. V8s also typically run into cracked exhaust headers, again, more of an annoyance than anything significant. From what Ive seen posted here and elsewhere, most of the head gasket issues seem to be confined to 04-07 range. Good luck on whatever you purchase, its a pretty solid truck and would make a good new (used) vehicle.

 

[Ask10]

I'd never make fun of a Cherokee I loved mine to bits.

One thing with dealers keep in mind, the salespeople often know almost nothing about cars and spout off whatever they can to sell a car. It has nothing to do with the cars itself, but working in a dealership for many years, I've seen way too many sales people come and go that have no idea what they're saying and sell a car to an unsuspecting customer. Sickening, but that's the way it is.

Anyway, on the 4th gen. Everything you mentioned seems about right, I just want to add a little something here.

Personally (after having looked for a while), I'd want at least a 5 speed trans. The 04's had a 4 speed in V6 form. I'd also want a VVTi truck if I was picky too. That having been said though in terms of reliability, there's no complaints with any of the trucks I've seen in working at a shop. My 4th gen has 180k on it and besides the differential needing a rebuild ($650 ish at a local shop), it's completely original drivetrain wise. Totally solid truck.

 

[Chihlidog]

Appreciate it. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that 06 or newer is a bit out of my price range. MAYBE I will get lucky, but I dont have a ton of time to look around. My 2nd vehicle (97 Dodge Grand Caravan) is...shall we say...tired. I'm hoping if all goes well to drive home in one of 2 (the other is an '05 and slightly more money) sometimes in the next 2 days. REALLY need a car.

 

[Chihlidog]

I'd never make fun of a Cherokee I loved mine to bits.

One thing with dealers keep in mind, the salespeople often know almost nothing about cars and spout off whatever they can to sell a car. It has nothing to do with the cars itself, but working in a dealership for many years, I've seen way too many sales people come and go that have no idea what they're saying and sell a car to an unsuspecting customer. Sickening, but that's the way it is.

Anyway, on the 4th gen. Everything you mentioned seems about right, I just want to add a little something here.

Personally (after having looked for a while), I'd want at least a 5 speed trans. The 04's had a 4 speed in V6 form. I'd also want a VVTi truck if I was picky too. That having been said though in terms of reliability, there's no complaints with any of the trucks I've seen in working at a shop. My 4th gen has 180k on it and besides the differential needing a rebuild ($650 ish at a local shop), it's completely original drivetrain wise. Totally solid truck.

Oh, I know. I worked in a dealership quite a few years ago for about 6 months. The salesmen would have no idea what engine was in a vehicle. No surprise there.

I asked them specifically about the timing belt and it was very, very clear they just wanted to sell the car without doing anything else to it. THey made a big deal about all the stuff they had just done to it, but it was minor. Replacing lights, dumb little things like that. When I broght up the timing belt, they himmed and hawed and were basically clueless. Otherwise, I may very well have driven it home. This forum saved me from that mistake before I even signed up.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Oh, I know. I worked in a dealership quite a few years ago for about 6 months. The salesmen would have no idea what engine was in a vehicle. No surprise there.

I asked them specifically about the timing belt and it was very, very clear they just wanted to sell the car without doing anything else to it. THey made a big deal about all the stuff they had just done to it, but it was minor. Replacing lights, dumb little things like that. When I broght up the timing belt, they himmed and hawed and were basically clueless. Otherwise, I may very well have driven it home. This forum saved me from that mistake before I even signed up.

Yeah, I bought my 4Runner from another dealership in my area (shows how much I trust my dealership's sales people.) The sales guy I dealt with was actually a pretty decent guy (which must be a damn rare thing since I haven't met a good sales guy like him in any field in the past 3-4 years), I looked the 4Runner over and we talked about what the vehicle had and hadn't had done to it. He was actually pretty forth coming about what the dealership did work wise, even admitted the timing belt hadn't been done. To which I had mentioned I was a Toyota technician and that it was due in 1,400 miles which would mean a service bill anywhere from $600-2000-ish depending on what other services the vehicle needed. I told them lets call it $1700 and knock it off the sticker. After some talking with his manager they gave the discount the green light and even made the $1700 back by selling me a 3yr/36k Toyota Gold Extended Warranty Plan with NO Deductible (he really pushed hard to sell me that warranty too, the no deductible and discounted price was his last card to play), which it turned out was awesome for me as the warranty paid for itself very quickly. The 4Runner wasn't a lemon, but some extremely uncommon issues had hit me after I bought it (HydraBoost unit started to go bad, front differential pinion bearing burned out, and the throttle body was starting to seep coolant), I caught them early and had the warranty cover it along with the driveshaft TSB... needless to say the warranty company sent an auditor for every claim because in the 3yrs I had that warranty they spent a bit north of about $5-6k to fix the 4Runner up (and paid me to fix my own truck since the work got dispatched to me! :lmao: )