Reviving a $500 4Runner

[mattciampa93]

So, yeah... I got a 4Runner for $500. A 1998 SR5 2WD with 350k miles that was abused by some kid. She's ugly, but I'm optimistic.

Now before you say anything... I know a $500 car is a dumb risk. I'm not in any sort of rush. I just want to learn how to work on cars without ruining my daily. Oh right, that's important to note... I have never worked on a car before. I'm literally starting from square one.

What I know about this particular 4Runner:
- I am the 5th owner. From what I can tell, a family had it for the first 20 years of its life (2 owners), then the last 50k miles were added by two individuals, including the kid I bought it off of.
- There is barely any rust on it as it's been in California it's whole life (as someone that grew up in New England, this blows my mind).
- It's been in one accident. A minor fender bender that warped the corner of the radiator support when the headlight connects.
- The radiator appears to have been replaced at some point. The coolant and transmission fluid look fine though.

Work I've done so far:
- When I brought it home, the battery was dead, the ground wire that connected to the body was gone, and the tie down was missing. I ended up replacing the negative harness and ground. With a little jump, it comes to life. I think it will hold a charge, but it's not registered so I haven't been able to drive it far enough to find out.
- The old drive shaft broke with the last owner... His dad knew a mechanic that said he could fix it... For those that don't know, the 2WD 4Runner has a zerk-less slip yoke. Technically the shaft should just slip out of the transmission. They ended up cutting it at the u-joint for some reason and the yoke wound't come out. After many weeks and a few puller tools, I got the yoke out and besides some minor spalling on the threads, it looked fine. I gently reinserted the new shaft (lubricated with AFT) and it connected just fine. Now it's mobile!
- I changed the transmission fluid. It was overfilled and the kid who had it before me said it was broken. Turns out, the dead battery just prevented it from going into gear.
- I removed the front fenders, steps, lights, bumpers, and grille, since they were all damaged.
- Surprisingly, when I ran my code reader, nothing came back negative.

Next up:
- A very thorough wash, inside and out (including the engine).
- Replacing the AC condenser, which looks like it's been through a war.
- Replace the front fenders, bumper, and lights.
- Replace the windshield.
- Change the oil.
- Change the brakes.

Hopefully I can keep on working to give it the life / send-off it deserves!

 

[mattciampa93]

Pictures of the truck in question

 

[brillo_76]

So the front and fenders are gone?. Yes it can be rebuilt. Just takes time and money.

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk

 

[phattyduck]

- I changed the transmission fluid. It was overfilled and the kid who had it before me said it was broken. Turns out, the dead battery just prevented it from going into gear.

If the trans turn out to be junk, I have my old 2WD trans sitting in the garage in Pasadena...

That said, the trans fluid has to be checked with the engine running and in Park, after running through all the gears (P-R-N-D-2-1-2-D-N-R-P). If you check when the engine is off, it will look hopelessly overfilled. The 2WD trans pan is smaller than the 4WD pan, so drain+fills are a much lower amount of fluid that you might see on write-ups here.

2WDs aren't worth much compared to 4WDs, but you can probably get a good vehicle out of it...

-Charlie

 

[Malcolm99]

Looks good, well worth a bit of love for that price, I'm not keen on a 2wd 4R but I'm sure it's close, is it a v6 or 4banger, not that it matters with the weight reduction of 2wd. And to echo what Charlie said and expand on it, it needs to be up to operating temp 20min drive approx at hwy speed, 160- 180* trans temp I think if you have a scan gauge. Sounds like a good rig to have as a back up, it shouldn't let ya down once you get the bugs outta it, although she's got some high miles, so a keeper for that price.

 

[mattciampa93]

If the trans turn out to be junk, I have my old 2WD trans sitting in the garage in Pasadena...

That said, the trans fluid has to be checked with the engine running and in Park, after running through all the gears (P-R-N-D-2-1-2-D-N-R-P). If you check when the engine is off, it will look hopelessly overfilled. The 2WD trans pan is smaller than the 4WD pan, so drain+fills are a much lower amount of fluid that you might see on write-ups here.

2WDs aren't worth much compared to 4WDs, but you can probably get a good vehicle out of it...

-Charlie

Oh damn! Yeah, I'll definitely let you know if things go sideways. Thanks so much!

Also, very good to know about the transmission. I'll give that a try first thing tomorrow.

I don't intend to put it through anything too crazy, so 2WD is enough for me.

 

[Devbot]

Whole lotta time and money for a 2WD, imo. Replacing body panels is never kind on the wallet, people want WAYYY too damn much for painting these days. If you picked it off a kid, god only knows what abuse it's seen (if they were under 18, bonus points if it's even had an oil change before!) Just my $0.02.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Best tip I can give you: Find some good pick-n-pull yards where you can rummage through other 4Runners for decent parts. Often you'll find you need to replace an interior or engine part but there's no need to dump money into new parts. Pick-n-pulls are pretty cheap and 2WD 4Runners are plentiful in most urban areas.

The best part is that you can practice removing said part on the junkyard rig and not your own. I've learned how NOT to pull a part more than once when pulling parts from the pick-n-pull yard which saved me some headaches when working on my first truck.

 

[FD7683]

Good luck finding 4Runners in junkyards. They are gems to find here in Ohio.

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2000 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 Limited Sport Edition V6

 

[gamefreakgc]

Good luck finding 4Runners in junkyards. They are gems to find here in Ohio.

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2000 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 Limited Sport Edition V6

I can go to any one of 3 pick n pulls here in Sacramento and find a 4Runner or two on any given day. If the engine's decent they get pulled pretty quick though. Rancho Cordova is one of the largest recycle yards in the western states so perhaps I am spoiled.

LA should have plenty of yards and 4Runners as well. Lots of 2WD's are coming off the roads now that head gaskets issues are becoming more prevalent.

 

[sleepydad]

I can go to any one of 3 pick n pulls here in Sacramento and find a 4Runner or two on any given day. If the engine's decent they get pulled pretty quick though. Rancho Cordova is one of the largest recycle yards in the western states so perhaps I am spoiled.

LA should have plenty of yards and 4Runners as well. Lots of 2WD's are coming off the roads now that head gaskets issues are becoming more prevalent.

You will never see a native 3rd gen on the road in the salt belt. From this point forward they have all disintegrated into red dust. The pitch welds are gone and most body panels have rusted from the inside out.

Yes it’s possible somebody imported one at a later date but those are fairly uncommon.

Most of the trucks in pick n pulls are rusted nuggets. I have been shipping parts from Rancho now for a while

 

[FD7683]

You will never see a native 3rd gen on the road in the salt belt. From this point forward they have all disintegrated into red dust. The pitch welds are gone and most body panels have rusted from the inside out.

Yes it’s possible somebody imported one at a later date but those are fairly uncommon.

Most of the trucks in pick n pulls are rusted nuggets. I have been shipping parts from Rancho now for a while

I have only found 3 here in Ohio. I think 1 was in for electrical issues, and the other 2 were in for blown head gaskets. It's typically the pre-98 4runners that are rust buckets. I don't see many post-99 4runners with rust on them (and often see them on the road more). I'm talking about the exterior body of the trucks.

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2000 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 Limited Sport Edition V6

 

[Devbot]

Good luck finding 4Runners in junkyards. They are gems to find here in Ohio.

______________
2000 Toyota 4Runner 4x4 Limited Sport Edition V6

Same here, next to impossible unless it's a 2nd gen and even they're scrapped to shit within a day or two. Can't even find Tacos to grab shit from. But that said, the middle of a big city is a great place to look for 2WD T4Rs, especially in california. You see how they drive?