Seattle area members

[skhirst2005]

Looking to find a 3rd gen in the near future. Does anyone know anything about 405 motors? Seams like they always have very low mile 3rd gen's, but makes me a little cautious. And of course they want a little too much IMO. As of now just browsing CL and autotrader. But they keep popping up in all my searches.

 

[nicknasty999]

dont buy there they may look good but most have leaks or beat to shit

 

[GSPRunner]

405 motors buys a bunch of east coast trucks at auctions and sells them for ridiculous prices. They are almost always rust buckets.

 

[skhirst2005]

Thanks guys, I am just lookin around as of now and I figured it had to be something with them. I appreciate the info!!

 

[GSPRunner]

Good luck man. They are tough to find around here. Just be patient and pick the right one.

 

[Road Bull]

I found my SR5 2002 on CL. If you are looking at dealerships, be prepared to spend a few thousand extra for no reason. It has been pretty dry here on CL. I would advise expanding your CL search if you have not already done so.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Some great looking ones for sale down in California right now... I'd surely make that drive for the right 4Runner.

 

[skhirst2005]

Not in too big of a hurry, and I have been looking now and then on CL. That is where I would like to find one. Not a big fan of dealers in general, especially in this price range. They always think they will get a lot more. Not sure why that always is. Lol

 

[eplanajr]

Keep at it. I found mine on CL, at the Chevy dealership in Lynnwood. I got it for $4k, had high miles, but it was obviously very well taken care of.

 

[celtic2006]

405 motors is a joke!

 

[Tyota89]

There are also some nice ones in oregon. With 4runners I would pay closer attention to maintenance record, I wouldnt worry too much about high mileage on a 3.4l.
I looked at dealers and private sellers, dealers tried to hide things and lied to my face thinking I didnt know anything about cars.
If you are ever in lakewood avoid vista and lg auto. One of them had fuel squirting from a line and told me it was good leave it running he would get a mechanic. Thoroughly inspected they say, I found 6 easy fix issues with the car.

 

[99Runnr]

Got my 99' SR5 recently in Enumclaw.

200k miles, manual trans, e-locker, 1 small ding on the body, new tires, clean and ran great. I paid $3900 for mine.

I'm OCD but it wasn't perfect after I dug into it. One lower balljoint had a torn boot, both CV axles had bad boots, the clutch was tired. Spent probably a grand on timing belt service, every fluid/coolant change, plugs/wires/filters, CV axles, inner/outer tie rods just because, new balljoint, ect.

If I learned anything; paying a premium at a dealership is like pissing in the wind. They steam clean the engine bay, shine the tires, and feed you a line of crap with a cheeseball grin. Then you are like me, start doing real maintenance and the effectiveness of their "standard $900 vehicle inspection" didn't fix shit that needed done.

Buy private party for 3500-4k range, take a weekend and bust out a good service top to bottom and have a more sound vehicle all around. I did EVERYTHING listed up there using OEM parts/NGK factory wires, ect for about $700. That is also including MT90 Redline transmission fluid, good gear oils, fuel filters, ect.

 

[TheToyotaGarage]

don't bother with 405. let me know if your in the market I can help you track one down.

 

[br9181]

I searched OR & WA Cl for about 3 weeks looking for a 3rd generation. In that time saw 3-4 good deals that fit what I was looking for. They all went quickly, but fortunately I was able to grab one of them. There is huge variance in what people are asking; two seemingly identical trucks might vary by 50%.
I ended up buying one from Vancouver, WA. Here are the specs and what I paid...

1998 Limited, rear locker, etc.
114K. Interior is in great shape, aside from some tearing in driver seat. Mechanically it is perfect.The undercarriage is beautiful. No rust, perfect seals, etc. Exterior clean aside from a couple little dings.
New wheels and tires from a 2016 t4r trail, old rims and tires included.
$7700.

 

[celtic2006]

nice find BR! the 3gens sure do go quick in the PNW

 

[bacara2]

When you expand your search, I'd make sure to expand it towards Eastern WA. I finally found mine there.

David