TFJ-4runner
New member
Thread Description:
This build thread is to share my personal experience with the Toyota 4runner Vehicle. I took notice to this vehicle like a lot of others do when they are younger. My dad bought a 2000 SR5 brand new from Jim Norton Toyota in in Tulsa Oklahoma. I was 10 at the time and already big into cars thanks to all the car shows he would take me to. I always loved these trucks and have made many comparisons to others but always came back to the verdict that these were built better.
Past 4runners:
I was handed the keys to the 2000 4runner for two years of high school while I flipped two 240's for profit to afford a 4runner to take to college. This 4runner went through two teenage boys and by no means has had an easy life. It's been raced, topped out, off road numerous time, and it's taken road trips to every end of the country. I'm a firm believer in how solid these vehicles are, especially the third gen model. IMO the 3rd is the best of both worlds...it's not softer like the 4th gens yet not harsh like the 1st and second.
You can sit on the trail with the heated seats on while watching the guy in the jeep figure out which gasket to sacrifice his last bit of RTV on ha. It's currently back in my dad's hands now at 280,000 miles. No misfires which I think is from keeping the internals cleaned from skinny pedal in its youthful days. No major repairs and it shifts like the first day he bought it. Did I mention I over heated the transmission towing car home and its never had a single bit of problems...just amazing!!
Senior year in high school I bought my first one. It was a 1995 with 130,000 Miles on it. I paid the guy $2,600 for it and drove home back to south Georgia. It had a few rust spots in the body but the interior was solid. There was a slight knock on cold starts for roughly two seconds before oil pressure built up. There was also a knock if the rpm's reached over 4,500 rpm's. I was more ignorant towards mechanics at the time so I missed the knock.
I drove this to Oklahoma where I went to school at OSU and wheeled almost every weekend not taking it lightly on the motor at all. One day in a mud hole I beat a little too hard and the knock got worse. It drove about 300 more miles before it gave out on the interstate on the way to a shop. It was towed the remaining 2 miles. $2,000 and 8 months later it was back on the road and I was Georgia bound. I flew back from Georgia, broke it in for a week and drove home. It was a brutal drive back and the new engine drank about a quart of oil every 300 miles. The 3.0 was a huge life and mechanic learning experience. The whole ordeal with the vehicle was a PITA but it made me a better person. It sold for 3,000 and my dad drove me home in his 4runner as we went south I got to see it one more time as it took the exit heading south. I'll never own a 3.slow again but it was a blast looking back at all the memories.
This build thread is to share my personal experience with the Toyota 4runner Vehicle. I took notice to this vehicle like a lot of others do when they are younger. My dad bought a 2000 SR5 brand new from Jim Norton Toyota in in Tulsa Oklahoma. I was 10 at the time and already big into cars thanks to all the car shows he would take me to. I always loved these trucks and have made many comparisons to others but always came back to the verdict that these were built better.
Past 4runners:
I was handed the keys to the 2000 4runner for two years of high school while I flipped two 240's for profit to afford a 4runner to take to college. This 4runner went through two teenage boys and by no means has had an easy life. It's been raced, topped out, off road numerous time, and it's taken road trips to every end of the country. I'm a firm believer in how solid these vehicles are, especially the third gen model. IMO the 3rd is the best of both worlds...it's not softer like the 4th gens yet not harsh like the 1st and second.
Senior year in high school I bought my first one. It was a 1995 with 130,000 Miles on it. I paid the guy $2,600 for it and drove home back to south Georgia. It had a few rust spots in the body but the interior was solid. There was a slight knock on cold starts for roughly two seconds before oil pressure built up. There was also a knock if the rpm's reached over 4,500 rpm's. I was more ignorant towards mechanics at the time so I missed the knock.
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