The worst part of a 3rd gen?

[ETN4runner]

I love this thread. I was literally LOLing on every page.

I just saved a 99 SR5 4x4 from being scrapped by a previous owner. After a couple hundred bucks (ok, so a little more than that) in new parts and my own labor, this thing runs like a champ. It is already one of my favorite vehicles I've ever owned, and I've had a bunch.

However, along the way, I have quietly noted some of the "worst" parts:
oil filter location. what were they thinking?
lazy seat belt retractor thingy,
fuel mileage (ugh)
clunky steering wheel,
rear springs,
inadequate support on the back of your legs from front seats. My drivers seat ends on me like mid-hamstring, and I'm not tall.
dinky horn (haha)
etc...

That said, this truck has been easy to work on, and I am a mediocre parts swapper, shade tree kind of mechanic at best. It is almost rudimentary even. I have actually enjoyed getting my hands dirty working on it.

This thing had 235k miles on the original timing belt and water pump when I got it. The valve covers had never even been off of it. It is tip top now, and I am not the least bit hesitant to put my oldest behind the wheel in a few short months, when she turns 16.

 

[Topgun15v]

The Toyota moped Gas tank.... Toyota makes a capable vehicle with 4wd and locker, but put a tank small enough that people run out of gas driving to the mall, let alone offloading.

Oh and if we get to the nitty gritty, the transmission breather location where you have to basically drop the tran to raise it...

 

[kolelt]

The Toyota moped Gas tank.... Toyota makes a capable vehicle with 4wd and locker, but put a tank small enough that people run out of gas driving to the mall, let alone offloading.

Oh and if we get to the nitty gritty, the transmission breather location where you have to basically drop the tran to raise it...

Funny thing is I just asked about the transmission breather in my own thread. I don't know why I didn't extend them when the transmission was out. FML !!!!

So is it possible to extend it while it's mounted??

 

[Mudeprived]

Not sure what the big deal is about the dipstick. Mine comes out and goes in just fine.

My main gripe on this rig is the water pouring onto the switches on the first few turns and stops. Seriously the most annoying thing.

The 2nd thing that annoys me about this rig is how much more complicated it is to repair compared to all the jeeps I had before.

I do wish the floor board was deeper than it is. Most cars I sit in have deeper floorboards. I am tall and it gets a little uncomfortable with my knees up so high.

 

[amalik]

Not sure what the big deal is about the dipstick. Mine comes out and goes in just fine.

My main gripe on this rig is the water pouring onto the switches on the first few turns and stops. Seriously the most annoying thing.

The 2nd thing that annoys me about this rig is how much more complicated it is to repair compared to all the jeeps I had before.

I do wish the floor board was deeper than it is. Most cars I sit in have deeper floorboards. I am tall and it gets a little uncomfortable with my knees up so high.

Jeeps must be really easy to repair then; because the 3rd gen 4runner is often cited by us owners as one of the EASIEST vehicles to work on out there.

 

[thecole1098]

Agreed. I didn't think it could get any easier than wrenching on 3rd gens. I love it

 

[thecole1098]

Surprised nobody has mentioned it yet; Tthe damn drum brakes.... Between the leaking axle seals and drums getting warped it seems like I've R&R those bastards 5 times since I've owned this.

And the warping was all because of this little guy not ever being adjusted right:

 

[MattJakobs]

Waiting for the coolant to reach 130F before shifting into third gear.....

This was never so apparent to me till this little cold streak. Now that I have a scanguage, I always notice it.

 

[kolelt]

Surprised nobody has mentioned it yet; Tthe damn drum brakes.... Between the leaking axle seals and drums getting warped it seems like I've R&R those bastards 5 times since I've owned this.

And the warping was all because of this little guy not ever being adjusted right:

Yess. The rear drums are the worst man. After every off road session. You have to re adjust them. Like wtf

 

[Mudeprived]

Jeeps must be really easy to repair then; because the 3rd gen 4runner is often cited by us owners as one of the EASIEST vehicles to work on out there.

I do not agree with that. Replacing wheel bearings, gaskets, shocks, coils, starters, steering boxes, etc and even performing an alignment is really simple on jeeps. Maybe it comes easy to me because I spent so many years driving them and the 4runner is new to me but I am finding simple tasks on the 4runner taking a whole lot longer and even needing shop assistance due to requiring a press or special tools.

Just my first year opinion though.....and maybe will change after a couple more years of hands on.

 

[frankc]

Seating position is too high. Newer 4Rs are comfortable as hell. But, wrenching, design and durability are top notch (10nmm wrench).

If you ever had a 80s chevy truck, with both metric and standard bolts you know what i mean. Not to mention, every time I looked at the power window motor, it broke.

 

[AZ4Running]

How if I have the sunroof open and it starts raining and I start to close it, it will stop halfway and I have to press it a second time for it to close fully. Or even that I still have 4.5 gallons left when the fuel light comes on

Yours too hu. Mine does both. For the longest time I thought I was just getting crap mpg.
How about not having a 4.7L V8 and being stuck with the slow 3.4L or front brakes that are too small. Lower ball joints are a big issue. In my case not having the E locker. On the plus side great trucks that run forever, mine has 280k orignal everything and still strong. Off road capable with good aftermarket support.

 

[Solidape]

Salt makes them rust, not snow & ice LOL

No kidding. Most people would understand that because of snow and ice, there's salt on the ground.. lol

 

[AnotherCO4Runner]

I hate that my 3rd gen is so easy to fix that I think I can fix things. I am not sure what is more frustrating or expensive: 1) taking my 4Runner apart and fixing 5x the things i set out to "while I was in there" or 2) paying a mechanic 2x of the original quote because he recommends fixing things he found "while he was in there"?

 

[Scramble]

No kidding. Most people would understand that because of snow and ice, there's salt on the ground.. lol

Not every State that has snow uses salt. LOL

 

[SigSauer]

So far, the worst thing about my 97 SR5 was the hour I had to stand in line at the tag office to get the title transferred!

 

[96RedRunner]

I would say it is replacing valve cover gaskets. Though this varies somewhat with sub-gen. Did my 96 3.4 couple months ago, I thought that was bad.
Did my 01 3.4 yesterday and today, Damn! more wires, more hoses, ABS in the way for sure. I can live with it now! I'm covered for 100k miles on both. YEA!!

 

[Topgun15v]

Funny thing is I just asked about the transmission breather in my own thread. I don't know why I didn't extend them when the transmission was out. FML !!!!

So is it possible to extend it while it's mounted??

Lol, it always happens that way for me too! I am not 100% sure if you can or not. After doing mine, I would say no, unless you have really tiny hands and know exactly what it looks/feels like. I would be interested to see if anyone has done this before.

 

[djaye.]

Starter and rear axle seals, hands down.

Not much else to complain about on these trucks, we really have it good. Have you ever driven a gm suv? LOL

 

[Snowden]

The worst part is loving my 3rd gen so much, when I'm in the flats, I always have to park in a North 40 so to avoid door dings from nimrods, but at the same time need to ensure I can see it from a store window and watch it like my pet pup. Okay I don't really hate that...but you know what I mean.