This seem like a decent deal?

[stanleybb50]

I want to echo the pink milkshake advise. be sure you install an external tranny cooler as part of your very first maintenance. Head gaskets are not really a concern on the 3.4, but rear wheel seals are, and they are pretty expensive to have replaced.

as far as 3rd gens being longer lasting that 4th gens..... how could anyone know that? i have not seen any 20 year old 4th gens on the road only because they don't exist yet. IMHO the third gens look the best, but there is no evidence to suggest they will last any longer than the 4th gen.

Also, keep in mind the GX470 if your father wants a truck like yours. They can be had with less miles than the 3rd gen you are looking at for about 7-9k. For some reason they are way cheaper than the toyota version, but built the same.

Agreed. Since this one was replaced already, we won't be in any big rush though.

I would suspect the truck suffered from the pink milkshake and the dealer blamed it on her running over something. It's a known (possibly over reported on this forum) issue with these trucks that's very cheap to avoid by just bypassing the cooler in the radiator and putting on an external cooler.

If it's had both the radiator and transmission changed, he should be in good shape for a long time to come. Looks like a solid deal to me. :whoo:

Agree fully on all points. I truly believe it was likely the pink milkshake/coolant in the trans, issue.

Agree that now that both have been changed about 2 years ago, all is well! I'm pumped for him!

I'll throw on some good undercoat for him too. There's stuff I used on my 4th gen this year that really impressed me. Some lanolin based stuff? I forget the name, but it really impressed me a lot. I'll just slap that all over the frame for him for good measure.

It was garage kept so that's another great thing!

 

[Scramble]

How about corrosion under the truck?
4X4 and rear locking diff.?

The 3rd gen 4x4 are never below $3500 even with 250K miles in the clock.

no locker after 2000.

 

[stanleybb50]

I thought I'd follow up here with good news.

Everything checked out to what the seller said... I spent a good but of time under it this weekend undercoating pretty much the whole frame in that Lanolin based spray (still can't think of the name). There was probably 60-70% of the frame with at minimum, surface rust, but seemingly structurally strong. I coated the heck outta it with that spray. It seems solid for a decent time to come at least.

But anyway - looking at the trans underneath corroborates that it looks like an actual new trans. At bare minimum a rebuilt trans with a new pan and bolts. So that's good.

My guess is exactly what someone else had said here that the pink milkshake happened and the dealer blamed the wife saying she drive over something. I'm very confident in saying this because the overflow still had milkshake in it... You believe that?

Looking at the actual fluid in the radiator, it's just beautiful/nice fluid in a new looking radiator. Thus, I feel very confident in saying that the pink milkshake occurred at some point and they replaced the trans and radiator, but some m*ron mechanic didn't clean out the overflow.... I mean... C'mon! First thing we noticed was that after the engine cooled, the top radiator hose would implode a bit (b cause it wasn't sucking the milkshake in from the overflow because it was too thick (glad it wasn't sucking in).

Anyway - we cleaned out the overflow and all is perfect! He's put at least 500 perfect miles on it so far.

On another note - the 4wd does now seem to work, but was a little finicky at first. Maybe it didn't want to go in, or maybe the center diff lock actuator is sticking (which we don't care "too" much about). When I first tried the center diff, it just flashed at me and seemed stuck in that mode for a bit. Since then, my dad has said the regular 4wd (that seems like my '06 v8 that allows you to drive on dry roads) dies seem to come on perfectly now and gives him the 4 green wheels on the instrument cluster.

He hasn't yet tried the center diff again as I told him I'm willing to bet it's stuck because that 1 owner probably never touched it for 16 years! Lol.

Oil was nice and amber colored - another good sign.

Anyway - the ks again for the help fellas!!! Seriously - BIG help and I appreciate it. I think he'll get many more miles on this 3rd Gen!

 

[Dobe99]

Looks pretty good. Does it have PWR ETC? Or diff lock? Also check cable covers for any oil leakage. Best of luck, price seems on the slightly lower end compared to blue book.

 

[Dobe99]

Valve covers* not cable covers...darn auto correct sometimes.....

 

[stanleybb50]

Cool! I didn't see much oik leakage. Not sure what you mean by the PWR ETC.

You might mean power to the center diff lock computer? I'm not sure... But it did make the lights on the instrument cluster (the 4 wheels and center orange) flash. There were no beeps though. Maybe I just did things out of order... Who the heck knows... Lol.

Or maybe you mean power in the engine/compression/etc - and it seemed to have lots of pep. I could easily see myself driving it and not missing my v8, just because it seemed quite fun to drive and had pep and was smooth.

Also - I just registered his vin on the toyota website and saw a plethora of great records! Also confirmed what he said in replacing the transmission with new at 137k, the radiator, and lots of oil changes/etc. Very good records on there! Very good!

 

[jgue467]

... Not sure what you mean by the PWR ETC.

...

They ALL have PWR ETC. Its just the dash button that adjusts the transmissions' shift points to a higher rpm allowing for a little extra "power" during acceleration, don't get Excited, I said a little. LOL... :cowboy:

 

[planomateo]

One thing I found by accident, you can create an account on the Toyota Owners site and link the VIN to your account. You'll get any service records performed by Toyota automatically show up with a brief overview. The earliest records I've seen is 2008 via this method, perhaps they don't have the records prior to 2008?

Might give you some insight into the service history at Toyota dealerships.

 

[stanleybb50]

One thing I found by accident, you can create an account on the Toyota Owners site and link the VIN to your account. You'll get any service records performed by Toyota automatically show up with a brief overview. The earliest records I've seen is 2008 via this method, perhaps they don't have the records prior to 2008?

Might give you some insight into the service history at Toyota dealerships.

Yep! Did it and have like 12 pages printed to give my Dad.

Including ball joint, lifetime exhaust piece, timing belt, water pump, radiator, transmission, and some other stuff. Of course lots of oil changes and the like!

Also 4WD, from 4HI/Low shift lever (button) is working flawlessly for him. So glad to hear it! She's running like a top!