To Buy or Not to Buy...and vin check

[jstim]

Maybe this should be a sticky...not too sure. You tend to see a few of these here and there. Some of us more experienced than others in this, but even with my experience I still ask second opinions and if anyone can do a VIN check.

Anywho.....its a 2002 SR5 Silver.

The Good- Body is solid, little surface rust where the back bumper was hit. Looks like it was a minor fender bender, no body damage aside from the bumper touching the body itself. Solid clean frame...check.

The Bad- It does have some maintenance things that need to be addressed. I know just looking at it, valve cover gaskets, timing belt and water pump, upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, shocks, struts and needs a alignment bad. AutoZone pulled 3 codes, the infamous P0446 x2 and P1135. Oh, and cosmetically need a passenger side mirror housing.

It has a shake between 60-70 mph. I can't tell if its because it needs new rotors, or its just part of the alignment and maintenance needs.

VIN - JT3HN86R4290614444

The plan is to go with Tundra struts up front, LC shocks in the rear, level, no rake. This rig is going to be my girlfriends DD. I am going to do all the maintenance myself except for the timing belt, and I know thats about $700. He's come down from 4k to 3500. Thoughts on where to go from here.

Edit- [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION] you have resurrected a few and built one for your wife....what do you think?

 

[nissanh]

You should be able to do the timing belt if you can do the LBJ's.
How many miles in the truck?
If it is below 140K miles and 4WD, I think with all the repairs needed to be done, it is worth $3500.
Vibration at 60MPH most likely is drive shaft (U-joints)

 

[jstim]

You should be able to do the timing belt if you can do the LBJ's.
How many miles in the truck?
If it is below 140K miles and 4WD, I think with all the repairs needed to be done, it is worth $3500.
Vibration at 60MPH most likely is drive shaft (U-joints)

The shake is only up front, so I am not sure. It has 190,6XX on it. I feel like it's a bit higher mileage for some of the 02's I've seen. Especially with some of the maintenance gaps.

Putting together a parts list right now, I'm at about 840 for everything except shocks and struts, and the timing belt. How much is the timing belt and water pump?

 

[Myrunr2010]

How much is the timing belt and water pump?

Depends on where you get it. I went with a Napa kit at the suggestion of my mechanic, I wanna say it was around 350. Not a difficult job though, just time consuming.

 

[jstim]

Depends on where you get it. I went with a Napa kit at the suggestion of my mechanic, I wanna say it was around 350. Not a difficult job though, just time consuming.

Was looking at the OEM stuff, just trying to figure out exactly what I would need to order. Obviously the belt, and seals, and the water pump. I am probably going to go through Camelback, order everything at one time, and just take it on one thing at a time if I decide to pick it up. I want it to be good to go and reliable from the moment I put her in it.

 

[Myrunr2010]

Was looking at the OEM stuff, just trying to figure out exactly what I would need to order. Obviously the belt, and seals, and the water pump. I am probably going to go through Camelback, order everything at one time, and just take it on one thing at a time if I decide to pick it up. I want it to be good to go and reliable from the moment I put her in it.

Make sure you get a new tensioner

 

[octanejunkie]

If you're gonna do the timing chain you might as well do the water pump, tensioner, thermostat, radiator cap and all external belts. I had my local shop do my timing chain (with all the aforementioned parts) for about $730 out the door, but not using Toyota parts - that would have been about $200 more according to my guy, but hey, this is LA.

Honestly though, if the seller deferred that much maintenance (potentially neglectfully) and this will be your GFs DD, then you will probably want to go through everything: including all brakes, all fluids, both differentials, drive shafts, CV joints and axles, bearings, seals, plugs, wires, coils, etc etc etc.

And by all means, check the VIN

Good BF :first:

 

[gamefreakgc]

Was looking at the OEM stuff, just trying to figure out exactly what I would need to order. Obviously the belt, and seals, and the water pump. I am probably going to go through Camelback, order everything at one time, and just take it on one thing at a time if I decide to pick it up. I want it to be good to go and reliable from the moment I put her in it.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyo...keywords=toyota+4runner+timing+belt+kit+aisin

You're welcome. Also, I bought mine with vibrations too. If you feel it in the steering wheel it's the tie rods or a suspension component, if you feel it in the seats/body (passenger also feels it) it's the wheels. If it's been bad for a while it's usually both, it'll wear the tires wrong and then everything's gone.

The driveshaft will feel like a humming vibration, not a shake.

 

[MONTYMTB]

Was looking at the OEM stuff, just trying to figure out exactly what I would need to order. Obviously the belt, and seals, and the water pump. I am probably going to go through Camelback, order everything at one time, and just take it on one thing at a time if I decide to pick it up. I want it to be good to go and reliable from the moment I put her in it.

Lots of folks on here get it from aircabinman on ebay.
Includes the tensioner:
Toyota V6 Trucks Timing Belt Water Pump Kit w Hydraulic Ten Genuine OE Parts | eBay

 

[jpeaslee]

The plan is to go with Tundra struts up front, LC shocks in the rear, level, no rake. This rig is going to be my girlfriends DD.

What springs are you doing?

 

[jstim]

What springs are you doing?

I'm not sure yet. Need to figure that out too.

Looks like I may let it go, he's still talking about $3500. Not my problem someone sold him an '02 that has all those issues. I can't afford to cover the cost on his mistake.

 

[DK327]

I bought mine with vibration at 60-70mph which was MOSTLY resolved by getting brand new tires and proper wheel balance by Hunter machine @ Tires Plus. Do yourself a favor and get lifetime alignment as well so you can keep going back after every front end/steering replacement/upgrade.

 

[jstim]

I bought mine with vibration at 60-70mph which was MOSTLY resolved by getting brand new tires and proper wheel balance by Hunter machine @ Tires Plus. Do yourself a favor and get lifetime alignment as well so you can keep going back after every front end/steering replacement/upgrade.

Don't know where there's a tired plus around me. I'm at 1200 in parts and that doesn't include any shocks or struts or tires. To call those tires good is an absolute stretch.

 

[Focoty]

Lots of folks on here get it from aircabinman on ebay.
Includes the tensioner:
Toyota V6 Trucks Timing Belt Water Pump Kit w Hydraulic Ten Genuine OE Parts | eBay

Just got done installing this kit. Has everything you possibly need parts wise, all OEM stuff and even cam seals if you wanted to get that far into the job. If you are doing all that other maintenance then you should certainly be skilled enough to do the whole job. I only did it because it saved me $500+. But honestly if i had the spare cash laying around and didn't mind spending it i'd probably end up paying someone to do it. A difficult job? No not particularly. But there will be lots of busted knuckles and swearing.

 

[Myrunr2010]

Looks like I may let it go, he's still talking about $3500. Not my problem someone sold him an '02 that has all those issues. I can't afford to cover the cost on his mistake.

I think that's your best bet OP. That thing needs a lot for the price he's talking and with the miles on it. You could find a lot better deal.

 

[jstim]

I think that's your best bet OP. That thing needs a lot for the price he's talking and with the miles on it. You could find a lot better deal.

I wish I could shake some sense into him. But there are plenty of window lickers to cover the cost of his mistakes. If anyone knows of a 99-02 that's what I'm looking for.

 

[jstim]

Update I got a text yesterday- he offered to come down to 3k. I'm seriously thinking about it, ordering all the parts this week, and working on replacing all those horrendous parts. Thoughts?

 

[nissanh]

Get that AIRCABINMEn's OEM timing belt kit. Don't buy anything from any other seller.

If you have time, you can get the timing belt job done easily. I did it for the first time and it is easy. The hardest part is the removal of the crank bolt. I used the starter bump method. ON my Land cruiser, I used my cordless impact gun to break the crank bolt loose.
Try it on your own even if you have extra money because you will get a perfect job. Any mechanic will do it but not as good as you can do.

If you need help, we are here to help.

 

[Myrunr2010]

Get that AIRCABINMEn's OEM timing belt kit. Don't buy anything from any other seller.

If you have time, you can get the timing belt job done easily. I did it for the first time and it is easy. The hardest part is the removal of the crank bolt. I used the starter bump method. ON my Land cruiser, I used my cordless impact gun to break the crank bolt loose.
Try it on your own even if you have extra money because you will get a perfect job. Any mechanic will do it but not as good as you can do.

If you need help, we are here to help.

Might not be a bad deal, its a lot of maintenance needs done on it, but if you can get it for 3k, its not too bad i guess

 

[jstim]

Might not be a bad deal, its a lot of maintenance needs done on it, but if you can get it for 3k, its not too bad i guess

That's what I am thinking. I really think I may pick it up, and take my time to get it together. Order all the parts at once, and tear it down, and put it back together. Looks like I may do the SS 7.2 kit. It'll give it the lift she wants and all the new suspension it needs.