Truck Newbie Here: Just Picked Up a High Mileage V6 2WD Limited. Input Appreciated!

[Lownskater52]

Hey guys,

Newbie here. I've always been a car guy and was never really into SUVs/Trucks. I've had many fast cars and now have a 2016 C7 Corvette Z51 I bought new a little over a year ago. I've been putting a bunch of miles on it and it isn't exactly comfortable so when my dad told me he was getting rid of his 4runner to get my mom's 09 4runner, I thought I might pick it up and make it my DD.

So I did. It's a silver 2004 4runner Limited 2WD V6 with 210k all highway miles. I bought it from him for $2500. KBB private retail in good condition is $5k so I made out alright I think. As for details: its 1 owner, been in FL since day one so no rust, just had the front brakes completely redone for $900, had the dash replaced due to a recall, somewhat new tires with 30k miles left on them at least, runs well with no discernible problems, and is in need of a detail badly.

My plan right now is to have it professionally detailed in and out with a nice new coat of wax to protect that is starting to fade in areas. I also want to take it in to a shop to have all the fluids changed and the overall car looked at.

I'm a newbie with 4runners and trucks in general so I'm hoping for some guidance. I'll include some questions below and I'd really appreciate any input. I'll post pics below too as a token of gratitude

1. How is the longevity on these trucks? I know Toyotas are super reliable but 210k miles is a lot of miles, even for $2500 bucks. I'd love to get another $100k miles of possible. Any secrets for achieving that?

2. Where should I look for problems? Any issues that typically arise that I should keep my eyes out for? Any service to do right away?

3. Should I take it to Toyota to get looked at? I want a full inspection but not sure if I should pick a shop or take it to Toyota and get the real deal. What would the cost of that be? I plan to pay $150 for a detail and maybe invest $500 into fixing stuff and changing fluids. I'm hoping that's all itll need.

4. What do people do to these things? What's cool when building these things? I want to customize it a little bit but I'm not looking into super tricking it out with the mileage as high as it is. I also need it to remain comfortable as I'll be driving this to work daily for a 26 mile round trip on the highway. I think I might paint the stock wheels black, get slightly bigger tires, maybe a small lift. A cheaper but decent sound upgrade would probably be needed as well. All new to me in this area.

Thanks in advance!

 

[gookies]

If the timing belt + water pump hasn't been replaced at ~200k, that would be my priority.

 

[theoutbackdream]

1. How is the longevity on these trucks? I know Toyotas are super reliable but 210k miles is a lot of miles, even for $2500 bucks. I'd love to get another $100k miles of possible. Any secrets for achieving that?

2. Where should I look for problems? Any issues that typically arise that I should keep my eyes out for? Any service to do right away?

3. Should I take it to Toyota to get looked at? I want a full inspection but not sure if I should pick a shop or take it to Toyota and get the real deal. What would the cost of that be? I plan to pay $150 for a detail and maybe invest $500 into fixing stuff and changing fluids. I'm hoping that's all itll need.

4. What do people do to these things? What's cool when building these things? I want to customize it a little bit but I'm not looking into super tricking it out with the mileage as high as it is. I also need it to remain comfortable as I'll be driving this to work daily for a 26 mile round trip on the highway. I think I might paint the stock wheels black, get slightly bigger tires, maybe a small lift. A cheaper but decent sound upgrade would probably be needed as well. All new to me in this area.

Dang for $2500, thats a steal! Can't even get a POS civic for $2.5k here!

1. You'll have no problems. Just keep up your regular maintenance(oil changes, diff fluid, air filter, etc), and do preventative maintenance where you can. The secret is really just this.... And owning a Toyota. :biggrin1:

2. At that mileage, you might want to inspect all your moving parts. So suspension joints, bushings, cv axles, drive line, brakes. Lube your driveshafts! Make sure or try to figure out what maintenance has been done so far. That way, you aren't attacking a job that was only done a few thousand miles ago. Services that I would look into ASAP would be your brakes (check brake fluid level, brake fluid color, brake pad thickness, brake rotor thickness), tires(tread depth, uneven wear), and possibly fluid changes(engine and diff)(depending when the previous owner did it last). At that mileage, you might run into issues with brakes, alternator, radiator hoses, wheel bearing, Bushings, and boots ripping(CV boots, ball joint boots, etc).

3. No. Don't go to a stealership. If you can do it yourself, do it yourself. If you can't or don't have enough confidence, find a trusted mechanic. They'll usually be a lot cheaper than the stealership.

4. Depends what you want to do with your rig, and where you want to take it. It sounds like you want to keep it on-road, so maybe you might want to look into upgrading your suspension from the sagging stock suspension that's had its fair share?

 

[theoutbackdream]

If the timing belt + water pump hasn't been replaced at ~200k, that would be my priority.

OP has a V6, so he has a timing chain.

 

[Lownskater52]

Dang for $2500, thats a steal! Can't even get a POS civic for $2.5k here!

1. You'll have no problems. Just keep up your regular maintenance(oil changes, diff fluid, air filter, etc), and do preventative maintenance where you can. The secret is really just this.... And owning a Toyota. :biggrin1:

2. At that mileage, you might want to inspect all your moving parts. So suspension joints, bushings, cv axles, drive line, brakes. Lube your driveshafts! Make sure or try to figure out what maintenance has been done so far. That way, you aren't attacking a job that was only done a few thousand miles ago. Services that I would look into ASAP would be your brakes (check brake fluid level, brake fluid color, brake pad thickness, brake rotor thickness), tires(tread depth, uneven wear), and possibly fluid changes(engine and diff)(depending when the previous owner did it last). At that mileage, you might run into issues with brakes, alternator, radiator hoses, wheel bearing, Bushings, and boots ripping(CV boots, ball joint boots, etc).

3. No. Don't go to a stealership. If you can do it yourself, do it yourself. If you can't or don't have enough confidence, find a trusted mechanic. They'll usually be a lot cheaper than the stealership.

4. Depends what you want to do with your rig, and where you want to take it. It sounds like you want to keep it on-road, so maybe you might want to look into upgrading your suspension from the sagging stock suspension that's had its fair share?

- LOL yeah I figured it was a pretty good deal. Pretty excited about fixing it up.

- Definitely going to keep the fluids clean. Plan to replace them all when I get the car. This is my first Toyota so I'm looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

- I'm going to cover most of what you said right off the bat. The front brake rotors and pads are brand new. I'll need to have the back rotors replaced soon which might cost me a couple hundred bucks. The tires are only a year old have and have maybe 30k miles on them with another 30k miles to go. Tons of tread. Along with the fluid changes mentioned earlier, I should be caught up.

- I'll go online and look for a local mechanic with good reviews to look it over.

- Yeah this is going to be a street car for my DD. I dont think you can take a V6 2WD off road, especially with this many miles. I do want to make it look cool though and spice it up a bit with some tasteful mods. Also the sound system needs work. My plans right now were: new wheels and tires eventually (prolly used), very tiny lift or leveling kit, some sort of grill guard or lights. Who knows!

 

[Lownskater52]

So apparently my parents kept all of the service records for it. It had its head gasket replaced at 90k miles which is a good thing. I'm hoping that keeps the head gasket bug away. Front brake pads replaced, rotors resurfaced, and calipers "rebuilt" at 205k. I'll need the back ones done shortly. It also had the drive belt replaced at 106k. All done by Toyota. I feel like I might be in good shape.

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[AuSeeker]

Even for a 2wd "...a pretty good deal..." is a understatement, in the SE USA I have seen similar go for at least 2 to 3 times or more for the price you got it for, take your parents out for a good meal and drinks, you can afford it for the price they gave it to you for!!!

- LOL yeah I figured it was a pretty good deal. Pretty excited about fixing it up.

- Definitely going to keep the fluids clean. Plan to replace them all when I get the car. This is my first Toyota so I'm looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

- I'm going to cover most of what you said right off the bat. The front brake rotors and pads are brand new. I'll need to have the back rotors replaced soon which might cost me a couple hundred bucks. The tires are only a year old have and have maybe 30k miles on them with another 30k miles to go. Tons of tread. Along with the fluid changes mentioned earlier, I should be caught up.

- I'll go online and look for a local mechanic with good reviews to look it over.

- Yeah this is going to be a street car for my DD. I dont think you can take a V6 2WD off road, especially with this many miles. I do want to make it look cool though and spice it up a bit with some tasteful mods. Also the sound system needs work. My plans right now were: new wheels and tires eventually (prolly used), very tiny lift or leveling kit, some sort of grill guard or lights. Who knows!

You're 2wd can handle a bit of mild offroading, you may be even a bit surprised, but I would recommend either a winch or at the very least a good tow strap and a come-along in case you get stuck in the mud or sand and I wouldn't worry about the mileage as a factor here, these 4Runners are known for going 300,000 miles and upwards as long as they're maintained properly and it seem your parents did just that now it's up to you to continue it.

So apparently my parents kept all of the service records for it. It had its head gasket replaced at 90k miles which is a good thing. I'm hoping that keeps the head gasket bug away. Front brake pads replaced, rotors resurfaced, and calipers "rebuilt" at 205k. I'll need the back ones done shortly. It also had the drive belt replaced at 106k. All done by Toyota. I feel like I might be in good shape.

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The head gaskets already being replaced is a biggie, the 2003 to 2005 V6s had bad head gaskets from the factory, the replacement gaskets were upgraded so you should ever have to worry about that unless you overheat it.

I not sure what you mean by "..drive belt..", there's no such belt on these 4Runners, V8 Or V6, I'm guessing either you meant the serpentine belt or timing belt, but there no timing belt on the V6, it has a timing chain that usually last upwards of 300,000 miles before it get too stretched out and needs replacing but I have never read of these chains breaking as can happen with the V8 timing belt, if you meant serpentine belt I would replace it again since it's been over 100,000 miles since it was replaced, it's due if that's the case or it's never been replaced, I would also go ahead and replace the water pump if it's never been replaced it's had a long life and would be due, not very costly, if you meant the timing chain was replaced that's a good thing as it will last another 200,000 miles, if not you may want to replace it at some point as you get closer to the 300,000 mile mark.

I would also completely replace all fluids, oil, transmission, differential, brake, power steering, and coolant, along with any filters, there's also a cabin air filter behind the glovebox that maybe has never been changed, should be done annually, check the owner's manual for how to access it and also check for any leaks and fix them if needed, check all hoses as well for drying out and or cracking, etc., have all grease fittings lubed correctly.

 

[Supersonic]

I'm going for a summer cruiser here, with smaller tires, 265/70/16 being stock, previous owner had just put on 275/70/16. I've Bought 7 used tires and rims from a Tacoma owner, 245/75/16, unfortunately the matching 4 are too worn, so I've got plenty of extra rims, now just got to find better tires, but like you I've got good tires so I can wait for a good deal. Seen some on Craig's list but nothing near is affordable, and there are some 245's on larger rims but once again affordability and distance from me, and I'd really prefer steel rims, but I might have to try eBay or wait that out because they seem less available.

Great deal, I'd rather have 2wd for a summer cruiser, but my 2005 294k, 4wd was only $2000 so a deal I couldn't pass up too, it came from New Mexico so there is only some limited surface rust and I plan to keep it forever, runs great and I'll store it in the winter months.

 

[Lownskater52]

Even for a 2wd "...a pretty good deal..." is a understatement, in the SE USA I have seen similar go for at least 2 to 3 times or more for the price you got it for, take your parents out for a good meal and drinks, you can afford it for the price they gave it to you for!!!



You're 2wd can handle a bit of mild offroading, you may be even a bit surprised, but I would recommend either a winch or at the very least a good tow strap and a come-along in case you get stuck in the mud or sand and I wouldn't worry about the mileage as a factor here, these 4Runners are known for going 300,000 miles and upwards as long as they're maintained properly and it seem your parents did just that now it's up to you to continue it.



The head gaskets already being replaced is a biggie, the 2003 to 2005 V6s had bad head gaskets from the factory, the replacement gaskets were upgraded so you should ever have to worry about that unless you overheat it.

I not sure what you mean by "..drive belt..", there's no such belt on these 4Runners, V8 Or V6, I'm guessing either you meant the serpentine belt or timing belt, but there no timing belt on the V6, it has a timing chain that usually last upwards of 300,000 miles before it get too stretched out and needs replacing but I have never read of these chains breaking as can happen with the V8 timing belt, if you meant serpentine belt I would replace it again since it's been over 100,000 miles since it was replaced, it's due if that's the case or it's never been replaced, I would also go ahead and replace the water pump if it's never been replaced it's had a long life and would be due, not very costly, if you meant the timing chain was replaced that's a good thing as it will last another 200,000 miles, if not you may want to replace it at some point as you get closer to the 300,000 mile mark.

I would also completely replace all fluids, oil, transmission, differential, brake, power steering, and coolant, along with any filters, there's also a cabin air filter behind the glovebox that maybe has never been changed, should be done annually, check the owner's manual for how to access it and also check for any leaks and fix them if needed, check all hoses as well for drying out and or cracking, etc., have all grease fittings lubed correctly.

This is a great post! They will certainly be getting a couple of drinks on me.

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[gshadow325]

buying it from family doesnt really count as a deal. i routinely give cars away to family. this one was a give away.

i'd buy new headlights asap. so you can see
grease the driveshaft
replace the rear diff fluids
plugs if it needs it.

drive it forever.

 

[Lownskater52]

buying it from family doesnt really count as a deal. i routinely give cars away to family. this one was a give away.

i'd buy new headlights asap. so you can see
grease the driveshaft
replace the rear diff fluids
plugs if it needs it.

drive it forever.

Lol. You're right. This doesn't really count as a steal. More like a generational hand-me-down but I'll take it.

Greasing the driveshaft? Alrighty I'll take your guys word for it. I'll be doing that along with flushing and replacing all of the fluids I can. I also plan on changing the water pump which I hear is cheap. My parents are having the back brakes redone and the hood supports replaced. They have every single service/repair record for the car since day 1 so I'm stoked to go through that. I get the car in 3 weeks once my dad gets his new 4runner so I'm going to start ordering stuff now. Looking forward to getting everything started!

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[Lownskater52]

Parents sent me some pics of the service record she has. Even has the original window stick with options! It's the limited with moonroof and JBL sound system. 35k. Prolly close to 40k in today's dollars.











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