Y.Satchel

My question can be put pretty simply:

What should I look for in a used, first-gen 4runner that will make a solid, reliable daily driver? I have no plans to off-road as of now, just need a snow worthy, dependable truck with some extra passenger space for the northeastern winters and beyond.

Obvious things I have gleaned from this forum thus far:

-MANUAL!
-4 Cylinder (22R/RE)
-Avoid heavy modifications/lifts
-Watch for damaged/rusted frames

But I guess I'm wondering what else more experienced folks might suggest I look for, or better yet stay away from in my search.

I'm not mechanically inclined (as of yet) and my first car purchase--a 98 Ford ranger XLT with 106,000 miles on it--was a ˟˟˟˟ing disaster in every regard, so I'm approaching the purchase of a car from the 80's with probably 150-200,000 miles+ with some caution.

Am I just better off staying away from a first-gen runner all together til I step my DIY game up? I hope NOT, since they seem great in many respects, but I'd rather just hear it straight from those who know, rather than end up with another dysfunctional moneypit on my hands. Even if it's a loveable, TOYOTA money pit instead of a FORD :-)

Thanks in advance.

I've been a ghost on the forum for the past couple months and it's been a big help already.

Mods please feel free to move/merge this as you deem appropriate, but I tried to search and wasn't yielding any questions in quite the same vein.

westjohns yota

ask to see if the timing chain guides and headgasket has been done, check the radioator to make sure there isnt a milky substensence, also pull the oil cap while its running to make sure it isnt milky white, make sure it doesnt smoke, check all the tie rods, and all that, drive it, test the brakes,get underneath it while its running and make sure theres no leaks of any kind, brakes fluid, oil, anitfreeze, etc etc

Y.Satchel

Thanks for the helpful suggestions^^^I definitely plan to try to do all that if possible, as well as just bring it to a solid mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, though unfortunately a lot of the runners that appear to be in better shape would be long-distance ebay purchases. Lord knows I don't trust those "we go look at your car and tell you if it has a paint chip or two and maybe test drive it" "inspection" services I see advertised on ebay. Especially when it comes to older vehicles.

Might gotta wait and find something real close to home first time around.

Nervo19

You ought to put your location with your profile. People here are always buying and selling things. I've made two purchases where I said I needed something and someone contacted me through private message.

I look on eBay all the time but would not purchase a vehicle unless it was close to me. You have to see it and drive it. eBay is useful for looking at lots of 4Runners and figuring out the pros and cons in each. I have got some great parts off eBay though.

There is a factory service manual at

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/

Have a look at it and make sure you have a set of metric tools. If you are going to drive a 25 year old vehicle you need to resolve that you will have to do some work yourself. Every town has a service garage that specializes in foreign cars or toyotas. You should figure out where you will go for the service you can't do.

Spend a lot of time looking through this forum and the other Toyota forums. You will begin to get a feel for what the common weak points these vehicles can have: rust, 3.0 head gaskets, rear power window, etc.

Y.Satchel

Nervo,

Thanks, done.

And yea, I imagine I will have to learn to work on any older vehicle a bit. Def trying to soak up all I can in advance as far as potential problems and issues I might run into so I know what I'm in for.