I live an hour in the mountains and been posted up in Denver looking for a 4runner for the last week. Need to find a 4runner. ŪOn Craigslist I see a listing that says "edited 6 minutes ago". A clean 1996 Lmtd, Drk Green. He says "I just dropped the price from $3,000 to $2,000 'cause I need to sell it. I haul over there and it checks out very clean, transmission serviced, no ticks, knocks, with clean fluids. As I'm having a look someone shows up from earlier who doesn't know the price already dropped and says to him "I can only offer you $2700"!!!. So he comes over to me and says "The price is now 2700."!?! But everything checks out and I say I'll take it, noting the curveball of change in price, and he offers to knock it down to $2500. It's got 230k but well maintained, in very good shape, not a scratch, good paint, new tires, Alpine CD. Deal. I can't believe this thing lasted a single day at $3k. He's younger with 1 in the crib and one on the way, I walk away satisfied, even in my choice of color how can I complain. With the papers I get the original window sticker showing extras ... Diff-Lock! Further digging I find a receipt for timing belt & water pump done 40k ago. Ready to hit the mountains.

My only hesitation; the 1996 feels a bit rougher in interior and structure than some of the later models I've driven like 2002. Like the door feels crazy light (not strong for impact). The 2002 felt a lot more plush and a bit better built. At 6'2", the cabin is pretty cramped already so every bit helps. Am I imagining this or are the 2000's or even the '99 a lot more plush? I could resell this and pay a bit more for a later year. I just rolled a vehicle this summer on the highway and it was let's just say a surprise, was not expecting it at all. I'm a mechanic (shade tree), surfer, snowboarder, and I thought to be a good driver. One reason I dislike the ever present moonroof.

It also came stock with VIP RS-3000 alarm but no FOB. Are there replacements out there? ...wait, let me google that

The 'runner's at another location so I haven't even located the diff lock switch, I'm pretty sure I checked the usual places but I'll look again.

confession: ok, the new tires are Fuzion SUV 245/75-16 111t. Some reviews said they are actually good, some not. Yeah, they're narrower than stock 265/70's but folks are saying narrower may be better to sink down in snow? I'll let it prove it's self before dropping $600 on tires, but recommendations, flames appreciated. Would like something that'll work ok on hwy, snow/ice, and high mtn jeep trails w/ sharp rocks.

[I edited the title to say '96-'99 but it's showing as 2006-2009.]
Thanks for reading!

 

The model years used in this post are... a bit confusing.

Based on the pic, it's a 1996.... ???

And you're wondering how much difference there is between a '96 and the 3rd gne midlife facelift (99 - 02)?

My wife has a 96 manual, I have a 99 Highlander package, they're really (not counting mods) very similar. The interior mods are fairly mild - small rearrangement in the dash/parking brake area, moving the cup holders off the dash and into the center console. There's a bigger side cubby in the back. Some other very minor differences (clear headlights vs. faceted), but they're still 99% the same thing.

If you have a diff lock, the button will be to the left of the steering column on the dash, a push button with red or orange lettering that says 'RR DIFF LOCK'. If it's missing, peek under at the rear diff and see if there's a gizmo on the left side of the diff housing or not.

If it's been owned by a cash poor owner for a while, it might have a bit of a backlog in maintenance queued up for you. The main things to worry about before anything else are:
1) Lower ball joints - if there's no sign they've been replaced - start thinking about replacing them soon. They can fail catastrophically with little warning.
2) Radiator - specifically the transmission cooler build into the bottom tank. Without warning, those can start leaking and mix coolant and trans fluid together. Just makes a mess in the engine, but will kill the trans in short order if not caught very quickly.

#2 isn't a problem if you managed to find a 5 speed manual, in which case, bravo. We have two manuals, they're modestly hard to find.

 

Looking into the Taco Ball Joint upgrade. Is there a best option(s) online that stocks many actual OEM parts? I see camelbacktoyota.com has free shipping over $150

And the radiator you just have to replace every 100k or so 'cause there's no way to check (before failure), correct?

After reading around a bit, I think I may try to find some later year seats to swap and see if that helps. Is there a favorite alternative maybe other than 4runner? electric seats.

*edited to say Taco (not Tundra) upgrade

 

Tundra front brake upgrade for the wheels you have will require either spacers, adapters or different wheels.

I am not aware of the Tundra ball joint upgrade....have heard of the Tacoma version, but the small gain vs loss of some turning radius and cost doesn't seem worth it to me. Of course to each our own.

Instead of replacing the radiator you could do the external trans oil cooler. Either way works.

Mounts are the same for the seats so if you can find some no worries, bolts right in.

Nice looking little truck! You do what you've got to do. Personally I wouldn't give up my 96 for all the fat-lip bumpers in the world, but mine is a special one-of-a-kind sort of goofiness.

 

If I go with the 4runner LBJ, I just get that part only and maybe call and see if they have the 4 bolts around it(?) also?

External trans. cooler sounds like the way to go, Thx.

One person posted that a '99 LTD seat mount was 1" longer than his '96 but didn't specify what trim he had,
others have posted any seat '96-'02 should work. He said the seat foam itself unbolts and was a straight swap.

 

Definitely get those 4 bolts for each side. Not much money from Toyota, especially when so much rides on them. Strongly recommend OE for the ball joints....IMO, of course.

I've got both in the driveway, will have to compare the seat feet tomorrow though I didn't think them different. I do know the sport seat in the 99 is more comfortable than the seats that were in my 96. Those have since been replaced with some Mazda seats. Those were not bolt-in...

 

The diff lock was right there where it was supposed to be...called for ball joints locally $180 each, twice what's online. Easy decision. Finding seats, however, another matter. I'm considering just rebuilding them from foam and then covering, if something doesn't turn up. Thanks! ..apparently there's no way to add rep here, so "Thank You" will have to do.