All my life (i'm 30) I've owned only chevy's/GMC pick up trucks. I'm now entering the Japanese scene. I have 2 nissan's 98 altima/02 maxima. Altima I can't kill and the maxima is a dream. I'm now buying from a friend a 95 4runner with 80,000miles for $2000. From what I see out there, I'm robbing my friend. Couldn't believe it. I never thought I would cross over but these vehicles they produce I have to say, are amazing. I'm looking forward to building up this truck and playing with it. Its not as functional as a pick-up truck but they seem to be hard workers.

ANY ADVICE ON THESE TRUCKS IS APPRECIATED ALTHOUGH I'VE GONE THROUGH THE THREADS AND ITS LOOKIN GOOD.

 

welcome to the forum, and thats one hell of a deal.. should compensate your friend some how (if hes a really good friend). although, the money you saved won't be around for long if you hang around here.

 

Welcome



Like green said, thats one hell of deal your getting on that 4runner

 

$2,000?!? Damn your one lucky guy!
Well lay your Chevy's to rest and pat yourself on the back for buying a Toyota

Theres so much adivice to give you about your Runner that it could take a years but stay around the forum cause you found the right place.

 

Congrats and welcome! I think the '95 is a great choice with 2nd gen body style and all the kinks worked out. You should have a lot of fun with this vehicle, and as already stated you mugged your friend!

 

Nice work! I justed picked up my first 4runner too! 90 22re! Love it already. Got a couple years worth of spending already planned out my head...

 

I love mine, but the 2nd gen 4Runners have some notorious engine issues. There was recall for head gasket failure on all of the 3VZ-E engines built from 90-early 95. They supposedly fixed this problem on engines built from the middle of the 95 model year and unfortunately my VIN # fell outside of the range of those that qualify for the service repair/replacement.

Check to see if yours qualifies for service under that recall campaign, and then check to see if yours has been repaired. To this day, they still will honor repair or replacement (their discretion) for any of the engines that were in the VIN# range for that recall. Since mine didn't qualify I got stuck with the bill even though I experienced the same failure as those that were recalled -- head gasket bolts rust and corrode, creating head gasket failure.

Other than that, the engine is slow as a three-legged dog. There are plenty of engine mods that can be done to help increase your HP, but not many of them are worth the money invested. Even with all the mods I've done, it's still under-powered. Some of the mods I've done has opened up trouble areas with other aspects of the vehicle (such as chronic over-heating, speedo cable failure, etc...), so there's always a trade off when doing mods to the engine.

Those quirks aside, there are many excellent mods you can do to the suspension and off-road capabilities of the vehicle that will make you a happy (if not broke) 2nd gen 4Runner owner.

Ed

 

Epic Ed. you stated the engine is slow. I dont think it has much acceleration because its all torque. NO?

 

Yea, your right on that. Replacing the stock intake box with an aftermarket cone air filter will oppen it up a bit. It's a cheep easy mod (about $15 on ebay) and it will give to 5 to 10 hp. Nice buy on that 4runner by the way. I paid $5000 for mine three years ago and I imediately had to dump $1,000 into it on top of that.

 

finally came to your senses and bought a toy and hopefully ditched the chevys!

 

Please dont use the term "Jap", its VERY offensive to Japanese people. Since you are new to Japanese vehicles, Im sure you dont know better but please dont ever use that term again.
The 4Runners are great vehicles. Ive owned an '85 and a '91 4Runner and they were awsome. They werent the best in terms of acceleration but you cant beat 'em for dependability and comfort.
I wouldnt be worried about the 3.0L V6 engine. They did have headgasket issues but they were all fixed free of charge by Toyota.
Cap'n

 

Captain Toyota, with all you said above, I suppose your JAPANESE. Please do not get offended by me using the short verison of japanese. I meant it the same way I call my friend pat instead of patrick. It was merely a shorter, faster way of typing/saying my sentence. So lets continue on and enjoy our yota's, I'm sorry, Toyotas.

P.S. Please refrain from stating all the best stuff is made in Japan. My fellow Americans and I DO get offended. God Bless America!

 

I think 4Runners are more functional than pick-ups. And technically Toyota's are American made, since they are built in the US (unlike Ford and Chevy )

One problem that is somewhat common, and commonly misdiagnosed is the wire that goes from your Pos. battery terminal to the 80A alternator fuse. The crimp/solder on the fuse side wears out over time (combined with the stock wire being too small of a guage) and starts to give you lots of wierd electrical problems. The problems are very indicative of a bad ground (or a few). But replacing this wire with a heavier gauge one, and resoldering everything can fix a lot of problem and even improve the way your rig "runs" in general. HTH!

PS congrats on robbing your friend blind What a kill!

 

thanks for the good info randomness....and yes, i'm starting to feel quilty in what I did to my friend....I took him and his wife out for a $250 dinner....yet, I still feel guilty. In just one week I pulled out 5 trees and hauled 2000lbs of rocks....what a mean 4runner....LOVE IT!

 

I know that some Toyotas are made in the U.S. But I thought all the 4Runners were made in Japan.

 

4Runners are Japanese built check your stikers inside the driver door frame by the door check.

Hey USAtruck6 from one ex-GM owner to another, and an ex_GM mechanic as well you'll wish you made the switch a loooooooooooooong time ago. ENJOY

 

Dogs maybe that's what I was thinking of