Hey guys,

Looking at another 4runner to compliment my current one. Although, my current one will get sold eventually after I switch things over, but this one seems to be in pretty good shape. Only thing is, it has very weird options that I haven't ever seen before on a 4runner. No power windows, but locks, walnut dash, no tonneau cover...

It seems that this one was made to order for sure. I'm going to go drive it tomorrow and see how it does but a visual inspection of the undercarriage, body, and interior seemed good. Although it was locked so I couldn't get an up close look at the interior or engine bay. Despite the little rust on the rear bumper, the rest of the undercarriage was pretty clean, it wasn't too bad for a midwest vehicle.

I wouldn't give them more than 7 or so for it though, assuming the tbelt and all that has been changed. I have a 97 2.7L auto so the 96 3.4L with the 5spd would be a huge improvement I think. Are there any major known issues with the '96s that I should be aware of? I was thinking there was a possible problem with the head gasket, true? As the summary of the vehicle states on the website, an employee of the dealership had it so it was serviced there for the past year, I'll have to run a carfax to find the rest of the history.

Please, please give me your thoughts...?!?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...2000&cardist=1

 

i'm pretty sure that it was only the second gen 3.0 engines that had the head problem.

 

Some of the very very first 96's did have a head gasket issue.
I can't think of any issues.
I believe there is something different with this year too was the was something different with the body mounts, but I can not recall.
Thats all I can think of while here at work so.
Hope it helped a little.

 

Nope some of the early 3.4 had some head problems too, but i think there was a recall on it.

I say go for it man, that was exactly what i was looking for when i was searching for 4runners. But i had a very short window to get one and i was so glad to find the one i have now, even though it has the 2.7l

 

Yeah, i was just reading some old posts on the '96s and those said it was the early 96's too. I won't worry about it as long as it drives fine.

What do you guys think about those options...I mean some of those things like rear heat and stuff, you only find on the limiteds. Just seems odd to me...and no power windows but sunroof, cd, ac, wood grain...? Althought, the wood grain is a little sun faded...that'll get removed asap.

 

You can call your toyota dealership with the VIN to see if it had been recalled and fixed or whatnot too

 

I had a 96 2wd. It had a lot of the same options it was a base model though, 2wd, crank windows, power locks, rear heat, no tonneau cover, no sunroof, 4cylinder, auto.

 

Might check to see if the water pump was changed along with the timing belt, some issue there with leaking ones...
And the mooing fuel canister valve thingy...

 

tell me more about this...was this a recall? I had a 1997 previously and now I have a 1996 and whenever the vehicle is off I hear a steady short buzzing sound from under the hood on the left inner fenderwell at about 3-4 second increments....

 

Justin, that noise means you are supposed to sell your car to me today CHEAP!
(its some evap emission burping, mine does it too for hours)

I agree the trim package on this truck is weird to have mech windows. I love electric ones! 7 is definitely MAX to pay for that truck, 5speeds are NOT all that hard to find. The 3.4 is nice because it gives you a little more power, and if you drive it carefully, you'll still get good mileage >20.

 

i have that same buzzzz lol it has been there for the 4 years i have had the car. no problems with it though...

 

7 is the maximum? Obviously, i'm going to low ball the hell out of the dealer at first and then work from there. It all depends on how it drives, if you look at one of the interior pictures, it almost looks like the engine CEL is on. I think the truck is running too cause the RPM gauge is up, I thought it might be the brake light but thats on the far left, so I'm not sure whats highlighted there....?

The 5spds are rare as hell around here. I've seen 2 in the past 3 years I've owned my current 4runner (at least within a few miles of my house and not 200 miles away).

I'm going to check it out this afternoon and report back. Blue book on it is right at 7 so no more than that, hopefully i can BS my way around to get a lower deal. The small rust spot on the rear bumper, the miles, the CEL (if there), etc.,etc., to get the price down.

The evap sound is no biggy.

 

The way you describe this Runner, and looking at the pics this is aftermarket. OEM wood grain is part of the material for the face plate and switch controls and does not fade like the applicae kits. Do a search on KBB.com and comp out the price then go from there. Rear heat is not that rare on 4Runners. almost all SR5 models came with rear heat. I had an 87 that did not have rear heat but I installed it from a wrecked one. Take you time and inspect the heck out of it. Time spent in research is time well spent Good luck

 

Listen, man, blue book/NADA/etc. don't mean jack squat. With the current rise in gas prices, SUV's and trucks are not that popular. With a 12 year old vehicle, pretty much an unknown maintenance history, plus no rear locker, I'd offer them no more than $7k OTD (Tax, Title, License and everything included). Or, I'd wait for another one to come by. I found 3 or 4 in my area, so if you're willing to travel, that will give you more options.

Just FYI, I could've picked up a 99 4Runner Highlander Edition, 5-sp, rear locker w/ 100k miles for $10k a few months ago. Probably much less right now.

 

That is not OEMwoodgrain. That is stick on junk like Ritzy said.

If it doesn't have power windows, there are no power locks. The ad is misleading. Manual windows on a 4Runner is rare for sure, especially on a V6 SR5.

 

It was forsale cheap awhile back!!!

 

i have that exact 4runner, but mine has...had, the grey bumpers and a manual 4cyl. It looks like a cross between the Base model and the SR5.

 

The price is a little too high if you ask me, well what I'm saying is, I sold my 98' Limted which had 110,000 miles on it for $8,000. And this 4Runner is a 96' SR5 with 128,923 miles on it for about $8,000 as well.

 

Interesting points, I'll check into it more when I get to see it closer today.

I did go look at though, and it does have power door locks. Thats what has got me asking all this, it just seems weird to have the power locks but not the windows. At least this would be less of a problem as the truck ages.

 

ummm, not so sure I want to buy a beastermaster....


but on the price, yeah, seems a bit high. I got a 2 year newer truck with 20k less miles and more options (still with a 5spd) for $1000 less