After months of looking I found a 1999 4runner sr5 with 107k miles. Everything looked good except for a bit of a rough idle. It hadn't had the timing belt or water pump changed either so I did that the day I got it at the Toyota dealership in the town I bought it, about 3 hours away. I drove it home and all was good. Yesterday I was driving around town and the AC belt started screaming. I tried to take it to my local dealership but they wanted way too much for it so I took it to the local shop. They found that the belts were way too loose and that there were bolts that were about to fall out as they failed to tighten them. After I finally got the belts squared away the engine light came on a few hours later. Turns out that it threw a multiple misfire code. I am 3 days new to owning this 4runner and already am tired of it. What else can go wrong? I don't even know where to start with the misfire. I can't even pass emissions in order to get this thing registered and insured...

 

What engine is it?

 

It's the 6 cylinder.

 

I wonder if they properly torqued the crank bolt. Should be 218 ft lbs of torque. If it comes loose, the timing is constantly jumping.
I would also pull a plug from the driver side and check the gaps. Maybe that its just super worn.

 

Ok. Thank you. I'll give both of those a try. After seeing the bolts they left completely loose I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't torque the crank bolt. Which bolt is the crank bolt? Both the wires and plugs were changed about 10k miles ago. Not sure what brand as the previous owner had them done at the dealer. Any other suggestions that I should check out? The 4runner had a rough idle before the timing belt was replaced. I'm pretty sure it was missing to a certain degree at the beginning, just maybe not enough to throw a code.

 

Crank bolt is in the center of the crank pulley. Spark plugs should be dual electrode. Also, check for cracked or leaking vacuum hoses and intake tube along with checking the air filter.

 

Start with spark plugs and spark plug wires.