4Runer Info Thread

google is your best friend right now

Getting a car that old might have some serious issues with it

You think I didn't check the wikipedia page? Ho, please! I was hoping for more personal experience advice, such as likes/dislikes and what individuals have encountered as issues.

The 4runners where top heavy and flip over.



Don't do it

if your guna be towing anything at all , and i mean anything, u have to go with the 3.0 v6 in those years. that gen of runners are heavy as fuck, great cars, just reallly heavy, the 4 banger is just guna get you a lil better mileage , not much, and it will be working its guts out just moving that thing around. my advice, find a nice one with 3.0 v6 and youll be much happier overall, towing , daily driving etc. ... peace.

Thank you sir, I appreciate it.

4runners are great cars. I miss my family's old one (01 sr5). If it wasn't for rust starting to eat at the frame it would have gone forever. It drove great, I loved having standard transmission in it, and it was a beast through poor road conditions. I'm not really sure how the older ones perform these days, but most toyotas still around are usually half decent. I personally think the 3rd generation (95-02) are the best.

Honestly the only good things about XC70s are that they can take a beating and they're super nice on the inside. They're slow as shit, have what I used to call a "granny turbo", and aren't much better than a FWD car in the snow. That being said, my first car was an XC70 and for some inexplicable reason I loved it.

Sorry, but this is terrible advice. The 3.0 is commonly referred to as the "3-point-slow" for a reason: it has NO power. Not only that, but they're known for blowing head gaskets at 60-80K miles (among other things... those engines are garbage).

22REs are fantastic little motors that'll last you forever. No, they don't have the best towing power, and I wouldn't haul anything more than a dirtbike with it. My ex and I used to throw our snowmachine or fourwheeler in the bed of our '85 pickup (with the 22RE that had 275K original miles on it), and it took all that little truck had to make the hour drive each way to our cabin, haha.

I've owned over half a dozen Toyotas with this motor or the 22R, and they're great little rigs. If you're going to go with a six cylinder Toyota motor, the 3.4 is the way to go. It has great power and barely gets worse gas mileage than the 3.0 does... Like barely (the 22RE is obviously superior on gas mileage than either). The 3.0s suck HUGE balls. If you do your research, you'll find that people tend to do "3.4 swaps", where they'll replace either the 22RE or the 3.0 with a 3.4 for more power. People NEVER swap in a 3.0 because they're garbage.

On another note: I currently own a 2003 4Runner with the 4.0 V6 (45K miles), and I LOVE it. I never thought I'd drive an automatic ever again after owning nothing but older manual Yotas for a decade, but I finally broke down and bought something newer (auto-start in Alaska is so fucking nice). I miss having a manual for a daily driver, but I'll get one again one of these days. :)

Good luck with your 4Runner buying!

Thanks man. I went and looked at it this morning and it seems like a really solid rig with only cosmetic issues. He told me the same thing about the "upgrade" to the 3.0-- that it sucks dick. He pointed out that the transfer case has a slow leak, but the fluid comes out clean and clear, so it's probably as simple as a seal. Have you encountered this before? Should it be a big warning or anything?

With the older rigs, the two things you'll almost always find are rust issues and leaks... And leaks can be a huge bitch sometimes, depending on how bad they are and where they are. Did you actually look at it yourself? A T-case leak could end up being a more expensive fix than you'd expect. Is it the output seal that's leaking? And how quickly is it leaking? Clean and clear usually isn't a good sign, as that can mean it's a faster leak, requiring the T-case to be topped with oil regularly (which gets really annoying and expensive, and it can be disastrous if you don't stay on top of it).

How many miles are on the motor? Did you drive it? Crawl under the rig and take a photo of the T-case.

The leak is slow, just letting out little drips gradually. I looked at the leak, and it's coming from the mid-lower rear part of the transfer case. Although it is coming out clear, he said he only refills it every 3 months or so. The motor has ~186k miles on it, and yes I drove it, and it seems to run smoothly and cleanly. I can't take a picture at the moment, as I'm not with the car.

Also, do you know anything about the towing capacity of these models? I'm looking at a max load of about 1500 pounds. The current owner doesn't seem to think it can handle that for distances, but everyone else I've talked to seems to think it can handle 5000 and beyond.

^K to you, Sdot.

That doesn't sound so bad, but I'd definitely keep an eye on it... For a T-case, drips aren't really a good thing. If it's just wetting the seam, that's more ideal, but whatever. How much does he want for it?

I'd agree with the current owner. Like I said: I wouldn't tow much more than a dirtbike with it for distances. My ex-boyfriend and I ran our '85 pickup into the ground by hauling a sled or 4wheeler in the back. If you look at motors as athletes, 22REs are more endurance athletes than weightlifters... What are you wanting to tow with it? Sure, you can haul a wheeler or a sled, but I wouldn't haul it far, and I sure as hell wouldn't haul it often. Those rigs are definitely better for modifying to off-road or having as a daily driver than using for any sort of towing.

I didn't read the whole thread yet but they run forever with the limiting factor being the body, if you're driving up salted mountain roads all winter it would be a good idea to get under there every summer with a wire brush and can of frame paint to keep it from disintegrating on you.

Don't know a whole lot about them, but as advised.. check for rust. Frame being the biggy. I'm a wrangler guy, and man can that frame rust be a royal pain in the arse. I'm not sure if you have plans on doing anything to it (lift/tires, anything like that) but just remember that there's a lot more to it than some bigger springs/shocks and some new rubber.

this, this. THIS. read the description, watch the video.

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I'm a female... Then again, I'm not really your average female, so I guess my opinion is a little swayed.

And yeah, that's definitely one thing I've noticed in the older 4Runners/pickups... You feel EVERYTHING.

Well I wouldn't quite call the 3.0 "garbage" but I wouldn't wanna tow a bunch with either the 22re or the 3.0. They aren't destined to fail though, they are a yota motor after all. My buddy just drove my old 88 runner with the 3.slow out to Cali from PA in a day and a half. It's currently at about 320,000 miles, didn't even give him a single hiccup.

That said, I'd buy it as 22re's run forever and old yota frames usually aren't too bad on rust, it's the body that's usually the problem. Around the wheelwells I'm guessing?

If you need, like absolutely need to tow something I'd consider a different 4runner. Find a newer one with the 3.4 motor as Sdot said. All runners are good as they are all still made in Japan so I always trust them more than the yotas built here.

Don't listen to Sdot about blowin the 3.0, hell you could probably even tow what you want with it, just be warned it might fail after some time of towing.

I think she just blew hers up cause she can't drive........she is a lady after all ;)

Psh, I've never owned a 3.0, but over a dozen of my hardcore Yota friends have... And if you talk to any of the old-timer mechanics who've worked at the Toyota dealership for three decades, they'll all tell you the same thing.

But have at it! :)

I've owned two and never had problems with either and very much enjoyed the extra power over the the 4's.

Granted I'm not driving them over 3 foot boulders in Alaska but they (and every yota motor I've owned) both treated me very well on the highway up to 80 mph constantly.

I'm not saying it's the best yota motor, as it wouldn't have earned it's less than par reputation if that were the case. I'd never call it garbage though.

And thanks to the turd that downvoted my post. I regularly talk toyota with Sdot and was poking fun. I'd bet all my skis she is in fact a better driver than I, on or off road. Even though she no longer drives stick :(

If I were OP I'd buy the 4 and haul with it til it blew up, I bet you it outlasts the naysayers. You won't be breaking any land speed records for sure, but I'd bet it won't break on you for a long time. Burn oil, sure. Drip a bit, absolutely. Blow the motor or trans, I highly doubt it.

Fine fine, to each his/her own... But I'd never buy a 3.0!

And yeah, I miss driving stick... Ahhhhhhhh I need a manual again!