chbarnha

Found a 86 4runner on craigslist yesterday about an hour from here. It has 212,000 miles and the guy says that the motor was rebuilt 7,000 miles ago. He wants 3k for it. Im going tomorrow to look at it. It is coming with a 3" body lift a 3" suspension and brand new 33" tires. The guy has owned the truck for the last 10 years. It has two spots of rust on the body with one being right where the back top meets the "bed". I think that will be a pretty easy fix. He assured me it doesnt leak at all. Any suggestions or help on what else to look for before i buy this 4runner would be appreciated. Had an 84 pickup but this will be my first runner.

yota81

well its gonna need to be fixed properly for it to stop rusting, because Toyotas rust. So if you are comfortable fixing the rust, then go for it. There isn't much different between the trucks and 4 runners, so you should know the trouble spots already. thats a bit too much body lift and not necessary for 33s. I'd just be on the lookout for bootyfab.

chbarnha

thanks for the reply, there is no rust in the usual spots that my 84 pickup had it. These spots are at the top where the bed meets the shell so to speak.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Just look at every thing .Every Fault you find keeps chipping away at the asking price.

Find out what the owner meant by the engine was rebuilt it can mean many different things to many people.

Crawl under look at all the under carriage the frame

The brake and fuel lines The rubber lines

The gas tank

The suspension parts .

The exhaust system

Look for things that just stick out.

look under the hood check the fluids what the oil and coolant look like.

Brake fluid Clutch fluid if it is manual.

The rubber hoses if they were new 7,000 miles ago they should be good.

Check the belts Who knows.

Take it for a ride make sure it all works !!

The Hubs turn smooth.

4Hi

4Low

It goes into all the gears easy

It is so easy to be over come with Lust for a New Toyota The blood is diverted from the brain that often major problems are over looked till it is brought home.

I have never bought one that did not take $1000.00 to $1500.00 to bring it up to my standards

Good luck!!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

How good was the motor rebuilt? You just never know and anymore I really don't trust the sellers. I agree that no matter how great it is, be prepared to just go thru it. I have bought nice trucks and still stuck several dollars into them just to get them where I wanted. Hope for the best and expect the worse. They are all great trucks until you get them home and then you are going to find out how honest the seller was. What are your capabilities as far as mechanical?

Is it the runner you want? If so and you are ready to work on it I say go for it. There is plenty of information on here to help you learn how to fix most of the common problems with these trucks. Most of it is fairly easy in my opinion.