williemon

Well, I just got back from a trip to the Smokey Mountains.
Im here, the wife is here, the baby is here, the 4 Runner is still 150 miles north of here in Atlanta getting repaired. We spent almost a week in Tennesee with no problems. On the way home, we was getting close to Atlanta on I75. A traffic jam up ahead made us get off at KSU and we were going to get a bite to eat to let the rush hour traffic clear. We were at a light when all of a sudden, we heard this squealing, saw smoke from under the hood and the dash lights came on and the engine quit. I fired it up easy enough, and it idled smooth so I drove out of the intersection into the parking area of some KSU dorms. I checked under the hood and found the alt. belt broke and that the big pulley on the top that the fan bolts to would not turn. So I called a tow truck and got it to Cobb Toyota. Turns out that there is a bracket that this pulley shaft runs through, and I guess it has a bearing that siezed up. Dealership cant get the part untill Monday. It should be ready on Tuesday and the part costs around 600 bucks plus labor and the belts. So now im shelling out 1000+ for the repairs, plus a rental car to get us on home. :cry: Anybody know what this part is and if this is a proper toyota cost? Anything I should know about Cobb Toyota in Kennesaw Ga?

I know that there are others in worse shape than I am, but it really gets to me that I have put so much money into this 4 Runner. So far Ive had a repaint, head and valve work, ball joints, rotors (my fault) and now this all to the tune of 6+ grand since Jan. 2002 What I should have done was to diagnose the engine miss before I had it repainted. If I had done that, Id have a 3rd gen by now.

So here I am. The wife wants a "dependable" 4 Runner, I want a 3rd gen also, but Ive spent so much on this 2nd gen already. Just when I think all the bugs are worked out, WHAM!! I get blindsided by a breakdown. So now its either keep this one going and build a new house, or buy a newer 4 Runner and wait on building a new house. Can I even GET 6 grand out of my 90 4 Runner?

Mikey

Scrap it. I owned a truck one time (chevy) that was a total nightmare (big surprise) everytime I'd turn around it was costing me more and more money. If I only know now what I knew then I would have burned it. I made a vow to myself never to do that again. If my 98 tacoma starts giving me fits, its gone. Don't get too attached to a vehicle. Your pocket book won't be able to keep up!!!

KING

Yeah well, CHEVYs aren't the only ones that have problems.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT TOYOTAs HAVE PROBLEMS TOO!

If my truck is not dead, then it must have nine lives.

That's a great theory.

Just turn in your truck at the end of five years of owning it and drive out with a new one and new payments, and do it again after another five years and so on.. Get it...? Payments for the rest of you life!

LOL!

EricM

Re: Cobb County Toyota... I used to live/work in that area (in fact my office was right at that exit (Chastain Rd.) near the KSU campus. I had some co-workers with Toyotas that used them for service and they never had anything bad to say about them, so I guess they're all right. There's another Toyota dealer barely 10 minutes from them if you're not happy with what they're telling you... Marietta Toyota is right down Rte. 41 a little ways.

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

The part is called a fan support. Yota Truck V6 engines have a water pump under the timing cover, which is an integral part of the timing system. They had to find some way to make the fan turn, so wala, enter the fan support. The bearings on these are classic for going bad. We sell them used at my Toyota Wrecking yard for $175, and they sell like hot cakes (cant keep them in stock!) The $600 price tag is a bit high, but they normally run about $550 for that stupid assembly. And *insert sarcasm* Whaddya know, you can just replace the bearing. Noooooo that would be too simple. Hope I answered all ur q's sufficiently.


*Edit* BTW, 3rd Gen V6 engines have the exact same style bearing/bracket, so buying a 3rd gen would not have solved that problem, though the 3rd gen assembly is much more reliant.

apc

Well, you have put $6k into your Runner, but at least you own it. If you bought a 3rd gen, $6k later you may still be making car payments.

FirstToy

3rd gen or build a house...let me think...BUILD THE HOUSE!
You have no guarantees the next car will be any less trouble and a house, well you can almost be sure you it will increase in value every year until you die.
You could buy another car with the equity you build from your home if you needed it.

SLC Punk

I agree with FirstToy. If it is between building a house and buying a newer 4Runner, I would definately build a house..

williemon

The house thing. We currently own 50% of what our current house is worth. It was a new 1994 model thats in great shape and I just applied new paint for the first time to it. Its in a great neighborhood and is very affordable to us. The new built house I speak of is a dream of ours. I also own 50% of 11 acers to build it on. It will be our dream home and will cost quite a bit more to build than our current house is worth. Im really not sure if Im ready to dive into that project since I will be using the services of a builder to do the work and wont have any ways to save on costs. Once the starts to school in a few years, the wife will be heading out to work again. Im thinking that at that time might be when we should start a house. In the mean time, Id hate to know that our Runner might leave us stranded again. Im really close to talking myself into a newer Runner. Any other ideas or comments about this?

SLC Punk

Well it sounds like you made up your mind about the house. If you own one right now, then that's a different story.

If you are going to worry about the reliability of the 4Runner, you should get it running and sell it. See if you can find a junk-yard part and have a garage install it. That way you aren't out $1,000. A running truck will sell for a lot more than a dead one.

Reldnew

Sorry to hear about the hassle---I think this is the part that failed on your truck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2438059296

Of course it is aftermarket, not OEM. Build the house:
Real Estate=increase in value over time
Automobile=decrease in value over time
(unless its a Dusenburg or you bought a mint Hemi Cuda convertible new and never drove it.)

Good luck whatever you do!

williemon

Yea, thats the part. I also got new pulleys and a new fan clutch with it. I got the 4 Runner back tuesday from the dealership. They have an odd way of doing things there. They have different teams, and only the startup team finishes the work since they started it. Get this, It goes in thursday night, they cant get the part on friday, so I rent a car. The part comes in on monday, the service writer who wrote me up is off on monday, and I guess his team does not work then either. Rental car is to be back at the dealer by 2:30 pm tuesday. At 12:30, I call to let them know that Im on my way up. They have not even started working on the 4 Runner. I get there at 2:30, their still working on it. By 3:30 its ready to go. 1100.00 and Im on my way. Guess what, the AC wont cool at all now. I stop to look at things, I find an antifreeze jug lid and 2 pulleys sitting under the hood. I think...oboy....FREEEEBEEEE.

Anyway, the AC was not a deep freeze but at least it got the job done. On thursday when the 4 Runner broke down, we were using it not even at its coldest level and we were cool. Now Im sweating in 80 degree weather with it. No cooling at all. Oh well, such is life. Guess what Im doing with it today? Pulling the starter because it started acting up.:cry: Im not sure what to do about the AC. I hate having to call them up and complain. Its not like I can just take it back to them. Its a 2 hour one way trip.

Erich_870

Wait!!! You found a JUG AND PARTS loose under the hood I hate calling and complaining too, but that is a HUGE no no What if you handn't looked under the hood? You would have driven around thinking things were fine untill one of those pullies rattled to your fan or some where else and killed your rig. That jug could get pretty hot and blow as well! You should call them up and tell them they left all that stuff and your mad, and that now your AC doesn't work. Thats too many bad things to write it off.

Just my $.02