Gray1991

Well. I just bought my first 4runner. I’m pretty excited and just wanted to share with the forum. I have posted some on other parts of yotatech, as I have a 91 truck.

I bought a 1998, 4wd, 5 speed, 4.10 gears (no locker), leather interior, and one owner. All records. The crazy thing is, this 4runner only has 46,000 mile. Really. Only 46,000 miles. It’s basically cherry inside and out.

So, I’m not planning on any mods at this point. I will in the future, but at this point I’m just basking in the glory of the new 4runner.

I will post some pictures when the light is better.

Any suggestions on what I should do first, like general maintenance.

I was thinking:

- mobile one oil change
- change the trans and differential gear oils with synthetic gear oil….redline?
- other suggestions?
- Just enjoy working on the 4runner.

Later.

yayfortrees

Now, I don't really care, but isn't this forum for 86-95 trucks and runners?

I'm jealous, that sounds like a sweet ride. One owner vehicles can be so nice when they were taken care of.

I'm curious to see some other people's take on switching to synthetic motor oil at 46,000 miles. It's fine to switch to synthetic right after break-in, and it's usually NOT ok to switch on a high-mileage motor. Your motor isn't high-mileage, but is somewhere in between. I don't know, I've never tried it. You would probably be fine, and I think even if it did have any problems, you could switch back to normal oil.

Enjoy your new ride!

PismoJoe

Yes...wrong thread lol but its ok....

As far as switching to synthetics go, trees was on the right track. The thing with synthetics is that they clean the engine so well, and are so much more slippery than petroleum oils, that they can cause seals to leak in high mileage engines that are otherwise blocked up with petroleum "sludge"

You just don't want to run synthetics during the break in period, due to its slipperiness causing insufficient pressure to be placed on the piston rings, thus not allowing them to fully "seat"

But you are well past the break in point, and far away from the high mileage point, so you should be fine. And mobil 1 is great stuff! I would run Amsoil over redline in the diffs and tranny, have heard nothing but good stuff about them. Hope to see some pics soon!

malteserunner

iTrader: (1)

Nice find! From what I understand, the first thing you should do as far as maintenance/upgrades would be an external transmission cooler. There have been issues with coolant getting into the tranny through the radiator mounted trans cooler. The last thing you need on your new ride is a perfectly good, transmission sized, paper weight.

You will find that, and a lot of other good advice in the 3rd gen 4Runner forum here on YT. Best of luck, and enjoy!!

RossVeez

Damn nice SCORE!!!!!

Elton

cant go wrong with a 5spd i love mine

norcal707

nice but how much?

Elton

5spd dont got a tranny cooler

Gray1991

Damn. Sorry about posting on the wrong board. I'm so used to clicking on this forum I just automatically posted here.

Seems like I will be OK switching to synthetic at 46,000. Anyone else have examples or experience to say otherwise? Or, even opinions?

Alex 400

the thing with synthetics making your truck leak is only partially true. If your vehicle starts leaking with synthetics that means that you it had already in need of repairs to those seals but there was so much sludge (BAD!!!) built up in your engine from using poorer quality oils that it blocked the leak. If you think running synthetics will clean your engine out, try running some Dello 400 through it. that stuff has a very strong detergent formulation for the diesel engines and well clean up the motor very nicely. I first started using Dello 400 in my truck when i first bought it (4 years ago) then I started using synthetic oils about a year later. That was at about 150,000 miles. No leaks!

I have been mostly running Rotella T6 synthetic diesel oil because you simply can't beat it. It is made with the same Group III base stock as mobil 1 and it has more zinc and phosphorus for great lubrication properties and has a higher heat tolerance as it is designed for use in the long haul and fleet semi use. the upper ring on the piston of a diesel engine can be as much 3 times as hot as gas engine. It also has more sheer stability and resistance to high pressures.

I had to pull a valve cover off a couple years ago to replace a gasket and it was spotless. the cylinder head was actually clean and silver colored! the cam lobes were in perfect shape too. I really like the Shell Rotella line up. They have really done their homework and have created a very high quality oil even.

Alex 400

One thing that I have learned about oils through research for my motorcycles is that synthetics are great at not breaking down due to high heat situations but tend lose there sheer stability quicker that dino oils or synthetic blends. The sheer rating of an oil more or less has to do with how much oil film stays on a bearing or gear while it is under load. This loss in sheer stability often cause transmissions or transfer cases to shift like they have worn out oil, which is true, but it happens sooner than with dino oil. I put mobil 1 gear oil in my transfer case and it was great for 5-7K miles or so, but now it is even harder to shift than it was before. I wouldn't have a problem running synthetic in Diffs but I like to use the same fluids in all of the drivetrain so i don't have to carry several different bottles of extra fluid. I would suggest a high quality synthetic or semi-synthetic gear oil or 75w-90 or 80w-90 variety.

malteserunner

iTrader: (1)

Oops...hahaha.

Mauzer

That is a sweet find bud, the Toyota gods have truly smiled upon you!

mpfjax

Awesome find!
Don't think there is much that you need to do with 46K miles on it. I would probably just enjoy driving it for a while. Maybe do some external upgrades along with the synthetic oils.

Gray1991

Thanks for all of the responses. I will post some pictures this weekend. I've not had the time/light because works been a b***h.