Dcrunit

hey guys. I've been silently trolling the forums for a few weeks doing research on 3rd gen 4runners as I gear up to buy one. I've found one which I really like and went and test drove it yesterday. I brought it to a dealership for a ppi and they came back to me today with some issues. Its a 2001 4runner sr5 sport with 165k on it. No maintenance records but the truck is in good shape. good exterior with a few dings, some surface rust but not bad, drives well and looks great... with that said, heres what the dealership recommends in order of priority:
1. timing belt/water pump package - $1080
1. valve cover gaskets (leaking ) with plug seal - $736
2. Coolant flush -$139
2. Power steering fluid flush - $98
3. Spark plugs and wires - 300
4. pcv valve, air filter, induction service - ~220

The truck has a pretty nice sound system in it and a 1.5" icon lift (coilovers i guess). From the owner: "The lift is a 1.5 or 2" Icon kit consisting of coils, springs, and adjustable front struts installed by Iron Pig Offroad in Fredericksburg. It ran me about $1300 installed I believe, but I have the paperwork to verify. I went withthat kit because it has better road manners than the Old Man Emu setup that would have been cheaper, and the front was adjustible in case I decided to put an offroad bumper on down the road. It's not a lot of lift but when I had the 285/75 tires on there it added just enough clearance to help with the rough roads going out to my hiking trails. There were a couple parking garages where it was CLOSE, but those were abnormally low. I've since switched back tithe stock tires because of the tire rub ghat resulted from using the BF Goodrich ATs with the stock wheels. It just didn't quite fit. But with a wider set of wheels with less backspacing that truck will look awesome and still ride great. "

Im pretty sure those tires would fit with some spacers in the back. I really like the truck but am a little concerned about the lack of maintenance done on it. timing belt has not been done (no sticker at least) at 165k... I guess the question is how much would you pay?

Ive seen tons of these thinkingabout buying posts so sorry to add to the mix but its pretty clear that the people on here are the best source of information out there. I'm really excited about this truck adn hope i can haggle it down a bit to make it work.

Thanks a lot!! :yotarocks

brian2sun

Sounds like a good truck! How much is he asking for it? The prices you got quoted are through the roof (as expected from a dealer). I'll go ahead and correct your numbering too, haha..
1) TB/WP will be ~$600 at a normal shop,
2) Valve covers ~ $400 (not very hard to DIY if you're comfortable taking the intake plenum off). Many times, you can just tighten up the bolts around where the valve cover leak is and it'll seal itself.
3) The coolant in the engine will already be removed (the majority) when the water pump and thermostat are done so they're doubling up the fees on you for that one. Tell them to pull the drain plug on the engine block to get the rest out of there, and also pull the petcock plug on the bottom of the radiator, flush it, and refill it back up with coolant. I would tell whatever shop that does it to throw that in for free when they do the TB/WP because it takes longer to smoke a cigarette than to flush a radiator.
4) A power steering fluid flush takes <.5 hr + a couple quarts of fluid (Dexron II or higher ATF) at a normal shop.
5) $300 for plugs and wires is the highest I've ever heard of, it's a .5 hr job and ~$70 for OEM parts.
6) PCV valve is ~$12 and takes secods to install. An air filter is like $10. I am all for an induction cleaning (but I got mine done for $167), in fact I have a large thread about it on t4r.org:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...hopefully.html

This stuff is all very basic and can all be done effectively at any normal shop and you'll save hundreds compared to the dealer. I do recommend using OEM parts, but don't pay for their children's college funds just to have them install it.

J2F42C

Does the previous owner not have records? Can he/she tell you if the timing belt/H2O pump has been done before?

For the listed items, and depending on your shadetree mechanic skills, all can be changed with time and patience. The timing belt has the highest degree of difficulty, with the rest not being too hard to tackle with patience and the right tools. There are good writeups on all, just use the search engine.

In looking for a 4runner, I'd ask about:
1. If the rear axle inner seals have leaked.
2. If it is an auto, check the fluid and see if it is burnt, black, etc. Also check the coolant to see what color it is.
3. If the starter contacts have been replaced.
4. If it is 4wd, check the ball joints, especially the lower ones. Check for torn CV boots. And put the 4wd through its paces.

Good luck.