dogdenii

First off - thanks for your comments in advance!

Subj: 1994 4Runner, 3.0 V6, Auto, 4wd

I'm all but ready to buy this thing but I need to clear up a few things and get some insight incase I'm missing anything.

I drove it last night, it's "maroon" - the paint on the hood and top of fenders is faded but the rest of the truck is really nice.

The interior is immaculant and tan. Slite slit on drivers side of seat

New Exhuast
New Tires
Aftermarket wheels (not my fav but I'll deal)
New rear window motor
New CV's
New Brakes

Rebuilt Motor from Carosel Toyota w/less then 1K on the ticker
154K on the rest of the truck.

No leaks on the axles, no leaks on the engine, no leaks on the trans to t-case.

Brake master and Booster are clean and the fluid is not dark.

The windshiled washer fluid bottle was clean and full

The oil was clean and full

The radiator was clean and full and they used toyota fluids

PS res was full and clean as well.

The rear ABS light is on all the time but I searched here and it doens't seem to be a problem.

The engine runs smooth but I expect that w/only 1K on the engine.

This P.O. had the vehicle for 2 years. They bought it for their son who succeded in blowing up the engine. They paid 7K for the truck originally. All the work was done by Carosel Toyota in PA. The engine and install alone was over 4K I know.... for a 3.Slow

I took it for a decent spin last night and the steering felt a little shakey. I'm assuming rack. Brakes worked real well but the smell when I parked it was enough to make you gag. I'm guessing there isn't enough braking going to the rear of the truck and the front is doing all the work. Do these things have rear proportioning valves like the 1st gens?

All in all, I'm happy with the truck. Two weeks ago they were asking 5,800 and last night they had dropped it to 5,200. I'm guessing a 5K cash in hand would do the trick.

I'd like some input as to what to pay closer attention to when I go to lay out the cash. Is there something year or Gen specific that I'm missing?

Again - thanks in advance

mt_goat

Sounds like a great deal to me. Let me have 2nd shot at it if you don't buy it. It should'nt be rack steering though. The steering problem could be bad tie rod ends or idler arm bushing. Also could need more front suspension work too, like upper & lower ball joints, UCA & LCA bushings assuming you want to keep it IFS anyway.

mt_goat

Oh yeah, also check out the tranny fluid.

dogdenii

MtGoat -

Thank for the replies. I'm sure the front looseness will take some diagnosing. No Biggie. As for the transmission fluid, it's good as well. I was actually thrown off by just how clean and new everything is. Know what I mean?

This one will stay IFS. I'll be doing a solid axle swap on the 88 this coming spring/summer. I'm gathering parts now. I just put on a Roger Brown 2" BL to help me tuck everything up nice and tight before the swap. It's currently at www.upnover.com having a custom 6pt cage fabricated.

Anything else that I should be wary of?

Side note: Are there decent aftermarket hood manufacturers? I don't want carbon fiber but since I'll have this one painted, I might as well upgrade it first right?

mt_goat

Check out what they did on the rebuild, things like water pump and timing belt should have been done at the same time.

dogdenii

I'm trying to get Carosel Toyota to give me the information but I need to get the VIN# off the engine instead of the vehicle it was put into. this thing isn't exactly right around the corner from me... lol

Cebby

Steering sounds like idler arm. Mine gets vague when it goes south.

The ABS issue and comment about the front doing all the work is more alarming.

#1, there is a plug in the wiring to the rear ABS sensor right below the gas filler on the frame rail. I know this because when we swapped my rear 3rd, I had for gotten to plug it back together.

#2, check the position of the load proportioning valve. This could be contributing to the skewed brake bias.

#3, could be a problem with the MC or the rear drums.

dogdenii

Mike -

Thanks for the post. I figured you would find it.

The brakes don't neccesarily alarm me.

The proportioning valves are notrious on the Yotas for going south in a hurry. I'm assuming that his is the issue here as well. Instead of buying a new one, I'll put on a manual proportioning valve up next to the master cylinder to control the flow to the rear myself.

As much of a pita as brakes can be, I learned my lesson on the 88 that patience in replacing parts is key. Thanks for heads up on the aBS sensor wire. It's the first thing I'll take a look at.

bike4miles

Sunds like the wheels might need balanceing. Really sounds good from the description. The key point I have found is if it was maintained and you can tell by whether or not the little things have or have not been taken care of such as burned out dash lights and dirty radiator fluid.

dogdenii

Miles -

That is typically the way that I see it as well. Everything has been done by the Stealer which is better then not being done or being done by someone who doesn't know Toyota's. I talked to the "husband" today. He's not budging on the 5,200 but will help out in the taxes dept. I'm good with that. There is a brand new full size spare, a hitch and some odds and ends in the garage. This guy only buys Toyotas and was thrilled to hear of how many of them I own. I have the vin# and I'm going to run it through carfax.

I'm still not thrilled with the paint being bad on the hood and top of the fenders. Doesn't sound like a sun thing if you know what I mean.

BTW - Nice runner miles.

Paul H.

With the paint, it may just not have been taken care of or a bad load of paint. As far as steering shake, mine did that and it turned out to be the wheel lugs. Some were super tight and some were loose. When I evened them up, the shake went away. Good luck.

leebee

paul covered my thoughts on the wheels. when i bought my 93 v6 auto, the front end vibrated quite a bit. i got the vendor to give me new rotors, when i got it home i took all the wheels off to clean things up. when i replaced the wheels and properly torqued them, voila, the vibrations were gone and i have a brand new set of rotors!

lee

dogdenii

Paul & Lee,

Thanks for the help.

I'm going back over there tomorrow afternoon after work to have a better look at the 4Runner. I talked with the Service Manager at Carosel Toyota who assured me of the install on the rebuilt engine. He also said that the engine replacement hasn't been paid for yet Guess I know why he needs the money...... $4,009.22

I'll search the local yards for a hood of the same color instead of paying for a paint job. What is the actual color of the "maroon"? Oak color interior?

I'll take a look at the lugs first thing before I get in it again.

Apparently there is a TSB on the ABS sensor as well. Tech said it's a common problem.

Thanks to everyone for their inputs! If anyone has anything else, feel free to post up. I won't be going over there until after 4:00 EST tomorrw.

dogdenii

FYI: It looks just like this one:

dogdenii

Well I just got back from going over it real well. This time, I was able to crawl around under the truck. I first noticed that the t-case mount was drenched in oil, followed it fwd across the small skid plate also covered, across the trans pan also covered, engine mounts drenched as well. Drip drip drip from between the bell housing and the engine. :cry: I made the assumption that it's the rear main seal. It's definitely coming from between the two and not from any higher. I was bummed to say the least. Wouldn't a rebuilt engine have a new rear main seal? So I packed the family back up in the car and headed on the 2hr drive home.......bummed.

Walked in the door, saw the message light blinking on the answering machine, hit play. It was the old guy selling the 4Runner. He called Carosel Toyota to find out what the deal is. They told him to bring it in on Monday and that they will replace the rear main seal at no cost to him. It'll be back in his hands by Thursday.

Do I still buy it?

leebee

are you buying it from the stealer or the 'old guy'? see if you can buy it through the stealer for some kind of warranty on the repair work. i dont think the 'old guy' will offer you anything. offer the stealer an extra 'c' note for his trouble of doing paperwork over and above the price the 'old guy' wants. the worst they can say is no.

lee

futurerunner

You know, a penny saved can be a pound foolish. If it is not what you want, move on. Walking away can be the best bargaining point.

dogdenii

I'm in no way a stranger to working on Toyotas. So I'm not entirely woried about the situation. I guess I just don't understand the situation with the rebuilt engine since I would "assume" the rear main seal would be done as well. Maybe not? If it's not leaking during a rebuild, would a stealer bother? I doubt it.

The truck goes up to Carosel Toyota on Monday. I'm going to drive up to Carosel on Tuesday and have a talk with the Service Manager about what work has been completed on the truck. I called and set-up the appt already.

I guess I'll make my determination from there.

I know that the headgaskets were completed in November on this engine at the same time as the rebuild. New water pump, new timing belt and new belts and hoses.

The vehicle is being bought from the current owner (the old guy) who REALLY is a very nice person. His first words after I told him about the leak were "I couldn't sell it like that"

I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

Again - any other input is appreciated.

Jon