homerun

Hey everyone,

I'm a new member here
I have a question, I'm looking at buying a 1995 SR5 4Runner. It's got 150K miles on it, which doesn't bother me. I spoke to the owner, and most of his miles came from his previous commute, which was 90 miles round trip. Since changing jobs, he's now commuting 18 miles, round trip. So, the large majority of miles are highway.
I'm going to look at it tonight, but I haven't owned a 4Runner before-what are some things I should look for?
He's had some work down to it already, and reading other posts on here, head gaskets seem to be an 'issue'. But it looks like he's already had that problem and took care of it. Below is more info on what he's had done:
Extened range remote start; new engine parts-head gaskets, timing belt, water pump, power steering pump and steering link; trailer receiver and brush guard just powder coated; tires still have lots of tread; sun roof wind deflector; bug/rock deflector; wood grain dash; well maintained and have all service records; all highway miles and never used to tow; gets over 20 MPG.

He's asking $5,300.00.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

TIA....

cootees

Looks like you did your research. The headgasket was a factory recall. Other than that just look over it for leaks and what not but it sounds like the owner maintained it well. It should server you for a long time.

Oh yeah, don't be suprised of how slow it is when you test drive it. Thats the famous 3.slow.

homerun

thanks cootees,

I'll defintely look it over good.

snap-on

crawl around underneet looking for oil leaks....

oil cooler (on the drivers side of the block) can leak... the Power stearing pumps like to leak, the oil pan gaskets like to leak, the valve cover gaskets like to leak. (this is all just due to age and is all fairly simple stuff to fix and shouldnt be a deal braker)

4mydogs

Snap-on beat me to those items. Just make sure you give it a good going over -- you said you're going tonight? Don't make a deal until you see everything in the light of day, and I recommend you have your fav mechanic check it out, too. Other than that, good luck! And let us know if you buy it.

homerun

Thanks guys...

I said this evening, but it'll still be daylight out. As for the mechanic checking it out, the car is over an hour away, so that would be tough, logistically.

Does anyone know what type fo gas mileage I should expect. I live in a more rural area, and most of my driving is two lane road at around 45-60mph. The owner claims (on the phone) 22 on the highway.

Thanks

4mydogs

There are LOTS of threads on gas mileage here. V-6 or 4 cylinder? 2WD or 4WD?

My V-6 4WD gets 15-19 mpg all around usage.

homerun

sorry, I didn't put that in. It's a 3.0 4WD.

I looked through some, but I'm still trying to figure out engine types, plus some have larger tires.

celica

there is a difference in fuel economy between the auto & the manual

homerun

I did some more searching and found the avg. is around 17-some higher, some lower.
I was hoping for better.

I talked to my brother who gets 16mpg in his 93. I believe it has the same engine.

Oh well, I'll keep looking.

4mydogs

The 5-speed typically gets a few more mpg than the auto. Since my last tune-up I've been getting close to 20, which is as good as I've ever got. BTW, mine has around 146K miles on it, so it's right about even with the one you're looking at.

homerun

thx..

If I decide to get it, maybe I'll pick up an eco-systems filter. Probably couldn't hurt.

4mydogs-have you had any problems with yours'?