shawnhimself

Well I'm attempting to convert over from a lifetime car man, to a 4WD vehicle. However in that transition I am almost clueless to a lot of the drive line issues involved with them. I just went and drove a 92 V6 AT and I had a few questions about what I noticed.

Overall the truck was in great physical condition. It had 225k miles but the engine had been rebuilt 20k ago. As far as the transmission, transfer case, etc. nothing had been replaced so far (which worried me for 225k miles). So onto the drive I noticed a rattle coming up through the center console from the transfer case. Also it was difficult to engage from 2H to 4L and 4H was hesitating to engage back to 2H. Also on the interstate, there was a serious vibration ( not tire related ) and it felt as though something was just holding it back. From my few guesses I was thinking possible issues with the driveshaft, u-joints, or transfer case itself.

Any opinions on the situation so I know what kind of money im looking at to repair? Thanks in advance!

rezrunner92

IMHO, one cannot purchase a 200,000 plus mile vehicle without budgeting for an almost immediate major repair. You know the engine has been rebuilt so you should be good to go there for a few years and miles with regular maintenance. The transmission however as you say has never been out. 200,000 miles is a LOT of miles. I would try to do the deal on the vehicle and get them to knock off about $800 for a transmission overhaul. I see Chevy trucks for a trans rebuild at around 100-125k miles almost without exception. 200k plus is pretty darn good in my book, (at least twice as good as Chevy), and if you go ahead and rebuild it before a major failure, you will most likely save several hundred to a thousand dollars in parts.

My 4Runner has over 210,000 on it and has only had the heads done. That was at around 192,000. I just bought a 1992 with a bad motor so I am going to rebuild that trans to stick in my runner and then put a rebuilt motor in it and put my used motor and trans in the "new" runner and sell it. With rebuilt brakes and a little more maintenance I expect to get at least another 100 -200k miles on the vehicle I drive without a "major" repair, not including body work.

Some things that had to be replaced on my 1992 around 200,000:
Steering damper (major improvement)
Timing Belt (because I didn't know when it had been done last)
Shifter bushings (sloppy shifter issues like you describe)
Fuel Filter
Mechanical fan to electric (mechanical broke)
Rear window control box ($8 parts from Radio Shack, dealer part $400)
Lots of little light bulbs in the dash and cluster
Re wire radio to get back speakers to work
Change ALL fluids, including brake and differential fluid
Replace spare tire rack with tire carrier (in progress now, tire chain is frozen up on factory carrier)
Planning on trans rebuild and swap
Planning on rebuilt engine swap

As you can see if the previous owner didn't take good care of the vehicle, cumulative repairs and service can get quite costly. Luckily I can do all the work myself except paint which I don't need yet. Even then I will probably be able to trade it out for services in kind. Just the labor for all the stuff above that I did and am doing would be let's say around $2k - $3k. Not to mention parts. I will build the trans but will have to pay around $300 - $400 for the kit and torque converter and that is wholesale through my shop. Then another $2600 for the rebuilt engine I am going to install. Not to mention around $500 for the cams I want. You get the picture now. Basically what will happen is, you will get the bug and fall in love with the 4Runner. I want mine to be completely rebuilt to as new a condition as possible and keep it forever. I should never run out of things to do and fix on it.

shawnhimself

The original price was $2800, however before even coming to check it out I said I wouldn't spend more than $2200. Now with the addition of expected costs, what is the ballpark price I should be offering him?

Oh and thank you for the very informative post!

jjrgr21

thats alot of miles, i wouldn't buy unless it was going to be a devoted trail rig.