i've been randomly reading here on yotatech for about a week now (this is first post though ) and i am finally dragging my dad to test drive a '93 Runner with 144k miles on it. What I need is a list of problem things to look for/at on a vehicle this age. The timing belt HAS already been recently replaced. A member of Yotatech (4x4fink) went with me to test drive it earlier this week, and probably covered most problem areas, but any input is welcome. Here is a link to the vehicle; it is listed online as well as on a lot here in Fayetteville. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...g=en&cardist=6

thank you all in advance and btw, this forum rules!

 

Airbags in a '93? Sure about that?

Get the VIN, and call a dealer to check the head gasket and steering recalls.

 

-Squeaking from the front end during turning or bumps.
-Check the a/c
-The obvious start up and idle
-Clutch engagement/auto tranny shifting
-Do all the lights work?
-Make sure no funky mods have been done.
-Was it driven by a kid or a soccer mom?
-Paint oxidation? Rust spots?
-Make sure none of the hoses on the inside have been rerouted or removed

Thats about all I can think of. I know some of this sounds obvious, but my brother bought an integra from the brother of my sister-in-law and it turned out to have a bunch of stuff wrong, INCLUDING having the front end of the body kit coming off... he had to have his friend fabricate a front end so he could hang the front bumper again.

Hope to be of help, and good luck!

 

Hey guys,

The Runner seems to be in pretty good shape. Has plenty of power, for the 3.0 that is, tranny seems solid, suspension seems pretty good. Front shocks may be on their way out, but haven't looked into it very much yet.

He noticed the dreaded grinding noise at full lock I told him about the steering stops and I can help him get that resolved. Only other thing was his Dad noticed a slight loss in power, as in, he would gas it to almost WOT and it wouldn't budge, but with OD off it worked...I told him it was probably the OD taking over and not letting it shift out of whatever gear it was in. His Dad was a little worried that there was a tranny problem but I told them that since it performed flawlessly on flat grades that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with it.

The timing belt and water pump have been done and hes getting some other smaller stuff fixed by the dealership.

Give him some more feedback on it so he can get a concensus on whether this is a good find or not. I think its in great shape and would buy it for myself if it was me.

Thanks guys,

Fink

 

i saw this post earlier and wanted to comment, i re-checked the ad to see if it was a ltd, didnt see any flares. i wondered if the air bags were an option that was purchased during the order process. my 93 doesnt have air bags and its an sr5 but no leather (cold butt syndrome in the winter)! a friend of mine had a wrecked 93 sr5 that i checked out and commented that the air bags didnt deploy. he looked at me and said "what air bags". thanks for helping confirm my original thinking tc.

lee

 

As far as WOT and the truck not moving is something I have w/ my 3rd gen. This is definitely b/c of OD and when I'm facing an incline. As soon as I disengage the OD, the truck's rpm's jump and no issue. Hopefully, this is the same for the 2nd gen.

 

thanks for all who replied... upon further inspection we noticed red fluid (guessing transmission fluid) dripping from the transfer case. as far as the OD issue, my dad thinks he knows what he's talking about, says it can't possibly be the OD causing slow acceleration on inclines, and refuses to give it a chance. personally i trust the people of yotatech. now i get to wait for a chance that a better runner comes along. thanks again.

 

wow that sucks to be so close to buying something and then not get it. It took me three months to find a car my dad deemed worthy of purchasing. i was so tired of searching by the time he pulled up in the 4Runner and asked if i would drive it i said hell yeah. We bought it and i hadn't even drove it.