My name is Fernando,

My younger brother pick up a 96 4x4 4runner limited with 240K miles that he thought he got a good deal for $3500. After taking it to a mechanic to look over it. We found out there were a lot of issues that needs replacement. The body looks good and there is no rust on the frame and overall good interior. serpentine belts are cracked and one is split in the middle. But we knew that a timing belt and water pump job would be done even if it didn't see that issue as it was last done at 105K. My biggest and costly job will be the suspension. A sway bar link and one CVJ axle are broken. there's gunk of oil underneath, so we could not precisely find out where the oil is leaking from until we clean the bottom part of the engine. Tires have a lot of play so the ball joint will need replacements. He eventually wants to lift the vehicle for off-roading(camping no rock climbing). So while we are going to replace those parts, wanted to know which part will we need to get besides OEM or cheaper aftermarket price with the same quality and other items that I will need to replace while we there.

The items I was told that need to be done are:

timing belt/ water pump
Sway bar links
Lower/upper ball joints
inner/outer tie rods
rack and pinion
cvj axles (one is broken)
oil cooler gasket
valve cover gasket
alignment

Thank you

 

In my opinion-
timing belt/ water pump - aircabinman on ebay has good kits
Sway bar links - I use whatever's reasonably priced and seems well-built enough
Lower/upper ball joints - Toyota, especially for the lowers. Look up lower ball joint failures for 3rd gen 4Runners and consider it, given what you are saying about play, an absolute priority. They last a very long time, but when they go it's not pretty. Consider how long they last. Uppers- research which lift you will use. My lift uses the oe lower and upper ball joints but some use different parts for the uppers. Deal with those lower ball joints asap or sooner.
inner/outer tie rods- Toyota outers, the toyota rack and pinion comes with inners.
rack and pinion- Toyota- comes with inner tie-rod ends
cv axles (one is broken)- Napa reman? Maybe reboot a junkyard axle if you're comfortable with pulling your own. Not new chinese stuff. Doing this at the same time as the ball joints should save some labor.
oil cooler gasket - probably Toyota
valve cover gasket- I used toyota, with toyota spark plug grommets and valve cover washers.
alignment- local shop

If you can do the work yourself there's a lot of support out there- lots of write-ups and there are videos from such as Timmy the Toolman on youtube. To me $3500 seems good for a rust-free 4Runner with those normal for the age/mileage issues, but I can fix all of them so would only pay for the parts.
I use dealerships like Mcgeorge Toyota for many of my parts, Serra, LaGrange, Bommarito- all members of the Toyota Parts Group. See if you can find a member dealer nearer you for good pricing/shipping.

 

Thanks I went with aircabinman on eBay for the timing belt/water pump kit. Most of the suspension I went with McGeorge Toyota. The sway bars and upper ball joints I went with after markets. Thanks for the respond