Hey all, I've been lurking here now for a few months since I bought my truck reading up on Toyota Tech and checking out all the awesome rigs a bunch of you guys have built. I bought a 1996 4Runner Limited 4WD at the 114K mile mark in above average condition for the miles. When I purchased the truck, I didn't have extra money for just about anything, but now I've gotten into a position where I can start to think about putting some money into maintenence and possibly even a few improvements.

The truck sits at 120,900 miles right now. When I purchased it at 114K the oil had just been changed. I changed it at roughly 117K and I'm about to change it again. Over the course of those 3000 miles I managed the lose about half a quart of oil. For the 5VZ-FE, is that anything to be alarmed about? I used to own nothing but Land Rovers and they manage to lose fluids constantly, so I'm not sure if this is a problem or not.

After I've gotten the truck nice and hot, if I pop the hood I do get a faint oil smoke coming from the rear of the motor, as far as I can tell from some residue that has gotten on the exhaust manifold (drivers side). Other than that, the truck has no known issues that I can see. The coolant looks good, oil is clear (even after 3000 miles), everything still works, and I don't get any strange noises. The transition to 4WD is smooth and the hi-lo shift has no issues.

The most important question I was going to ask, is that at 120,000 miles on a 3rd gen, what regular maintenence would you consider doing on the truck? I'm assuming the timing belt will need to be changed (is on about 60,000 miles right now), but is there anything that has a tendency to go wrong on these trucks that I should know about? I have a jack, jackstands, the Factory Service Manual, and a Haynes repair manual at my disposal. I also have airtools but a weak compressor so I don't know how well that will work on an automotive application. About the most complicated thing I've ever done to my vehicles is installed an K&N intake so I'm learning.

Thanks for the help ahead of time.

 

Timing belt yes and likely do the water pump while it is all taken apart. I believe there are "bearings" that need checked so get a comprehensive plan before you tackle that.

Belts and hoses of course need checked.

Rear axle seals are a common failure item. If they have not already been done you may have escaped it.

T4R.org is a 4Runner specific forum you can find many of us hanging out at.

Clocks are a common failure-nuisance only.

Gas gauge tends to be inaccurate so learn to fill up when it hits the reminder light, or watch mileage closely, or be prepared to walk....

Rear sag still covered under warranty if you have that....

 

I have same truck. twice the mileage and I love it! welcome!

 

www.4runners.org
Incredible site for doing many repairs at home for the shade tree repair man.
so youll probabaly want to change all fluids and flush the tranny.
Welcome aboard

 

I definitely have a full flush of all fluids coming up. I just changed the oil again at the 120K mile mark and am now planning on doing the differentials and transmission. I also want to get the timing belt and water pump replaced.

Another concern of mine is that the truck rides about an inch above the bump stops in the front and half an inch above them in the rear. The ride is definitely bone-jarring. I'm thinking the suspension has never been worked on in the trucks life. I don't need a huge amount of lift because this is a mostly on-road truck (with some trail and beach driving now and then), so I was thinking about going with the Sonoran Steel System 3, or the full OME kit with the diff drop and just living with the extra lift (wouldn't that just be terrible).

The tires also will need to be replaced within the next 6 months or so, all 4 of them have pretty deep cuts in places. It has 265/70R16 on it right now so I think I will bump that up to 265/75R16 since its a more popular size and a little beefier. Those should fit without rubbing, right?

 

yes they will fit, and your shocks are probabally shot so that lift and new shocks will work brilliantly

 

yup i got 97 limited rear seals went at 170k clock went 175k. ss 1.2 at 185k!

 

Timing belt is due every 100K Miles on the 3.4. It should have been done not too long ago.